FS: Last of my bass amps/cabs **ALL SOLD** £2000 Canterbury

[Beedster]

Folks

I've found I've moved away from electric bass the last year or so, and despite several attempts to get projects going, I'm just not enjoying it any more, whilst I'm really enjoying getting back into acoustic instruments, mainly fiddle and mandolin. Age I guess

So, up for grabs are the following:

1 X Mesa Walkabout Head in bronco case plus gig bag and paperwork £650 in hard case, £500 in gig bag (I'm happy to sell the hard case separately, and I'll give it a damn good clean before I do, you never realise how much crap gear accumulates until you take a photo of it!). Head is 240v despite stating 120 on the chassis, I have the original 'Export Only' paperwork.  

 

 

2 x Mesa Traditional Powerhouse cabs £450 each (these are the newer, smaller lighter versions of the Powerhouse cabs, but not the Subways) and 1 x Mesa Powerhouse 15 cab £300 (this is the older heavier & bigger version). As you can see from the pics, one has a custom extra vintage grille (which is the more gold coloured of the two)

The first pic is how I usually play them. Monster, and surprisingly stable. 

All of it's in great condition, with the possible exception of the 1x15 which has seen quite a lot of use but which is still doing OK (the bottom of the grille has been slightly pushed in), and the Bronco case that is also quite tired looking. I'd like to say that I paid Mesa an extra £500 to give it that relic look  

Those of you who've played this rig or one like it know the score, Mesa gear is bloody expensive for a reason. It's good.

I would like this lot gone quickly before I change my mind, so I'm happy to haggle, and to be honest if you turned up at my place over the next few days with a handful of cash (quite a big handful), I'm sure we could talk! I'm also off work for a few days which will make it easier for me to sort postage/collection whatever. It's going on eBay on Monday 15th. 

I'll post more pics when it stops raining and the light improves.

Cheers

Chris

 

 

 

Edited May 15, 2019 by Beedster

[Shaggy]

Noooooooooooooo.............

You can take the boy out of bass.......

Lovely gear, very tempted indeed by that Bronco case

[ryancowell25]

PM'd

[Beedster]

6 hours ago, Shaggy said:

Noooooooooooooo.............

You can take the boy out of bass.......

Lovely gear, very tempted indeed by that Bronco case

If you saw what I'm playing now Greg, you'd say "Hey, that's kinda cool". It started with a jam session about a year ago with our guitarist who said "why the f**k are you playing bass when you can make a guitar sound like that" Now, bass culture is far too much in my DNA to ever play a guitar in a band again, but it made me think about why I spend so much time playing an instrument that, to be honest, stopped giving me real pleasure several years ago. And two Breedlove USA mandolins later, I think I've found my thing. They're also instruments I can play with - and teach - my daughters (who trust me have zero interest in bass), and because they both aspire to fiddle, the tuning makes life much simpler for us all! And having stopped playing fiddle at Grade 8 in about 1982, I've suddenly found a lot of love for that as well, and now well-learned mandolin chord shapes have introduced a whole new way of thinking about playing it. Hoping to do my first ever gigs on fiddle this year (I've only played orchestral before). 

So I think the bass was out of the boy before the boy was out of bass to be honest! 

And if I had a pound for everyone who wants the bronco case I'd have three Breedlove mandolins!

[Shaggy]

1 hour ago, Beedster said:

If you saw what I'm playing now Greg, you'd say "Hey, that's kinda cool". It started with a jam session about a year ago with our guitarist who said "why the f**k are you playing bass when you can make a guitar sound like that" Now, bass culture is far too much in my DNA to ever play a guitar in a band again, but it made me think about why I spend so much time playing an instrument that, to be honest, stopped giving me real pleasure several years ago. And two Breedlove USA mandolins later, I think I've found my thing. They're also instruments I can play with - and teach - my daughters (who trust me have zero interest in bass), and because they both aspire to fiddle, the tuning makes life much simpler for us all! And having stopped playing fiddle at Grade 8 in about 1982, I've suddenly found a lot of love for that as well, and now well-learned mandolin chord shapes have introduced a whole new way of thinking about playing it. Hoping to do my first ever gigs on fiddle this year (I've only played orchestral before). 

So I think the bass was out of the boy before the boy was out of bass to be honest! 

And if I had a pound for everyone who wants the bronco case I'd have three Breedlove mandolins!

Chris, I can fully empathise and I think we've had rather parallel musical careers - likewise I started at school on violin, gave it up when switching to bass (in the early days of punk) but also switched to folk & bluegrass mandolin and flamenco guitar at around the same time and have kept them all going (now including lute and banjo) for 40+ years.   My acoustic instruments are what give me pleasure at home and I know they'll still be there for me when I'm too old to lift an amp anymore, but playing bass in a live band gives me something that the other instruments can't.

As you say, satisfaction with bass depends very much on the project at the time and if I didn't enjoy it I'd stop too - and have done several times over the years - but I guess bass to me is kind of like smoking; the last time I had a cigarette was 25 years ago, but I know that inside I'll still be a smoker until I die.  

You'll be back......... 

Yup, those Bronco cases are pretty rare now and look uber cool!  

Edir: off-topic I known but those Breedlove mandos are fab - attached a pic of my current squeeze: a Phil Davidson F5, though still got the 1910's Gibson F4 you helped me acquire! 

Edited April 14, 2019 by Shaggy

[Beedster]

1 hour ago, Shaggy said:

Chris, I can fully empathise and I think we've had rather parallel musical careers - likewise I started at school on violin, gave it up when switching to bass (in the early days of punk) but also switched to folk & bluegrass mandolin and flamenco guitar at around the same time and have kept them all going (now including lute and banjo) for 40+ years.   My acoustic instruments are what give me pleasure at home and I know they'll still be there for me when I'm too old to lift an amp anymore, but playing bass in a live band gives me something that the other instruments can't.

As you say, satisfaction with bass depends very much on the project at the time and if I didn't enjoy it I'd stop too - and have done several times over the years - but I guess bass to me is kind of like smoking; the last time I had a cigarette was 25 years ago, but I know that inside I'll still be a smoker until I die.  

You'll be back......... 

Yup, those Bronco cases are pretty rare now and look uber cool!  

Edir: off-topic I known but those Breedlove mandos are fab - attached a pic of my current squeeze: a Phil Davidson F5, though still got the 1910's Gibson F4 you helped me acquire! 

That looks lovely mate, and what can one say about a 100 year old Gibson! My rationale for two (cheapish) Mandolins is that I want each of my daughters to have one each, although at this stage it's mostly me playing them I have to admit. The Breedloves have the advantage over some of the more esoteric models of being quite bomb-proof, which is an important quality in the context of the players in question (who have not changed much since you met them!). 

I defy anyone who's ever played a Mandolin to not become addicted

[silverfoxnik]

Wow, Chris.. You never cease to amaze me! In a good way, of course.. 😊

Being a musician is a journey and it's great to hear how it's evolved for you, and is doing so for your family too. Seems to me like you are following the right path.. 

Which in this case means that there's some fabulous Beedster bass gear being made available here on Basschat yet again, and at very generous prices. 

It all looks fantastic and is very tempting, but I'm still so pleased with the Ampeg V4BH rig you sold me 4 years ago, I have no reason to even consider more amps (or cabs for that matter). 

So, I'll just wish you GLWTS and hope I catch up with you at some point soon. 

All the best 

Nik

 

[Beedster]

Thanks Nik, hope all's well. I must add to the above that I'm not giving up bass completely, I've still got a lovely bitsa fretless, a Breedlove acoustic and my 4/4 DB, but in terms of playing bass live, I do think this is the end of the road, and it feels 100% right (or I'd never be letting the Walkabout go, trust me). 

Funny old thing your mentioning the V4B, because I remember that amp as being the start of a different era of bass playing for me, one where I stepped from being mostly interested in the instrument and the lines, to the amp and the tone. I'm guessing that since the V4B I've owned pretty every tube amp by Mesa and Ampeg, and awful lot of top-end non-tube stuff by, for example Aguilar and Phil Jones, and, to paraphrase Bono, I still hadn't found what I was looking for. I think I realised that I was looking for a holy grail of tone that in real terms simply doesn't exist, because once you find one level, you need the next. A definitive moment in my thinking about bass tone is encapsulated in this thread:

Given what was at the time my growing enthusiasm for acoustic tone, where the only place you can go is technique not technology, I think that evening in the studio with a £150 combo was a real wake up call in relation to my quest for bass tone. As you say mate, it's a journey

[Beedster]

Now listed on eBay but still very happy to entertain cash offers here. I can post any of the items at cost, and might be able to meet up in person within reason. No trades thanks, unless you're thinking a 1910 Gibson Mandolin

Cheers

Chris

[Shaggy]

1 hour ago, Beedster said:

No trades thanks, unless you're thinking a 1910 Gibson Mandolin

Cheers

Chris

Lol - I wasn't!  

However, having read your amp thread; I've got a lovely sounding and very compact Ashdown MAG 200 1x15 combo  (kickback design, so can also be used as a floor monitor with DI out to FOH) that I'm not using - yours for free if it'll keep you playing that fretless bitsa........

[markorbit]

Just ordered a blackface Walkabout or else I'd have been on it.

[silverfoxnik]

13 hours ago, Beedster said:

Thanks Nik, hope all's well. I must add to the above that I'm not giving up bass completely, I've still got a lovely bitsa fretless, a Breedlove acoustic and my 4/4 DB, but in terms of playing bass live, I do think this is the end of the road, and it feels 100% right (or I'd never be letting the Walkabout go, trust me). 

Funny old thing your mentioning the V4B, because I remember that amp as being the start of a different era of bass playing for me, one where I stepped from being mostly interested in the instrument and the lines, to the amp and the tone. I'm guessing that since the V4B I've owned pretty every tube amp by Mesa and Ampeg, and awful lot of top-end non-tube stuff by, for example Aguilar and Phil Jones, and, to paraphrase Bono, I still hadn't found what I was looking for. I think I realised that I was looking for a holy grail of tone that in real terms simply doesn't exist, because once you find one level, you need the next. A definitive moment in my thinking about bass tone is encapsulated in this thread:

Given what was at the time my growing enthusiasm for acoustic tone, where the only place you can go is technique not technology, I think that evening in the studio with a £150 combo was a real wake up call in relation to my quest for bass tone. As you say mate, it's a journey

All good thanks Chris.. 😊

I hadn't read that thread before but it makes for very interesting and pertinent reading. 

For want of a better and slightly mixed up analogy, I for one have spent far too much time over the last 15 years 'driving a Ferrari to the corner shop to pick up a pint of milk' in search of that elusive bass tone.. 

I often have more fun these days playing a £100 Chinese Squier P Bass copy through a £50 second hand Yamaha amp into a home build 1x12 cab than when I take out the full Ampeg rig and an array of boutique basses.. 

Yep - there's a lot of food for thought in your phrase about 'technique not technology'.. 

Anyway, glad to hear there's still some electric bass action at Beedster Towers Chris, and all the best for now, 

Nik

[Beedster]

On 16/04/2019 at 09:57, Shaggy said:

Lol - I wasn't!  

However, having read your amp thread; I've got a lovely sounding and very compact Ashdown MAG 200 1x15 combo  (kickback design, so can also be used as a floor monitor with DI out to FOH) that I'm not using - yours for free if it'll keep you playing that fretless bitsa........

Greg, you're a star, much appreciated, but don't worry, I'll still be playing some bass, albeit in the studio as opposed to in a band, I still find noodling around on fretless high therapeutic. Really appreciated the offer though mate, thank you  

[Beedster]

On 16/04/2019 at 13:40, silverfoxnik said:

All good thanks Chris.. 😊

I hadn't read that thread before but it makes for very interesting and pertinent reading. 

For want of a better and slightly mixed up analogy, I for one have spent far too much time over the last 15 years 'driving a Ferrari to the corner shop to pick up a pint of milk' in search of that elusive bass tone.. 

I often have more fun these days playing a £100 Chinese Squier P Bass copy through a £50 second hand Yamaha amp into a home build 1x12 cab than when I take out the full Ampeg rig and an array of boutique basses.. 

Yep - there's a lot of food for thought in your phrase about 'technique not technology'.. 

Anyway, glad to hear there's still some electric bass action at Beedster Towers Chris, and all the best for now, 

Nik

I became the guy with the '57 GT California who was made tangibly unhappy by the mere thought of the existence of a '57 250 TR  

Re technique not technology, there's also a big positive in a new challenge; compared to bass mandolin is a bloody difficult instrument to master, the degree of mechanical precision required of both hands is ludicrous. After an hour or so on mandolin playing anything on a bass feels ten times easier!

[silverfoxnik]

Not sure how you even deal with that Chris - I struggle switching from bass to 6 string acoustic guitar sometimes! 

The mandolins that I've seen don't even have what I would call 'string spacing' ; it's more like a few microns gap to allow for air flow in between and around those weird tiny strings, all 8 of them ! 😁

[HazBeen]

I also have a wooden mandolin. I think it is Mahogany with a Spruce top. Very rough on the fingers though.....

okay, stop it Harry...... 

Good luck with the sale Chris, great amp/cabs.

[Beedster]

14 hours ago, HazBeen said:

I also have a wooden mandolin. I think it is Mahogany with a Spruce top. Very rough on the fingers though.....

okay, stop it Harry...... 

Good luck with the sale Chris, great amp/cabs.

That's about it mate

[Beedster]

Just checked eBay for Mesa gear and have to admit it's going bloody cheap, pretty shocking the difference in price between new and used. I'll revise the prices here accordingly

Walkabout Head £450

Gig Bag £25

Bronco Hard Case £75

Standard Powerhouse 1x15 £250

Traditional Powerhouse 2x10 £400 each

Great prices for great gear. Having brought them to the house from studio I would prefer to shift them soon rather than put it all back hence the prices, so let's consider the above prices an Easter offer that I'l probably withdraw once I'm back at work

Cheers

Chris

[ryancowell25]

Pm'd

[HazBeen]

40 minutes ago, Beedster said:

Just checked eBay for Mesa gear and have to admit it's going bloody cheap, pretty shocking the difference in price between new and used. I'll revise the prices here accordingly

Walkabout Head £450

Gig Bag £25

Bronco Hard Case £75

Standard Powerhouse 1x15 £250

Traditional Powerhouse 2x10 £400 each

Great prices for great gear. Having brought them to the house from studio I would prefer to shift them soon rather than put it all back hence the prices, so let's consider the above prices an Easter offer that I'l probably withdraw once I'm back at work

Cheers

Chris

Crazy isn't it... all 'heavy' gear is going for peanuts. Great for buying not for selling.

[Beedster]

7 hours ago, HazBeen said:

Crazy isn't it... all 'heavy' gear is going for peanuts. Great for buying not for selling.

Tell me about it, not many of us real men left Harry!

Having said that, a real man from up-north has just bagged the 1x15. One down, four to go!

Cheers

Chris

[Beedster]

1 x 15 sold

[Beedster]

Walkabout and both cases (Bronco & gig bag) now sold

[markorbit]

Whoever bought the Walkabout got a great amp. I just got mine, one of the last brand new ones and I believe it's one of the best hybrid amps ever made. I'd choose it over many of the current offerings, of which I've owned a few!

[Beedster]

On 24/04/2019 at 15:45, markorbit said:

Whoever bought the Walkabout got a great amp. I just got mine, one of the last brand new ones and I believe it's one of the best hybrid amps ever made. I'd choose it over many of the current offerings, of which I've owned a few!

They did indeed, I'll miss it