VTypeV4

I'm not 100% on this as I've not had the box apart but I think the 15 is a de-rated Eminence Delta-Pro. It seems something of an odd spec with such a low thermal rating but a heavy-duty cast frame.. I'll be honest, I've never heard it complain but that may well be that I'm much closer and on axis with the more efficient 410HE. I don't have big lows in my sound either so maybe that and not running silly loud helps keep cone movement and consequential risk of complaint down.

I like mine - it's paired with a 115E with both being driven by an SVT CL. It's voicing across the spectrum seems to suit the SVT plus the horn / x-over setup work almost as smoothly as my SWR cabs.

I'm reasonably sure the series 6 amplifiers don't feature the Bi-Polar Bear power stage, only later SM, SMC and SMX series were affected.

I think the main issue with using an HPF (on any instrument) is when we're making changes, we're nearly always making them in isolation rather than actually in 'full mix' context. Sometimes components within a mix need to sound 'worse' to make them fit the big picture in a 'better' or more useful way. The oldskool desks with fixed HPF frequencies and slopes went a good way to improve mixes and make life easier but with digital we can now better fine tune the instruments in our mix. From tiny gigs to full-flight festivals, I use a HPF to some degree on every channel with the exception of the sub / kick..

It's official, the days of this particular 02R running FOH are numbered. Recently, the venue won a grant to make a number of all-round improvements with some pennies ear-marked for a console upgrade. Whilst it's not yet arrived, an A&H Qu32 will soon replace the high-mileage Yamaha. I was also given the option of a full-fat X32 but thought the Qu is arguably the better quality product, it suits myself and the needs of the venue. In an ideal world, I'd have chosen an SQ although the reality was, it was just a bit too far to reach but I've plenty of good experience with the Qu range. 🥰

This thread has certainly gathered some pace! ❤️ 100% on the 'horses for courses' thing, Phil - I used to run a small / medium-ish PA setup with several Peavey boxes, some big horn loaded subs and what felt to be about 8 tons of Crown and JBL (QSC) power amps. All together, it was just short of 10K so mainly inside gigs but there was the odd out door session too so this was where the Mackie was tried and the chap I used to do the PA with loved it but when I was mixing, comig from 'full time analogue' to the Soundcraft XD and 02R, I was just never comfortable enough with it plus the 'verb was a little lacking. The PA was largely sold off about ten years ago as it was a direction I didn't really want to go in anymore but the other chap still has a couple of amps, some HiSys 4 boxes and the little Mackie DL. As for the HPF, It depends on the voice, mic, technique and how the system is setup - tune by ear although it might be more useful to do this during a song rather than the usual 'yeah yeah, hey one two' mic check. During the song, slowly nudge the HPF frequency higher and higher until you reach the 'I've gone too far' point then back it down to the sweet spot as I'm a great believer in keeping the mix clean by getting rid of components that may cloud it - sweeter in isolation may mean worse in the mix. 😃 Loving the vintage pics, Chienmortbb! 🥰

Ha, absolutely - me too! 🤣 I can't say that I've much experience of the stage box / ipad type mixers although I did try a Mackie DL16 for a short while. It was ok but I never really loved it as I simply couldn't get round it as smoothly or as quickly as I could a conventional mixer. I appreciate, they're great where space is at a premium plus they offer so much more than any equivalent analogue mixer of even three times the foot-print. 😃 Being honest, even my smallest Yamaha digital (DM1000) is a bit too chunky to hide behind the drummer.. Great that you have a solution that 'does what it says on the tin'.

Glad you had some joy and success with those suggestions, Phil - it's always great to see something both positive and conclusive come out of a thread. 🥰 Out of interest, what mixer are you using? Chienmortbb, let us know how you get on too, and, don't worry, we won't let any singers know what's happening! 😆 Depending on setups, I'd nearly always advise on use of a high-pass filter at 120 - 150 Hz (assuming a slope of at least 12dB / Oct) on the vocal channels and possibly the fx returns as no-one needs fx with a load of boomy 'plosives in them as it'll simply ruin your mix.. We'll talk about compressors another day.. 😆❤️

Kind words, many thanks indeed for that. 🥰 I particularly liked that last sentence - definitely something I'm used to when on tour although I'm still proud of my collection of ever aging relics! ❤️

Not a problem, Phil - always happy to help as you are on speaker queries.. 😃 I've used this starting point for many years now - as far back as when I was using analogue in the world live full time with an A&H GL3000 and a pair of Yamaha SPX90 multi effects units which are all featured on said Yamaha 02R thread 😆.. Another trick that is use of a 'doubler' which essentially a very short delay (30-50ms) with low or even no feedback sometimes with a little pitch shift too albeit rarely greater than 15% sharp or flat. This can useful to 'fatten' a vocal and tends to work reasonably well in most situations especially on vocalists that 'don't like fx'.. Again, adjust to taste. Keep us posted and let us know how you get on plus don't be afraid to tweak those settings; a longer reverb time might work better in a certain situation or maybe less feedback on the delay in another - have a bit of fun with the mix and enjoy the experimentation. Cheers, Matt 👍

My personal starting points are usually a short-ish plate or hall reverb of around 1.2s - give or take - and then in addition to this a short delay with 180ms (or thereabouts) time with around 30% feedback. These are approximate settings and won't work on everything all the time (plus different fx units have their own sound too) so you'll no doubt find some vocals will lean towards sounding better with less of one / more of the other and vice-versa - adjust to suit the sends / returns to suit. Good luck. 😃

We've all been there! I love all three of the Squier basses I own - I've not had a Fender for many years.. 👍

Whilst not the bass I play the most, it's the one that's appeard on more sessions at the studio than anything else. The Squier is only an 'Affinity' example but there's just something about it. I've done at least one gig on it too. 👍

The V6 taking a little break whilst the freshly serviced V4 took centre stage for a bit of testing. The Status Energy 5 and AH400SMX at use as part of a live electronica session the other week - I actually played in front of an audience again. Both were as ever, completely faultless and worked a charm.