chris_b

If you have to EQ to that extreme and the amp still doesn't give you what you want. . . . . . IMO you need a different amp, one that better fits your sound.

My first opinion is that you shouldn't be "sold" on anything until you've tried it. Second opinion, Aguilar makes great bass gear. I have owned a TH500 for about 5 years. It's an excellent amp. These days I tend to use it with my Precision. I like the way they combine to nail the "old skool" sound, but they are more flexible and versatile. You can see videos of many of the modern online educators with a TH500 sitting in the background. I don't know the SL cabs, but a lot of good players use them, so they can't be bad. I had 2 GS112 cabs many years ago, which were OK but very heavy. These days I use Barefaced cabs. The only cab I'd go back to would be a Bergantino. They are something special. Watts are cheap so the extra headroom of the TH500 makes it a better choice for me. Also the TH350 has a reduced feature set, ie no send/return. For 90% of the gigs I do a 112 would not be enough. I usually use 2 112's even when 1 would do because 2 cabs always improves tone, volume and overall sound.

Don't put a price on it. . . . . buy the best.

The OP has obviously found a sound he likes (which is good), but has fallen into the trap many players do, deciding it's better than other gear. . . . . for everyone else. If the thread was about valves then an equal number would be jumping in and decrying non valve gear. People go all "black and white" when they start comparing the old days. Amps didn't sound better when they were all valve or SS. Some sounded good but many didn't and the cabs we had to use with those amps could reduce the quality of their sound significantly. Also, there are a lot of players with fantastic gear that sound very average and even just plain bad. So you've still got to make good gear sound good with your EQ choices and technical ability. I have a Thunderfunk which is SS and sounds magnificent, but I also have a D class Aguilar AG700 which is equally great sounding. The last valve amp I owned was a Mesa 400+. If you put all those amps in front of me I'd chose the Aguilar, because IMO it makes such a great sound. Better than the others? Don't know and don't care. It sounds good enough to be my main amp for the last 3 or so years.

What combo are you using at the moment. I don't know what your definition of "heavy rock" is, but mine would necessitate a lot more than a 110!! Tell us what you are upgrading from and we might be able to give some sensible advice.

They were the first white band on Motown. Nice guys and funky as flip!

How do you choose? First concert - John Mayall, The Georgian Club, Cowley, Uxbridge 1965 Last concert - Keb Mo, Subterranea 2020 Best concert - Doobie Brothers, Rare Earth, Jo Jo Gunne that we opened for 1973 Worst concert - Can't think of any gig that disappointed me Loudest concert - Tony Williams Lifetime, The Marquee 1970 Seen the most - John Mayall Most surprising - Jimi Hendrix, Ricky tick, Hounslow, 1967 Next concert - none lined up Wish I would have seen - Beatles at the Cavern and Rolling Stones at Eel Pie Island

Err. . . . very political!

Regarding the advice to "nudge the neck over a bit". It would worry me more if the neck and body join had any play in it and the neck wasn't held tightly in place by the body. I'd try putting small shims between the bridge saddles to line the strings up.

I wouldn't worry then.

What does the bass sound like?

I guess you were talking to me? If the truss rod was a problem I'd fix it or have it fixed. The fact that I don't find I need to adjust my bass depending on the season is the reason for my reply.

The vocals sounded pretty good to me. Mark King isn't exactly a Pavarotti either.

This. When I buy a bass I take it to The Bass Gallery for a set up and to have the frets levelled. I've never "tweaked" a truss rod on any bass I've owned.

Excellent. I'm not a Level 42 fan, but I liked that. You've put a lot of work into this band and it shows. Also, that's a good video. Doesn't jump around too much.

I have Martin set up and check the frets on every bass I buy. It doesn't matter how good they are going in, they always come back playing better. If the guys working in these shops aren't bass players then they won't have a clue what we want from our instruments. Which is another way of saying poor customer service.

The Blues Brothers, although they cheated by gigging after making the film. The Majestics Billy Mack

I think my last sentence covers that.

You have a signal chain, from your fingers to the cone. Every bit counts towards the final sound. And then you have the audience and the room. All your gear should be good, but the cabs do the heavy lifting and they should be the best you can afford. The rule of thumb in the old hi-fi days was to spend 50% of your budget on the speakers. That's how important cabs are to your final sound. Cabs are still important if you are DIing, then its the PA cabs and your monitors that are critical.

IMO the op is worrying about the wrong thing. It's a cover band and he's the bass player so he should be playing the bass lines and they should be his interpretation of the original. His personality should be in those lines. I always listen to the original lines, then I'll decide how close I want to stick to them. IMO as long as you don't compromise the spirit and feel of the song, get in there and make the songs yours.

As Phil says, it should do. With DSP the sound ought to be better because the amp has been tuned specifically to that cab and driver.

It's a bass line. . . . . . you're a bass player. . . . . . . so you play it.

Tell him your bass lines are better and to keep his suggestions to himself.

If you're only running a 410 at 40-50% what are you going to do with 2000 watts?