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DGBass

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  1. Sadly, that type of sound is a dying breed these days. @Phil Starr was on to something when he talked about fashions and trends. The choice of speakers for compact high performance light weight cabs almost dictates the use of 10 or 12 inch drivers and that affects the tonality. Most 15 inch high performance drivers that can deliver a substantial "thud" or "thump" as I prefer to descibe it will need a certain cabinet volume to work efficiently and at their best performance. The reality is that 1x15 cabs designated as high performance aren't very compact. If that was possible, I'm sure we would have seen a compact lightweight 1x15 thread here on basschat that delivered a useable build plan to conclusion. If there is one I may have missed it? And that's why there aren't so many of them around in the commerical market. The only one I've found interesting is the Mesa Subway 1x15 and thats because of previous experience with the high quality of Mesa cabs. But it costs nearly £1000. I've gone the lightweight route and found that modern boutique 2x10's still can't emulate the mid sucking thump a good vintage 1x15 cab can. I'll admit I'm firmly routed in the past as far as thud and thump are concerend and use a 44 year old Musicman RH115 made of solid pine but loaded with a state of the art Lavoce Neo driver. It weight in at 23kg, is a one handed lift and has that old school thud and thump in spades. The point here is that maybe an old school cab is worth hanging onto just to get that sound and maybe a modern driver upgrade will help lighten the load and be less expensive than shelling out a grand or more for a modern 2x10 cab or a 1x12? An SVT 810 is around 64kg. I mean, thats weighty. You could easily shell out a grand or more for some of the recommended modern lightwieght compact cabs that are always mentioned in these type of threads. There is a lot of scope available in a cab that weighs less than an svt810. For example, you could pick up a good Trace Elliot 1518 cab for around £50 that weighs 39kg but will have thud and thump by the shedload. Neo drivers don't really make much difference tonally, its all about the weight. I sort of wish when recommendations are made for boutique modern lightweight cabs that folks wound prepend a recommendation with the line "if you have a grand or more to spare, why don't you check out x cab from y manufacturer. It keeps things real. I love that old school thud and thump, a p-bass with flats and a large booming 1x15 cab. You wont ever be able to emulate that with a 1x12 or a 2x10. Yes, you might be able to move as much air, but the tonality will be different. I've tried for years and never come close. Open to any recommendations though with potential costs attached🙂
  2. I use an old Shure PGX4 system which was originally sold as a wireless mic setup. I use it for bass and it works superbly. It runs at approx 900Mhz (with a range of approx 50 metres line of sight) which in the UK is designated a carrier frequency for mobile phone providers but low power applications for commercial/medical and some other applications are allowed. It might be prone to mobile interference but I haven't had any issues with that so far. Mobile Operators using this band, usually called band8 support 2G and 3G which is on the way out in the UK. More modern wireless systems seem to use frequency bands in the wi-fi spectrum which will I guess be easier and cheaper to design as its fairly standard wi-fi technology. I haven't used a modern 2.4G or 5G wireless mic/guitar device so I couldsn't say if it might be affected by someone's wifi router in the vicinity. I'm sure the boffins will have taken that into account with selected channels to operate on 😐
  3. Could be a number of things, and Ashdown are probably the best people to contact as theses amps are eminently repairable. From personal experience, blowing the mains input fuse usually points the finger in the direction of the ouput board, maybe a shorted output device ( there are six bi-polar output transistors on the output boards. A failed/shorted one can overload a rail and blow the fuse ). I've never seen the pre-amp section ever fail in one of these amps and blow a fuse. For the most part I haven't seen a transformer go bad either in an EVO III amp. These versions are tuned to run at 575 watts so there is a lot of juice going through them. The bi-polar devices only usually fail prematurely if they aren't getting cooled properly over time or the heatsinks being clogged with accumulated dust/grime over the years can affect cooling. There is also a thermal cut out so even if it was poor cooling the amp would cut out long before something actually failed and work again after it had cooled down. Basically not a DIY easy fix if the mains is blowing. Ashdown should be able to sort your issue out easily. I always keep a fully working spare output board but touch wood, I've never needed it so far🙂
  4. Rap Metal band in the noughties - walk on track was played over the PA by the sixth member of the band at the front of the stage using mini disc samples of Destiny's Child tune 'Bootylicious'. Instead of Kelly, Michelle, Beyonce can you handle this, our vocalist would point out to and insert the name's of the band's wives/girlfriends or frequently other people he was trying to wind up. Caused a stir on several occasions but became a standard part of our show and for the most part everyone loved it and expected it😉
  5. I'm sure there will be some discussion soon on the RM owners club thread but I do agree with the new look. I never cared much for the previous versions of rootmaster with the curved metal case and chrome or silver ( or red or black ) fascia. This new EVO3 looks like a premium product in a standard no frills rectangular black case and now has cab sim features not found on even an ABM. Whats more Ashdown don't seem to have hiked the prices either which is good news for any potential buyers. I'm sure I read somewhere that these would also be rack mountable but there's no mention on the NAMM page. That would also be a very usable feature to have for me. I recall filling in an Ashdown questionaire a year or maybe even two years ago asking what wish list of products I would like to see in the future from Ashdown. One wish was a standard black box design class-D ABM style pre-amp head with an ice blue front. I'm not sure that will happen anytime soon but these new EVO3 RM's are as near as I'll get to that wish and thats not a bad thing at all. Top marks to Ashdown for aesthetics and product features on these new evolutionary models. Even the little OriginAL Evo looks the biz. I can see a lot of folks emptying out their previous RM's to update and good discounts on new old stock of EVO2's.
  6. +1 to that. I think the ice blue finish on any ABM speaks volumes and is instantly recognisable as Ashdown's flagship product. The original black EVO V looks cool, the ice blue version even cooler in my opinion🙂
  7. First rehearsal the other night of 2024. It's a brand new project and is shaping up to be a jazz/blues fusion sort of thing with hopefully a sax player joining for next rehearsal. There is also a marked departure from my other rock/blues band volume wise. The new drummer has a jazz background and plays very quietly so there isn't any need for my ABM or my 700RB. I took along my smallest amp, an old Gallien Krueger with an honest 125 watts @ 8ohms that hadn't previously left the house and was my home/studio amp. To my surprise it was more than capable in the new band situation and it wasn't being worked hard at all. Also tried a wireless system a very kind bass brother donated to me at Christmas. It's old school but worked flawlessly. Not having a lead snagged around my foot was another pleasant first for me in 2024.
  8. Not all cab manufacturers use a red to red and black to black wiring design. I would tend to leave the wiring as it is as in this case where its black on the red terminal and red on the other. From the pic it looks like the 10 inch drivers also have a little cone fatigue from over excursion which would suggest its a well used cab and has been operating at or near its limit. That might be why the horn stopped working in the first place. If the horn works fine when swopped over I'd be inclined to screw it back together and job done.
  9. Gear4Music ( no affiliation) have replacement parts some Eden cabs if you felt it might be worth trying a diy repair? At the moment they have replacement horns for under £20 but they are I tihnk for D series 2x10 cabs eg 210XLT & 210XST. Depends what model cab you have as if its not a D series you may need another type of replacement horn. Actually, they also have e-series replacement horns. Might be worth a look.
  10. Best purchase of the year was my used but well cared for Fender Player P-Bass The purchase was in the bag by 1pm on New Years Day 2023 so it also qualifies as the first and quickest blag of 2023. Closely followed by a shiny red box purchased from @Chimike and which is just as fantastic as the P-Bass. Nothing really bad purchased at all this year. I did buy a used Boss SYB-3 out of curiosity but that was moved on quite quickly so may qualify as worst purchase purely as it was only in my possesion for a short time. But it wasn't really so bad, just not for me.
  11. A pair of Electrovoice ELX115P's. Probably a bit overkill for pub gigs but nice to have the available headroom. They only handle 3 x mics for vocals, some kick drum which they cope well with, and some occasional amplified acoustic guitar. Do their job very well and so far very reliable.
  12. Well spotted. We are all SAHB fans and the name comes from a track on their album Tomorrow Belongs to Me.
  13. Final gig of 2023 last night. No2 Baker Street in Stirling Town with an intimate, chilled out and appreciative crowd. Very warm atmosphere and the band played well. Only issue bass wise was a seamless switch over from my main bass playing finger to the backup finger mid tune towards the end of the third set when a touch of cramp set in during Go Buddy Go. Apart from that one issue, a very enjoyable end of year gig was had by all and very well paid as the accumulated wealth in the band gigging bank account was cleared out end of year and distributed between the band members. Bass rig on the night was my trusty lefty MIM P-bass into a GEB-7 with an accentuated 120Hz boost, an LMB-3 and same as it ever was via a TC Poly Tune. Amp wise was my Ashdown Labs MK500 and trusty 1980s Musicman RH115 cab sporting a recently installed Lavoce Neo high performance 15" driver. Sounded immense and super heavy on the low end. A wee video clip from the drummerist video cam set about two foot back on a shelf behind our drummer and looking towards the audience. Taken with a mobile phone camera. Merry Christmas Bass Chatters 🎄 My Movie 7.mp4
  14. This weekend's rig of choice... At the end of this year, i'll have been using my 80s Musicman cab as my go to cab for ten years. Believe it or not, its a one handed lift. Actually it only has one handle on it 😉 To celebrate this milestone its just recently had a really nice spec Lavoce Neo driver installed which is warmer sounding that the previous more hi fi Faital Pro 15PR400. Sounded immense with my trusty MIM P-bass and a rather wonderful Ashdown Labs MK500 circa 2008 providing the oomph. Forgot to bring a back up amp to the gig but really, with Ashdown kit, i've never needed one.
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