chris_b

I've never looked.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1481897620' post='3196099'] I bought a second Trace Elliot because I'd forgotten why I'd sold the first one. [/quote] I missed the whole Peavey/Trace Elliot thing. At the time I was using a Musicman HD150 and then a Dynacord BS410. I sorta lusted after another Dynacord until I found one in the back room of a gig we were playing, and tried to lift it!! That was it. Only forward looking from then on.

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1481886392' post='3195925'] I'm achieving is around 80 watts? [/quote] If you have good cabs (and enough of them) then you need fewer watts than you think.

I had an SR5 for 2 years. I'd describe it as OK and not for me. It was replaced by a US 55-94 Lakland which I've been playing for the last 13 years. I've tried to replace the Lakland several times (once with a cheaper bass and once with a more expensive bass) but nothing matches up. The Skylines I've played in shops have had the same feel.

Your cheapest option is to find a used Ampeg BA115HP and daisy chain them, but 2 80lb amps in this day and age (of D Class and Neo) is totally unnecessary. I'd get separates and my preference would be 2 112's and a 500 watt amp.

Is this really a big problem? I don't hear much about speaker failures these days, not at the rate they failed in the 60's and 70's.

[quote name='sammybee' timestamp='1481807614' post='3195304'] . . . my stingray seems to flatter my poor playing - and make it sound good, the J-Retro seems to magnify all the bits I dont like! [/quote] I've had this several times in the last 15 years. Buy a better link in the chain and the "issues" in the other links are exposed. After decades feeling good about my playing I had a big wake up call when I bought my first Thunderfunk amp, and another when I bought my first Bergantino cabs. I almost felt like a beginner again! I've just bought a high quality Jazz which, again, is highlighting some left hand "problems". If you stick with the J retro and work on your technique you will be a better player.

[quote name='scrumpymike' timestamp='1481735626' post='3194713'] I need some advice on choice of pups. I don't want to go J/J because I need sounds that work ok across a variety of musical genres, namely pop, folk-rock, rock, soul and the odd bit of reggae. [/quote] My observation is that all the genres you mention have players using exactly the basses you think aren't enough. I'm not a fan of Humbuckers or PJ pickups on a Jazz. Get a Precision. My Lakland sounds fantastic but the strength of an active bass is less in the pickups and more in the preamp and your technique.

"More" always gets to the point of "too much". Also trying to make "something" sound like "everything" never works either. I'd look at a good quality passive system for your Jazz and maybe the top of the range Fender Jazz pickups.

Entwistle just sounds like he's tapping to me. Stan Sargeant, bassist with Keb Mo and Al Jarreau does a tapping thing that sounds like a slap. He sounds like he's trying to emulate slapping. He plays a left handed bass strung right handed so I guess you can't do the traditional slap with that set up.

I have nostalgia for a lot of things but not for gear. I've been reasonably lucky. I've was able to buy what I wanted and every piece of gear has been an upgrade. Every piece has been better than what it replaced so I look forwards to the fantastic gear that has yet to be made.

20 years ago I was playing loudly through a Mesa Boogie 400+. That's something like 16 valves bouncing around on top of my 115 and 210 cabs. With the cost of a re-valve running into hundreds of pounds, I decided to try to protect the valves by putting the amp on 2 3" high strips of foam. I'm still doing it. Whether I'm actually protecting the amps or not I can't say for sure, but thinking about this logically, less vibration has got to be a good thing, even for my D class amps.

I'm not sure what you are thinking you can do. You can't take back your "work". It will cost you more to take legal action than you'll see out of that "work" in years, and you have no guarantee of success. You've learnt something. Move on to better things.

A band leader told me once, "You can always find someone better. The trick is knowing when to stop looking." What can I say? Welcome to the real world! The next band will be better.

The Stones are a family business. . . . Downton with more travelling and noise. You can't even get into the road crew. Even those jobs are handed down between generations.

You could PM Lozz196 and talk to him. He's playing Punk through a Barefaced Big Twin and (what's it now?) an Aguilar TH500?

Dedicated band area? House Band? I'd hold him to that. Let's see what sort of tricks his memory will be playing next year.

When I went for the money on Saturday it was £50 short! I reminded them about the rate and they paid up without a complaint. Was it a mistake or attempted robbery? Dunno but I'd do this gig if the money was as originally agreed. Last Christmas we were shoe-horned into a stupidly small space which was mostly taken up by the very large Christmas tree, so we set up across the walkway and cut off access via the short cut from the front door to the bar. Everyone had to go around the long way. What could we do? As I've said before. most of the people running pubs aren't even that good at their day job, running pubs, and they are almost all crap at being promoters. Insist on the right money and make your own space.

[quote name='hrnn1234' timestamp='1481612516' post='3193635'] I'm curious how far up you guys go! [/quote] If you can make a 200 watt amp running at 8 ohms work through a 210 cab then you're in a totally different volume league to me. The only answer should be that we're all as loud as we need to be for the band and the gig. In my case that's anything but usually covers, soul, funk and blues. My rule of thumb is if I have the master above 12 o'clock then I'm thinking about a more powerful amp and if I can do the gig with 1 cab then I'll use 2. I don't like the sound of gear straining in the red at the limit of its spec. I have 2 800 watt amps and 2 500 watt amps. These ratings are meaningless because, as I just said, I run them all at the same volume. They are never pushed anywhere their limit so they are all well within their "sounding fantastic with a ton of headroom to spare" range. The 2 800 watt amps are 2 ohm but now I'm not running 3 cabs that feature isn't needed. My TH500 used to be at 12 when I played through my Berg CN212 (loads of headroom) and when I switched to 2 Super Compacts I had to take the volume back to between 9 and 10. The bands I play in are usually running at the volume dictated by the band leader. If you have a decent drummer then you're not in the "we have to play as loud as the drummer" world. The good guys can play within the level of the band.

I'd get an outboard pre amp, then you've got both options.

Adding another speaker cab would probably improve the sound but that amp is already running at 4 ohms and has no extension socket so you can't add a speaker. At over 80lbs for a pretty low rated 115 combo I'd definitely be investigating other options.

MTD Kingston KZ5, but the controls are different.

John McLaughlin was also in Tony William's Lifetime.

All Rosewood? That's about 90% of the basses that have ever been made! Travelling bass players had better have maple or graphite fretboard basses just for touring.

Talking Heads