A trip to the musicshop: A/B comparisons

Hi guys,

As my first thread, I'd like to make brief summary of yesterday's trip to the main musicshop in Milan (Italy), to look for a portable amp. It ended up making some A/B test of basses and amps, so maybe you'll get some useful information.

A few words about myself: 31y old, I have been playing mainly guitar for about 15 years at a semi-pro level. I recently focusing more on el. bass: it felt natural to me to move more on the rythmic side.

Lest's start!

AMPS TESTED:
_ markbass mini CMD 151P (about 1000 EUR)
_ markbass minimark 802 (about 700 EUR)

BASSES TESTED:
_ FENDER JAZZ BASS FSR CLASSIC 60S FIESTA RED ROSEWOOD (about 1000 EUR, japan)
_ FENDER JAZZ BASS AMERICAN VINTAGE '64 BLACK ROSEWOOD NECK (about 2000 EUR, usa)
_ FENDER PRECISION BASS 64 HEAVY RELIC AGED WHITE (about 3000 EUR, usa)
_ WARWICK CORVETTE PROSERIES 4 HONEY VIOLIN (about 600 EUR, korea)

MY IMPRESSION:
Both amps sounded very transparent and versatile: using all passive instruments, I could go from a delicate acoustic-like to an active-like bass sound, using the builtin filters. The minimark is about 50% lighter and less powerful than the CMD, but still quite loud for club gigs. I am looking for a portable amp, to be brought on the metro or even on the back of a bike, and the minimark seems to suit the purpose. Any other alternative?

There was a hiss, probably related to grounding of the room el.circuit or neon lights: the hiss stopped if I touched the bass hardware, it was present with all basses and amps, it was invaried if I went way from the room.

The basses: the MIJ JB looked and felt superior above all in terms of finishes. The fretboard was better refinished and the rosewood was a lot smoother and uniform than the usas and the warwick. My personal taste about neck finish: I liked more the MIJ poly and the unfinished warwick, than the usa finish (nitro?) or the heavy relic p-finish (didn't like at all).

The bass sound: less powerful output from the MIJ compared to the others. The americans sounded more responsive on the treble side and and more dynamic than the MIJ, maybe a matter of pickups. The warwick sounded more aggressive and less versatile than the others (not surprised). All of them sounded very good to me.

Best!
Fabio