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I made arrangements last year to have an amp built , could be delivered next week. But I plan to thin things this year , and don’t really need anything else. I’m in.

Finding a qualified repairman for Class D amps isn’t always easy. They certainly can be fixed.

ouch

big orange Gretsch , Dano Longhorn , Monique , Forte for power , Berg112 , big fat and warm. edit … tried to add photos , but the file size was too large and the direct links didn’t work

The little GK MB200 has been around for ages , great little amp. It has a fan but it’s nowhere near as loud as the Elf. Two others I’ve also run in that range , Aguilar TH 350 , or Darkglass m200. Both nice little heads that can get surprisingly loud for their size.

It’s funny , I had been using the original Forte , with the compressor rather than the drive . Clean , transparent hifi , I loved the sound. And then picked up a tube preamp and just used the back end of the Forte to power the pre. Complete direction flip. Love the sound. Before the Forte I had been running a GenzBenz Streamliner , which has a 3 tube preamp and a fairly warm , dark coloured sound. Before the Liner various GK heads.

The only audition I’ve ever done was for the first working band I joined. They were touring around the local circuit , power trio with some blues background but leaning into Jeff Beck territory. Lesbian couple. Mostly original material. I was the only one that showed up for the audition , we jammed for about an hour and a half , I got the spot. I had been doing photographic work , traded a Nikon F2 for a 72 Pbass. Still have that old Pbass. Got a Marshall head on time. It was the mid 70’s. I’ve been playing and gigging ever since.

As one that’s most often been in several bands at the same time since the mid 70’s , I know everyone brings something unique to the table , but nobody is irreplaceable. Sometimes it might take two people … if lead vocals are in the equation. Or maybe three if it was Geddy , but we can all be replaced.

I spent some years looking for one (this was before the internet) they simply were rare as heck in NS. Finally found one in a visit to Toronto. It was one of the later 4001 basses with the one inch spacing. The neck is gorgeous , it has that classic thing going on. I fell for it. It has the old style truss rods , they’re incredibly stable. In about 28 years I’ve adjusted them twice. The bridge was a misery , only had to set that once. Now these days I mostly play short scales , but when I pick up the Ric it instantly feels like home. Beautiful thing.

I first think of that warm classic thump McCartney always managed as a Ric tone reference. Never cared much for that prog rock roink. Loved Lemmy , but not my tone.

They’re built differently than other basses. Very unique. People tend to either love them or hate them. I love a nice Ric , heck , I get a little weak in the knees when I see one.

exactly and I know exactly where everything is when I next set it up.

I think it’s mostly guitar players that have been using projector amps and cabs. Some make gorgeous guitar amps , but not sure how they’d handle bass. Welcome.

Welcome , as another seventy something with a pile of stuff that’s accumulated over the years I’d like to trim things down to maybe a dozen this year. And sell several amps.

Welcome !

It’s funny , one day a fan can just drive me nuts , another time don’t even notice it. At gig volume it’s never an issue. Ambient room noise is much louder than the fan is.

I’ve been using a preamp for a while now too , and using my Forte as the back end. I like the simple layout of the Sumo , just having a volume knob appeals to me. I’ve ordered a new power amp that’s based on the Demeter Minnie , but with just 500 watts. Looking forward to the one knob simplicity.

View from the balcony

Last Sunday jam of 24 , lots of good players up. Parking was the usual pain but found a spot around the corner. Played a bit later than usual , all good. The new dive is working out well. The original bar was a bit outside the downtown core , more walk in traffic at the new spot. All in all a great way to finish the year. I’ll be home NYE. Rheo using my bass here , he loves that big orange Gretsch. I’ll have a new power amp under Monique in several weeks. Looking forward to the slight rig change.

There’s so many unanswered questions , I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with that , Dave.

Last year we lost a keyboard player that was quite the institution in our local blues scene , Barry Cook. He played with just about everyone around town and had his own little band , the Blue Devils. I was one of the regular bass players in the band. The Devils decided to keep the band going and we played last night in the old blues dive. Parking was a misery in the downtown core last night but I eventually found a spot. There was a hockey game going on around the corner. Great crowd , band sounded great. We were given song lists to listen to , but (as usual) no rehearsal , great playing. Enjoyed the night , back tonight for the Sunday jam night , looking forward to it , we’ve been having some wonderful guests recently, should be a good night. Nice finish to 2024.

Really? I honestly see no need for anything after this. I do hope to pare things down.

I’ve ordered an amp to be built in the NewYear , so I’m already out , I do plan to sell four or five amps and thin things down to exactly what is necessary. Should sell some basses too. Probably wait until tax refund time to sell the stuff …

Very nice ! Thankyou.

Welcome!