mrtcat

[quote name='algmusic' timestamp='1321620971' post='1441273']
Would love to convince the mrs to do this
[/quote]

My wife's a legend so we have basses and snowboards on the walls and she let me redesign our garden so it'd be easy for me to wash down and dry my kitesurfing kit. All she asks is that I don't leave crap lying around where she can trip over it. She's defo a keeper.

Yeah I was referring to bars mainly as everything happens in sets and I used to find it was easy to lose track of where I was if not careful and everyone changed around me. You'll really enjoy it tho. I would defo do it again.

If anyone is building one don't use MDF or chipboard cos it's really brittle and if you're sandwich-ing it between a heavy cab and a soft foam it's only a matter of time before it breaks. Do what Flat Eric did and use ply (any 12mm will do) cos it's miles stronger and generally cheaper (avoid Homebase/Wickes/B&Q - Jewson is half the price and they have a selection).
The gramma pads really work but it's not rocket science so a home made version will work well. Try to fill the void where the triangular stuff is on a gramma pad tho cos that gap can cause problems. I believe they only used triangles as its cheaper (less foam) than a solid peice all the way across the board.

I was in a Ceilidh band once doing weddings and corporate stuff. My only advice is never stop counting and know your tunes inside out cos you'll need to be able to adjust quickly when the punters are dancing and miss their cues - which is understandable really as most are more than a little tipsy by the time you play lol.

Hey, is the CEB-3 still available?

I love your honesty lol. I have one of these and absolutely love it. There's something special about a 75. Dings or not thats a lot of bass for £850. Good luck with the sale.

Oh sweet lord that's purdy. If only I had something to trade :-(

I've built one of these before and it's a very very impressive little cab. At that price buyer will have a BARGAIN on their hands.

Just to add that I'll deliver for free within a 60 mile radius of Oxford.

The right number to have is however many you want.

If you're happy risking having just one then great. If you want ten and can afford/store them then again great.

This is about enjoyment and whatever you feel will make you enjoy it most played off against how much you want to spend / store will give you the right answer.

You're welcome!

I can't work out whether you want to leave or just want to not have to listen to the negativity. Both are perfectly understandable but require differing approaches.

If you actually want to leave then that's one thing. You sound like a very reasonable and considerate chap so I'm sure the chaps in your band (who clearly know you well) will accept if you honestly tell them that you want out. If you honour all bookings and still give 100% they can't ask for more.

If however the only reason you're thinking of leaving is the competitive one then you need to address that problem. I'm sure your band mates would hate to see you go and would be really upset if they thought you left because of an issue you didn't even talk about. In this case I would go for the gentle chat (away from the practice room / gig environment) with either the whole band or the one member you are closest to. I can't see it being a big enough issue to spoil friendships. Just do it positively. Explain that you hold the local scene close to your heart and really want to support people that you have gotten to know over the years rather than hear them being criticised.

Good luck with this. Either way I hope it works out well for you.

I have two immaculately built (if I do say so myself) and unused Bill Fitzmaurice DR200 PA Tops for sale.

I am an authorised BFM builder and I built these as part of a four cab build in July this year. The first pair sold but these have been sat under a dust sheet in my workshop since.

These are loaded with Eminence Delta Pro 8A Drivers (8ohm) and the flat tweeter array. They have all internal crossovers and filters as recommended in the plans.

Performance wise they are stunning. They're designed to be used with subs but project beautifully with crystal clear highs and a very wide dispersion of sound.

I'm asking for £800 for the pair which is well below the recommended price and massively below the price of the equivalent commercially available cabs.

I use a similar pair with my band and they always draw attention to themselves as they're not only amazing sound wise but they look cool too.

It's the top two cabs in the stack.
[attachment=92782:013.JPG]
[attachment=92782:013.JPG]

Bill Fitzmaurice web site ([url="http://www.billfitzmaurice.com"]www.billfitzmaurice.com[/url]) says:

[b]DR200[/b] [b]The DR200 is a small PA speaker that doesn't sound small. Measuring less than 20 inches cubed, and weighing in at less than 30 pounds, you can carry two of these babies in the back seat of the average compact car. [/b]
[b] [/b]
[b]Like all DRs they are more efficient than commercial speakers, so they don't need huge amps to drive them. But more important, the vertically aligned melded tweeter array delivers horizontal dispersion nearly twice as wide as that of store-bought PAs, so more of your audience gets to hear clearly what you're playing. Check out this response chart and see: [/b]
[b] [/b]
[b]The DR200 delivers uniform coverage over all the audience, so there's never a bad seat in the house. Here's what builder Art Coates has to say about his: [/b]
[b][i]"These sound so much better than the average direct radiating PA speaker - with none of the "boxiness" or "honkiness" the lower priced ones tend to have. Their unbelievably high sensitivity is just icing." [/i] [/b]
[b]Average sensitivity is 104dB per watt, at least 6dB higher than the typical $600-$1200 PA speaker. What’s that mean to you? A DR200 with 100 watts input is as loud as the average PA speaker with 400 watts input. In fact, the horn loaded design is so efficient that it can get more out of its single 8 inch driver than typical PAs get with a twelve. Plus, unlike any commercial PA cab, the DR200's bass response is easily adjustable, for maximum sensitivity and extension whether used with or without subs. [/b]

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1320682011' post='1429895']
Thanks

I wouldn't say i have comletely avoided it for 25 years - just that its never been anywhere near as powerful and obvious as it was the other night. I chatted to the guitartist last night and he mentioned that there was a great big solid wooden table behind my cab about 12-15 inches away from the rear port on the cab. The table had been turned on its side and was therefore acting like a wall i guess.
[/quote]

That may well have had a big influence. A table tob is probably pretty smooth too so would reflect quite efficiently. I dread getting the BOOM as when it's really bad its very disconcerting.

Gig wise not too bad. Covers band has done 32 so far including 2 corporate gigs and our first wedding. We're going to push the corporate / wedding thing as the pub scene is struggling a little. I totally understand the pub situation as landlords are being squeezed hard by recession and supermarket drink prices. We just feel we need to spread our net far and wide (and sell our souls) to get mass appeal. Luckily we all play cos we love it and love entertaining and this is really helping keep us busy.

Personal life has been very mixed. Got married in April (that's a +ve btw) then returned from honeymoon to find I was being made redundant. Worked self employed (cabinet maker) building kitchens etc and also as a BFM builder. The BFM thing was a nightmare. I spent hours and hours replying to emails every night but very little came in work wise until I started posting on DJ forums. Ended up building tons of subs but little else. Then last week got offered a job with a competitor of my old company which was also a big step up money / responsibility wise. I start next week. So I now have a beautiful wife, a better job and being unemployed has really helped me see how lucky I am.

Raising your cab will only help if the issue is being caused by a coupling between cab and a resonant floor. Raised stages often have this problem. In which case something like the Auralex Gramma Pad will help no end. It does however sound more like a standing wave issue. Moving your cab or playing the problem note softer are the only answers. Sometimes only a small move is needed but on occasions a more radical change helps. Hardest part is getting band mates to understand.

Must say that you've done well to avoid this for 25 yrs. I get this issue regularly - particularly in smaller venues.

If F# is around 47HZ do people out there have rough frequencies for other notes? I personally would find it very helpful to know them.

More likely the in house pa system has masses of subs and the engineer was boosting the 40-80hz range giving the huge lows. this is pretty common in venues with big systems. anyone see tm stevens at the bass show earlier thiz year?

Cool, seems like we have some good options. Many thanks to all for the help. Warwick Hunt the link you sent was v helpful. WOT are you playing in South Shields? That's not a million miles to go is it? Really looking forward to getting back up north.

This is great stuff guys. I primarily prefer rock over indie but am really open to blues, soul, rnb (the proper stuff not the crap on the radio), funk etc. Staying in the Hilton so walking distance of town and access to metro. Any of you Newcastle dwellers got a gig. Would be nice to support a bcer.

I've got a weekend off from gigging next week and am taking my good wife back to her home town for a romantic weekend. Clearly by Saturday evening I'll be all "romanced" out so am aiming to treat my good lady to a night in a pub watching a band. As I know nowt about where to go in The Toon can anyone suggest where I might find a good live music pub?

He looks like Jack Osbourne.

Totally agree with Chris B. There's heaps of brilliant 3pce bands out there and they don't rely on "filling out". If you and the guitarist have reasonable kit then you'll sound fine. Just accept that you're a 3pce and don't try to sound like a 4pce because the only way to pull that off is to get another guitarist.

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1316530180' post='1379256']
I think it's a very easy choice........You'll get far more out of spending the money on lessons with a good teacher than
you will spending the money on a new instrument. If you want a new bass,great,but if you would rather improve as a
player (which it sounds like you do) you're better off studying.
[/quote]

+1000

Best money you'll ever spend. It'll mean working hard but it sounds to me like you care enough to put the hours in.

Take some vocal autotune software just in case the engineer forgot his

Not sure I understand this thread? Surely it's a non issue. Flea has used a variety of basses and at some point that was a stingray at another it wal at another alembic. All are really nice and nobody is questioning that are they? The production process on any album pretty much negates what bass was used as the plug ins used on any instrument are numerous and the recorded sound rarely sounds anything like the post production sound.
Fleas playing is fantastic and has certainly inspired me. I don't care what bass he used I just love his bass lines.

Can't believe this hasn't sold. I use an identical one as my main gigging bass and wouldn't sell it for anything. These are £1700+ in places like GAK now.