Muzz

I'm having one.

Sooo, I'm casting about all over for a 50th birthday present to myself, lots of options, nothing making me put my hand straight into my pocket...and then I saw a picture of the new 4003W...good grief... My first decent bass was a Jetglo 4001 (all your fault, Geddy...) back in the Late Jurassic, and since I sold it in the mid-eighties I've never had the slightest GAS for another...until today... Anyone else seen/like the look of them?

That's fantastic - I've a long-term, low-level GAS for a Variax which I can transplant into a better/different bass, but this is such a good job, I'm rethinking...

I don't think there's been much change overall - it ebbs and flows: in the past I've bought (and sold) Stingrays, Laklands and US Precisions for less than £700, and two immaculate Dingwalls which were both under a grand. The cheaper stuff sometimes moves quicker because there's a bigger market and more impulse buying, but that's about it, although I had much more joy on EBay with mine.

Oh Blimey, Part Deux...PM'd...

As above, you can find plenty of sales threads for lots of amps on here - I'd say the winner would be the LMII or III, but that doesn't mean there's anything in common with the reasons for sale, other than, as Lozz says, easy GAS. As an example, I have a diametrically opposite experience of the Streamliner with WoT's Walkabout - I thought the Streamliner was everything the Walkabout was, but smaller, so I sold the Walkabout back to WoT. How we laughed. The only thing I can think of is maybe people don't get the Streamliner EQ: as we've discussed before, it's a bit different.

Visited them last year while the rest of the family was frolicking at a water park - lovely guys, and tons of stuff you'd struggle to find anywhere else. I only bought strings, but I still saved a fortune...I wouldn't hesitate to buy a bass from them, but then I have a friend in the States I can ship to, and get it home from there...

If I had a backup head, I'd lend you mine, but unfortunately I'm gigging too often for the thing to even cool down properly these days...which is a good thing, obviously...despite what Her Indoors thinks... On the direct comparision with an SVT thing, I haven't used a 'proper' SVT in fifteen years, so I can't give you a A-B on that, unfortunately, but if anyone wants to lend me an SVT, I'll more than happy to A-B it for you...

No, the Gain's interesting - it does drive the valves more and more progressively as you'd expect (as does the Gain switch), but it also changes the response of the following tone stack, which is, I believe, similar to the traditional Fender tone stack. It's different to a lot of smaller heads in that sense, and I think it catches a lot of people out. It's an EQ you've got to play with a bit to get the best out of. There's a pretty good Youtube vid from Ed Friedland (The Bass Whisperer) on the Streamliner, which goes into some detail. Yeah, some great amps on the list; some were before the Streamliner (the MB and TC), but the rest all came and went after being A-B'd in rehearsals and at gigs with the Streamliner. The M-Pulse was my next favourite, but that's a full size 2U amp...

Just put a set of DR Lo Riders on my Dingwall - not too sparkly, just dark enough...

I use a Streamliner 900 with my Schroeder, and it's a great match: the low-mid hump of the cab focuses the kinda bloomy bottom end of the amp. Well, to my ears it does... I also love the warmth of the Streamliner, and it drives those valves really nicely when you crank the gain a bit. It's my favourite practical amp*, and it killed a run of GAS that included Mark Bass (LM III and Tube), Ashdown (Spyder and ABM) Ampeg (SVT-7), Mesa Boogie (x2 - Walkabout and M-Pulse) and TC (RH450). Not sure I need the 900, tho, I'd like to try a 600, because I suspect that'd do me in these post-tinnitus days... * Yeah, in an ideal world including my own road crew I'd have an SVT again, but that's never gonna happen...

The other thing is, they don't all sound the same, either - it's like saying "I tried a Fender once, I don't like the sound." If you're thinking of spending Dingwall money, Bass Direct really is worth a visit.

Yep, that's the stuff - it was a quid from a B&M Bargains sort of place...

Yep, it's a pocket battleship of a cab. And yep, I put my Streamliner on top - in the past I've used that nonslip rubber matting, but I put it down somewhere and lost it, so now I hook the front feet of the amp over the front edge of the cab, and it's all good.

The Fenderbird/Laklandbird that looked a bit like that is mine (there's actually been two ), but that's a very nice one - the tuners, bridge and pickups will have cost as much as he's asking for it. I'm sorely tempted...

I love my 1515L, it's a stonking piece of kit, and matches the Streamliner very very well. In some rooms I use a very small stand like this one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New-Monitor-Guitar-Amp-Amplifier-Steel-Foldable-Speaker-Floor-Stand-/191074139302?pt=UK_ConsumerElectronics_EquipmentStands_SM&hash=item2c7ce7fca6 It angles the cab up enough to get some sound to ear level, and it folds down flat and small. An essential piece of kit with a small cab, IMHO.

Hi, There's folk on here much better informed than me about the exact details of these things, but fundamentally the performance of a speaker will be dependent on how well it matches the cabinet it's in. Without knowing the design of the 410, it's impossible to say how a particular speaker will sound in it, no matter how expensive the speaker. The only speaker which will be guaranteed to sound as well as the original speakers in that cab are the original speakers. I'd be inclined to possibly push your budget a little (I can see 4 x Eminence Beta will be £200+) and look at a whole new (or secondhand on here) cab. For £249, you can get a Genz Focus 410 brand new from GAK, which I'm guessing will be lighter and probably better than your old 410 (tho you don't say what it is).

Hi, I got my Mighty Mite necks from EBay, there's a couple of sellers who pop up now and again. If it's the P-width neck you're after, it's the MM2909. The amp setup depends on a lot of things, like how loud do you want to be, what's your budget, etc - in an ideal world to get that sound I'd choose an all-valve head like an SVT or Orange, and a big old sealed cab like an 810, and a good compressor, but that'd be a couple of grand to set up, and I'd never be able to move it! The Cube 30's got a compressor on board, you could have a play with that, bear in mind that iconic sound will have been the result of lots of work in the studio, with driven valve amps, studio compression and lots of other factors. Trying to get there's half the fun though!

I'd agree with Lozz, the DP122 is hot and barky enough to do the job. I've built several basses with the maple Mighty Mite necks (Precision and Jazz) and they're a great neck for the money. One of the big factors in JJB's early sound is lots and lots of compression, if you're serious about getting really close, then a pedal compressor is what you need, too. Passive EQ using CTS pots, or contact KiOgon on here, he'll do you a great, easy-to-fit prewired loom for very little money.

No-one, and I mean no-one, will have noticed. That's why he's telling us...

Just completed a swift and easy trade with George (Fellrunner). A thorough gent - deal with confidence, guys!

Whoa! I'd never seen a BB-VIII (1985 Yamaha brochure) - a BB with twin angled split-coils. I like that...