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Johnny Cox Music
United Kingdom
Приєднався 26 кві 2009
I'm a bassist, guitarist, teacher and author of music books living in East London. Please feel free to contact me if you'd like to book lessons, arrange a performance or if you have any questions about my music or equipment.
Is It Worth Buying a Used Bass? New vs Used - Sire "Marcus Miller" V7 vs Second Hand MTD Kingston Z5
Can you find good value buying a used bass guitar?
I think there was a time when you could get real value for money buying instruments second hand. But now I see instruments selling "used" for 80-90% of their full retail price or more. It makes me wonder why anybody buys used instruments anymore.
It's even more strange when you consider how many great affordable instruments are being made at the moment. Factory made instruments coming from Indonesia, which is where the SIre factory is, are now so good and so cheap that most guitar manufacturers are offering affordable instruments in the sub £500 price bracket. And that price point is now so competitive that if an instrument at that price doesn't look, sound and play like a professional instrument then it won't sell.
The Marcus Miller V7 featured in this video is not even Sire's most affordable 5-string bass. You can buy a V3 5-string bass with the same pre-amp as the V7 for not much over £300.
I first featured Sire basses on my channel in 2019, and that was when I started to wonder if there was any point in buying instruments second hand anymore. So I came up with the idea to look for a used bass for under £500 that I felt represented better value for money than a brand new Sire bass.
MTD basses are not that common in the UK, but Michael Tobias is very popular among the bass community in the States. I liked the look of the MTD Kingston Z5 because it had 24 frets and 19mm string spacing at the bridge (like a 4-string bass). But, the new Kingston Z5's cost closer to a grand in the UK so I thought they might be a bit out of my price range, even used.
I saw one on Reverb in the UK listed at £550, which was just a bit too high for the purposes of this video. But I kept an eye on it and over the course of a few weeks, the seller started to bring the price down until it dropped below £500, at which point I bought it immediately. I guess the MTD basses just aren't that common in the UK and so people don't generally look out for them on the used market.
The price I paid, £490 including a gig bag (a new Sire does not come with any case or bag) undoubtedly represents amazing value for money. However, even with this bass (which retails for approximately double the cost of a Sire V7) I would struggle to say that it represents obviously higher quality than the Sire.
What I can say, is that I do prefer the MTD to the Sire for the reasons outlined in the video. I'm now planning to sell the Sire as I've hardly used it since buying the MTD. The MTD has become my "go to" 5-string bass.
However, in the interests of full disclosure, I have to say that it took many months of searching used guitar and bass websites before I found something that I thought represented great value at this price. Unless you are willing to put a lot of effort into buying a second hand bass, then I would recommend buying a new bass.
Sire are not unique (although they may be the best at their price). There are plenty of bass manufacturers making amazing value instruments for under £500. I've played basses made by Cort, Harley Benton & Ibanez that I'm extremely impressed by, and many are even cheaper than Sire.
(0:00) Intro
(0:47) Opening Jam
(2:08) This is an MTD Kinston Z5
(3:35) Why is the Sire V7 a good bass?
(5:49) How does the MTD compare?
(8:23) Why the MTD is my kind of bass
(9:25) Conclusion
(10:50) Outro Jam
I think there was a time when you could get real value for money buying instruments second hand. But now I see instruments selling "used" for 80-90% of their full retail price or more. It makes me wonder why anybody buys used instruments anymore.
It's even more strange when you consider how many great affordable instruments are being made at the moment. Factory made instruments coming from Indonesia, which is where the SIre factory is, are now so good and so cheap that most guitar manufacturers are offering affordable instruments in the sub £500 price bracket. And that price point is now so competitive that if an instrument at that price doesn't look, sound and play like a professional instrument then it won't sell.
The Marcus Miller V7 featured in this video is not even Sire's most affordable 5-string bass. You can buy a V3 5-string bass with the same pre-amp as the V7 for not much over £300.
I first featured Sire basses on my channel in 2019, and that was when I started to wonder if there was any point in buying instruments second hand anymore. So I came up with the idea to look for a used bass for under £500 that I felt represented better value for money than a brand new Sire bass.
MTD basses are not that common in the UK, but Michael Tobias is very popular among the bass community in the States. I liked the look of the MTD Kingston Z5 because it had 24 frets and 19mm string spacing at the bridge (like a 4-string bass). But, the new Kingston Z5's cost closer to a grand in the UK so I thought they might be a bit out of my price range, even used.
I saw one on Reverb in the UK listed at £550, which was just a bit too high for the purposes of this video. But I kept an eye on it and over the course of a few weeks, the seller started to bring the price down until it dropped below £500, at which point I bought it immediately. I guess the MTD basses just aren't that common in the UK and so people don't generally look out for them on the used market.
The price I paid, £490 including a gig bag (a new Sire does not come with any case or bag) undoubtedly represents amazing value for money. However, even with this bass (which retails for approximately double the cost of a Sire V7) I would struggle to say that it represents obviously higher quality than the Sire.
What I can say, is that I do prefer the MTD to the Sire for the reasons outlined in the video. I'm now planning to sell the Sire as I've hardly used it since buying the MTD. The MTD has become my "go to" 5-string bass.
However, in the interests of full disclosure, I have to say that it took many months of searching used guitar and bass websites before I found something that I thought represented great value at this price. Unless you are willing to put a lot of effort into buying a second hand bass, then I would recommend buying a new bass.
Sire are not unique (although they may be the best at their price). There are plenty of bass manufacturers making amazing value instruments for under £500. I've played basses made by Cort, Harley Benton & Ibanez that I'm extremely impressed by, and many are even cheaper than Sire.
(0:00) Intro
(0:47) Opening Jam
(2:08) This is an MTD Kinston Z5
(3:35) Why is the Sire V7 a good bass?
(5:49) How does the MTD compare?
(8:23) Why the MTD is my kind of bass
(9:25) Conclusion
(10:50) Outro Jam
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Відео
There Will Never Be Another You - Tim Pettingale, Siemy Di & Johnny Cox
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This is a reharmonisation of the jazz standard "There Will Never Be Another You" by jazz guitarist Tim Pettingale. Tim is the author of several brilliant jazz guitar books including "Jazz Bebop Blues Guitar" & "Modern Jazz Guitar Chord Concepts". He's also worked on books with several superstar musicians including John Patitucci, Mike Stern and Robben Ford to name but a few. If you type his nam...
Johnny Cox & Siemy Di - Playing Jazz on Fretless 6-String Bass - Jamming on the Jazz Standard Solar
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Siemy and I first met in 2006. We used to go to a lot of jazz jam sessions together back then and play repertoire like this, the jazz standard Solar. A few years later we started doing duo gigs together using live looping with a basic looper pedal. In this video we're trying to revisit both of those experiences by live looping a jazz standard. I start off by laying down a twelve bar walking bas...
Jim Lampi & Johnny Cox Playing Jim's Composition "Coyote" - Chapman Stick & 6-String Fretless Bass
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This is another clip from when I met up with master Chapman Stick player Jim Lampi in the summer. In this video we're jamming on one of Jim's own compositions called Coyote, which he recorded on his album Greazy. Playing with Jim is always a pleasure. We used to play gigs together quite regularly and this was one of our regular tunes. This was actually the first time Jim and I met up in person ...
Trading Ten Beat Cycles with Siemy Di - Playing Over a Loop Created Using a Headrush Looperboard
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This is the second video clip that I've released from my recent visit to my friend and long time collaborator Siemy Di. In this clip we are trading ten beats. In the first 20 seconds of the video you see me setting up a loop with my Headrush Looperboard. I start by playing a short bass groove in five, then I layer some chords over the bass line. Once that's done, we start trading. Each of us ta...
Johnny Cox & Siemy Di - Jamming on St Thomas by Sonny Rollins - Using a Headrush Looperboard
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Siemy and I met in 2005. We played in many bands and projects together in the early years and we started playing as a duo over ten years ago. We played in clubs, restaurants, coffee shops and literally anywhere that would allow us to go in and play. I would take a loop pedal and we would usually not prepare anything. We would improvise in odd meters, play jazz standards and other tunes, but mos...
Jim Lampi & Johnny Cox - Chapman Stick & Fretless 6-String Bass - Duet on Wayne Shorter's Footprints
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Jim Lampi is brilliant musician and one of the best players of the Chapman Stick in the business. Jim and I first played together about 15 years ago. This week we met at his house and had a jam. At the end of my visit I got the camera out and we recorded this little improvisation on Wayne Shorter's tune Footprints which was originally from Miles Davis' album Miles Smiles. The Chapman Stick is a...
Johnny Cox & Siemy Di
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It's been great to finally be able to get together with other musicians on a regular basis this summer after such a strange year (and a half). Siemy and I first played together in 2005 and we met up this week to have a jam at his house. While we were there we recorded this tune of mine in 7/8. I wrote it last year in lockdown and it was nice to finally play it with another musician. I recorded ...
Bass Guitar Advanced Exercise - Sus Chord Triad Arpeggios - Bass Practice Diary - 13th July 2021
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Find more at johnnycoxmusic.com/sus-chord-triad-arpeggios/ Bass Guitar Exercise - Sus Chord Triad Arpeggios - Bass Practice Diary - 13th July 2021 Last week I was demonstrating a line played by Rick Beato. He uses a lot of sus chord arpeggios and chord voicings in his playing. It's a really popular idea among improvising musicians and I can see why. The sus chord arpeggios create a really disti...
Rick Beato Modal Jazz Line Arranged for 6-String Bass - Bass Practice Diary - 6th July 2021
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Check out Rick Beato's Quick Lessons Pro for guitar here rickbeato.com/ Find the Bass Tab and more at johnnycoxmusic.com/rick-beato-line-on-bass-guitar/ Rick Beato Modal Jazz Line Arranged for 6-String Bass - Bass Practice Diary - 6th July 2021 If you don't already follow Rick Beato then you should check him out. He has one of the biggest serious music channels on UA-cam with over 2 million fol...
Helix with Bass - How Useful is a Line 6 Helix for Bass Guitar Players?
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Find more at johnnycoxmusic.com/line-6-helix-bass-guitar/ LINE 6 HELIX WITH BASS GUITAR I originally bought my Line 6 Helix LT primarily to use with guitar. Although the fact that it is designed to be used with both guitar and bass was a big selling point for me. If you're not familiar with the Helix products, they are essentially digital amp modelling and multi effects units. You can set the u...
How I Approach Improvising on Dominant 7th Chords - Bass Practice Diary - 22nd June 2021
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Here are some of my other videos that relate to this subject:- Learn more about using chromatic approach notes ua-cam.com/video/grIUo6Y_Zzg/v-deo.html Learn more about using diminished sounds in blues ua-cam.com/video/kTDkuXzPhDk/v-deo.html This is my introduction to the altered scale ua-cam.com/video/WeAu3MnjHsk/v-deo.html Find more at johnnycoxmusic.com/improvising-on-dominant-7th-chords/ How...
6-String Bass Jam in 6/8 - Johnny Cox & Lewis Davies - Bass Practice Diary - 15th June 2021
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Find more at johnnycoxmusic.com/6-string-bass-jam-in-6-8/ 6-String Bass Jam in 6/8 - Johnny Cox & Lewis Davies - Bass Practice Diary - 15th June 2021 I've been thinking about 6/8 this week after I featured four 6/8 bass grooves in last week's Bass Practice Diary video. My good friend Lewis Davies kindly recorded this 6/8 drum track for me and I've been jamming along with it with my Warwick "Ste...
Six Eight Bass Grooves - Learn 4 Basslines in 6/8 Time Signature - Bass Practice Diary - 8 June 2021
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Find my book here! geni.us/bassgroove Find the bass TAB and more here! johnnycoxmusic.com/six-eight-bass-grooves/ Six Eight Bass Grooves with Bass TAB - Learn Four Bass Lines in 6/8 Time Signature - Bass Practice Diary - 8 June 2021 I did a video in 2018 about playing bass in 6/8 time signature. It turned out to be a much more popular video than I was expecting. It currently has nearly 25,000 v...
Make a Bass Sound Like a Guitar and a Bass - Bass Practice Diary - 1st June 2021
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Find more at johnnycoxmusic.com/bass-sound-like-guitar/ Make a Bass Sound Like a Guitar and a Bass - Bass Practice Diary - 1st June 2021 For a long time I've been playing with the idea of making electric guitar sounds on bass. As technology has improved over the years it's getting easier and easier and the idea is becoming more and more popular. I'm sure many of you are familiar with the popula...
7-String Bass Demo - Ibanez BTB7 Seven String Bass - Bass Practice Diary - 25th May 2021
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7-String Bass Demo - Ibanez BTB7 Seven String Bass - Bass Practice Diary - 25th May 2021
String Skipping Arpeggios - Another 6-String Bass Exercise - Bass Practice Diary - 18th May 2021
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String Skipping Arpeggios - Another 6-String Bass Exercise - Bass Practice Diary - 18th May 2021
Autumn Leaves - Bass Duet - Double Bass & 6-String Electric Bass - Bass Practice Diary - 11 May 2021
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Autumn Leaves - Bass Duet - Double Bass & 6-String Electric Bass - Bass Practice Diary - 11 May 2021
6-String Bass Exercise - String Skipping Three Notes Per String - Bass Practice Diary - 4th May 2021
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6-String Bass Exercise - String Skipping Three Notes Per String - Bass Practice Diary - 4th May 2021
Jazz Solo Lines for 4-String Bass with Bass Tab - Bass Practice Diary - 27 April 2021
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Jazz Solo Lines for 4-String Bass with Bass Tab - Bass Practice Diary - 27 April 2021
6-String Bass Duet - Fretless & Fretted - Warwick & Overwater - Bass Practice Diary - 20 April 2021
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6-String Bass Duet - Fretless & Fretted - Warwick & Overwater - Bass Practice Diary - 20 April 2021
Learn a Jazz Tune on Bass - CTA by Jimmy Heath with Bass TAB - Bass Practice Diary - 13 April 2021
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Learn a Jazz Tune on Bass - CTA by Jimmy Heath with Bass TAB - Bass Practice Diary - 13 April 2021
Slow Train - A Bob Dylan song performed by Johnny Cox
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Slow Train - A Bob Dylan song performed by Johnny Cox
This Exercise Might Drive You Crazy! Octave Shifting on Bass - Bass Practice Diary - 30 March 2021
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This Exercise Might Drive You Crazy! Octave Shifting on Bass - Bass Practice Diary - 30 March 2021
Practicing Jazz on My Overwater Hollowbody - Up Jumped Spring - Bass Practice Diary - 23 March 2021
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Practicing Jazz on My Overwater Hollowbody - Up Jumped Spring - Bass Practice Diary - 23 March 2021
Learn a Linley Marthe Bass Groove with TAB - Bass Practice Diary - 16th March 2021
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Learn a Linley Marthe Bass Groove with TAB - Bass Practice Diary - 16th March 2021
Freedom Jazz Dance - Learn a Jazz Tune on 6-String Bass Guitar - Bass Practice Diary - 9 March 2021
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Freedom Jazz Dance - Learn a Jazz Tune on 6-String Bass Guitar - Bass Practice Diary - 9 March 2021
Learn a Jimmy Johnson Bass Lick with Bass TAB - Bass Practice Diary - 2nd March 2021
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Learn a Jimmy Johnson Bass Lick with Bass TAB - Bass Practice Diary - 2nd March 2021
Cascading Arpeggio Jazz Lick on 6-String Bass w/ Bass TAB - Bass Practice Diary - 23rd February 2021
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Cascading Arpeggio Jazz Lick on 6-String Bass w/ Bass TAB - Bass Practice Diary - 23rd February 2021
Armando's Rhumba - a tribute to Chick Corea - Bass Practice Diary - 16th February 2021
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Armando's Rhumba - a tribute to Chick Corea - Bass Practice Diary - 16th February 2021
this was helpful thank you
It’s not a perfect match. 600 600. What is the “THD” at 600 watts on the amp? You blow speakers when the amp is at max and sending a dirty power signal to the speaker. Speaker voice coils don’t like dirty power and you will hear up the voice coil and blow the voice coil. I’d rather have an Efficient Speaker db rating and 400w rating and use 600 watt amp to have “headroom”. Your amp will be cleaner running at 60-70%. Usually running amplifiers at 50% max gets you the cleanest THD. So people should learn THD and speaker efficiency. 💥
Respected teacher, I need some guidance with my bass guitar studies. I live in the far northeast part of India, and unfortunately, I don't have access to high-quality teachers who could guide me properly. I've been playing a six-string bass for 10 years now and can currently play at the level of Grade 8. However, for the past three years, I've been trying to master everything on my own, and it's been overwhelming. The range of scales, modes, and arpeggios to learn is vast, and I feel lost trying to cover it all. My goal is to become a jazz fusion bassist, but with the expansive range of my instrument, I'm struggling to focus on what's most essential. I want to improve and make meaningful progress, but I need help narrowing down the key modes, scales, and arpeggios that I should master, especially considering the full range of the instrument. I apologize for asking for your valuable experience for free, but any advice you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for your time and guidance!
Can run 20watts ,2 0hms bass amp ,to 25 watts 6 ohms speaker,without damaging the speaker and am?
I'm after the same goal, to a point. I don't want my bass' high signal (above 150 Hz) to be at electric guitar pitch, but to have a more electric guitar tone (or tonal range). Currently, I send my high signal through one set of effects on my pedalboard and into a bass head with EQ dialed in as though it was a guitar amp, going out a 4x10 cab, and my low signal through a much smaller set of effects and into a different bass head with EQ boosting the bass a bit and cutting down mid and treble all the way (although I could probably leave those two flat), going out a 1x15 cab. I'm pondering whether or not changing anything in my bi-amp setup would improve this setup and be more efficient while getting me closer to my goal. One option I see is to ditch the mid/high bass head, and run my high signal into a guitar head instead, but I think I want to keep wattage fairly even between the two signals. That might not be necessary.
You need to go back doing videos
This guy is awesome
how do you mute the B string?
Think of it like a four-string bass, but.... with TWO MORE STRINGS.
the 3 fretless bassists i look up to most--jaco, steve digorgio, and dominic la pointe--all use rounds. so the choice was simple
10:58 This is actually not correct. If there is no speaker connected, the total impedance goes up to infinity and no power will flow. However, some amps, especially ones with a tube power stage don't like to be powered without a speaker because of reasons too complicated to explain here. The safest way is still to use the amp only with a cabinet connected to it.
Warwick ❤
The most beautiful 6 string bass❤
Crystal clear! Thanks for these explanations, which should be in every amp manual.
Amazing playing, nice sound too!
Great content .... but what about adding cabinets in series ? I wonder why someone would do that since it would make 2 8 omh cabinets 16 ohms. Not sure of the math, but would that not run a 800 w amp at about 300 w ? What benefit would that provide?
Most of Srilankan music ia 6/8❤
I've been playing six-string bass since 2012 and I love it, but I don't use standard tuning. I tune mine from low E to high F because I do a lot of two-hand tapping and need to higher range.
Dang, I'm in love
Thanks for the explanation
Very good explanations on some nice tips for Bass and Helix.
Totally agree with you .... everything you said and demonstrated
Imagine combining this with the Royal Blood sound. It would be a hit for shows!
Royal Blood: "Am I a joke to you?"
You really are getting into the music theory aspect! A lot of younger bassists find it intimidating. After almost 30 years of playing double bass in a radio orchestra nothing scares me anymore!
very good!
Great!
1:00 wow
Is that a Warwick bass and what model is it?
That's nice playing!
When you connect no speaker on a Digital amp you do not have 0Ω but you have ∞Ω. This does not destroy any digital amp because no current is flowing. On a Tube amp - in opposite- the lack of load will bring your Tubes into a bad area of your amplification curve so the result could be defective tubes (depending on circuit). Also the Ω on Speakers and Amps is impedance not resistance. it is not static but the 8 or 4Ω are averaged out resistance values over direct current measures. As every Speaker has different impedance response even when connecting the "right" impedance it can lead to strange effects as the speakers influence each others response. All over Digital amps are easy with anything and I have seen no Digital amp blowing up below 4 ohms just yet. Might sound a bit bad but hey.. it´s digital ;) . I still appreciate your efforts telling folks a little about this. Yes manuals are ridiculous everywhere
Hello!!! I own an Ashdown head RM 800 EVO II. It's 800 watts with two speakon outputs for cabinets. The question is, each one of the outputs gives 800 watts? Or you have 400 watts for each output? Thank you very much!!! Great video, great explanations!!! Greeting from Chile!!! 🇨🇱🇨🇱🇨🇱
I have that same problem on a $60.00 bass I got online..
I played an open air gig the other day nothing major . And my ampeg bass rig was good . But I had a thought I’ve got another 1000 watt amp at home , so my question is could I run both amps together to get serious power / volume . I have 2 500watt speakers ( 4x10s ) x 2 If I did run the Amps together would I run the risk of just blowing the speakers up .. ???
Nice. What are brands of strings there?
Very interesting, thanks a lot! What happens if I have a 1000 Watt head, and I plug it directly into the PA, and no speaker?
How is the balance on that instrument when you are using a strap? A couple of the lightweight bases that I have played were, of course, neck heavy.
1:03 no lost already. how are you playing each note? The slaps sound different to each other.
Beautiful composition bro, well played, absolutely flawless tone
Really helpful advice in here, I hadn't realized the importance of striking right on the fret. Will work on this!
So good. Nice Tone From your hands
In effetti l acustico e in particolar modo il 6 corde axustixo puo veramentr essere assimilato af una chitarra acustica, e puo essere suonato anche cone tale in fingerstyle. Iotre xhe come basso ...
i also tried the Red label because the price, but was dissapointed for me, they are abrasive in the fingers , and notice this very well
Elixir roundwound are quite nice on fretless. The coating helps a lot with wear.
the finish result is nice playing, but the instruments are too fruity on the Gr55. They need sculpting a lot. Wind instruments are horrid I think on the Gr55.
I get ghost notes all over the place, have I just got to learn to play cleaner?
I wished he would just play the right notes
I have a ashdown 300 watt to 600 max rms head, and iam looking for a suitable cab. Could I use a cab rated at 600-1000 watts cab? Or is this cab rated to high?
Very rare that someone can explain this concept this well. It took me a long time to figure out all this by myself, but it's golden information. Thanks Johnny - subscribed just based on this vid alone...
AND WARWICK NICKEL RED???