Sparky Mark

Thanks, I'll be doing the same. I've just gone back to the beginning of this thread; was this the bass you ordered in March 2019? That's 33 months not the 16 referenced on JD website.

Beautiful; what gauge strings did you specify?

That looks very much like the material used on Fender American Standards, which is/was pretty good.

About three years ago I ordered and paid in full a Rickenbacker 4003 from Bax as I had a discount offer to use. I realised that there would be a significant lead time but when the original estimated delivery date was repeatedly extended month by month I requested a refund, which was received in full within a day.

But do any of the above have a good tortoiseshell laminate? Other than the hugely expensive Spitfire they're mostly awful pepperoni looking pale immitations of the original 60s stuff.

Recently purchased two sets of Fender shortscale rounds. Much cheaper and delivered within a few days. Excellent comms all the way.

My 1153 came from TE with a Celestion BL15 300 with no lettering on the dust cap either.

No, I think the Big Bang was named ironically as it's effectively a LM3 (same preamp/EQ and power amp) in a smaller package.

I have a TE 115 combo and 1153 extension cab. The 1153 has the same basic tone as the combo but with more extended lows (as you'd expect). The combo is great on its own with a surprisingly punchy tone. It's when you connect the 1153 you realise how much lower it's tuned.

I'll check with Andrew in the new year but the 16 months is more a reflection of the waiting time not the build time. If a Roadie has a slightly shorter build time then I might get lucky. Oh, I have corrected my earlier post; it's an Active not a 2.

Nothing too exotic; Series 3 profile Roadie Active with gold hardware and faux laminate finish like this. More than likely cherry.

My order is now 6 months in, so a few months to go before I can post updates.

The not so good thing about my TE Series 6 is the set positions on both input and output level controls. If I set the input at a high level then a single click on the output jumps the volume enormously. Using a lower input setting (I never worry about the leds as long as it sounds okay) gives the output level knob much finer control of volume.

I much prefer being close to the musicians for any gig and the less than perfect mix wasn't enough to persuade me to move back to the sound desk.

This was the first Level 42 gig that I saw, 23rd October 2021 was the second. Sound quality isn't perfect but the heft and clarity of the JD and TE are there.

I'm happy to accept that I probably had no idea how best to use my TE SMX rig (AH350SMX, 410 and 115 cabs). I saw a band in a pub in the 90s where the bassist was using a Warwick NT Thumb through a Hartke AH3500, 410, 115 rig and the punch, lows and clarity amazed me. Within a month the TE was gone and I had (still have) a Thumb and the same Hartke rig that I loved using for next 15 years. If you come across any free of charge Series 6 AH200 heads please let me know, I love 'em.

Agreed, but we were standing right at the front of stage and not hearing the PA columns located at far left and right. I'm sure the band had an excellent mix in their IEMs so for them amps are almost irrelevant. Before IEMs became commonplace musicians used their backline for their stage sound much more and the audience at the front heard more of that. With everything DI into the PA and IEM the majority of the audience wouldn't care if the on stage amps were totally silent.

Liking both Markbass and Trace Elliot amps is not mutually exclusive. I have gigged for 13 years using Markbass amps and cabs and have recently used my Trace Elliot Series 6 AH200 which sounds fantastic through my Bergantino cabs. I had a disappointing experience with the SMX Series back in the 90s but the Series 6 is way better for me. Of course, I know a lot more now about EQ and hopefully my playing technique has improved. In my opinion only, Mark King sounded better at the Brixton Ace in 1983 with his JD and TE rig than he did at Cambridge through the Markbass.

I've just ordered black Dunlop buttons from Allparts for half the price of anywhere else. Hopefully they'll be compatible wth my black Dunlop strap part.

I was at the front pretty much in line with Mark's two STD104HR cabs and whilst the bass was clear the vox and guitar were too quiet. Using IEM is great for the band but as we were between the PA at the front the mix wasn't as good as it could've been. Mark even said that his IEM meant he couldn't hear the audience.

Unfortunately, the leather on one of my straps is too thick for this method. I've come to prefer Grolsch rubber washers nowadays.

I saw him in Cambridge and was really pleased he was playing his original Series 1 Jaydee. It sounded perfect; just as it did back in the 80's. I'm not a fan of the more hifi Status sounds for Level 42.