Dan Dare

Bill's right (as usual). I always find the amount of low end my PA subs produce out in the room can be surprising and I find myself cutting them, sometimes considerably. You need a high quality sub for clean bass, too. A budget boom box just won't cut it. I did experiment recently with using one of my Fohhn PA subs with one of my Phil Jones bass cabs and it sounded good once I'd got the relative levels right, but it took a bit of fiddling about (and of course, you ideally need an active sub or separate power amp/crossover if using a passive sub so you can balance things properly). I decided the improvement wasn't worth the aggravation of carrying the extra stuff around.

Horses for courses. Seems to me there is a big difference between a bass that gets the job done and one that appeals on a personal level. Much of what we like/lust over in exotic instruments is superfluous (imho, natch) to the job at hand. Beautiful timbers, active p/us with endless tone shaping options, etc, etc may appeal to us as bass nerds, but they don't make a lot of difference out in the so-called 'real world', where providing a foundation to the music is the name of the game. Nowt wrong with wanting instruments made from those beautiful timbers, of course, but the difference in practical terms between them and something like a P bass is largely in our heads.

Not the violin family. The tops are carved and strutted differently inside. Although you can fit a bridge/strings left handed, you would really need to remove the top and swap the bass bar and soundpost for it to work properly.

Well, it is in Snodland, after all...

I wondered about that. Seems it would be more true for the listing to say "There is nothing in the way of positive remarks about Reeve guitars on the b/c forum"...

Thank God for that. Loars are the Strads of the mandolin world. Less than 200 were built. If (and it's a big if) one comes up for sale, prices are stratospheric. I would absolutely love one. A chap I used to know had one and it was the best mandolin I've ever played by a large margin.

Snap. I went shopping for a portable combo and liked the Markbass 1x12. There was a PJB C4 in the shop and out of curiosity, I asked to try it. Driven by the baby GK head, it beat the MB combo for volume, fullness of tone and clarity. I changed my plans on the spot and bought it (with my head, it works out about the same size and weight as the average 1x12). I found it so good, I ended up selling my old larger cabs and buying another, plus a 4B and that is now my standard rig. The beauty of it is that the individual components are small/easily carried and I can take as much or as little as I need to a job.

Fair enough. I'd stick with the RCF system you're familiar with then. Pound for pound, it's as good as any. Others - EV, Yamaha, etc - at the same price will be comparable, but none will be greatly better/worse. Personally, I'd stick with smaller tops and subs, rather than using 15s. It's easier to put small top boxes on poles and subs on the floor enables some reinforcement of the low end courtesy of floor coupling.

All PAs at any given price are pretty comparable. None stands above any other for quality (at any particular price point, obviously). RCF, EV and Mackie are 3 of the big players in affordable PA. Things improve (obviously) as you spend more. Why not try hiring a few different ones at your usual rate and see which you prefer?

I know that feeling all too well. Suffered from it for ages. The odd thing is, now I'm in my dotage, with mortgage paid, kids off my hands, money in the bank, etc, the affliction has gone. Now I can actually afford the stuff I used to lust over, I can't be bothered with it.

Fer Crissakes. A P bass is a P bass. "Grunge era" my @rse 😣

Thanks. That makes sense. I wondered what the point was. So the best advice is keep it simple.

OK, I'll try. You say you have to sell things (which presumably you like/value) to be able to afford said new toy. If you can afford to buy something with your own money, go for it, but it appears you can't. is there any chance you will make a profit on the new item (is it something vintage/desirable) when you sell it? Do you have other priorities that you need to spend money on? Do your kids need new shoes? Is your car in need of repair/replacement? Is there a hole in your roof? Do you have debts (not a mortgage, obviously, but plastic, etc) that cost you money/interest each month? Only if you are all clear of the foregoing and have money burning a hole in your pocket are you allowed to make the purchase. Fair enough?

This is magic. With the late Ricky Lawson (the best live drummer they ever used, imho) on drums.

Fender/Squier should be able to provide specs if you ask nicely. It's very easy to remove the neck (as long as you remove the strings first!). Undo 4 screws and away you go (hold the neck in place with your spare hand so it doesn't fall out as you remove the screws). When you put the screws back/re-install the neck, turn them anticlockwise, applying gentle pressure until you feel them engage in the threads in the neck and then tighten gradually in rotation, snugging each up in turn.

Bill, would there be any point in using a dual voice coil driver, apart from being able to vary the impedance? Would it affect the performance of the driver in any helpful/useful way?

You guys have got it all wrong with your coffee table bass pictures. Didn't you read his post? This is the way to tempt him from the straight and narrow:

Not really a steal. Half new retail is about the going rate for used gear in good condition.

For that kind of lolly, I'd have a Fodera.

Why not sell it and get something you like the colour of? You are almost bound to reduce resale value to nil or close to it if you do what you intend.

Sounds like a fault in the winding process. Send it back for a replacement.

Paul's spot on. Anything you get will be a bonus and you'll save on storage costs. The old HiSys cabs were decent, so someone is bound to want to give them a home.

K&M make tilting amp/combo stands. Not cheap, but well made and fold up small for carrying. There's a decent looking amp tilt stand on Thomann for around £30 (can't get the link to copy into this).