thodrik

That is handy. I got a great deal on a Trace Eliot Base Kab once.

I’m in Orkney, nearest music shops are Inverness or Aberdeen i.e the locality where the OP is. If I am looking for a bass, I browse BC, the Gallery, Bass Bros or Bass Direct, all of whom deliver here unless I’m ordering something silly like an Ampeg 8x10. Some local folk here have seriously good kit, but it rarely gets sold, though if it does a bargain can be had because folk don’t want to post. We have our own local FB for sales which works okay though selection is limited. It is what it is. Outside of that local group I don’t look at FB marketplace owing to potential scams.

I had the Scout 15 combo for about 16 years. I found that the passive radiator could really penetrate through the floor when I was living in a flat. I didn't have the money available for a speaker isolation pod (or frankly know what a speaker isolation pod was when I got the amp). I would practice with the amp sat on a sturdy coffee table or another cab or I would turn the cabinet on its side so the passive radiator wasn't directly facing the ground in the hopes that this would reduce the sub output. In the end I accepted it really wasn't a 'tenement flat' suitable practice rig if I wasn't living on ground floor. It is very much a 'never sell' piece of gear for me. I just consider it to be a classic amp design.

Bogren Digital are doing an Autumn sale of plugins. They don't have a lot other than 'Ampknob' amp sims which are controlled by a single gain control with predetermined EQ, impulse responses etc. I was very sceptical but downloaded a free trial of the 'Rev C' Mesa Dual Rectifier and Bassknob STD Ampeg SVT. Plugins are £35 each. Not expensive, but not cheap either. You can get some bundles of 3 for £70 or so. The sound? Really impressive to be honest, especially the guitar one. The bass one is very good, but is it 'better' than a Brainworx, Softube equivalent? Not in my opinion, but the Bogren is very easily to set up with a 'that'll do' tone for quickly putting an idea down without having to mess with 10 different settings. For that reason I bought it.

I have an UAD Apollo interface on a Mac. Thankfully it is really good because if I wanted to switch it for something else getting rid of all of the DSP plugins and UAD software would be an utter pain.

Sounds annoying. A great majority of Plugin manufacturers require a plugin management tool (UA Connect, Softube Central, Slate Digital/SSL etc) and or an iLok account AND some kind of online account and password with the manufacturer’s website. It is bloody ridiculous.

The other ones are decent to great, so this is a great deal. They just did a free LA2A compressor the other week as well. I think UAD are getting ready to launch Luna 2.0 (their self created updated DAW) soon so probably trying to get as much engagement as possible.

I was in a band that literally played to a barman, one man and the man's dog. We did sell album to the man. We didn't ask if the album was for the dog.

Well done!

Trace Elliot probably stuck the caps on after realising that Geoff Capes was the only human capable of lifting a Trace Elliot 4x10 combo on top of another cabinet.

This is also the case with my Powerhouse 6x10.

I love these finishes!

I still have my manual from the Walkabout from 2008 and it is a really quality document. I have a couple of high end amps where the manual is simply a schematics design, some very obvious warnings (this amp is loud, keep away from fire) and all the different things that will invalidate the warranty. The extra effort is really appreciated.

Great manual as well. Mesa generally do very good manuals which deliver technical information in a really player-friendly manner. I normally expect to see selectable mid frequencies on modern amps, so it is nearly refreshing to see an amp with simple pre-set bass, middle and treble controls like an old school valve amp. Yepp, definitely on my list.

My go-to is the Softube Bass Amp Room suite. It is limited to an SVT clone, a retro solid state thing (which isn't great) and some kind of overdrive amp (which again isn't great). Only the SVT is actually useable but it is seriously good because it is easy to use and understand. The downside is that there is no dedicated bass amp overdrive which I think would be solved with a plugin version of the Agro pedal which I owned for about a decade. I tried some Brainworx/Plugin Alliance, Bias FX and Amplitube sims but never really go on with them. I like the idea of the Helix but I think it would just present me with too many options. I really like Aguilar kit, so this is tempting.