:-)
Hi I passed  your comments to my sound engineer who mixes the FOH sound for our tours and he felt that the 2402 would be the better choice of the two.  
 
He has a lot of experience with them and says they are phenominally clean with a a lot of headroom for PA use so for bass guitar it would be exceptionally clean and powerful at low levels.
He also says that model has much better protection for the amp and speakers. Also if I was on the road with the amp its going to be better since I wouldn't know what cabs I'd be connecting to and the fact that it goes down to 2 ohms without any problems is a much better buy.
 
His parting words were... get the 2402 and the money you save get yourself a damn good flight case for it. lol
 
So I did. I tried it out today in the store. Unfortunately they didnt have any mesa boogie cabs in as they were providing equipment for a guitar festival and they were all out at the venue.  
So I had to use what was available which ended up being a Gallien Kruger 15 and a 2x10 ashdown.  Not what I would like but at least i got some idea.
Man was it crisp. First I just had the F-1x into the power amp and took the low and high outputs to the amp L +R ins.
 
After a bit of fiddling with the sound i got the magic crispnes and clarity that I was hoping for.  The sound was incredible even from the non mesa cabs so I can only imagine how good its gonna sound in my cabs.
 
I did notice that the effect of the low pass filter on my bass  was far greater  that when I use it on my mesa boogie walkabout amp.  The sound just seemed very very very very clean, clear transparent, punchy, bassy but a with very high quality. I think I'm gonna find it very interesting indeed. I didn't even dare dial in some of the sf-2  as the speakers were not dealing with the existing signal very well.
 
Im now probably gonna need some kind of limiter to prevent the speakers going pop unless i can find out how the limiters work on the pLX.
 
Anyway thanks for your advice and I'll let you know how it gets on when I next get a bass playing gig.
Jazzyvee

James; love the pedal board housing!
 
I found it at a thrift store ($3), I think it was a breakfast tray. I reinforced it, covered the bottom in black carpet, wired her up and got me a 1-spot to power the whole lot. It has been a big hit with my guitarist buddies :-)

Congrats, Jazzy!
The limiters and the hi-pass filters, as well as the  dual-mono/stereo/bridge-mono functions are all controlled by little DIP switches on the back.  There should be a diagram on the back of the amp which explains them.  If it's somehow been worn off, I'll be happy to photograph mine for you.  You can get a little more headroom by engaging the hi-pass filters at 30Hz, especially if you're playing 5-string.  I didn't like the filter in the 50 Hz setting, but if you're bi-amping you may want to consider it, depending on where your crossover point is.
 
I always leave my limiters on, but the amp will still clip if I hit it hard enough.  You can definitely hear it when it happens, so you are unlikely to blow anything unless you're both deaf and careless, which I'm guessing you're not.  Unfortunately, it's not an unpleasant distortion, so I have to make myself be careful.
 
Enjoy!

I've found a manual pdf on the QSC web site so will print that off and  have a read of what is what on the amp.
I take it the limiters are to protect the amp but not the speakers then?
 
Would you recommend a compressor limiter in the signal chain to keep the peaks under control and away from speaker frying levels.
 
 I have a Behringer and an LA Comp/Lim at home that I could bring into the equation if that would help.
 
If so should I put it between the F-1x low and high pass outs and the power amp so I can alter the compresson on the highs and lows individually before they get to the QSC or is that overkill?
 
I hope this doesn't sound patronising, if It does I'm sorry.
But in the nicest possible way this forum has cost me a small fortune over the past year just trying to get the best sound out of my alembics.  
 
Considering about 3 years ago I only wanted a small bass rig and settled on a boogie walkabout and a boogie 2x10.  I've learned so much about  these basses and various views on equipment that allows them to breathe freely and naturally that I've taken on board a lot of your advice, especially on the component system and I think the combination I have now, F-1X/Sf-2/PLX,  is very popular amongst members and should give me the ability to experience the natural clean sound out of basses that I have been looking for.  
 
I don't have any problems with the sound from my boogie amp it is great and I will keep it as a backup and for smaller gigs.
 
Now i need to get my next bass playing gig sorted out and get that sound on to a stage.
 
Thanks again for your help in depleting my already limited bank balance.  
 
I don't actually know any alembic owners personally that I could have discussed things with, so what I have learned here from you guys could otherwise have been by making a lot of expensive mistakes.  
 
Now I don't need to get anything else.......... hahaha
No more extoling the the virtues and sound I'm missing by not having a series I or II.  I have a mortgage to pay. :-)
 
Respect for your knowledge and the selfless way that you freely give it.
 
now let me get off to google and find a speakon - to jack connector......
 
Jazzyvee
 
 
Jazzyvee

But Jazzy..what about the 24k gold picks ?

That's right, Gare, they do add a certain sparkle to the sound!
 
Jazzy, you're right...
 
Internet forums are bad for your wallet!
 
 
Set correctly, the compressor would prevent you from ever clipping the amp, but you probably won't need it.  Kissing the red every now and then won't hurt anything.  Play it as is, and if you feel like you need compression, add it in.  Having individual control over the highs and lows would probably be cool, and how you described it is how you would do it.

24k Gold picks, now that would be different, I do use a marble one occasionally on my guitar which does give me a nice sound. For bass, I'm fingers and thumbs only.
 
Jazzyvee

I'm also in the market for a new rig. I've been thinking about getting the Epifani UL series cab. For an amp I'm  considering Epifani, EBO, or either an SWR Mo bass amp or an SWR SM 900. I was wondering if any one is using any of the gear I've mentioned? Any opinions or recommendations?
 
Take care and have fun
Brian

crgaston , you have one of those ABS cases. I'm looking for a case for my rig. Are those cases strong? I've seen some in the shop and they don't look particularly robust compared to the traditional wood/aluminium ones. But I guess they are much lighter.
 
How do you  rate their durability?
JAzzvee

Jazzy,
I've had that since 1993.  It's got probably 150,000 miles in an equipment trailer, and many more in the trunk of my car, so I'd rate the durability as pretty good!  
 
 It's an SKB, and it is better made than some of the budget ones I've seen in music stores lately.  SKB also makes something called a Roto-Rack, which is also ABS, but a little stronger and larger.  The thing about those is that you can mount a set of rails in the rear, so you could fit your F1-X, SF-2, and amp up front, then mount a rack power strip or wireless unit or whatever in the back.  
 
 Since I got the SF-2, I had to ditch my power strip, and just use a 3-outlet extension cord that I zip-tied to the rear rack ears of the amp.  Also, I secured the SF-2's wall wart to the cord with electrical tape, and coiled and taped my power cords so everything's neater. When my Series gets here, I'm going to have to retire this case, as it won't have room for the power supply.  If so, I'll probably get a 4 space Roto and put the DS-5 in the back.  Either that or just get a separate mini-rack for the DS-5 and my power strip.

 
Hope this helps,
Charles

thanks it does, I've seen a few on ebay so will check them out.
Thanks for taking the time to photograph the setup for me.
Regards
Jazzyvee

Hey Charles,........nice shoes man!

Jazzy
I've got a couple of the SKB Roto-Rack cases, work fine for my needs. I've also installed ralls in the back that holds the BBE (which once set I seldom adjust).
But I'd go with regular ATA cases if I were to move the stuff around as much as some do. They're good for light to medium use. And they're light and priced reasonably.
 
G

thanks for the advice, I'm watching a few on ebay at the moment.
Jazzyvee

Brian, I absolutely had my heart set on an Epifani UL410, after hearing Mike Pope play through one.  I changed my tune a little, though, after playing that box side-by -side with its Schroeder counterpart.  The Epifani is a great cab, but the Schroeder sounds even better.  
 
On another topic, I have an opinion on the topic of compression as a means of protection for your rig: If you are operating so close to the margins, you should consider a bigger power amp.  Get one with lots of headroom, and you will never have to worry about being so close to the edge...
 
Andy Calder
www.andycalderbass.com