mcnach

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1476124470' post='3151574'] Are the MK1's that fugly? Hope not I have one on order. [/quote] Well I like it! But it's more of a... 'ruggedly handsome' kind of appeal

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1476124235' post='3151571'] Whatever you do don't play one - if you like Stingrays you'll be hooked........ I'm waiting till they can increase their profit from the favourable export rate to the US, and recycle funds into lowering the price for us UK guys, post Brexit 😏 Lol - strolls into the distance to the strains of Rule Brittania!!! Seriously though, they're awesome and I badly want one!! [/quote] If I could keep only one bass it'd be my Stingray. No, the Wal is out of the range of cash I could justify spending on an instrument at the moment, so I don't want to even try one, just in case. As there are ways to get the cash but I don't want to get there

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1476110022' post='3151379'] Suggest you visit the S.E.BB blog to see a whole room of the blighters....! [/quote] After checking out their price tags... I think the farther I am from further Wal contact, the better

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1476104027' post='3151270'] I used 2 TKS112 cabs outside up against a loud drummer and 5150 gtr..and my sound reached further back on the Camera we recorded it on.. (where the sound was mixed by stage/backline only as we were running Vox only thru the P.A) So, these things run very well, IMO.... After using them for 2 years, I think they are very well thought out, well designed and built cabs and they have always done whatever I've asked of them... I've not found their limit yet.... but having said that, I'm glad about that...AND I always need to use plugs on my ears so these gigs are too loud, IMO. [b]I'd describe my sound as FULL but not deep ( as in bassy)... [/b] and these cabs continue to surprise me. [/quote] That's it. As long as you don't need too deep a sound, these cabs can do very well.

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1476099771' post='3151199'] Oh yes - when I say they're not the loudest I don't mean they are quiet, they can go very loud & I can't see a need for anything louder for me ([b]in fact I'd like to be at a gig where people feel these cabs have ran out of oomph - I just can't imagine the situation[/b]). I just meant that it is possible to buy cabs that have the ability to go louder, be that due to box size or speaker design - but it's all swings & roundabouts they those cabs [for me] either aren't defined enough, are too harsh or are too heavy! [/quote] Oh, it's not that hard... It's not just loudness,, you can dial in a very midrangey sound with no bottom and be really loud and be heard but... it won't be very... dare I say it... 'hefty' edit: I'm not saying that that's how these cabs sound... just giving an example that you can be loud but not sound great. The S112 do have a very sweet sound. I love their sound, and like you say, I found other cabs that can be louder/bigger sounding but then they're either too bulky/heavy for me to be worth it, and/or they just don't have the well defined sound I love in these. It's because of this that for a while I actually had 4x TKS S112s. That sounded really sweet. But it was no longer practical, even if each individual speaker is light and compact. So I'm still with 2x TKS S112, and they do very well... but in some gigs they're really near their limit.

On Saturday I was playing with Urang Matang, a ska band I'm depping in while their bass player gets better (healthwise, not playing... I suspect he's already much better than I am ) in Dundee. I thought we were the only band playing, so we arrived at 6ish and start setting up. Then I find there's two other bands before us and the sax player comes to me "I've been asked if you'd be ok to let the others use your amp, I said no". I love the guy, he is like me of the "if you're playing, bring your stuff" school. Yes, we do end up sharing sometimes but it should never be assumed. Anyway... I leave it at that. There's plenty of room onstage, so I just put my bass away and leave room. One band arrives. Bass player, Ralph, I think, approaches me. He's oddly familiar, I can't put my finger on it. The band is Joe Viterbo... I'm pretty sure I've seen them before. But that's not it. He says he's got his big Trace Elliot combo in the van, he can bring it or maybe he can use mine if I'm ok with it... we chat a bit, he also does sound in a bunch of venues, and I think that's where I know him from although he doesn't seem to remember me... Anyway, totally cool guy, he seems he knows what he's doing so I just tell him the speakers I'm using are not the most powerful, so go easy on volume/low end (we are going through PA anyway so it's just for stage) and he understands. They were the second band to play and they only played for about 30 minutes... but they were sweet, in a very energetic punk kind of way. The first band, Buffalo Soldiers, take their time to arrive. Just when we thing they're a no-show, they appear. Three africans and a scottish guitarist... they looked great and played even better. Mostly Bob Marley covers, but with their own twist. Guitarist played a bit too 'rocky' for my liking and never managed to have a fully clean sound, but it sounded alright. Singer also strummed an acoustic guitar. The drummer was a monster. He was small but chunky, wore sunglasses all the time and a hat that looked like it had just fallen halfway onto his face and got stuck there... he didn't smile... he seemed to be the leader, a little bossy... in fact he reminded me of James Brown in many ways... but he was on fire. It didn't look like he was playing anything extraordinary, it wasn't flashy but when you paid attention... he was just amazing at playing busy yet it fitted so well it just didn't seem like he was trying hard... His voice was great too. But for me the highlight was the bass player. I was standing outside and I saw them being shown the stage and bass player talking to the soundguy... so I decided to approach him. He was older and seemed like a very cool guy, so I just told him the same... he was very nice and gracious about not having to bring his amp and he pretty much left the amp controls like I had them, as did the next guy. But I started writing this about his bass... he opened his case to reveal a Wal of some description. It was a beauty. Satin finish... could me mahogany?... simple grain, nothing ostentacious but very very pretty. Right handed, but lefty bass player strung it as a left-hander. And then he played... he was AMAZING. The reggae lines he was playing were just beautiful and that bass sounded mighty... fat, thick, very well defined yet deep... he played lots of cool fills yet, like the drummer, managed to make if 'feel' simple... I enjoyed watching him play a lot. The only trouble is I now find myself looking at Wals... They're so ugly they're beautiful. Like a Bison. Powerful beast. It look much like this one:

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1476033358' post='3150653'] Sorry everybody, but lots of meaningless questions and queries get posted on here all the time, it was only meant as a bit of fun to find out what people who don't, or rarely gig, do if they don't gig very often. I started off just collecting guitars when I was in my early twenties, I will be 65 next month and I only started gigging in 2007 when I was 56, so I have spent more than thirty years where I have owned instruments, but did not gig, and because I might have to stop gigging myself soon, I was wondering if I can get any ideas from other BC'ers to find an alternative to gigging. Once again, I did not intend to offend anyone, it was just a light-hearted question, but if you think this post is offensive, I am more than happy to ask a mod to delete it, because I feel genuinely upset that it could be taken the wrong way. [/quote] don't worry, it didn't come across as judgemental to me either. You can't always prevent someone from mistakenly reading something into your words that was not intended. As for your question... I gig regularly, but when I started being interested in guitars gigging was not even remotely in my head. I just liked playing guitar, and recording stuff, just for me. It was a very unusual circumstance that saw me onstage in front of people for the first time... and loved it. So after that I decided to try properly. It took me 4 years to find the right situation. By then I was in two bands, a RHCP tribute and a hiphop/funk originals... I played my first gig on bass with the hiphop one, and the following week with the RHCP one... and it just went on from there. I can't imagine stopping.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1475968886' post='3150202'] I never use the pad, always feel it's just putting another 'effect' in the signal chain that you don't really need - just turn the gain down [/quote] that's my approach too. In many amps engaging the pad also feels like it's changing the sound (compared to simply turning gain down, or bass volume down), and not for the better...

Well... I just sold the ATK300. It sounded great, the neck was wonderful (I like big necks), it looked amazing... but it was a little heavy and big bodied and in the end it wasn't getting used so much. A very young guy came nervously to check it out and took it with him. I hope it gets the attention it deserves now.

... and done

[quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1475845836' post='3149184'] Every tolexed Barefaced cab made since summer 2015 has used a water-based adhesive which has proven far better at staying stuck (we haven't heard of any cabs peeling since then) and is nicer to work with. [/quote] Fingers crossed!

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1475843974' post='3149164'] Hey, if the tolex ever does peel, you could view it as an excuse to have it re-covered in red! [/quote] I always had you as an intelligent person, and it seems I was right all along [quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1475843974' post='3149164'] But I'd hope it's something they've got sorted out by now. I wonder if they're using the water-based type of tolex glue which would be kinder on their staff and easier in terms of H&S paperwork than the old style solvent based stuff, but seems a bit more finicky in use. I find it interesting that they've gone for ceramic drivers with these, and it sounds like they capture a lot of what you like about the sound of ceramic drivered TKS cabs. I was sceptical about the ceramic vs. neo threads for a long time, but maybe there's something in the idea that certain ceramic drivers have some sort of characteristic colouration to them. [/quote] Re: glue... possibly. In many areas we're getting more 'human-friendly' replacement materials and they're often not performing as well as the classic ones. I had the same thought although I don't know if it's a ceramic vs neo issue. I can't say I have enough experience with cabs to draw that conclusion. BF seems to be aiming for a different type of sound with their Retro series based on that ceramic 10" driver... and I don't know how much of the sound is due to the magnet material. There are a lot of ceramic equipped cabs that I don't care for too. But it is possible that there's something in there... It certainly has got my attention now.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1475843517' post='3149158'] I got a Roqsolid for my Two10 - a 5mm foam padded with a placeholder strap. It was a return in great nick and I got it for £23. Just to be annoying. [/quote] I hate you even more now. I hope you break the G string on the RW Precision

[quote name='Huge Hands' timestamp='1475839127' post='3149087'] Mine are serial numbers 9 and 10, so yes, early runs. I did take them back to Brighton after about 6 months and one of his team reglued them, but it is peeling again. I am only speaking of this as my experience, it doesn't bother me that much and one day I'll get round to squeezing some more glue on them! I would also say it's a great shout on the Roqsolid covers - I've had a few accidental bumps into things that have meant my cabs still look pristine (from the front, anyway!) EDIT: I didn't see JTUK's post above when I typed this - my covers aren't padded, but do enough to stop bumps and scrapes. I also had a drum cymbal stand press into the front while we were unpacking which saved the grille, and saved me killing the drummer.... The cover didn't have a mark on it either. [/quote] While I agree that reglueing is not a complicated procedure... it just seems that it should not be necessary. People have been building cabs covered with various finishes, glued, without problems. For decades. So that would/will bother me if/when it happens. It's something I'll put up with without fuss if I'm happy with the cab in action (compact, light, powerful, good sound, not necessarily in that order ) but I really hope they've sorted it out by now. I am under the impression that it was just an initial mishap with their glue choice/procedure. We'll see! I always go for padded covers. You can still fold them relatively easily when you want them out of the way if you take care of where you put the creases, and they give me a little extra confidence. Although it may be little more than psychological, as that amount of foam is not going to stop any serious impact. So far so good, 'though. I'm the one who loads/unloads/sets up... and that's not likely to change anytime soon. What I did for this last one was order it with the underneath flat too. It doesn't cover the whole of the bottom but a large part of it, and that will be handy when using a trolley. It'll be easy to add an extra bit of material (I actually have a small bathroom mat in the car boot for that purpose) held in place by the bottom flap, to ensure the trolley doesn't mark the bottom... the bottom is actually the side when used vertically.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1475837894' post='3149076'] If a cab chips too easily, then I don't think the Roc covers I've seen would be that much help over any period of time. You'd need quite a padded cover to protect against bumping into doors etc..which is always easily done with any size cab. [/quote] The most padded version Roqsolid do is I think 5mm. That's what I had on my Compact and BB2. It's similar to the TKS one, to give you an idea. It'll protect casual gentle bumps but that's it. However, most of us don't have the luxury of employing roadies so that's probably ok during transport. For me the problems with the 'tuffcab' finish came when the cabs were in use actually. Someone bangs a stand against it, or a hard case, and you can get a chip on the finish. Easy to touch up, but not the most durable. I used to have a TC Electronic RS210 years ago. If you want a pretty looking cab, that is not the best to go for. It acquired marks amazingly fast, and I tried to be careful! One of the options for the Roqsolid covers include a 'sleeve' where you can add a rigid board for further protection, but I think they only do it on the front, for cloth-grille cabs I suppose. Still, they're just covers, they will never offer the kind of protection that a hardcase would, which is what you'd use if you relied on other people loading and unloading your van... and they'll negate any kind of advantage that a light/compact rig would offer.

woohoo! the cover was sent earlier today! So the Two10 will see action next week for sure. First the Wednesday gig... and on Saturday I play at the O2 in Glasgow so it seems like a great opportunity to see how it behaves on a decent stage

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1475832312' post='3149021'] That is what I thought in 1974 and it's what I think now. Pity I spent so much time and money in the intervening 42 years proving to myself that I was right in the first place. [/quote] Don't worry... one day you'll find the Stingray and it'll be worth it

[quote name='Huge Hands' timestamp='1475831833' post='3149015'] I've had my pair of 210s for well over 18 months. I thought the logo thing would bug me at first, but it doesn't - Nobody ever sees them due to my fat a**e and legs being in front of them anyway. I rarely play mine on their side - I much prefer the extra whoomph from them being horizontal, and rarely need to use both. Most of my gigs are more than covered by a single 210. Welcome to the club McNach, I really enjoy mine. The peeling Tolex on the edges of the rear access panel is still frustrating, but they more than make up for that in sound! [/quote] Were yours early production ones? I hope they sorted their glue issues by now! Other makers manage just fine! I still haven't taken mine out of the house... the cover will be here anytime (looks impatiently at the watch). Tonight's and tomorrow's gigs will be done on the pair of TKS S112 'though as I don't feel like experimenting on these. But next Wednesday I have another midweek odd gig, the same student promotion deal in town. This time it's with "Radge Against The Machine", so I will use the Two10 there for sure, especially considering Tim C uses these cabs now Not that it play any role in my decision to try them, but my guitarist is excited about it. It's probably the second time in all my time playing that a guitarist cared about what cabs I use I have to say I like the sound it makes at home with the Streamliner 900. The LM3 remains in its "ready-to-go-to-a-gig" case and I've been too lazy to fetch it and set it up. Maybe tomorrow afternoon I will have some time before I get on my car for my gig in Dundee. I like a lot of definition in my sound, and the lows present but tight. That's something I loved in the TKS S112 and everytime I get the chance to use them in anger I end up smiling a lot. The only thing is their output is limited, so in some occasions that is not ideal. Most times it's absolutely fine, but when it isn't it's a bit sad. I'm getting the feeling that tonally I will not like the Two10 more than the TKS S112, but it may be close enough and sound good enough (in fact it may even sound VERY good, from what I'm hearing!)... and it'll be a lot louder and with more 'oomph' yet the low end seems reasonably tight, unlike the Compact/BB2... (not that they were bad, but this is more my thing)... I just want to stop typing and go use the damn thing. I'm only here out of frustration while I wait

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1475831740' post='3149013'] I wouldn't know - you'd have to ask one! [/quote] Ha!

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1475831099' post='3149004'] That is brand new information! Seriously though; we all know that but we are creatures of lust that have an inherent need to spend money which is why we call buy ourselves nice stuff. If it was just about tone/groove we'd all be using P-basses & sending everything DI'd through the PA. [/quote] We'd still find something to argue passionately about

[quote name='Marty Forrer' timestamp='1475806918' post='3148912'] The point is that not a single one of the punters paying to see you play gives a rats about the grill and logo. It's the sound and your groove they care about. [/quote] you choose the colour of your bass because you like it or because you think someone else out there may care? Aesthetics matter. Would a logo (size, orientation or even design) be a deal breaker? Not to me. But do I have a preference? Of course I do. Does it matter enough to me to do something about it? Well, it's not on my top 10 things to do this weekend You seem to have a very utilitarian and black-or-white point of view. Function matters most, no doubt. But aesthetics are an important factor to me for sure too.

[quote name='rushbo' timestamp='1475790059' post='3148864'] complained that a compilation CD we were selling at £12.99 (in our dinky little Indie shop) was available at Sainsburys for £11.99. I asked him (not unreasonably. I feel) why he didn't just go and buy if from the aforementioned supermarket. "They ain't got it in stock", he replied. [b]My parting comment was "When we haven't got in stock, we sell it here for £10.99".[/b] That day, I lost a sale. Satisfying? You betcha. [/quote] That's brilliant!

[quote name='northstreet' timestamp='1475443602' post='3146003'] I'm right handed. I do all the complicated things with my right hand - writing, using tools, using a mouse, texting (and you've got a dirty mind!) etc etc. So why, when I play bass, do I do the complicated bit ie fretting with my left hand? Wouldn't it make more sense to play it 'left-handed'? (I've tried but I've been playing it 'right-handed' for 40 something years and my brain just melts). Any ideas out there? [/quote] I think the right hand does the job that requires more dexterity, so it seems the right way round for me...

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1475759553' post='3148529'] I tried and liked Rotosound Nexus strings, I liked the sound , tension, feel and look. However I occasionally play with a pick and it takes the coating off. How to Black Beauties fair? [/quote] I used both... they last about the same.

The label on the side... I wish it were a corner/diagonal logo instead so that it worked in vertical and horizontal configuration, but not a biggie. Here it is next to the TKS S112s for comparison. The Two10 is almost the same width and depth, just a tiny bit wider, and taller. I should still be able to put two of them in my boot