Dan Dare

I agree that kits can be made up of pretty cheap components. By the time you've replaced the iffy stuff, you may as well buy the parts individually (from Allparts, Warmoth et al). That way, you can choose everything yourself and not be saddled with replacing the stuff the kit seller got at the lowest price and still get the pleasure of building your instrument yourself. It can often work out no cheaper than buying something ready made, though.

The desk you're using does have XLR ins, doesn't it? If so, follow advice above re. using a balanced mic cable from your DI to it. Personally, I'd use the DI out on the Tech21, unless you're using dirty or heavily overdriven bass tones. Going straight to the PA from the instrument via a DI box tends to give a very sterile sound that the eq on the average desk can't do much to correct.

[quote name='Rocker' timestamp='1510242475' post='3404950'] Bashing audiophiles [aka audiophools] is a common theme on guitar/music forums. By guitarists that will debate endlessly about the colour of a scratchplate on a guitar!!!! [/quote] I'm pretty sure those guitar players wouldn't claim that the colour of the scratchplate has any effect on the sound, though. I think we're all in agreement that cables made from decent quality components, properly constructed, will help. It's the snake oil, cables made from unobtainium, etc that we draw the line at.

Yes. I'm not good enough to play the stuff I like..

Mackie 402 has much better (Onyx) preamps than most budget mixers. However, has no pan and minimal eq. The 802 has pan, more in the way of eq and is still pretty compact. That would be my choice.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1509800984' post='3401734'] A little while. Bear with them. If they feel a bit sticky at the moment, give them a rub with an old t-shirt. [/quote] Good suggestion. I think they put some kind of gunk on them to prevent corrosion whilst they're in the packet. Give them a clean with a spot of meths or white spirit and they feel nicer under the fingers. Fender flats look like re-badged D'Addario Chromes to me. They even have the same coloured ball ends, although the thread winding is green, rather than blue.

Pleasure. One more thing. Give adjustments a little listening/playing time before moving on. The ear can take a few seconds to get used to changes.

Just to be difficult, I prefer the Babicz. I have one on my Jazz. Fits the existing bolt holes, too, which is a bonus. Both are excellent bridges, though and you won't go wrong with either.

Not a bad description. Cutting is generally better than boosting, because it places less demand on the amp and cab. To get started, what I would do is to set a decent amount of cut - say, -6db - and then experiment with the frequency control and see how the sound is affected. You'll soon find a setting you like. Once you have found it, experiment with decreasing or increasing the amount of cut to fine tune it. It's pretty straightforward (it has to be, or us bass players wouldn't understand it...). Have fun.

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1509786386' post='3401577'] Why not make a day out and drive down to Bass Direct to try out the Vanderkley before buying if there's no other local options available for you. That's what i did when looking for a new 5 stringer and ended up with my Dingwall NG2. Glasgow to Warwickshire think it was circa 300miles each way but wife went with me and we had lunch on way down and dinner on way home. All in all a nice wee day out. You'll be a bit closer so shouldn't be such a long drive. Dave [/quote] +1. If you're contemplating a major/expensive purchase, you simply must try things out. We can recommend what we have/like, but they may not suit you, your amp and instrument. I'd take up the kind offers from BCers to try things, too, but do take your own amp and instrument. Also, unless someone has a roomful of kit, you cannot make on the spot comparisons between different makes/models. I went to BD to buy a new head and ended up buying something I hadn't even considered because I found it worked so well with my cabs and instrument, so the trip was worth it (if expensive...). They're very helpful, especially if you can go midweek, when they aren't too busy with customers and because they have virtually all the major brands, you can compare to your heart's content.

It's a bit more complicated than that. The centre frequency isn't the only one you will be adjusting. Depending on the Q (the width/range of frequencies that are affected) that the manufacturer has chosen to build in, you will alter a range of surrounding frequencies too. On a 'scope, the effect of the parametric will look like a 'V' (pointing either up or down depending on whether you cut or boost), with the chosen frequency at its centre. It's rather a broad brush description to speak of 400Hz as warmth, 800Hz as growly & 2KHz as clanky. You may find that 2khz will be within the range of the high frequency/treble adjustment. It's best to ignore the numbers on the dial and make adjustments by ear.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1510060451' post='3403605'] I haven't the room to store or the desire to cart around all the heavy old fashioned kit never mind a spare desk and power amp no matter how cheap they are. [/quote] + 1. Age and decrepitude would prevent me from doing so, even if I wanted to. In response to the original poster, I do think £500-£600 could be pushing it a bit for a complete PA that is any good, unless you get very lucky buying used. Itsmedunc's suggestion of used JBLs is worth following up (the old EON15, if you can find a set that haven't been abused, are decent). If it was me, I'd go for used active cabs (most have class D amplification built in and are reliable and not overly heavy) and an analogue desk with some kind of on-board reverb/FX (I picked up my spare, an Allen & Heath PA12 in mint condition, for less than £200). That's the main components sorted, but you do need to factor in mics, stand, cables, etc, etc and they add up.

[quote name='taunton-hobbit' timestamp='1510079193' post='3403835'] Can you buy virgins armpit hair on E Bay? [/quote] You're in luck. I have just one hank left. The last one in the country I'm told. Yours for a grand. On a related topic and in response to Discreet's accurate observation that esoteric hi-fi cables get used on the end of a supply chain built with stuff from Wickes, I do find one of those mains power conditioners worth using. The one I use is a 6 way plugboard from Lindy - https://www.lindy.co.uk/cables-adapters-c1/audio-video-c107/6-way-av-mains-conditioner-power-strip-p8835. Not expensive at a little over £50 and it does make a difference - less background noise. I bought it to use with my PA, but find it helps the hi-fi and my bass and guitar amps

Not just the drumsticks that need putting away. A pal left his beautiful vintage Martin 0042 on a stand whilst waiting to play at a wedding (silly of him, I know). Whilst he was out of the room, some idiot picked it up and my pal found him strumming/thrashing away, singing to his mates. Said idiot, being of a clumsy disposition, had scratched the top quite badly with the pick.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1510053058' post='3403506'] I suppose they are serious musicians, in that they're not very funny. [/quote] Spot on

My maroon 1975 Telecaster Custom, black scratchplate, maple neck. The Keef model. Sold in a fit of poverty 20 years back. Got a good price, but that's not the point.

Good quality components - Neutrick, Switchcraft, Sommer, etc as mentioned above - properly soldered and put together, will be better than El Cheapo sh*te. However, forget all the esoteric snake oil stuff (gold plugs, silver cable, sleeving woven from the armpit hair of virgins). That's just male jewellery.

Fan should be any easy/cheap replacement for your repair man. Looks a nice little amp and in good shape. Good find.

Have a look at other MB combos - the 102P for example. There is a definite MB sound in my experience - smooth, quite weighty and not bright/clicky (if that makes any sense) - that they all seem to share. If you like the MB sound, one of their other combos may suit. The JB is £800-£900 new, so you could save yourself quite a bit if you can find something used that you like.

Coming down in price from PJB, BF et al, the small EBS Session 60 combo (there is a 30 watt version but it may be too low powered for your purposes) is well reviewed and is a kickback designs, so you can hear it easily when it's on the floor. Single 10" driver and light/small.

I had one in the 80s, with the matching 2x15 cab. I replaced the crappy Fender speakers when one blew with Peavey Black Widows and that improved it enormously. Big and heavy, but looked and sounded the business. Traded it against the inevitable Trace Elliot (well, it was the 80s).

Have you tried a genuine Fender part? Most eBay sellers, in my experience, don't offer genuine Fender parts, but PRC made copies and they are often smaller, made of thinner materials and generally inferior. Google should find genuine Fender spares.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1509846045' post='3402091'] Presumably the builder had never heard words like "aesthetics", or, indeed, "truss rod". [/quote] Or "musical instrument"...