I read this thread with great interest. There seems to be a pattern here, and it got me wondering. Are there others like me out there, old schoolers, who may feel intimidated by all the F1-X/QSC/and Eden gear? Am I an anomaly in the Alembic world, with my late 60's Traynor YBA-1A, spewing 90 watts of Canadian El34 bliss? My love of old Traynor's follows two paths, one is the value, they don't cost much, but I also have some sort of primordal connection with the tone. When I get her dialed in, the sound goes straight to my reptilian brain, my sternum quivers, and my lower gums itch. So, is there anybody else out there who runs a vintage tube rig as their primary setup?
 
Traynor Bassmaster Mark II YBA-1A/Ashdown Mag210T/EVM series II 15L in a custom cabinet.

James,
If you haven't figured it out by now, it goes without saying: An Alembic bass makes ANY amp sound good! If you like a vintage amp great! If you want hi-tech cool! If you want a complete component system, that works too! Even that funny new Bose system I hear works well. It's such a personal taste / sound thing. We enjoy talking about the various combinations because someone can stumble across some very cool combinations, and just may have hit that sought after sound you're looking for. All in all, no matter what you play through, it's your ears that have the final say. For example, I started out with an Ampeg V-4B with a 1x18 cab. At 100 watts, it didn't have enough power, so I traded up to an SVT 8x10 vintage rig. It had the power alright, but got way too muddy for my taste when doing any 1/16 note speed runs. I sold it and got a pure component rig. Audioarts parametric EQ / Pre, Compressor, and crossover into BGW 750 and 250 amps. bi-amped into JBL 18's and 10's. I eventually went tri-amped, and added 5 tweeters. After years of punishment and a sore back, I sold all that and went to an SWR SM-400, 4x10 & 1x18 rig. This I can biamp or run full range. Sometimes I think this is TOO clean, and long for my old V4-B. That amp was hard to beat. Enjoy your Traynor.
Kris

since i go stereo these days:
 
late 70's F2-B with mullard tubes.
Mesa stereo simul-class 2:90 tube power amp (new mesa tubes throughout).
peavey 2x10 for the bridge pickup channel
bag end 1x18 for the neck pickup channel
 
i set the speakers so that the bridge channel is stage right just like the bridge pickup is (most of the time).  it definitely sounds better this way rather than with the speakers stacked.
 
i originally built this rig for my living-room practice space when i lived in seattle.  i never imagined that i would be actually gigging with it.  it sounds great but it's about 200 lbs combined (the hand truck is not shown in this view).  if we have FOH, the sound guy uses a direct box out of the mono output.  seems to work pretty well.
 
a couple of notes about the components:
i bought the F2-B from a club member(can't remember who, now).  he negleted to tell me it was a total wreck - i wound up rebuilding the power supply (it had been hacked), replacing all of the knobs, replacing a couple of broken pots and redoing all of the solder on the PCB.  I finally got the rattle out of the B channel and it sounds great.
 
i bought the mesa from instrumnet echange.  in this case it was total disclosure on their part - the amp had been dropped (apparently from some height!) and so i not only had to rebuild the inside but i got to do some metal shop on the chassis as well.
 
for beater components, it sounds pretty good.  plus it's ungodly loud (ask my band-mates!). i always get compliments on my sound.
 

I'm a big Ampeg fan myself.
 
I like to use 2 SVTHLF410 cabinets with a Pro3 head.
It keeps me up with the stage drum volume, (and then some).

Moog Taurus Pedals!....pant pant
 
Who'd you have to kill to get those?
 
(Message edited by hb3 on September 23, 2006)

Huge, I had them for some time now, and they actually work and stay in tune?

They're quite valuable then...hang onto 'em.

fish -
Where did you get the Exploiter from?
Does one of the pickups have a small chip in it?
I had one very similar to that in Milwaukee for awhile and had to sell it.....

Pauldo..had it since it was new....

Hey a quick bit of advice.
I went to a local music store today to look at getting a QSC power amp.
 
Now my budget is not massive but I'd decided I could afford an PLX 1804 to drive my existing 2x 10 mesa powerhouse cab and a 1x 15 power house cab via my FX-1 and SF-2.
 
When I went into the store today to check out the prices and availability.
They had a second hand PLX 2402 power amp ( 425w into 8 ohms) at ?150.00 ( UK pounds)  less than a brand new PLX2 1804 (550w into 8 ohms)
 
I'm going back tomorrow ( Sunday ) to check out them with my f1-x and hopefully come out with one of them if I'm happy.  
 
I'm probably gonna take my Europa too to check out the clarity of the B-string.
 
I'm not looking for a loud bass rig as I'm mainly playing Jazz-Funk Rnb Soul and Funk. What I am looking for is great clear quality sound and no distortion whatsoever.
 
If you are familiar with the F1-x, Sf-2 and PLX combination could you give me a brief of your experience and considered opinion as to which amp would be the best.

Hey Jazzy.
That is exactly what I use, but with different cabinets.  Go for the used one.  It only weighs 8 pounds more, and it's stable at 2 ohms (1200w), which makes it more versatile, IMHO. If one of your PA or monitor amps goes down at a gig, you can push 2 4 ohm or up to 4 8ohm cabs off one channel.  It also makes it possible to mix a 4 ohm and an 8 ohm cabinet on the same channel with no worries.  
 
If you're really after the super-lightweight rig, then maybe it's worth the extra 150 quid, but I had a similar choice to make when I bought mine, and I went for the more powerful used amp.  
 
Regarding clean tone...are you using the Superfilter in the effects loop?  I've found that with a bass with a high output, I need to be careful about overdriving the efx loop return.  Sometimes this means backing off on the input gain a little.  Keep in mind, though, that I just sent my F1-X off to have the transformer replaced (been using it for 11 years), so my observations might apply only to my own gear.  it should be back Monday, so we'll see if it still does it.
 
Hope this helps...

James; love the pedal board housing!

I presume, Mr Pascoe, that with the user name of Fish and a set of Taurus pedals you must be a big fan of a certain Mr Christopher Squire. Snap!Where's your Rick?

My secret shame
 
Rob, you got me. I am a huge progressive rock fan in general. I do have one or two Rickenbackers.  The ?Fish? name was inspired from being a Marillion Fan.
 
However, before all that, (preteen) I was a big Dead fan. I always wanted a bass like Phil?s Alembic.
 
I am still working on saving up for that ultimate Series I
 
(Edit spelling error)
 
(Message edited by fish on September 24, 2006)

It's nothing to be ashamed of, Dave. Yes have been my favourite band since 1970. Chris Squire is just awesome both to listen to and to watch on stage - I just don't like Rickenbackers to play. Maybe it's just that I've never found a good one. Like you, I'd love a Series bass. I've got an SF-2, which helps!
 
Just to get back to the theme of this thread I use an original Euphonic Audio iAmp (Serial Number 0033) and an SF-2 into Euphonic Audio 2 x 8 and 1 x 10. Great cabs and you can carry one in each hand! I've been using the EA gear for 6 years now, but I'm seriously thinking about going F1-X and power amp. Anybody know anything about the Yamaha P5000S?