For your purposes, Michael, perhaps you would consider purchasing a new Epic. You can find them from around 1,000USD if you look hard enough. Epics don't have Q-filters or bass/treble boosts, however, that's what I bought for when I run open mic. The reason is simple, I wanted a good quality, wide range of tone and a sturdy instrument. The sort of thing you only get from Alembic. Because it isn't a high priced item, I didn't mind passing it around to whomever was going to play next. The musicians were most appreciative and really knocked out by its sound and feel. And, particularly because it only has volume, pan and two tone controls, it was easy for the players to find their sound. Our bassist just borrowed mine for our recent demo. On a previous demo he used his Carvin. Needless to say, his Carvin is now history, as soon as he has enough money to by my used Epic from me.
