SimonK

..and while I agree promoting such admirable thoughts is the purpose of this forum, sadly new gear is seldom the actual answer!

Those capacitors were the first thing we changed on the GP12 (picture from a few pages back) but it didn't stop the hum...

Travis Dykes (Nashville Session musician) certainly seems to like the Harley Bentons (the second one featured on the video below is the five string):

EHX tri-parallel mixer: https://www.ehx.com/products/tri-parallel-mixer/ I use one to mix three preamps on my 80s throw-back guitar rig, and it's great as it has both phase and level controls. It's also pretty cheap.

In that case either the main input or more likely effects send is a switching jack. So plugging a patch cable into one or the other should make it work. EDIT - it looks like the effects loop can be turned on or off by the footswitch, so make sure it is on as well!

I've got a TH350 which I bought following reading a lot of good things about the amp. I've also got a Genz Benz, Ashdown and a lot of old Trace heads. Truthfully the cabs make a bigger sound difference compared to switching between any of the heads, albeit the convenience of how tiny and light the TH350 is means I always have it with me. The gain control is quite nice to dial in a bit of dirt which is something some of my other amps do not have.

If you plug the external preamp into the effects return it should work like this - see the poweramp in as an additional feature that most other amps don't have!

I'm impressed this thread has got to a fourth page! I think sound wise it is very possible to sound or play equally good/well or bad on cheap or expensive kit. But the reason why we are on forums like this is because there is also something existential about owning certain bits of kit, and merely the fact of owning it brings a smile. For me some of this is buying kit that I couldn't afford earlier in my career, and hence the justification for spending more.

I suppose the other way of looking at this question is how much you need to spend to get something that will do the job that you need it to, and then anything greater than this is expensive. So for me a MM Stingray ~£2 to £3k (half that if second hand) is the instrument I feel most comfortable playing, and hence anything more is "expensive" (as per my comment above). I will choose to ignore the fact that a £550 Mexican Fender Jazz into a £25 DI box would get me through most gigs!

I interpreted the question as what would be too expensive for me to buy. I think I would struggle to justify anything north of £3k because I would simply be too afraid to take it out of the house, and also the law of diminishing returns probably means paying large amounts for incremental differences once you get above this point.

She's Indian.

Talk about getting everywhere - this was from BBC sports personality of the year last night!

OP buys a bass, ..then one of these... ...sends the crap half back... Problem solved 🙂 !

Tuner (in bypass mode), Preamp and compressor always on (NB mute and a HPF on the preamp). Extra EQ pedal for fretless to give a mid boost if needed (but not always). Fuzz one out of every ten songs again if needed (not always). Chorus/Envelope Filter/Octave pedals go on my board every now and again but then come off after a few months of never getting used (this cycle has been going on for a few years as I keep aspiring to use them, but never do!). They sound great on their own but I don't think add anything in a band situation.

...I smell a book matching conspiracy - I wonder if he has a family member who works for Gibson?!