Hi, Rob,
I think so, too. I played bass and guitar through the head and a single 115S cabinet in a club last week. It took awhile to find the sweet spot, but it was very nice when I did. Used the '74 Nastycaster, a low-ticket Ibanez acoustic and my custom fretless P-bass. They all sounded good.
BTW, that $300 Ibanez is a nice surprise. It's very full and has a lot of presence - sounds perfect for harder stuff (Dylan, Barry Maguire, Byrds). I've used Gibsons and Martins, but never have been as impressed by them as I'm supposed to be. They're sweet, but kind of punchless - probably great if you want to do an acoustic sleep-fest, but not much for strong delivery, at least not the ones I've played and heard.
I may be quirky, but I don't care much for Les Pauls, either. Never have found anything as clean and fun to play as my old '75 Mustang. When it needs to be dirtier, a Strat, Jazzmaster or Jaguar always gets the job done, and the Fender neck has always been a better fit for me than a Gibson. My Armstrong 6-string is very nice, too, but I haven't got much playing time on it - always a bass player first.
More than 40 years on my original Armstrong bass though, and wouldn't trade it for anything on the planet. Everything I read says it's a 1969, but I'm almost positive that I bought it in late 1968. It was one of the first available, and has only the input jack, volume and tone controls - no 2-way or 3-way switch. Still have the original hardshell case. Love that bass, and I know it misses the old 2000S rig. Maybe the new one will make it happier again.
Warmest...
