discreet

And by the way, I really do believe that it's all in the fingers. Well... most of it, anyway. IMHO, YMMV and so on and so forth...

It's a well-known fact that white basses sound better than any other colour. Why do you think I like white basses??

But as bass players we are a lot more sensitive to the differences between bass tones. We listen to music as bass players, not as non-musicians. Thus, we don't necessarily see the big picture. Even so I tend to listen to what's being played, I don't necessarily think 'oh, that's a P Bass, that's a Spector, that's a Ray.' I've been trying out different basses with my band to see what suits... Singer: Why do you have all those different basses? They sound exactly the same.

That's good . Can we know how much it cost?

Whether it's in the fingers, or you have good or indifferent bass gear, one of the main (and overlooked) elements regarding how you sound is how everyone else in your band sounds. It's no good being the world's best bass player if you're in a band with the world's worst drummer or the UK's loudest guitarist. Whether or not you're heard and appreciated is also down to how other people play - do they listen, are they selfish, do they leave space in the music, do they have good timing and groove? Some people (even when playing covers) will fill every nanosecond with noise, so ultimately you can't hear anything much and whether you're a good bass player or not and whether you have good gear or not becomes moot.

Definitely a no-brainer. If you don't like it, you can sell it to me for £99.

Down is what gravity does best...

If it has the P bass split pickup in the traditional P bass position and there's nothing radical or different about the way the pickups have been made, then to all practical intents and purposes it will sound like a P bass. It probably won't feel like one, as the body shape is different. Also I'm not sure what the necks are like on these. In my opinion a P bass should have a nut width of at least 42mm and preferably 44.5mm, and a board radius of 7.25" for a 'genuine' P bass experience...

Yeah, that's where you went wrong. I should imagine it's ALL out of production. Mine has been sitting in a studio, largely unused, for twenty years.

Wahey!! That's the spirit.

https://bit.ly/2Cf5stL

Just weighed my combo, it's 32kg. I can pick that up with my côck!

The combo I have now is rated at 150W RMS, but I've yet to get beyond 8 o'clock on the master. It's incredibly loud. It's well-known that Trace watts are different from other solid state watts - and valve watts are different from solid states watts - so how loud is a Trace valve amp??

The 1x15 combos were a 'compact' option at the time, IIRC... I suppose compared to the truly enormous Trace rigs, they were. Like I say, it's all relative. I went down the road of very lightweight gear for a while - a BF One10 and a GK MB200, a very nice little rig - but it just didn't have the slam of a Trace or an Ashdown combo, nor would you expect it to, really. I found I had gone too far in sacrificing heft for portability. It's actually a difficult call sometimes... I know it's been proved that one can't tell the sound of a Class D amp in a blind listening test, but recordings are one thing and gigs are another. I can't shake the feeling that there is something lacking with Class D, especially live! But that's been covered elsewhere.

My point is you don't have to have the TE sound if you don't want it. Not a cliche at all, they ARE better built. Heavier, but better built. Trace gear was pretty bloody expensive back in the day, but I seriously doubt it would be commercially viable now.

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/121260/Peavey-Tnt-160.html

I have a Peavey TNT160 1X15 combo that would be perfect for that role...

I think the people who don't like the tone are used to "instant gratification".

Yes, TE amps have a 'sound'. But you can choose to change it. That's what the famed Graphic EQ is for. I don't use the pre-shape preset and I don't use the 'smiling face' EQ curve. Why would I? Whether or not they sound 'old fashioned' is up to the user, IMHO. Does an Ampeg B15 sound old fashioned? Does an SVT sound old fashioned? And yes, they can be quite heavy. A Trace combo generally weighs more than a modern combo. But it's not like one is immovable and the other is a feather. It's all relative. A modern combo might be 15kg. It's light - for a bass amp. But you still wouldn't want to walk any great distance carrying it. In short, hauling gear is always a bit of a pain in the àrse at the best of times, whether your combo weighs 15kg or 25kg. For me, both would require wheeled assistance if covering more than around 50 yards, so the weight advantage is moot. I'm not a Trace fanboi by any means, but the combo I have does exactly what I want it to do, the build quality is astounding, it's stood the test of time (20+ years) and it was a bargain!

Totally agree. Except for Mingus. He was a genuine innovator. The real deal.

Erm...

No.

And worse, you'll look like a bloody amateur!

I'd have to work it out and play it - even if I didn't like it - because I hate it when people turn up to rehearsal having not learned the material. But that's the only reason, to retain my personal 'reputation', such as it is. Doesn't mean I like the song or would want to play it - it's just my way of at least seeming to be 'professional'. You don't have to be in a pro band to have a pro attitude. But if and when you DO join a pro band, you're already in the game...