Conference napalm::guitar

    I have used a Laney 100 Linebacker bass amp for jazz gigs for the past
    year and a half. I bought it for its compact size, and have been very
    pleased with it. I play 5 and 6-string basses through it and it
    reproduces the low B quite well (it has a 15" driver). It does however
    run out of puff when playing with a loud drummer(!). A sales assistant
    once put me off Laney saying they are unreliable, but mine has never
    let me down and has taken quite a bit of punishment.
    
    Tony

    It's funny you should say "it runs out of puff with a loud drummer"
    because our band had a practice in a hall today - we normally play
    in a front room - and I was getting a lot of distortion with very
    little gain on and have to keep putting the 70hz band down to 0.
    Other than that it sounds good.

    Sounds like you have a different model to me as mine doesn't have a
    graphic. It has bass, treble and sweepable mid, plus presence.
    
    BTW last week I bought a Trace Elliot GP12 pre-amp and now use this to
    feed the Laney's power stage through the effects return jack. This has
    vastly improved matters - the amp is a LOT louder and there's no
    apparent distortion (at least I've not yet had to turn it up far enough
    to get any!)
    
    Using the pre-amp in this way bypasses the Laney input stage, tone
    controls etc (ie none of the Laney's controls, not even master volume 
    affect the sound) and the amp simply boosts the signal from the TE
    pre-amp to speaker level.  It works well and is a great compromise if
    (like me) you can't afford a whole Trace Elliot rig.
    
    Tony

    Thanks for the tip I will try this in the near future.I have a new bass
    coming in the next few weeks,Hohner Jack,and hopefully this will
    improve the sound as my old Ibanez Blazer had dodgy pickups.
    Does this mean,refering to you using the pre-amp,that the laney amp is
    under powered compared to the speaker as the speaker can obviously
    handle more power than the amp can handle?

    I wouldn't say the amp is under-powered for the speaker. It's normal
    for the speaker to be rated well above the amp so as to minimise the
    risk of blowing it.
    
    Since entering my earlier note I actually tried turning the preamp up
    as far as it would go to see when distortion occurred. It DID begin to
    distort after a certain volume, but it was bl**dy loud by then!! 
    
    The Trace preamp definitely drives the Laney power amp harder than the
    Laney's own pre-amp. This gives the combo a useful volume boost.
    However  the main thing is it gives a much *clearer* sound at high
    volume than you get using the combo on its own. The two are not
    perfectly matched, but they do work well together.
    
    Tony                  

    Sorry for keeping picking your brain but as you should have realised by
    now I don't know too much about amps so one more question.
    I asked this when I bought the amp but I honestly don't think the guy
    knew the answer.
    On the front of the amp is a DI socket and there is also one on the
    back of the amp.[there is also the effects loop],DI is for running an
    extra amp and speaker e.g. for stereo,so don't you just use a line out
    from the front to run this other [slave] amp to get the same sound 
    out of  the slave amp as you get out of your original amp.And what is
    the DI at the back for then? I don't have an other amp to try this 
    and haven't managed to get any answers from friends.
    
    
    		thanks for you help!
    
    					stuart.
    

    No problem Stuart!
    
    Firstly - the bit I'm sure about! The duplicate DI sockets on the front
    and back of the amp are almost certainly wired together - they just
    give you 2 alternative options where to plug the jack in. The reason
    for this is that the head may also be available as a separate item,
    possibly rack mounted, and the rear DI socket would normally be more
    convenient for a permanent set-up keeping all the cables round the back
    out of the way. The front socket would be more useful for a quick,
    temporary set up, ie when di'ing live into the pa desk.
    
    Now the bit I don't know that much about - what is the difference
    between DI and line out?
    
    Well, as far as I guess, line out is just tapping into the signal as it
    enters the amp, and would be the normal thing to use to connect up a
    second amp on stage. Both amps should then sound more or less the same.
    
    DI (direct inject) is a term I've heard used in the studio regarding
    plugging a guitar or bass direct into the mixing desk rather than using
    an amp. I'm not sure why but putting the guitar output straight into
    the desk doesn't work too well. Instead you use a 'DI box' which
    normally has a standard jack input and XLR output. The DI box somehow
    balances the guitar signal to be what the mixing desk requires. Thus
    the DI on the amp I assume gives you the same sort of output as a DI
    box - ie it can go straight into the desk in the studio or PA desk when
    playing live.
    
    Hope this is correct!
    
    Tony
    

     geez ....when all else fails ;blame ibanez!!!!
    
    I thought those pickups on the blazers were dimarzios!
    -Bill