"Anuzza thread shot to hell. Oh well."
I'll not be chastized for wandering little off topic with folks that are my friends......this is supposed to be a fun informative place with a great pool of collective knowledge.
I wasn't joking about the power conditioner....if you haven't tried one, you should, I play out enough to say its a vital part of my rig. That said I have no sentimental spot for amplifiers, they are merely tools, if it can't be fixed just sell it. I had an Ampeg V4B from 76-80, sure it was okay as a loud bass amp but along came the chance to buy a new GK 400Rb and away went the Ampeg, I kept the 400 till I could afford to buy my 1001RB. I like a warm vintage sound tho and my present GK wouldn't by itself deliver that so I use a Line6 pedal with one of its Ampeg models eq'd repeatedly for each of my T-Birds, I've also used it's Acoustic 360 model which is fantastic........I know Johnny Crab uses this too, PM him and ask. Point being, you can certainly get vintage tone thru a modern quiet amp. To me the bass is a given, its a Gibson, not like they're making any more of them! Its why we repair broken headstocks, refin, search for pickups, etc. I'd do just about anything to save a 12k investment.