Chopthebass

I have two Jack 12's. Very good at cutting through a mix, thanks to nice sounding pronounced mids.

I'd be interested to hear from some users too.

So many iterations of the same design!

Warwick thumb 5NT. Has the worst neck dive on the planet! Mediocre sound, to my ears. Bongo 5. Didn't like the painted neck rear. Didn't take long for it to wear off. A bit heavy. Sounded good though. G&L L5500. Came with a loose first fret. And the treble control didn't work. Neck was loose in pocket. A friday afternoon bass!

I have a little Behringer mixer. Plug the headphone out from my Mac into one channel, bass in another channel and job done.

It is the PC part that was a PITA.

I bought a future impact and messed around with it for a while. Programming is a pain. And when you get a great lounge sound, it doesn't cut it at gigs. However this is my opinion, and I know a lot of guys love them. And it made me realize I don't like the monophonic thing! Not tried the SY-300, which is poly. Maybe a Roland GR55 is the way to go.

Id be keen to see what you think of the N4S pups in that!

I own a Jazz Elite 5. QC is generally great, but I had to pry out the battery cover and sand it slightly, because it was a super tight fit. Not a big issue but I didn't expect it! The action was a little high, and the saddles were as low as they could go. So the shop shimmed the neck slightly and set it up really nicely. I agree with one of the above comments that the pickups can be a bit dark. Preamp has good frequencies but is quite subtle. The balance control is more like a switch! Turn it 1mm either way from mid position and that pickup is on. Not a true blend IMO. So I plan to mess around with it. Maybe new pickups and Pre.

hang on - does the whole tube slide?

Those Nova headless bridges look great, but I can't see how you adjust for intonation. It doesn't look like the saddles slide.

Interestingly my MJ-5 on order is coming with Aguilar HC pickups as they said its noisy with their new 18v preamp. I think its odd that they market the bass with a certain spec only to tell me they don't work well! I had the choice to cancel, but I know the Aggy pickups are great, so should be fine.

I have just ordered a USA MJ-5. Gotta wait 14 weeks now! Great basses IMO

I have two of these heads and won't use anything else ! (for now!). I would definitely get a second cab, stack them vertically then you are good to go!

I will probably hang on to it for a little longer. Things are moving slow here. Think it must be a marmite colour!!

Thanks everyone. Hadn’t considered CITES. It’s not looking like it’s worth it, all things considered.

Hey Guys, Has anyone bought a bass and shipped from States or Canada? Just wondering if its worth trying sell my Stingray 5 and ship it. What are they worth in UK? Ian

GK1001RB & GK MB500 (BACKUP) After trying just about everything I settled on this head. Had one in UK and now have one in Canada. It's powerful enough for pretty much anything, and cuts through great. Only downside is you need a 3U case because the fan is mounted on top. Bergantino HDN410 & BFM Jack12 (x2) The Berg is super sensitive, goes plenty deep enough and has a sweet high end. Plus has staggered speaker arrangement which makes a little taller. Still only 55 pounds in weight. The BFM's are custom made from Bill's design and are crazy good. Each cab is 12" 400w and have an Eminence BGH25 horn. With a slight pronounced mid, they punch through no problem and are very sensitive too. I have done an outdoors gig with no PA support. I only use them now when I need a small footprint.

Guys, The head is certainly loud enough with plenty of girth to the sound. I was trying with Subway 15 & 2x10. My only comment was the subtlety of some of the controls. Maybe my ears are on the way out!! Seriously I just expected there to be more of an audible difference tweaking the two controls I mentioned. And as Chris said it is only my opinion. I have bought things on the strength of internet review (and even the UK bass player magazine) and been disappointed. So if you are able to try one out I suggest you do so, and see what you think.

I always carry a spare GK1001RB head, but my main one has never failed.

Not all Mesa gear has been reliable for me. Ive had an intermittent horn problem in a cab, and a Titan V12 that kept overheating.

Tried one here in Canada and wasn't impressed. Whilst all those knobs do produce some nice sounds, its all too subtle IMO. Particularly the HPF and Power Amp Damping controls. The build quality of Mesa gear is second to none though. I have a PH 4x10 cab and its great. $1350 CAD here, which I think isn't too bad.

I use a Bassbone with one bass in preamp A and one in B. Then footswitch between the two. Separate gain and three band eq too.

I’ve not read a bad review about the head. Might be worth a punt