Dan Dare

Scott's very good, but got fed up with the daily emails trying to flog me something.

You need a xlr sex changer - an inline plug with male/female xlrs both ends. Try Google. Neutrik and Switchcraft both make them.

As zero9 says, you'd need another and I doubt it would work that well even if you did. Hard to sell things at the moment.Everyone's paying off the Xmas bills. Try later in the year?

Good point from BotB. May be safest to use an additional power amp for the extra cab. Used PA power amps can be had cheaply enough - just drive it from the line out. One extra 8 or 10 won't add a lot, though.

True. Could well be both.

Leaving aside small practice amps, the rehearsal room we use has a Hiwatt bass amp which is spectacularly awful. Eq totally ineffective. Take my EBS along these days.

Another vote for Orchid.

It's the output transformer, rather than the valves, that will usually suffer from open circuit/no load/too low impedance.

Looking at the original question, I wonder if amp clipping may be to blame. Most combos will struggle once the master volume goes over the half way mark.

I keep the thumb nail short, but use the edge of it on the string. Some great thumb bass playing on live film of Gary Moore and BB King doing "The thrill is gone" on YouTube. Lovely fat tone.

Tears of a Clown was the one that did it for me. Genius.

Seashell's right. You have to put yourself about, go to jams, etc. Never know when something good will present itself. Good hunting.

Bill. Not entirely. The purpose of a contoured surface is not only/simply to scatter reflected waves. It has absorptive properties, too. A flat sheet of solid foam (especially hard foam) will, at least in part, reflect sound waves back at the cone - just the situation one is attempting to avoid. In practice, effectiveness is limited by wavelengths. Foam lining is less effective on lower frequencies.

Agree with Lozz about Markbass. The just seem to sound good in the mix.

Orchid. made in the West Country. £35ish delivered. Don't let the price put you off. Sound on Sound was very impressed.

It ain't cheap, but proper contoured acoustic foam is best. Be careful with spray adhesives. The fumes can harm drive units. I use Unibond.

This may or may not be helpful, but a lot of it is down to how well you get on with them. 99% of bands will prefer a competent player who they like to a virtuoso they can't stand. And of course, you have to be happy with them too. It's not all one way. Just do yer stuff. Good luck.

I've also read that the neck of his P bass was quite badly bowed. Apparently, he reckoned the high action gave better tone.

Can I echo the sentiment of others here and register support for Vail? I can't find the thread the fuss is about, but if it's about difference in power amps (which the above suggests it might be), there most certainly is a difference - funnily enough they seem to improve the more you spend...

Definitely bargains to be had at the moment. Shops need to keep cash flow going post Xmas. You may be surprised if you make them an offer.Good hunting.

Good idea Lozz. Thanks.

That Thomann one looks nice. Not too dear at present exchange rates. I'd be interested to hear what it's like, too.

Yamaha always good and reliable. The best small powered mixers I've used recently were Soundcraft - either the flat/conventional type or the Gigrac, which is an upright box. On board Lexicon fx, good mic pre's and usable eq. Plenty on offer s/h. Used passive speakers can be a lottery. Stick with name stuff - EV, RCF, Peavey, etc. You can get them repaired if need be.

Cream and torty looks delicious.