Dan Dare

In the spirit of scientific enquiry, Mrs Dare and I shall be testing these to ascertain which results in the best, ahem, tone (or whether any differences can be found). The participants in the study and the procedures employed will be the same each time. The only variables will be the instruments themselves. Full report to follow.

That's it in a nutshell. Compare "super cables" to outright rubbish and there will be a difference. Once you get into the realms of decent quality (which needn't equate to super expensive), it's all snake oil.

I saw the word "Cleartone" and was remainded of a well know modifier/improver of basses. Thought he'd diversified into cables for a moment...

I polish all my instruments with Snake Oil. I swear it makes them sound better 😁

The TE GP12 refers to the preamp. Which power amp does it have? It should say something like AH250 or 350 somewhere on it (which is the wattage rating). Will definitely have a much wider tonal range than the Orange

Just make 'em up yourself and save money. It's dead easy. No soldering needed and the screw terminals are clearly marked so you can't go wrong if you take a bit of care. Use proper Neutrik Speakons and decent cable - something like Van Damme or Sommer - and away you go.

It ain't just pop. Opera is full of histrionic warblers.

As it's only one of the cabs that makes the noise, that would rule out mains issues. By "static" noise,, I take it you mean a kind of hissing roar. I had a similar experience once with an amp. It turned out to be a capacitor that had failed. Resist the temptation to poke around and take it to a repairer is my suggestion.

Unless it's a crappy bass you don't care about, I'd sell it as is and get a purpose built headless. Removing the head from anything often ends in tears:

Unless it was a valve amp, probably just means they brushed the dust out of the vents and sprayed the contacts and sockets with switch cleaner.

You might get away with a 4 ohm cab (which will give a combined impedance of 3 ohms), but I wouldn't push the volume too hard. And keep an eye on how hot the amp gets.

Pickups are not microphones

Could be a Pearl River instrument (they do exist).

I used to borrow an old Acoustic rig from a friend. It was enormous, with a large horn loaded cab that contained the power amp and a box with the preamp in it that sat on top. I had a Ford Transit at the time, so I could cart it around. Massive sound -and the throw from it was impressive. Standing next to it, it sounded reasonably loud but not excessive, while people in the front rows were shouting at me to turn down. It had 'Led Zeppelin' stencilled on the side of the cab, which was worth brownie points. Wouldn't like to try to carry about it now, at my advanced age. Not tried the new stuff. Didn't know it was available. I assume someone has bought the rights to the name. I'd be interested to try it.

Go to somewhere like Bass Direct or the Bass Gallery and try 'em all.

A friend who used to edit quite a major national magazine (not music related, but the principle is the same) told me why you rarely if ever see reviews slagging off products. They receive many more products for review than they can ever fit in every week or month. So they don't even consider reviewing those that aren't at least competent. If something is basically sound, but has minor flaws, they may review it and point the flaws out. However, there's no point in wasting scarce column inches on something that is no good. It won't benefit the reader, who would be better being told about things that are worthy of consideration. Makes sense to me. True, but the RCFs will survive an upgrade and likely won't need to be sold. Add a sub or subs and they will be excellent for mid and top duty.

Your call. It's your money. I think they will be too limited, especially once you push them. Resale on them will be nix, too. You can only go so cheap before quality is too compromised. If you're looking at Anderton's, these - RCF ART 312A Mk4 12" Active Speaker - EACH - Andertons Music Co. - will be a much better bet and will survive upgrading (easily good enough to add a sub to at a later date). Don't be put off those HHs discussed earlier. The Sound on Sound review was very positive and I've found their reviews to be truthful and not hyped (I discovered the PA I own - Fohhn Linea system - via their reviews and I'm very happy with it).

The problem with bundles is that you are stuck with whatever the retailer chooses. If you get good speakers at a bargain price, the mixer is likely to be compromised to fit the budget. Mixers at modest price points tend to have limited features. For vocal only use, you only need a small number of channels, but decent, flexible eq and onboard reverb (not dozens of effects - a few usable ones are all you need) to save having to add an additional fx unit. I'd be looking for a used small Soundcraft, Allen & Heath or similar. For reasons stated previously, I'd opt for new speakers, but buying used mixers and stands is pretty safe, provided you can satisfy yourself that they have not been abused.

I agree that 300w is about the upper limit for a 12, Phil. However, even if the power ratings are massively over-stated, it has to have 300 real watts on board. I've not tried it, but SoS reviewed it very favourably (see the link in the eBay listing) and at more than twice the price it is on offer at currently. I'm pretty confident in their reviews. Over the years, I've found them reliable. I'm thinking seriously of ordering a pair for small gigs.

Given that OP is attempting to set up a first PA on a limited budget, that's probably not feasible. We are trying to suggest options which give him an upgrade route without his needing to throw it all away and start again if he needs to improve it.

They look very good indeed for £400 a pair. Impressive when SoS reviewed them favourably at more than twice that price. Were I in BassAdder27's shoes, I'd think very seriously about getting them.

Bill Fitzmaurice Designed Simplexx 2x12 Bass Cab with Beyma SM212 12” Drivers | eBay Looks nicely put together - one of Bill's designs, with everyone's favourite Beyma drivers. I was tempted (only a few miles from me), but really don't need any more kit.

As is your right, but we are being asked for advice by someone else who may not be in the position that we are - financially secure, etc. I can spend, within reason, what I like on toys, but not everyone is as fortunate.

I'd suggest you are in an ideal position in that you do not have a load of instruments, but appear, if the things you are considering buying are anything to go by, to be able to afford.one that you really like. Many claim to "need" dozens of instruments to "cover different styles". In reality, unless you are doing a really eclectic mix of stuff (which few are), a couple of well chosen instruments will cover all the bases - no pun intended. A P/J is a standard versatile choice and Sandbergs are very fine. I've found the ones I've played (full fat, not economy Sandbergs) preferable to any modern US Fenders I've tried. For what they are, they're not that expensive (and cheaper than Fender custom shop models). The important thing is to try a lot of instruments out, ignore brand names/labels, take your time and choose what you, not anyone else, like.

And a forklift truck to move it.