Muzz

“We were somewhere around Winchcombe on the edge of the Cotswolds when the drugs began to take hold. I remember saying something like “I feel a bit lightheaded, June; maybe you should drive.…” And suddenly there was a terrible humming all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the Rover, which was going about 40 miles an hour with all the windows open to Chipping Norton. And a voice was screaming: “Trevor! What was in those biscuits?””

Quite. The clue's in the name...or an anagram of it, at least: Fender Precision = Reinforced Penis

So in an effort to sit firmly on the fence of Killing Rock N Roll (see several other threads), alongside my DI/In-ears setup, I sometimes have need of backline for the Rawk band I play in. I'd been using my Walkabout into my Barefaced Super Twin to very satisfactory results, but a while back I picked up a Compact, just to get all modular for smaller gigs and a slightly (15lbs or so) lighter load. I'm sure you can guess what happened next, on an idle afternoon while everyone else was out... Soooo, it's got the best thing about a proper stack, in that it's much, much nearer my ears, but sweet guinea pig of Winnipeg, what a noiiiiiiiise...ok, I've not gigged it yet, but I nearly dismantled the back half of the house with it. I used to have an SVT/810, and I'd put this up against one for sheer thunder. The WA will be putting out a fair bit more than 300w into the 2.67 ohm load (and it was loud enough anyway), but those cabs get every db out of every watt... And the whole thing weighs 80lb or so. 😀

Ahhhh, but it's not necessarily the second thoughts: I traded an amp for a WA, played it for a while, had second thoughts and traded it back, and then bought another, and this one has stuck. If I had a fiver for every Stingray I've bought, had second thoughts about and sold, then a few months later bought another one, only to repeat the process, I'd have at least enough to buy a set of Elixirs... It's more to do with where you are at a specific time with what you need an amp (or any piece of kit) to do. I used to own an SVT and an 810. Never again, and not because I didn't like the sound it made... And on the back of that, one opinion on an amp is just that, and unless I knew that the person whose opinion it was had the same tone goals as I did, it wouldn't be any real use. I had a ToneHammer 500 and didn't like it at all, and I don't like Jazz basses (and they are two of the most widely liked pieces of kit you can buy), but I wouldn't expect a single person to listen to my opinion with anything more than a passing interest...a possibly a mutter of 'weirdo...' 🙂 You've only got to look at, for instance, the difference in the avatar pics of the inestimable Beedster above mine to see that we just might have different tone goals...so something I might be gaga for isn't gonna work for him, and vice versa. And that's a good thing, otherwise there'd only be one type of bass, one amp and one cab, and then what would we all have to parp on about? 😀

I'd agree with the general consensus, in that your amp is the weak point of your gear, and there's lots of good suggestions as to what to get, even in your budget. SRs and BBs are great basses. Then the 'next level' is down to playing and practice. I'd definitely leave the effects alone unless you have a real need for them - they will just distract you from the important stuff, which is the playing and practice.

Just on the Walkabout thing; I have one, and use it with a BF Super Twin (2x12), and I can confirm with a cab with good sensitivity, 'only' 300-400w is plenty for a rawk band with 2 Marshall 100w/412s and a shed-building drummer.... Perhaps 1x12 might not be enough, but 2x12s definitely is... 😀

I'm glad to know it's not just me being as shallow as a puddle, then 😀

OK, I'm gonna be the first to say it: if I don't like how a bass looks, I won't engage with it, and I'll sell it. Woods (with the influence of the above - for example, I don't like the look of rosewood boards) aren't important, mostly everything else is, in one way or another...

Rather than (as you say) hijacking the thread, there's reams and reams of stuff over the pond on TB about the Mesa amps. It takes a wee bit of sifting through the fanbois and hyperbole, but you'll find some general consensus on the characters of the various Mesa amps. There's so many more of them in use over there (probably because they're not as eye-wateringly expensive as they are over here) that there's a good spread of opinion.

Ahhhh, I see - I hadn't spotted that...on either count 😕🙂

Yep, you'll need a quad coil, which you won't get in a Jazz (or P) shape: the SIMS is a big soapbar, and Nordstrand do a quad coil, but it's in a MM shell...

This ^ Watch it happen next week now I've said that... 😕

Yep, a good while ago this exactly (the guitarist combo thing) - didn't sound any better (worse, in fact) for me...

Fair enough - it was the OP comment that he liked the BB sound, which to my mind was nearer M-Pulse than WA... It's a shame the Handbox stuff isn't more trialable*, I'd like to give one a go, although the head/cab thing is kinda secondary to my main gigging requirements these days. Always nice to have as a fallback, tho... 🙂 They'd seem to be perfect for the more boutique places like Bass Direct, the Gallery or the GBBL... * Not a word, I know, but YKWIM... 😕🙂

Punted... 😀

I thought the R-400 was more WA than BB/M-Pulse? They're a fairly different animal...

In the OP's position, I'd be looking very hard at that M-Pulse, too: I had the 360 for a while and that was plenty loud: YMMV vis-a-vis cabs, etc, but the 600 should be huuuge... For a real cheapo, there's a Spyder combo on the go verrrry cheap, which with a bit of easy work could be a 2u-racked head...

Just a quick heads-up - PMT are doing brand new HD500xs for £269 at the moment, but they're going fast...they'll also take a deposit to hold one till after Xmas if that's what people need...

Wise words from Mr Ian Faith...

Yep - I had several other basses at the time, and the weight was not a factor in any meaningful way. In fact every time I've let a heavier bass go, I've never compromised tone or sustain to do it. In the case of the boat anchor 70s Jazz, quite the reverse. As somebody stated above, there are good and bad basses which are heavier and lighter; I have simply chosen the lighter ones which are at least as good as the heavier ones, if not better.

Ahhhh, but how did you know they were 50w and 800w? 😁

For a given value of 'good', certainly... 😀

I take it everyone who's using big heavy old rigs for the whumf and heft is using hearing protection? You know, the attenuators that drop 20db or so off the volume? Or is going deaf worth the whumf? 😉

I have an East pre in all four of my gigging basses...no coincidence, that 😀