Conan

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1427193270' post='2726875'] And the Fender Twin is particularly liked for its clean tone... [/quote] I though it was due to it's small size and light weight?

[quote name='lou24d53' timestamp='1427192142' post='2726859'] ...taking umbrage to my posts. [/quote]

[quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1427191160' post='2726833'] I very much liked the TH500 I tried but similar to electric guitar through a Fender Twin, the cleanest sound it does isn't truly clean. It's probably clean enough for 95%+ of bass players wanting a clean sound though - or at least it will be through most cabs. Use a higher resolution cab and it won't sound so clean. [/quote] Totally agree. But some people seem to think that I can't possibly hold that view without being wrong! My current combination of basses, amp and cab does not give me what I am seeking. First World problems, I know - and I could put up with it I suppose... but why should I when there is such a wonderful resource as Basschat that allows me to change amps without even leaving work or home?! I like my basses and love my cab, so the obvious answer is to change the amp. This doesn't make it a bad amp [i]per se[/i], just not suitable for me at this point in time. Just like the Hartke and the TC RH750 - both great amps, but not what I am looking for right now. Of course, if I plan to sell or trade my TH500, I will make sure that it is not faulty.

[quote name='Toasted' timestamp='1427190651' post='2726818'] ... especially reading what WPD has to say about it himself. [/quote] Where does he elaborate on the matter?

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1427186330' post='2726745'] I didn't know Wayne, or really have anything to do with him. He seems to be very popular with people I do know so I'll have to give him the benefit of the doubt... but to be honest from what I saw of his posting on BC most of it seemed flippant, rude and aggressive... with a slight air of self importance. I suspect there is more to the banning than meets the eye... [/quote] That is my impression too. He pissed me off a few times with badly timed posts that were in bad taste, usually in threads of a "sensitive" nature... But hey - not everyone takes life seriously!

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1427146465' post='2726519'] I'm gonna stand pretty firm on the belief that a TH500 does not "distort" at low levels of gain and with drive set to zero. Without testing your head into a clean cab that doesn't have potential mis-matching issues then you simply won't know whether what you're hearing is a problem with the amp, the cab or just that you feel a low level of 'warmth' is actually distortion [/quote] Oh, ok then. Maybe we'll just have to differ on that one. You know, maybe I should get myself a job in a music shop so that I can be surrounded by loads of bass gear and have lots of time to play it? It would be easy then... But for those of us who work full -time and have family commitments, believe it or not this is not my number one priority at the moment! I will be conducting further tests this week, but they will take place when it is convenient for me and for other concerned parties. If that is not fast enough for some people, well.... "Warmth" vs "distortion"? It's a semantic argument and I don't think anyone is going to win that! To me, anything that adds to (or takes from) a clean sound is a form of distortion. But I am a pedant and a Scientist, so my views may not agree with everyone/anyone else's. Frankly, I'm getting bored with the whole thing now. I am disappointed with the amp, whether it is faulty or not. The cause of the disappointment will vary depending on whether it [i][b]is[/b][/i] faulty or not, but the disappointment remains the same. Lesson to be learned from all this. Sometimes the tone that is "in your head" will always remain there.

[quote name='Matt P' timestamp='1366394270' post='2052091']I'd love to hear what the Aggie head sounds like through this rig, it's been on my GAS list for a while now. [/quote]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1427121846' post='2725978'] From the front it would just like a standard Jazz with a rosewood board, blocks and binding and a matching headstock. [/quote] BRX in "my ultimate Fender" shock!!!

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1427124483' post='2726044'] Best get out there and try a few then... or you'll be hostage to someone else's 'preconception' [/quote] Touche!

[quote name='Number6' timestamp='1427120482' post='2725943'] I'm quite partial to Camembert. Does anyone know if it played a part in the cheese wars? [/quote] Reminds me of the music festival they were going to hold at the Alamo.... It was to be called "Rock a Fort" It would have been grate.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1427122356' post='2725995'] use your ears on the cab instead. If it does what you want/need its great, if it doesn't, move along.... [/quote] THIS!

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1427120352' post='2725939'] I don't agree as the test was designed to confuse. Unless TKS release it as a production cab, the test means not a lot, IMO. and if they did release it, I think they'd have a LOT of work to do around x=over points..?? [/quote] I think you've missed the point somewhat. The test was designed to challenge preconceptions about tone and it's relationship with speaker diameter. As such, I think it was a huge success.

[quote name='MOSCOWBASS' timestamp='1427121619' post='2725972'] At the same perceived output volume it felt so much nicer with the extra headroom. [/quote] Ah I see. Cool. I'll bear that in mind

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1427119905' post='2725933'] I think you need to get out and try stuff and form your own opinions rather than read what other ppl say about certain things...for perspective..?? Your definition of 'distorted' which may mean 'warm' is puzzling. Warm, drivey, grindey ( over driven ) distortion, fuzz is my take in that order..?? YMMV, of course. [/quote] *sigh* Yes, I know that. But I work full-time (usually more than "full-time" in fact) and have a family - so, much as I would like to, I just can't put the time in to try stuff out. So I ask for advice from people on here (and other resources) and try to sift through it all. Sometimes it is excellent and others less so. I accept that as a trade-off or compromise situation. I am starting to realise that my preference for a pure, clean sound is maybe less common than I assumed. I am used to very low levels of distortion, and anything that adds even a small amount sounds (to my ears) to be unacceptably "different". It is very difficult to describe sound in words.

[quote name='MOSCOWBASS' timestamp='1427118595' post='2725921']Still think you should put 500 watts at 8 ohms into your Big One, given my experience with BBt and BB2. [/quote] It's plenty loud enough as it is! My band is not particularly noisy, and my sound is not particularly bass-heavy. As a result, I'm not sure I need the extra power...

[quote name='MOSCOWBASS' timestamp='1427103531' post='2725679'] Reading all your comments here, have you tried and discounted the MB800? [/quote] I haven't. A few weeks ago, GK amps were definitely on my short list - but then (following a chat with a local BC member) a TC RH750 became available at an excellent price. It wasn't for me (too complicated!) but I traded it for my current TH500. Part of the problem is that I don't have a lot of disposable cash to spend on an amp. The GK500 was within my budget, but I was advised that the Aggie was "better"... This thread details some of my problems and decisions - http://basschat.co.uk/topic/255371-new-amp-dilemma/ I have never owned or even used a GK amp, so I am happy to try one, should one become available. Sadly I have neither the time nor the inclination to sit in a typical music shop and try lots of amps. Also, unless I could use them with my current cab, the experience would be rather pointless anyway! Hopefully this week I will be trying a Markbass F1. I've never tried any MB gear either, so that should be interesting! I'm starting to wish that I'd simply held on to my Hartke LH500!

Well, I got them all wrong - but I'm neither surprised nor upset! An interesting test, and this thread should be made a sticky due to the huge number of times that people say they [b][i]know[/i][/b] what a certain speaker size sounds like.... they can then be referred to this thread!

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1426976066' post='2724431'] My TH500 is clean until gain or drive hit 2 o'clock. It's never clinical sparkly clean... [/quote] I think that's the problem. Some of us who come to the TH500 from very clean amps seem to find it "distorted". Of course, there are many other variables (the main one being our ears!), but there are enough people saying this to make it pretty clear that my amp is probably not faulty but characteristic of the "TH500 sound". For some it works, for me (and clearly Jazzyvee too) it may not. Such is life. What I am calling "distortion", some of you would no doubt describe as "warmth" or something else... it's all down to the words.

Erm.... it's a long story - but basically, no he isn't

I always assumed that the shallow neck was the main reason why most people bought Geddies/Geddy's? Surely adding a thicker (more P-like presumably) neck will affect the tone, but also the playability inherent in this model? It also lacks the Baddass II, which makes it a further departure from Geddy's original bass... Fender's choices baffle me sometimes...

[quote name='zero9' timestamp='1426773760' post='2721791'] I'd opt for EMG's. A good allrounder, and excellent for studio use, where low noise is key. These probably have less 'character' than others... [/quote] Not sure about that... they certainly have a character IMO, but not like other (less subtle) pickups. I love EMGs and have a set in my Geddy Lee J

I bought a Jack & Danny J bass last summer, predominantly as it was surf green! I was very (pleasantly) surprised at the general standard of components, fit and finish - and yet it only cost £119 brand new! I have gigged with it and would happily do so again. It has one of the nicest J necks I've played (allowing for the slightly rough/sharp fret ends). When I compare it to the rubbish I played back in the late seventies and early eighties I shudder at what we put up with!

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1426696801' post='2720950'] we're way out of stacknob territory here. [/quote] For some reason, I hear that in a John Wayne voice...

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1426859466' post='2722817'] ..which is the purpose of this thread, really. It's challenging the preconceptions that many of us have. [/quote] Exactly. There are no winners and losers in a poll/thread such as this - we are all winners really as our collective (and individual) knowledge will have been added to