Alec

Yup, I use a laptop bag for my TC RH450. And they're knocking about for nothing at work (the bags, not the amps, sadly). Just right to hold the amp and cables. Dead robust (which is more than some reports say of the TC bag) and fab value - especially when free!

My Genz Benz NEOX 212-T is the business (with my TC RH450) - I nowhere near its headroom. It's still a bit bulky to fit in the car, but light enough to lift in easily and the wheels make it easy to whizz around. Did pick up an Aguilar GS112 the other week to give me a smaller option if I need it. But it's nearly as heavy as the NEOX 212-T! The sound's good, but has got nowhere near the bottom end of the NEOX 212-T. Always wondered about getting 2 separate 12" cabs instead of the 212-T. Would love to hear what 2 GS112s sound like, as everyone says they're great. If they were and were lighter, they'd be a fab option. Unfortunately, they're simply the weight they are. So I'd definitely recommend trying the NEOX 212-T. Always happy to give a demo if you're nearby in Herts!

For me, the tuner alone is just about justification! I know I can always use a separate tuner, but it's more bits & a battery to maintain. The fact that the tuner is *always* there and on is brilliant. I'm also swung by the coolness of it - and the fact its settings are *so* visible in a dark venue. The presets - wanted them, but don't use them too much. The one slight benefit that the Classic has (other than price) is the dedicated Compressor knob, where the RH450 has it as a shift function. Ultimately, though, my philosophy has tended to be: if in doubt, go higher end. The pain of the cost is quickly forgotten, but the benefits are there fore ever.

[quote name='poptart' post='1120943' date='Feb 9 2011, 08:22 AM']Well, I have played through this rig at Frankfurt last year. A good customer of mine who worked for KV2 audio had been helping on some of the design aspects. It is a full on, PA for bass (which is like much of the gear I sell at Bass Direct anyway) however it is much larger and louder and would be well suited for large stages. The sound is not coloured or tailored like so many domestic "bass rigs" it is a pa/monitor system - what you put in is what you get out. It is amazing if that is what you are looking for, however compared to the compact rigs of today, is not for the average gigging muso IMHO. Pro's or gear heads only need apply - oh, and it will be pretty expensive![/quote] Hmmm.... Makes you wonder how much of this stuff they'll shift. Regardless of the quality, so many of the bands playing big stages need a "show" rig, hence the popularity of Ampeg SVT 8x10s - even if the bass is just DId and through the mons. The times when you see other big rigs tend to feel like endorsement deals, which are there to sell the cheaper gear to Jonny muso - except it looks like there will be no cheaper gear. Wonder where this'll go. That said, KV2 are hardly mass market as it is, so maybe the boutique line will work OK for them? Wonder what the prices will be like...? As a clue, in their PA line, other than their (not very) budget KX range (around £1k for a 12" active cab), you'll struggle to find prices, as they're definitely on the pro side! As a clue, their excellent passive [url="http://www.kv2audio.com/product.asp?ProdID=VHD2.0&ProdSeries=VHD"]VHD 2.0[/url] cab lists around the £7.7k mark - per cab... Makes you think again about your Peavey Eurosys PA, eh!

And another thing.... Are you aware that Speakon sockets are designed to be airtight, something that many jack sockets absolutely aren't. And, while it's one thing to use instument cables as speaker cables, the other consequence I've seen (where the PA had jack speaker connections) was people who'd used instument leads for the PA speakers, and speaker leads for the instruments - and they wondered where the hum was coming from...

[quote name='markstuk' post='1103556' date='Jan 26 2011, 01:08 PM']4 mm core twin cable is about £2.50 a metre and rated at 45A normally.. And OBBM's cables are such good value you'd need to have a good reason to make your own, or be a dab hand at electrical stuff and happy to buy cable in volume..[/quote] Well.... I can make a 1m speakon cable using 4mm Van Damme cable and 4 pole speakons for £8.40, which is less than half OBBM's price, so I'll carry on with my own cable making thank you very much. And, back to the instrument or speaker cable debate... Another drawback to jack plugs for speaker connection is that if a jack plug is removed under load, it will briefly short - which is clearly not a good thing. Have had a few items years ago that used jack plugs for the DC adapter connection - always hated the little spark if these were connected/disconnected under load!

I always use the 4 pole Speakons rather than the 2 pole ones - much easier to insert & remove. Yes, 1.25mm cable is probably slightly on the lightweight side, 2.5mm would be fine, 4mm would be ample. Also, do you really need a 2m speaker lead? Much better to get it the right size - though more for convenience than performance.

[quote name='crez5150' post='1100815' date='Jan 24 2011, 02:18 PM']I saw this earlier..... Strangely this is made by the same people that Make KV2 Loudspeaker systems..... I've played plenty of festival with this stuff and it's proper.[/quote] Yup KV2 make pukka "big boys" PA - serious, serious dosh for some of this stuff, and *highly* capable. Bodes very well for the bass line! Anyone for their insane VHD4.18 (4 x 18") sub!!!

[quote name='icastle' post='1097763' date='Jan 21 2011, 04:38 PM']You're being taxed to spend the money that you've already been taxed on... neat trick if you can get away with it... [/quote] Indeed, as a higher rate tax payer, I earn £100, pay £40 in tax. The remaining £60 will buy me £50 worth of goods/services with £10 going in VAT. So half of my higher rate earnings goes to the tax man. (Or, of course, way more than that if I'm buying drink or petrol!)

[quote name='stewartmusic' post='1097243' date='Jan 21 2011, 11:06 AM']As everyone knows VAT is now an astronomical 20%!!! 1/5 of what you buy goes to the government...fair?[/quote] Not quite - it's actually 1/6 of what you pay goes to the government (think about it)... But I'm really starting to notice VAT these days, especially with those people who quote ex-VAT, and even more so compared to about a year ago when it was only 15%!

[quote name='icastle' post='1088217' date='Jan 13 2011, 04:00 PM']2W Speakon cables are usually all that is needed to connect a speaker cab to an amp. The 4W connector has twice as many connections to allow for bi-amping. You can use a 2W 'plug' on a 4W 'socket' but not vice versa. 2W plugs are always cheaper than 4W plugs and the housing is smaller (as they don't need to have 4 wires connected inside them).[/quote] I always use 4 way Speakon plugs as the ergonomics are much nicer. Always find the funny collar on the [url="http://www.neutrik.com/uk/en/audio/210_102911/NL2FC_detail.aspx"]NL2FC[/url] a fiddle: But the simple trigger & barrel layout on the [url="http://www.neutrik.com/uk/en/audio/210_308361/NL4FC_detail.aspx"]NL4FC[/url] make it much easier to insert/remove quickly - particularly without looking, which is kind of handy as speaker sockets are usually tucked away round the back. And, thankfully, everyone seems to use 2 way sockets on their devices, so no problem in using either kind of plug. And the cheapest option is to make them yourself: just £3.77 each for plugs [url="http://cpc.farnell.com/neutrik/nl4fx/4-pole-speakon-plug/dp/AV09774"]here[/url] (ignore the fact they show the wrong picture) from CPC (Free Delivery on all orders over £10 - Simply add WEBFREE in the order comments box during checkout - Offer ends Monday 17th January 2011 at midnight) plus a meter or so of any decent flex/cable and you're sorted. Don't even need soldering!

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1050441' date='Dec 7 2010, 01:47 PM']Err, yep, sorry mate, it is! When I say new I mean the 'latest' versions - [url="http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=whatsnew"]http://www.genzbenz.com/?fa=whatsnew[/url] They arent in this country yet, but that has made me like the 'look' of them even more.[/quote] Ah, so they are! Only bought mine in the summer. Haven't had carpet covered cabs before (it replaced an 80s Trace 1210), and not really sure which I prefer. That said, I've seen vinyl start to tear, and carpet seems a bit more robust, even if it collects bits. And really can't decide if I prefer one grille over the other. They do sound cracking, mind... Anyone who fancies a play with mine, along with my RH450, in the Herts area is most welcome to pop over!

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1049861' date='Dec 6 2010, 09:53 PM']In addition, the new Genz 212T is vinyl covered.[/quote] Er, no, the NEOX 212T is carpet covered. I've gone a similar route, although not with the combo, as my amp love is in the TC direction. So I've got a pair of TC RH450 heads, a STL10-T cab, and a NEOX212T cab. One head lives with the little cab, and is an easy move around for rehearsals & small gigs. The other head lives with the NEOX212T in a performance space, and comes with me to bigger gigs. And this way I always have a backup amp on hand. And the pain of the, not inconsiderable, spend earlier in the year is now gone - replaced by the happiness of how easy it all is to move round, and how good it sounds!

[quote name='dincz' post='1026352' date='Nov 16 2010, 09:48 PM']That [4 pin XLR] looks like the best option then. The Neutrik version seems to be readily available in Europe. I thought they were used for DMX but apparently that's the 5 pin version.[/quote] DMX is, strictly speaking & sticking to the standard, 5 pin XLR. However, many DMX items use 3 pin XLR instead or as well. 4 pin XLRs are readily available, with a number of variants stocked by CPC. The only area I've found them in use is to provide power to gooseneck lights for some mixers - Allen & Heath use them. Some radio packs use mini 4-pin XLRs to attach lav mics, too. A slight downside to using XLRs for instument connection is that they're normally locking connectors. Sounds great in theory, but consider the moment where you outstretch your lead. With conventional jacks, the lead simply comes out - embarassing, but quick & easy to rectify. With locking XLRs you could damage the instrument, amp, or the lead - and you may not be able to recover. That said, you can usually remove the locking latch from XLRs, so that'd get you round that - although they're then a little *less* secure than jacks...

[quote name='ezbass' post='1024500' date='Nov 15 2010, 01:11 PM']I can't understand why more amp manufacturers don't offer phantom power, after all it's pretty standard on PAs.[/quote] But that's the problem. Phantom power is *a standard* for PA kit with balanced inputs. For instruments, there is too much kit that would not be compatible. Without a very clever solution, you'd need at least a 3 conductor cable/connector. OK, so stereo jacks & XLRs can do this. However, without ubiquity, your instrument wouldn't work with a non-compliant amp. Worse still, plug in a regular instrument and you may damage it and/or the amp. It's an OK solution to add for your own kit, but you need to be well aware of the risks & limitations if you do. And, even with PA kit, you're not immune to problems, as you'll always get the odd person who carelessly connects unbalance kit to a balanced input supplying phantom power. And I've come across units with balanced outputs that don't behave well if they get phantom power supplied. And then there's the question of different voltage requirements - etc 9v vs 18v... Thank goodness that the batteries in most instruments last almost forever!

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1016753' date='Nov 8 2010, 08:07 PM']I guess the rear sockets are useful if your using rack gear that also has rear sockets. It keeps it all neat on the front. Personally i would prefer it all around the back so the leads dont block quick access to the knobs on the fornt.[/quote] There are arguments for front (easy to get to when racked), and for rear (tidiness, especially when racked). In my view the ideal solution is to replicate these sockets front and rear. On my old Trace AH-1210 I added a second input socket to the rear of the amp. A pretty easy mod as there was already a blanked off hole for a jack socket on the rear panel, so it was simply a matter of soldering in some shielded cable and a socket. That way there's the immediacy of just plugging into the front. Or, if using the wireless kit, connecting it to the rear, much more neatly.

Does seem to be one of the crap bits of design with the Shuttle series. I rather like the way Ibanez recess the handle into the top of their cabs. Even though the head mounts in the rear, this gives the cab a usefully flat top - genius. I've got a Shuttle 10-T cab that I use with my TC RH450 for home & practice use. Thankfully, the feet on the RH450 are *just* tall enough to get round this problem.

Also, asking "how many watts do I need?" is completley pointless without knowing the efficiency of the speakers concerned. This is hugely significant in PA kit, and it makes far more sense to look at the actual SPL that can be achieved, and which is required. Buying an amp based on "how many watts" it has makes as much sense as buying one based on "how many kilos" it weighs. (Actually, that's a significant part of the deal these days! but doesn't give any clue as to performance)

[quote name='eude' post='917200' date='Aug 6 2010, 05:36 PM']I'd give this little guy a go >> [url="http://www.mackie.com/products/srm350v2/"]http://www.mackie.com/products/srm350v2/[/url] We use the 12" unpowered versions of these as part of our PA setup for pub gigs and they're awesome![/quote] Not bad as PA speakers, but neither are they fantastic. Pretty poor as bass speakers, though. Back to the general discussion, yes - you could make a reasonable speaker for not much. But it's the pro touches that add to the cost, like using great drivers (£100+ for the best 10" drivers), good tweeters & crossovers. Quality joinery is an art beyond many. And then there's the covering - it's not easy to make a speaker cab that looks good and will stand up well to heavy use. Not to mention a matching grille on the front. Some people will be delighted with their home-made cabinets, and may not be bothered if they look home-made - and a skilled minority will be super proud, as their home-made cabs will look professional. For those without the skills, there's may also be value in a well made commercial product that looks good. And then, don't forget the value of the badge itself... All that means that a decent cab is never going to be that cheap. Mind you, I'm still amazed at what Ibanez have managed to achieve with the Promethean...

[quote name='Spoombung' post='917134' date='Aug 6 2010, 04:48 PM']I don"t get it...£492 for this?[/quote] That's a RRP, so more like £400 in real life. But yes, still blimmin' pricey. Where's the money going? It's a US import for a start, there's a degree of prestige and smoke & mirrors magic built into the price, a quality driver, good design, and a well built cab. One of the keys for me was the light weight of the GB cab. Is it worth it? That depends on the customer and what their priorities are. I gulped at the price, but ultimately am happy with the result. I do agree that the Promethean looks like a fantastic proposition, and was sorely tempted.

Possibly the smallest & lightest is the Genz Benz Shuttle 10T cab, available [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Genz_Benz_Shuttle_Cabs.html"]here[/url] from BassDirect. Still pricey at £420 delivered, but puts out an outstanding amount of sound, and weighs less than half (16lb compared with the Bag End's 33lb). I've got a pair of TC RH450s, with a Genz Genz NEOX212T as a main speaker but, to be honest, after hearing the STL-10T, I'm almost convinced that I could just about get away with gigging with that alone! It's certainly got all I need for small gigs & practice! The great thing is that, even with my middle-aged weak back, I can go anywhere with bass in one hand, cab in the other, and head in a bag over one shoulder - no problem - single easy trip from the car. In fact, each of the three items is a similar weight, with the bass gigbag possibly now being heavier than the head or the cab! I'd be fascinated to hear their 8" cab... Was very tempted by the Promethean for a home/practice/backup amp, but ended up going this route so that I had the same amp as my stage setup and, although it's cost me double, that's soon forgotten & I'm a happy puppy!

Nostalgia city, I had a Thunder IIa, same as the pale one in the opening post. Bought in 1987 as my second bass for £180, and only superseded by my much desired Status Empathy in 1993. Kept the Thunder IIa for a while, then sold it to someone at work, as I really only ever need one bass. Sorry to see it go, as it really did feel & sound fantastic. Outstanding value for money at the time!

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='903515' date='Jul 23 2010, 07:30 PM']It looks like Rob put in the TB42 preamp which is the standard one that all the SII models had before (and sometime after) the Empathy. Nothing wrong with that at all. It'll still sound amazing! If your bass had stacked controls, it must have had a non-standard preamp added by a previous owner.[/quote] No previous owner for this bass, I've had it from new, and hoiked over to Witham to pick the woods in the first place! It had the original stacked bass/treble and sweepable midrange pots that were the norm for early 90s Empathys. About 8 years later Rob swapped out the preamp for the TB42 - so spot on there! And thanks for the welcome - been lurking for too long! Must take some more decent pics, including my brace of TC RH450s & my little & large Genz Benz cabs which I've mentioned over on the Statii forum...