JTUK

I know a guy in Maidstone who I find very good ....esp on the older amps. But Maidstone might be a bit too far away..????

I was justing pointing out that the question is fine but the correct answer is missing..therefore I couldn't vote. but out of the two in the event of a fire, I would grab the amp.

Hi Welcome. Do you play the local circuit..? and who with?

Some of the tricks above might help but sustain defines a bass so should be one of the first things you look for when buying... A 10 sec note shouldn't be hard to obtain on a decent resonant bass, IMO, at all..

Bass..if the signal there is not good, there is only so much you can rescue. I think people who have problems with their sound should always start with the initial signal...and if they don't, they are forever chasing the tail with masses of corrections and over-corrections from time to time/room to room etc etc ..!!

I can listen to it.... it is only throwaway stuff so I wouldn't crucify them for that.

I've spent the past year evaluating an alternative to my usual DR string and that was because I changed basses and wouldn't be able to re-use the DR strings due to the peg config. So as I had to buy new, I thought I would see what else there was around since I started using DR's 17 or so years ago. D'addarios SS XL pros. Not bad, not as clean or precise sounding as DR hi beams, but maybe a slighty full sound..which I wouldn't need, but decent enough and offer a Tapererd in some gauages. Overall, a useful cheaper alternative. Various La Bellas as the bass came with these. ok to re-use and use for a couple of weeks. Tension is differen but not an issue. The Super steps are the best for me..and tension is good and sound good as well. I'd use more sets of these along with hi beams but the core over the bridge needs careful winding so I don't know how long I would be able to re-use them. I have only put them on 3 times but this is not something to rush into as since the bridge part of the string has only core and no winding...that single core neds to run very smoothly at the bridge anchor point. IIRC the super steps cost around the same as the DR's so I'll stick with DR's as tyhey are prioven over the years and I can get multiple cleans out of them. I have a set of Ken Smiths to go on but they come with silks which gets messy when you clean then up a few times...as do a few other makes. Still to try, Newtone and Sadowsky. Nowhere near as anal about string and tension etc etc as I used to be. So my faves, with this in mind, remain Hi Beams and Super steps.

I think the combo would be worth around £600, VVGC, but have seen a few here recently stall around that sort of figure...so maybe a tad less in a difficult market. I don't think this is a reflection on your combo...just difficult times..plus you have the extra cab. I don't know what that might go for. Haven't used new Fender gear of late... but the BX type combos were not great, IMV so am not sure they have upped their game since.

I don't think I'd buy the Rockcase then for this purpose. You need a STRONG and comfortable handle that you can carry well enough for a good few steps as well. This sort of thing. [url="http://www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk/music/typeproducts2.asp?id=3140-3980"]http://www.flightcasewarehouse.co.uk/music...sp?id=3140-3980[/url] will pay for itself pretty quick.... and the only thing that can go wrong is the handle, hinges or locks.. all of which can be fixed easily with a pop rivet gun..or in my case.. a coat hanger for the handle and then taped over etc etc ..

If you are touring and travelling regularly you need a stella case. I don't know what the difference is between the two models but you need to be able to throw the case around a bit plus stack heavy-ish stuff on top..as handlers might do this to a small degree, and the bass needs to travel inside well. If you don't think your current case passes that test, you'll have to buy a better one. I couldn't say whether the FCW is up to it either, though. If I wasn't confident of standing on the case with the bass inside, that would be a fail as well. How thick is the ply..? does it bend when you stand on it..?

I gig with a stereo amp and 2 cabs so if the amp went down I could use my pre-amp/DI to one side of the PA into my cabs . If a cab went, I would bleed/DI into the PA and use the single cab for monitor.

Interesting style on one of those clips.. with a single finger pluck and rake virtually doing all the work.

You are welcome to pop round and try some basses. Just so you get a perspective of set-up and playing action and what is out there etc PM me if you want.

Good work to those involved and nice ending.

Don't sell that bass, Pete, if it plugs straight in like that.

Sounds fraught with problems to me especially if you have valve heads. You will need a load on them but switching between this head or that head in one cab doesn't really work in real time. Unless you had sepearte speakers that you were running into and cutting down on power available..you could very easily get into shorting out the chassis.. I would concentrate on a front line effect/pre type box that can give you a switched sound on demand..without running two power stages in one cab. So basically your safest and best way round this is to find a pre amp box with switchable programs ...on the line of a Sansamp or somesuch..!!

Ashford has two music shops, IIRC and not sure what they have in that might be decent... Folkestone has Musicbay. Canterbury....? can't recall what Socodi is now called. If you are sure you are going to stick with bass and not swap back to gtr..then you don't need limit yourself to short scale and there will be more choice. Short scale, IMO, has two main uses..small hands and gtrs doubling. If these aren't issues, then look at regular 34" scale, IMO. You have a decent budget...Denmark St might have a few options in that they have a few shops but I don't know them well enough any more to say what value they would be. Generally, ...generally..I would avoid shops with expensive CITY rents for the more available and popular market as their overheads factors into sales, possibly. Having said that..there are a couple fo specialist bass shops that are worth any premium, IMO.

I am very near to you but don't have any short scale basses you could try. I understand the left hand fretting can be critical ..esp if you intend to double. What shops are you looking at..? local..? I am a great believer that there is a lot of variation between basses even of the same make so you really need to be trying the one you are thinking of buying. Not sure I would buy online and trust it to be identical to the one you saw in a shop, myself..but I am very picky like that.

Or...these are just teething problems with a new amp and you'll work out what works best over a period of time. New amps and nuances....?? if the core sounds are there you might just need a bit more time on it..and we never get enough time at gigs to do this..and then dynamics change etc etc .. and everything is not as familiar as we would want.. More man hours, maybe..? I can also see a cab change ...maybe but concentrate on one thing at a time. FWIW...212's and 500w is as much as you want to go, IMV.

Nope....don't use them and have no need for them.... thankfully. Just can't go with the idea, personally

Gtr players like the transition to a short scale bass so the Gibson may fit your bill..but you had better demo it as sharp funky sound would not be my way of describing its typical sounds. IMO. If you use Andy Fraser as a reference for the sound then ok, IMO..!!