Dan Dare

Fohhn XS22. A smaller good quality sub will beat a cheaper big one all day long. As you've found, big budget subs tend to be flub/flab boxes.

Blimey. That's awful. Great player. Solid, tasty and never overcooked it.

Presumably, your replacement drummer will have transport, so that's three vehicles (unless he carries his kit in a Smart car). A PA cab in each and sub in the other should be doable. You won't necessarily need two subs if you do decide to replace the Alto. It's surprising what a good quality single 12" sub can do. I often use just one of mine with 10" top boxes and it's ample for surprisingly large rooms. Your existing top boxes are 12s, so they can perform some low end duty. It doesn't seem you'll gain much by replacing them with larger 15s. Three smaller boxes - one in each vehicle - will probably be a more practical proposition.

The AG700 uses the same ICEpower module and can be found used relatively regularly if that helps. A pal has a D800. I compared it to an AG700 and preferred the AG700 preamp, so got one.

Over 40 odd years: Ohm 60w combo Fender Bassman 135 + matching 2x15 Bassman head sold and replaced with Trace AH250 (cab kept and drivers replaced with Peavey Black Widows) AH250 sold and replaced with BBE pre + RSE 500w power amp + SVT 2x10 and 1x15 cabs (would have kept Bassman cab but it was stolen) Pre sold and power amp relegated to driving PA monitors. Replaced with EBS HD350 SVT cabs sold and replaced with three PJB 4Bs PJB Flightcase bought for small jobs EBS replaced with Carvin B1000 Bugera Veyron bought as backup amp Flightcase and Veyron sold and AG700 bought as main amp, plus two PJB C4s (still have 4Bs and Carvin) Berg 1x12 bought to add a bit more weight to C4s Bit of a ragbag assortment, but has done the job for me. Much of it has been bought used, so have not spent massive sums.

Yes. I wouldn't call it an upgrade, exactly. More a sideways change. The Waverleys on my F5 were getting a bit slack and reluctant to hold tune, so I replaced them with Schallers. They've been very good so far (replaced at least 10 years ago).

Agreed. Given that JP pulled the frets on his J bass, filled the slots and coated the board with epoxy and sanded the lot smooth, a resin board was more authentic to the original. And who doesn't love to save 3 grand?

GSS Sumo? GSS make several power amps, up to 1200W, which are very compact. Not too expensive, either. Someone was selling one on here recently.

I make my own.

Ah yes. The old "halve the value of your neck by slapping on a tin of Ronseal" trick.

Is there any excuse for it? How about insanity?

Yep. If you're the sort of person who carries spare leads, etc, yours are likely to be in good nick and not fail unexpectedly.

The best help we can give is to suggest you go to a few decent shops and try stuff. Everyone is different and what we like may not please you. If you like MB, it would be sensible to stick with them. There may be nothing wrong with your existing amp. Many amps have a thermal cut out (my AG700 does, for example. Not sure about yours) and it could simply have been doing what it was supposed to do. The fact that it was fine the following day would support that.

I use PJB cabs and can confirm that an additional one will give you more of everything and a much fuller sound. I have two C4s and three 4Bs. Two C4s is my go to compact rig for most occasions. 4Bs are more old school sounding - a little softer and fuller, but without some of the midrange punch of the C4s. I like them when playing with my soul band, for example. As you know, PJB cabs are quite inefficient and take some driving, but your PJB head should have plenty enough grunt to power an extra cab. I occasionally use a C4 with a Berg' single 12 (no tweeter - don't like them for bass). I like the combination. It goes surprisingly loud and the clarity of the C4 complements the 12 nicely. You would really need to experiment if you wish to add a different type of cab to your C4 to find one that works well with it. An additional C4 is a safe choice that you can be certain will work.

That is a particularly nice looking sunburst. If it was mine, I wouldn't change it.

The headstock is genius. Or should that be genitalia?

If you're bothered about it, you can get removable castors that push into a plate mounted on the cab base. My old Bassman 2x15 had them.

Bill, should you allow for the wadding when working out cab volume, or does it not affect it? Thanks.

Well, let's not compare apples with oranges. The discussion is about how much commission shops charge. And again, one is not forced to use auction rooms. In fact, I wouldn't to sell something like a bass guitar. Most people in a typical auction room will not be interested in basses and the chances of one making a good price are slim, unless it's very rare/desirable. Even then, there are unlikely to be several bidders who want it or know what it is to compete and push the sale price up. The vast majority of average auction room bidders are more likely to be after paintings, antiques and similar. A specialist shop is the best option for a commission sale (imho, of course).

I'd advise against rosin. It's intended to make things sticky. That's why we use it on our violin bows.

Could be the fact that they are in Camden in the heart of the mighty metropolis, where everything is expensive. They must know their market. It's also a fact that sticker prices are usually open to haggling. If I was selling, I'd have no problem with their asking more for my instrument id it meant I got more when it sold.

I'm not a shop owner or member of staff of one, but I have to disagree. I don't think 15-20% is unreasonable if a shop takes all the grief out of selling an instrument. You don't have to deal with chancers and tyre kickers or dodgy types who come round to case your place to see what you have and whether it's worth coming back another time and breaking in. You don't have to worry about shipping an instrument. A shop will normally clean, set it up and prepare it for sale and advertise it. Many more people will see your instrument when it's hanging on a shop wall than will if it's in a case under your bed. You sit back and do nowt and wait for the money to materialise. What's so disgusting about that? You can always sell an instrument yourself if you prefer. Nobody is forced to do it through a shop.

Interesting and reinforces the point that type of material a body is made from really doesn't matter.

Did I say it was? £10m worth of public liability insurance included with the price of your sub's isn't to be sneezed at.

This. Tubes also tend to overdrive gracefully, whereas transistors do not. You can listen to a tube amp working hard and not be made aware that it is being overdriven. Push a transistor amp past its limits and it's rarely pleasant to hear.