Dan Dare

I think you're right to be doubtful. I'd be very wary about a straight trade - Chris Anthony and Police Squad are right I think. It's just too easy to "create" a vintage Fender because they screw together so easily.

Fender PJ Mex (which I use). Very versatile.

Absolutely not. It's just "Me too. I can show off as well as these others". I always refuse if a solo is offered. I'm part of the engine room. If I don't like it, I should be playing a different instrument. Defo add another number instead.

People worry too much about quoted power outputs. They're pretty meaningless - usually arrived at over a limited range of frequencies into a stable load. Real world conditions aren't like that - a complex harmonic structure to the signal into a reactive, variable load (have a look at the impedance curve of a typical drive unit). The preamp with bridged PA power amp route is pretty effective, but you need enough speaker capacity - you won't shift enough air with a 2x10, no matter how much power you put into it. Suggest buying a trolley to cope with the weight.

Another vote for plain Levy's deluxe leather strap. Got mine for £20 from Eagle Music Shop.

Still miss my Bassman 135 and 2x15. Don't miss the size/weight, though.

I like a modular approach. Small combo augmented with power amp and extra cabs to suit the size of job. You carry several smaller boxes rather than one or two big heavy ones.

At a jam session I go to, there's a little Hartke combo - single 12" speaker, around 200 watts (I think). Guy told me he got it from eBay for £120 or so. It's excellent - fat tone, plenty of poke and portable.

Good point, Bill. Despite the established consensus that one should drive preamps as hard as possible for best signal to noise, I find I get a cleaner sound out of my bass head (EBS 350) by running the output gain high and keeping the preamp gain well down so that the clip light never illuminates. I run my mixing desk channels well below the red, too. I think the advice originates from the time when circuitry was far noisier than it is today - you had to keep the hottest possible signal to mask that noise. As you say, passing an already clipped signal to a hefty power amp is asking to destroy your drive units.

You can't complain for 25 quid. The Roqsold cover would cost more than that. Have you checked the connections? If it cut out suddenly, it would be unlikely to be a speaker fault. Probably a dry joint or worn jack socket (it looks to old for Speakons).

I run a Fohhn Linea 3 power system. A bit OTT for pubs, but fantastic clean sound and the columns are so slim, they don't intrude visually. Usually take out the columns and just a single sub.

I've got the MIM P Bass Special. J neck, P body and active electronics. Well put together, nice slim neck. Pre seems fine - good tonal range and clean sounding. Should be a decent instrument.

The Behringer is thoroughly overkill for your needs, imho. No question of its quality (Behringer has bought Midas and their newer products are derived from the Midas tech expertise they acquired). However, engineers love their high tech toys (fair enough - we musicians love ours), so their advice may not be the best when it comes to deciding what is most appropriate for you. Simpler and modular is best.

Agree with you up to a point, Alex. But if the voltage drops for more than a few milliseconds, they don't like it. My Fohhn PA (which does not have an el cheapo/poorly executed s/m power supply) is not happy with poor quality generated power. At festivals, where you tend to share supply with the beer coolers, etc, etc, the voltage sags when they all kick in and can trigger the protection cut-out.

How urgent is the need for it? Can you save up a little more? As others say, £2.5k is pushing it for a rig to cover the size of band you refer to, assuming you want to buy new. Agree with advice to keep it all separate - passive mixer, speakers, power amps, etc. The other advantage of doing it that way is that, rather than the band owning the PA jointly, individual members own individual items. So if someone leaves, you don't have all the bother of agreeing a price to buy out their share, etc (bad idea to sell a rig and split the proceeds - you lose too much money doing that). They just take their item with them and the new member(s) replace it.

I think some lightweight amps suffer because they have switch mode power supplies, which are very susceptible to a poor quality mains supply. With no power reservoir, they cannot deal with voltage fluctuation (which is surprisingly common).

Spot on, Meddle. Can't stand these types who say "I play jazz, therefore I'm a better musician than you pop/rock simpletons". They're pathetic snobs, hung up on technique at the expense of musicality. Have had my share of their b/s over the years. Half of them can't even play a straight four in the bar without throwing in all sorts of inappropriate off beats, etc. When you ask the to keep it simple/solid, they look at you pityingly. They should listen to Simon Kirke - a fine technician who isn't ashamed to play it straight if that's what the music demands.

Another vote for the AER.

When you want to get louder, you can add a power amp and extra cab(s).

How about replacing the 12s with something better? If you like the sound of the cab, seems a good idea to stick with and upgrade it. Have a look at the Blue Aran site for drivers. MB cabs nice but quite pricey.

Defo need someone to mix, so take your keyboard player up on her offer. Agree with others' suggestions to combine PA cabs and go out in mono. Stereo a waste of time unless it's for a seated concert hall audience.

We have to be considerate, especially in crowded urban environments. Why piss off your neighbours? Use headphones. As others say, bass frequencies travel. If you want to crank it, rent a rehearsal room.

Do you like it? Can you afford it? Everything else is secondary, especially "value" - real or perceived.

Like most things, the SR16 gets easier the more you use it.