Russ

Yep. More or less any Yamaha instrument, at any price point, is going to be a step above anything else at that level. My son plays the trumpet, and he has a Yamaha. I'm no expert on brass instruments, but it's well made, has a sweetness to the sound, can get "raggy" in a good way when you go hard and it was inexpensive compared to other comparable instruments. We have a Yamaha electric piano too, and it's great. I've played cheap Pacificas that put Fenders that cost more than double the price to shame. And the BB range of basses are brilliant instruments and always have been - classic, yet distinctive. I seem to be talking myself into getting a Yammy. I am in need of something passive, with four strings right now (my current stable is all active 5- and 6-strings) and a BB is top of my list...

There's the Stingray Studio Series coming later this year too - Indonesian-made but with US hardware and electronics and supposedly coming in at just over a grand in Murcan freedom money.

I think I had the first buckeye, 5-string, 26 fret Sei singlecut, and I think I've inspired a few purchases over the years, including from other makers like Shuker. It's nearly 23 years old at this point, and still a stunner!

The RBM has the octaver, the overdrive, the compressor, the switchable EQ and the built-in IR system for the DI out. If you're happy with the 500W output and don't need those features, then go for the OBM.

EBMM are coming out with a new line of Stingrays that sit above the Sterling ones but below the regular US-made range a bit later this year, not a million miles away from what they did with the SUB basses back in the day, but without the Hammerite finishes. They're supposed to be somewhat cheaper than the regular US-built range.

They'd attracted a lot of business from younger players in recent years who wanted the Chris Wolstenholme or Alex Venturella sound - Alex was supposed to be getting a new signature model based on the B-2 shape before Rob shut things down. He was playing a prototype during the last couple of Slipknot tours.

The last Ashdown head that was designed with this sort of sound in mind was the 12-band head from a few years back, which, in turn, was based on the Ashdown Labs head they made for Mark King. Most other Ashdown heads can do it, but it’s not their “default” tone. Preshape on, treble up a bit. Use a cab with a tweeter.

Mine has side and front LEDs. Because being in a band is showbiz.

For a FSO-type Sei, the basic options will include body, neck and fingerboard woods, pickups/circuit and hardware colour. The quickest way to bump the price up is to add exotic woods, LEDs and expensive pickups/preamps. Not sure what the "base" level pickups are these days, it always used to be Kent Armstrongs.

The best Ashdown cab I ever had was the BP1510, with 2 10"s and a 15" in a tall-ish enclosure. They haven't made it in quite some time now though. I've been running mine into a Barefaced BT2 and I have no complaints. I did get to try Ashdown's Rootmaster 2x12" cab from a few years back, and it sounded good, but couldn't handle all that much power on its own. I'd quite like to try a pair of them and see what that sounds like. I've just got hold of a RM800 Evo III, and, sadly, it's the first piece of Ashdown gear I've had a problem with - something's up with the input gain (not sure if it's the knob or something else), so that's going to have to go back. I've had the original and Evo II versions (the Evo II is my workhorse) and never had any issues, so it's a bit disappointing. Their stuff is usually absolutely bulletproof in my experience. Should have held out for the new UK-produced version, really.

It's pretty, but whoever decided to use a cloth grille obviously doesn't have cats and are unaware that speaker cabs with cloth grilles are excellent scratching posts. I wish they offered a metal grille as an option, especially if they're making them in-house now. I recently bought a new RM800 EVO III - the input gain control is borked and I'm going to have to send it off to get replaced. First time I've ever had a piece of Ashdown gear be unreliable, and I've been using them on and off (mostly on) for 24 years now. I should have held out for the new UK-made one!

Ooo. Just watched Erik Arko's video about it and I'm impressed, although he was using it with a bunch of other pedals. I'd want a standalone unit and just use what's in it, probably with an expression pedal. QC users - are there any good models of the MXR DynaComp and Bass DI+ out there? Those are kinda the two essential pieces of my effects chain, and if I can get them in the QC, I'm all in for it. They're not in the list of built-in effects, so where might one look for them?

I think their Jazz/FSO-type basses come in a bit cheaper, £3k or so, but an Original or Flamboyant will be £3.5k upwards.

I think a basic Sei starts at about £3500 these days, and upwards from there. It's still only a £400 deposit though - he's kept that price the same since the 90s! And you'll have 18-ish months to save up the rest. The two 6-strings I had been planning on ordering would have ended up costing about £5k a piece, so I've had to shelve that idea for the time being.

Not an ex-user - still have, and love, my BT2. I have found myself in a slightly weird place lately though - I've rediscovered my love of 15" cabs thanks to a huge Peavey 2x15" at our rehearsal room. Nothing shakes a room like 15"s. Barefaced have something for almost everyone, but I do wish they still built a variant of the original "Big One". That was the first BF cab I ever played through and I loved it. Maybe Alex will have a brainwave about something new and cool he can do with a 15".