Laney G150 410 Bass Combo

Early '90s model which I got second-hand in mint condition (old Laney logo) - all solid-state in very rugged cabinet with very rugged sunk-in handles, 2 pre-shapes along with the 12-band graphic (footswitch controllable), limiter and noisegate (both of which don't seem to do a great deal other than limit the expression I can get out of it on stage/in the studio), pre and post gain, post DI output (V useful for recording and gigs) and a shitload of power which seems to be in excess of what the cabinet will happily handle. Oh yeah, it's BIG!

Was previously using bass collection 4-string, now lucky enough to have mk 1 Yamaha TRB5P as weapon of choice. Mainly using the setup to play jazz and funk, but do a fair bit of rock too. For all of these it performs admirably - I have the graphic set the same constantly and use the preshapes to do any major sound alterations (in fact you could probably get away with just keeping the graphic equaliser off and using the preshapes in a gig, along with the tone controls on your bass). It's also bloody loud, with the 10" speakers packing a great deal more precision for fast funk playing than I could get from a 15, but not at the expense of a very warm sound. Obviously there isn't the quality of tone that you could get from a more expensive brand but i generally keep my eq very bass-heavy which poses no difficulties for me there. The speakers really can't handle the amp being turned up too loud sadly. on the other hand i've had the thing turned up to what I consider to be it's limit and have managed to drown out a 70-piece concert band (with drums....)

For the first 6 years I had it there were NO problems, and this inculded it being bashed about, lugged around europe on 3 occasions, ragged to death by other bassists who borrowed it without me knowing and frequent use as a stepladder/table/chair/bar, for which it performs brilliantly. Getting some occasional cutting out and minor distortion now, probably due to dirty contacts in the internal switches, and lack of use recently - all of this easily remedied by any competant electrician. The fronts of the rotary controls have also fallen off, but if I will frequently leave it face-down in a moving van then I suppose this is to be expected

Never needed to get ANY help, although theres plenty of online documentation for all Laney products. a friend who needed to get a part for his guitar amp found them to be very helpful, as most english music-gear manufacturers are.

This has been my old reliable workhorse since starting to play - am moving to something smaller soon due to restrictions of my flat and will be sorry to see it go. Has gone through and survived a lot, is very user-friendly, great for rattling the windows (in other peoples houses the other side of town), and as portable as only a 4x10 combo can be. Basically major bang-for-buck. Only major feature it lacks are wheels....