Sparky Mark

Pink!!!

On 16/10/2025 at 23:55, Sparky Mark said:

My Bugera SVT CL clone is still going strong (at home) and keeps me convinced tube power has a certain something special. Unfortunately, unless I play a gig in my own back garden, I doubt it'll be used in anger (in my lifetime!).

My Bugera SVT CL clone is still going strong (at home) and keeps me convinced tube power has a certain something special. Unfortunately, unless I play a gig in my own back garden, I doubt it'll be used in anger (in my lifetime!).

Someone should grab this bargain fast as production has moved to Poland and they now cost 310.80€. The rigidity and protection these cases offer are head and shoulders above other plastic shell cases. 

9 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

And 500W RMS is lots more power more than 300W RMS, volume wise it's my very efficient cab that's making most of the difference.

It could also be worth considering the Total Harmonic Distortion level at both those stated RMS outputs. If the Trace output was increased so its THD matched the other amp, it may be closer to the 500 watts. (I wonder if an amplifier expert could comment please?).

45 minutes ago, Wombat said:

There is a post in another thread about a courier that will take valve amps without any packaging at all. Possibly cost prohibitive for this but you never know!

Cant remember where I saw it unfortunately!

Yes, it's Lenspeed; I've had experience of them. They are great for moving expensive kit and instruments, but not economical at this price point unfortunately.

2 minutes ago, snorkie635 said:

Afraid it swam off as a trade against an Overwater, many moons ago.

That's the only Warwick I'd be tempted by in addition to my Thumb.

3 minutes ago, snorkie635 said:

The only surviving image of me, when I played through a TE Quatravalve into a 1x18" and a 4x10" and a 4x5" brightbox. So young back then, I didn't even notice the weight. 😢

Do you still have the Dolphin?

11 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Would it be a sin to remove the gp11 preamp from my 1110 combo and marry it to a 500W class d power amp?

Absolutely not, but what are you wanting to achieve; a lighter weight?

5 hours ago, snorkie635 said:

A deaf person running for a bus would be hard-pushed to tell the difference.

7 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Negligible differences to me.

To be honest, they usually are. 

1 hour ago, Mrbigstuff said:

An interesting comparison vid for Fender reissues vs vintage: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1BpWRmNVe7/?mibextid=wwXIfr

 

I’m interested to know which of them BCers think sounds best to them. For me it’s the vintage bitsa. Same top end but thicker/ creamier lows

64 TSB for me.

Do you have the screws that should be in the machineheads as per the below photo?

This was my TE combo on cab tower.

This old TE head sounds amazing through my Bergantino ceramic magnet driver cabs.

12 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

Yes, I sold it last week. I’m pretty sure they could easily replicate what made it special. Neck profile, lovely maple neck, pencil thin frets. They couldn’t replicate 40 years of playing I guess…

 

 

The Musicman Retro '70s StingRay Bass is exactly that. I bought my pre EB Ray new in 1981 and the original 2 band preamp is much less refined than more modern versions. I understand the retro model has that more "in your face" delivery, as evidenced by many YouTube videos.

Yeah, but they don't make tort like that anymore. 

4 hours ago, roger said:

i don't understand the thought process behind the bridges on newer & special models with the bridge, what's happened to the bolts that screwed into threaded inserts into the body? it must be better for sustain surely, that to me is a step backwards! (cost cutting)??

I think the main reason is to reduce the weight of the bridge and the overall weight of the latest Special Stingrays. The machine heads are also a reduced size lightweight design. As long as the bridge plate is well secured to the body there shouldn't be any noticeable difference in sustain. The classic pre EB bridge looks great but probably weighs twice what is necessary. 

Are you 100% sure this has 3 band EQ preamp please? (I can only see Volume, Pickup blend and Bass/Treble stack pots). Cheers.

I guess there's always a possibility that a deposit is taken to remove an item from sale, the potential purchaser delays for whatever reason, then asks for the deposit back. The retailer has then lost days or maybe weeks when they could've made a sale.

8 hours ago, danbanbass said:

It caught me off-guard when I was there trying it and a guy messaged online offering the asking seconds before trying to negotiate.

 

In hindsight I agree but at the time with my ADHD being the way it is I couldn’t think.  

If that situation occurred in a car saleroom, you'd seriously suspect it was a pressure selling tactic.

On 23/08/2025 at 10:34, danbanbass said:

I really liked the neck on a 66 P bass in refin sonic blue at Andy Baxter’s, unfortunately he wouldn’t budge on price at all as he had another person online interested whilst I was there in person trying it. I wasn’t after masses off but everyone likes a deal don’t they?

 

 

Maybe thats just me.

 

Sad to say I didn’t buy it as I was about £100 off what he was asking and that was as much as I could offer. Lovely old thing though.

If I really really like a bass, especially if it's a relatively expensive (£2k+) vintage one that I'm unlikely to find again, I definitely wouldn't lose it for the sake of £100. Sometimes however, I think we might subconsciously put obstacles in the way when we're not 100% sure we really want an instrument. 

Thank you for the bump.

I couldn't find a for sale thread for your HD112 cabs; how much are they please? Do they have covers? Cheers 

Which of the three are you selling please? Do you have photos of that particular cab? Is the cover a Bergantino one? Cheers.