Dad3353

What is this 'finishing' of which you speak..? At best, it'll get a rub-over with a sanding belt and a coat or two of boat varnish. If that's not good enough, I'm a fan of Hammerite.

We'll see, but 12mm is quite stout already, and the panels are not that large. The combo has a shelf for the amp, and the 4x5 will really be 2 x 2x5, as there'll be a dividing horizontal partition between the volumes. I doubt that it'll get so loud as to resonate the panels, but we can always add later, if need be. It's an experiment; there's little 'science' behind it except having seen photos of the PJ C2. The rest (port volume etc... ) is just guesswork.

Bass cabs, and amps, we have in plenty. They do a fine job, for small, pub gigs, festival stages and rehearsals at home. However, a new genre has turned up : garden party, or living room, jams or micro-concerts. The essence of these will be almost spontaneous, light-weight affairs, with minimal gear (but of good quality...). There's the rub, presently: we have a practise combo, but it's a bit past its sell-by date, and puny, even then. A recent garden event showed up its weaknesses. It doesn't 'cut the mustard', and for these events, we don't want the faff of a Big Rig (in this context, a 4x10 Ampeg is a Big Rig...). That's the issue; here's the solution... A while ago now, I bought, from a fellow BC member (thanks again, PPP...) a set of six Phil Jones five-inch speakers (OK, 'drivers', but I'm old, you see, so they're 'speakers' to me...). Now is the time to see what can be made from them. Daft as I am, I immediately thought of the Phil Jones C2-type of cab, and decided to see if I could 'copy' the concept, and make a combo of it. We have on hand an amp (Hartke HA3500; overkill, really, but we have it, so...), so I sketched out a few ideas, and popped them into Blender (a graphics tool I use for 3D printing, making virtual model trains and other stuff...). Here's the result, modelled into 'real-world' panels and carefully assembled to check the measurements... If you've read carefully, you'll remember I had bought six speakers. Let's see what a modular system could look like, with a 4 x 5 extension cab... More modelling; this is what comes up ... All very well, but what will it look like really..? I don't know; let's find out. Here they are, stacked in a virtual salon, with a bonhomme for scale... Well, that's the idea, anyway. I spent two sleepless nights working out a cutting list from one single 2500 x 1220 x 12 sheet of ply, took it to the wood folk and had those panels cut. I've a few lengths of 17² for gluing into the corners; we'll see how it all pans out. It won't be quick (a couple of weeks, maybe..? We'll see...), but I think I have all we need to get started, anyway. To be continued; wish us luck ...

Here's a clue ... None the wiser..? No, It's not a P-Bass. Here's another clue : the cutting list ... No..? Still stumped..? Read on; I'll explain in the next couple of posts ...

It's a question of context, with the whole band being heard. Our Eldest plays through a Triaxis and G-Force in his rack, Nico, our second guitar has a Vox multi and others, his keys cover the whole sonic gamut of whatever we're playing. We find that a clean bass sits far better in the already crowded 'dirt' spectrum without adding extra 'mush'. I know that it's possible to retain the core bass sound and add all sorts of whatever, but does it actually sound better as a result..? Not for us. Similarly, I keep the same snare for all the set when playing the acoustic kit, but even with the e-kit I much prefer the same 'core' drum sound, whatever the number, and simply dial in a side-stick or splash cymbal if it's really needed. I play differently, which changes the overall effect through dynamics, as does Our Youngest on bass, and that suffices, for us. When we listen back to recordings, either rehearsal or 'live', we're not shaking our heads at all the Fx that are not there. It sounds fine. Sometimes we even recognise what the song was supposed to be..!

Indeed, and more. Heresy, I know, but, if it sounds good, it is good ...

That's the thing, you see. Different with e-drums, nowadays, but how many Drummers will swap out their snare to get 'that' sound that's on the original being covered..? Any of 'em have timpani on hand, or the gong that sounds in the intro..? Are the drums even tuned appropriately for the various songs to be played..? In my experience, drummers tend to play on one kit for the whole evening, whatever the tune 'needs'. For bass it's very similar; one size fits all, if one decides to just get on with it and play, instead of tap-dancing like a guitarist. Yes, we all different, and some are more 'precious' than others, but it makes very little, if any, difference to the evening, in many bands that I've played drums, or bass, in. 'Old school'..? Indeed.

+1 ^^ (...although I'm far from the 'shed-building' class of drummers...). I've not really played my acoustic kit for... well even longer than that... since buying my (inexpensive...) e-kit, which I've fitted out with some extra pads, a laptop and Superior Drummer 3. Total cost..? Less than a set of decent cymbals. I've even bought a second 'kit' (Alesis CompactKit7...) for ad hoc simple jamming at buddy's places or 'garden gigs'. I'd still record with the acoustic set, but doubt I'll be leaving the house with it all, if I can use the e-kit. It makes so much sense, and sounds darned good (through a decent PA, naturally...).

Ha, indeed..! With that mic'ed-up backline I can see the problem..!

If there isn't, maybe there ought to be..!

Nice shirt.

All that would work, but there may be simplifications. I would assume that the drummer has monitors for himself..? Or does he only ever play with headphones..? Sound levels are not an issue for me, so I never play my e-drums with headphones; it's so much better, and more comfortable with a pair of monitors. If he does the same, then I'd ditch the headphones altogether, for jamming, and just play through your amp and his monitors. No need to go stupidly loud; you both have control over the volume in the studio. A feed into the DAW works, of course, so recording is no problem, and playing back through a headphone mixer is fine, too (although he could route the mixed playback through his monitors, too, and listen in comfort...). If there are no monitors, I'd recommend taking the headphone feed from the mini-mixer (no latency, and just simpler...). Again, DAW playback could also be routed into the mixer, and thus into the 'phones. Your diagram would work; I'd do it slightly differently, but the idea is valid.

Good evening, Ross, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

Ah, I think I understand the confusion. You mean that the turnover for 2015 was 10m less than that of 2020, yet profit was the same. I read the dates as opposite (it's ambiguous...). OK, thanks; I agree.

Just curious, but why would this not be sustainable..?

Good afternoon, Norman, and welcome back... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

I realise that we're atypical; we use an OBBM signal cable straight into the amp, nothing more. It helps that the amp is a Hiwatt 200w valve head; it does all we want (clean headroom to the sky...). No 'dirt' here, thank you very much.

That lot draws more than 2500w..? Something needs checking, I'd say. In our practise room, with one ring of sockets from standard (in France...) 16A circuit, we have a Hiwatt 200w valve amp, Laney 50w valve combo, Mesa Simul-class A 2x90 valve amp (and Fx rack...), a Crown 3000w PA head (plus mixer...) and my e-drums (with laptop, mixer, powered monitors etc...). Oh, yes, and a few keys/synths and their laptop and Fx etc. No surprise; it's never shown any sign of tripping, and nor it should. It may get loud, on occasion, too. Yes, we could switch it all on at once, but I don't see why we would. We have to wait for the bottles to warm up, anyway.

It's not in its saddle groove.

Fixed.

Would that have been the 'documentary' film from Jean-Luc Godard, called 'Sympathy For the Devil', or 'One+One'..? Quite an eye-opener, I found; I don't heartily recommend it, as it's rotten, and wouldn't sit through it again, but it does serve to shed some dim light on the shenanigans of the time. Be warned, however : it's Jean-Luc Godard, not Stephen Spielberg. There's very little (that's to say no...) action. Have a pillow on hand.

Good afternoon, Martin, and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share.

He would be, if six were nine.