Conan

I'm not sure all these analogies work very well TBH. There is a lot of overlap in how basses and guitars get used. Guitarists like Nile Rodgers play in a very rhythmic style - more like the "role" of a bass, and some bass players play chordal, harmonic bass parts (like some of Tom Jenkinson's stuff on six string bass) that are more typical of guitar players. That's cool. They are two different instruments but from the same family. Maybe not brothers, but certainly cousins. To use an analogy...

[quote name='bass445' post='865742' date='Jun 13 2010, 10:03 AM']thanks for the info guys, but that isnt what i asked, i asked what wattage of speakers i need for a 450 watt amp head[/quote] The two factors are linked. At that budget you are going to be more constrained by what you can [i]find[/i] than how many "watts" it is supposed to be able to handle! I would have thought that finding a single cab that can handle 450w (and is 4 ohms impedance) for sixty quid is just about impossible - but you might just strike lucky! Some old Trace Elliot cabs often come in at that price bracket, but they tend to have power ratings in the 200-300 watt neck-of-the-woods. On the other hand, they are probably rated far more conservatively than your Behringer head - so you would probably be OK, especially if it is an 8 ohm cab. As I mentioned earlier - your greatest constraint is your budget, but don't give up!

The Geddy Jazz is the only "signature" instrument I would go anywhere near! Even then, I suspect it would be most at home in the hands of a bass player in a Rush tribute band.... Make your own choice and make it yours! Having said that, the main reason i got my Status is because Mark King popularised them in the eighties... but I would never have bought an MK signature model. And the new MK model? A stunningly beautiful bass, but his name in LEDs at the 12th fret? That just smacks a bit too much of a Wayne's World "we're not worthy" moment!!

As they said above! Sixty quid really is not much at all for buying any kind of half-decent cab. If you could bump your budget up to nearer £100 you would open up a whole load of options.... beg, borrow or steal that extra forty quid my friend!

That Curbow is lovely! How long did they have twin pups? Don't they all have one now?

[quote name='dan670844' post='864768' date='Jun 11 2010, 10:36 PM']Mark IV's and V's have less top and less middy than Series 6, SMX you will have to rethink your EQ a little. Series 6 and later have a much more middy basic sound. So you may want to be less harsh with cutting those mids. Maybe even knock them up a little (sad man eq) I have a Mark V, I tend to leave the EQ alone, sometimes just boost the low mids and add a little bit in the 1Khz - 3Khz region. I play a passive Jazz, But note the Eq is really sensitive on these. Mark IV and V are really special amps, they are the original almost handmade Traces, before Clive Button got involved, Series 6 and SMX are more mass produced products, still good though. But these earlier ones are 'lifer' amps as they use really high quality components and ALL the components can be replaced There are no silly impossible to find proprietry electronics in them.[/quote] Interesting! I bought my old AH250 brand new in 1986 - which mark would that be? Just out of interest, as I no longer have it! It was exactly like the one in the pix above, except that the front lower panel only had the illuminated "AH250" logo, not the "Trace Elliot" one...

[quote name='Cairobill' post='863990' date='Jun 11 2010, 08:32 AM']Here is a sabre being played by a very talented musician, Tom Jenkinson.[/quote] Talented indeed! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7qjuv2iFnY&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7qjuv2iFnY...feature=related[/url]

[quote name='Cairobill' post='863990' date='Jun 11 2010, 08:32 AM'][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLcxve603-4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLcxve603-4[/url] It gets going about 3 minutes in... N[/quote] That's interesting stuff! Never heard of him before. Love the tone of the bass. Tony Wall from eighties hair and spraypaint band King used to play one of these... always liked his tone too.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='863345' date='Jun 10 2010, 03:07 PM']Fecking loud though aren't they? [/quote] Frighteningly loud! Especially if you cross the threshold of Doom that seems to lie somewhere between the volume settings of 5 and 6!!!

[quote name='51m0n' post='863241' date='Jun 10 2010, 01:44 PM']Set mid on max, treble on about 1, bass on about 1. Really![/quote] Yeah, I did that. Fiddled about a bit either side of the "flat" position. I just find that it doesn't have as much mid as my Ampeg did... You're spot on with the tonestack though - its going to take some getting used to! BTW, in reference to the other bloopers - nice to hear that I'm not the only goon on here!

Mmmm! Might pop along just to see all that lovely gear you've got! I used to live just off Chilly Road - where is Hyem bar? Did it used to be called something else? Was it that "private members" bar on the corner of, er, I think, Simonside terrace?

Got to try my new (well, to me anyway) Hartke LH500 out on tuesday evening at a full band rehearsal. Full band minus singer anyway as he's on holiday... Decided to take my full backline as I wanted to hear what it would sound like in anger. I was getting really worried when I could get no sound out of my amp. Ten minutes of fiddling about ensued. Changed guitars. Changed leads. Plugged into the hired backline - no problem, so it was obviously my gear. Keyboard player is some kind of electronics engineer so he comes over to investigate. I explained that the amp had been working fine in the house only an hour earlier. I start worrying about the pre-amp valve. How flimsy are they? Do they stand up to a bit a bashing about? (Not that I DID bash it about...). I've never owned an amp with valves in it before. Known history of the amp and cabs is discussed at length... Finally we turn the amp round and look at the back. All is revealed as my credibility plummets.... I had plugged the leads into the effects-loop sockets rather than the speaker outs... Well, it was pretty dark in there! Sorted it out and the amp worked fine! Slightly lacking in honky midrange, but a lovely smooth and loud tone! Next week I'll nick one of the kids' torches!

I also think that you have rather a niche market! Bass players in the north east aged between 18 and 25? There can't be that many who are members on this forum....

[quote name='Huwberry' post='856391' date='Jun 3 2010, 06:32 PM']By the way, if you're going to break a string, here's the way to do it: [/quote] Johnson plays his solo so hard that its almost as though he is trying to [i]deliberately[/i] break strings! All part of the act?

[quote name='4 Strings' post='861792' date='Jun 9 2010, 09:10 AM']Am I a purest or something or do people generally not use tone controls on amps?[/quote] Depends on what you do I suppose. If you play in a covers band that have a wide repertoire, it may be necessary to make changes to your sound to match that on the original recordings - especially if you only use one bass. BTW, before anyone jumps in with the old "tone is all in the fingers" caveat - there is a lot of truth in that! But it can't (IME) cover every eventuality. Sometimes the tone controls can be used as a type of effect. After all, what is a wah-wah pedal but a foot-operated tone control?

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='861816' date='Jun 9 2010, 09:38 AM']I tend to run amps flat, or thereabouts. But then again... what IS flat? Is the amp really flat?[/quote] Certainly not if its a LH500! Anyway, even if the amp IS flat, there will be some tone-shaping taking place from the guitar and the leads!

Musicman20! Calling Musicman20!!! You there Gareth?? [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=88594"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=88594[/url] What type of material are you guys doing/looking to do?

Just used Interparcel. No problem at all. Through DHL they shipped a big, heavy Ampeg amp from Newcastle to the Republic of Ireland in less than two days! Total cost just over forty quid, and that included enhanced insurance cover.

Just picked one of these amps up at the weekend. Initial fiddlings at low-ish volume totally back up most of what has been said so far - sounds great out of the box but the tone-stack set-up will take a bit of getting used to! The settings I had at the end of my twiddling session were something like 2, 10, 3 - which I believe is pretty much "flat" in terms of added EQ. Tone was rich, full and warm - very "musical" IYKWIM! Tomorrow is full band rehearsal, so rather than use the hired backline I will take the whole stack along and see how it goes. Can't wait!

Although I never got the opportunity to meet Drew in person due to the distances involved, I was very impressed with with his honesty and integrity. A lovely guy and a pleasure to do business with! Enjoy the Ampeg Drew - I hope it proves to be all you wished for! Geoff

Try interparcel. Quotes vary massively from one courier to another... I'm shipping a heavy (25kg) amp to the republic or Ireland today for half of that, and that's with enhanced insurance cover! Of course, it gets more expensive the larger and heavier your package is (oo-er!).