2008 Sterling HH

[mynan]

p.s.: to avoid repeating 1.a you could always ad-lib with more colourful alternatives such as: tosser, f###wit, tw#t, #u#t, #o#k, kn#b, pr#ck, asswipe, and so on... depending on the mood of the moment.

Cheers mate

Spoken like a true sailor...

 

[Homeoftheben]

Thanks again for all the replies guys- can't wait to actually get to play this thing regularly.
Another quick question: what kinds of amps do you guys suggest for letting the bass do its thing best? I play acoustic/electric with an X3 Live, and I've also used it in most bass settings (going through the house subs), but then I've never had a bass in this range before. I also have the opportunity to play in a smaller venue (about 100 people), and I think having my own rig would be perfect to haul there and back. Softer rock style, if I had to classify it, btw.

Thanks again!

 

[Psycho Ward]

MarkBass amps are very popular here, try one and see what you think. They are light and loud, with tone to the bone!

 

[Grand Wazoo]

Ok, we are talking amps here now, right?

wooooo that its whole different ball park... and you are really getting into an area that will get you a million different opinions and before you go and read the Harmony Central reviews I leave you with a few comments based on my personal experience.

I have had ONE amp for something like 17-18 years, this being a vintage Trace Elliot combo ( see pic here ) model 1225v where v stands for valve, in fact its a 200W hybrid, valve driven power amp and transistor (solid state) power amp, with 2 x 10 speakers plus 2 x 5 tweeter horns, I hook it up to a gallien krueger ext cab 1 x 15' Electrovoice big mama speaker which gives me a huge wall of sound and never let me down on volume even on large venues, it has xlr balanced out that you can get straight into a pa console, a 12 band graphic eq, send / return effects, the cream of the crop.

I had it from new and have always been amazingly statisfied with amp, it just sounds soooo good no matter what you plug in it, it could be a real dog of a bass, it will make it sound good guaranteed! However recently I had been looking for something different, thinking after 18 years I could do with a new sound, well after reading lots of good reviews about the Mark Bass products, in many places as well as in this very forum, I was still in two minds whether to get one or not, eventually my mind was set, once I had read how high Mr. Big Poppa rated these amps, and without any further hesitations, I ordered one of these CMD 102P online and only picked it up last week but never actually tried it intensively at full wack, because of work and a family berehavement have not permitted me to have 5 minutes to myself yet.

In the meantime I was willing to part with my old Trace Elliot so I took it to a technician to have it check over to make sure that it was in good conditions before selling it and he replaced the valves (never done that before in this amp) replaced a few minor elements here and there and cleaned all the pots, made it sound brand new once again, believe me it is still an amazing amp.

Right.... I'll get to the point, sorry for making this long...

yesterday I finally managed to drag both amps in the cellar (a noise insulated idaho I have where I can really let my hair down so to speak)

I set both amps side by side and cross tested them both back and forward, first with complete flat eq settings and then experimenting with all the possible tonal variations that you could get with them. This was done with my StingRay 5 with no effects in between the bass and the amp whatsoever.

I must admit these Mark Bass amps are the business, in terms of new technology, the 2 VLE and VLF filter eq offer an interesting combination of sounds previously unheard from any amp I had tried, the sound you get from such a small and light package is something that leaves you breathless but, even thought I cannot carry two amps to a gig and I was almost in a position to wave good bye to my old Trace, but no, I have now decided that some of the "colour" you get out of the Trace you can't get from this excellent Marc Bass hence, I will keep both because I cannot afford to let go to such a cherished peace of equipment which I know I will only regret later if I do sell it, so, yes perhaps now the Mark Bass will be the one I will take out the most but, when it comes to that typical Elliot pre-shape funky setting sound there are no comparison and I cannot get that particular flavour out of the Mark Bass so the moral of the story is, I love them both and not selling any and it's all down to personal taste.

If you can afford it, your best bet is to go out to a shop with your bass and try as many amps as you can because at the end of the day you are the one that will play them so you are the final judge on the matter.

Good luck

 

[Grand Wazoo]

Oops.... I almost forgotten, since you are into Harmony Central reviews, here is some for my old amp which are very very positive.

Trace Elliot 1225V Twin Valve 210 Combo: Harmony Central User Reviews

 

[Big Poppa]

hijack alert.......back to the bass reviews..thanks

 

[Grand Wazoo]

hijack alert.......back to the bass reviews..thanks

Sorry guv'nor but here is my sincere comment

BP the Sterling is a FANTASTIC bass, I've tried a black 4 strings single H when I was buying my SR5 and the only reason I walked out of the shop with the SR5 is because I wanted a 5 strings and they didn't have a Sterling one, the waiting list was too long and I had to get back on board pronto! But yes you have created a monster there, that bass is a son of a gun. Congrats.

 

[Big Poppa]

GREAT CAPT! Thanks

 

[Frantic Slayer]

p.s.: to avoid repeating 1.a you could always ad-lib with more colourful alternatives such as: tosser, f###wit, tw#t, #u#t, #o#k, kn#b, pr#ck, asswipe, and so on... depending on the mood of the moment.

Aussie FTW!

you may also try, or add the following phrase onto any of the above:

D**k Cheese

 

[Sonnyonbass]

THese are disenfranchised banned people trying to get even....I can see a bad review if it isnt your cup of tea but these guys tip their hand when they take the review beyond reality.

That was exactly what I was thinking. Saw those negative reviews as well and I was a bit puzzled to say the least.
I own a early Sterling 4 (a nice sunburst) which I bought immediately after seeing a pic of the very same bass in a magazine. Thought that it was Bass Player magazine but I'm not sure.
I find that my Sterling bass is exactly the opposite of those negative reviews. I love it.
Njoy your new bass!