dmccombe7

This was my working rig for bigger venues :- Ampeg SVT4 Pro Bergantino HT322 Keep the GK 1001RBii as a back up altho Ampeg knackered at moment so GK will take over for a bit. [attachment=238251:bass room 003.JPG] With the GK head :- [attachment=238254:The big 1000W BASS rig.JPG] Also use a Markbass 121 combo and ext cab for smaller gigs :- [attachment=238253:Markbass rig 004.JPG] Have a TE rig at reahearsals but not a huge fan so no pics. Also just bought an Orange OBC115 to use with one of the amps possibly even the Markbass combo but undecide on which combination i'll go for. Dave

Used a Roland Pre-amp split into 2off Matamp all tube power amps with Hi end into a 2x10 custom cab and Lo end into a 1x15" custom cab With my Fender Jazz it was probably the nicest tone i've ever had but heavy rig to be carting about when you only weighed 9.5stone Got rid of the full rig when one of the power amps caught fire one night while playing and roadie got a belt from it when he went to switch it off. Dave

[quote name='Killstarz' timestamp='1487156903' post='3237550'] I ended up getting the OBC410 in the end as one came up at a price I couldn't resist. It's a lot heavier than I would have liked but I'm very happy with the tone I get through it. [/quote] That's kinda why i ended up with the 115 cab Good to see you got sorted. Does the 410 still give that deep low end. ? Dave

Having tried the OBC115 at rehearsals i found that the depth was there and great low end. Lacked a bit on the hi-mids but that should be EQ'd out with the amp once i get a bit more used to it. Found it gave the band a more full sound than the old TE 2X10 cab i was using at rehearsals. Might at some point add a 10" or 12" cab to get sharper mids if EQ doesn't quite cut it. Dave

Cheers Grant. I was finding much the same as you and what you told me when i picked it up from you. Quick update from rehearsals and found the low end was spot on with what i was hoping for. Using the Trace Elliot head there was a distinct lack of higher end ranging from the hi mids to treble frequencies. Just needed to tweak the amp a touch to remedy that however the TE amp started to fail again. Swapped to my back up head GK MB200 and apart from little boost on the bass and using the contour smiley face switch the cab behaved without issue. Having been away from 15" cabs since 80's i still need to address the lack of higher end clarity. Will try adjusting the amp EQ and failing that might look at adding in a 10 or 12 cab. One option that i tried in the house was using my Markbass combo which sounded full range and top end much sharper. That will be my first option next weeks rehearsal. If that works ok i'll maybe look for a 2nd hand Orange cab and start using my GK1001RBii for gigs. Ultimately an Orange AD200b head and an additional matching 4x10 but that's silly money. Overall the rehearsals have never had so much depth from my bass. Even my Jazz sounded rich and warm and plenty of depth and low end. Not booming but just rich, deep and warm. Dave

Yep agree he is extremely talented both at playing and songwriting and i really enjoy his "normal" solo bass work like the first clip however he does do a lot of double or multitracking but his technique is fascinating to watch. The 2nd clip was a waste of time to me and boring. Would hate to have been in the audience at that point. Probably a good time for a Pee break during the gig Dave

[quote name='Left Foot' timestamp='1487077739' post='3236790'] Spacebass is a bit nutty for me, so is the white blob. However I really love the look of the millimetric bass, even the headstock has grown on me. Anyone played it before? [/quote] Too square for me amd looks quite cheap and tacky for my taste. My guilty passion bass would be :- Had one years ago and quite fancy another but price puts me right off. Dave

[quote name='uk_lefty' timestamp='1487072965' post='3236713'] I wore two watches at my last gig. On the same wrist. What does that mean?!?!?! [/quote] Disturbed One for older songs and one for modern songs Dave

I have the Precision Deluxe and altho it has a passive active switch the tone control doesn't work when in passive mode. Kinda weird set up but tend to leave in passive mode anyways. Curious on your thread and hope we both see feedback on this one. Dave

Excellent. Its always a nice feeling to hear yourself on radio shows no matter how often its played it still gives you a kick. Dave

Tried various straps with varying widths and padding styles. Tried the Gruvgear one with the double strap one over each shoulder. On majority of my basses i just use it as a normal one shoulder strap and can either remove the 2nd strap or leave hanging at back. The width and padding is excellent and hardly feel the bass on my shoulder in comparison to others. Not cheap tho and the length available in UK is limited to shorter version only. I used a good quality leather belt to extend mine by 4 " to get correct bass height and i play normal bass height with bass centre line just above waistline of my jeans. You can get the extended version from US tho. Dave

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1487068029' post='3236645'] To get back to the topic An album needed to be released between Oct 1st 2015 and Sept 30th 2016 to qualify for this years award. Hence why Adele's 25 was put forward for the 2017 award and not 2016 [/quote] Explains it all. Is it based on album sales only ? Dave

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1487016215' post='3236301'] not a big Bowie fan after his Ziggy period but as Jimi Hendix once said "once you're dead you're made for life" and he should have known [/quote] Much same here Paul. Station to Station and then i lst interest until Blackstar which i bought on pre-order before i knew of his circumstances. I had heard some clips from it and thought it was more a return to his older style. Little bit off thread but its Bowie and he deserves it more than Adele. Dave

[quote name='Shonks' timestamp='1486990358' post='3236034'] this has probably been done before, or maybe not, anyway, I thought I'd start this thread and give away some simple tips I've picked up over 40 years of gigging and sessioning. please feel free to add any or criticise..... in not any particular order:[list] [*]loop your cable over your rear strap button [*]loop your cable through the handle of your amp [*]check batteries on an active bass [*]run pedals from PSU's when possible [/list] ---[list] [*]turn your wrist watch to the inside (you can see the time while you play - no one knows your looking) [*]look better than the audience (dress right for your gig) [*]don't constantly stare at your instrument as if you've never seen it before (try and play confidently without looking) [*]don't have a clip tuner permanently on you guitar (amateur) [/list] ---[list] [*]be prepared to change a set list on the fly (read your audience) [*]played a bum note?... remain looking confident ... smile...raise a subtle and accusing eyebrow at the guitarist..., deny all after the gig... [/list] ---[list] [*]on a session do everything possible the producer asks (obvious) [*]try and get it right and tight the 1st time (if you want to be called back) [*]reading: check the 'geography' of the piece (meaning: repeats, signs codas etc) [*]before the take: look for bars of particular difficulty. It's not bad to ask the MD how a particular section should be played. [*]any complicated unison parts, specially with brass sections - see if you can con them into playing it for you. Brass players are usually exceptional readers. (after they've played it, tell them it was wrong - watch them get upset, they'll play it again and you say " yeah, that's more like it" - gives you more of a chance to clock it! and they think you've paid them a compliment) [/list] hope you found this useful - anymore? please add! [/quote] Some sneaky ones in there but you've probably covered all mine with your list. Great post, enjoyed the read and learned a few things i had never even considered Dave

Probably agree on the Bowie thing of recent years not producing best selling albums. Maybe the odd song from each album but i would struggle naming his last 10 albums and i was a huge Bowie fan. Blackstar is for me a good album with a couple of great songs. Not a brilliant album just a good one. Agree he probably only got the recognition because of circumstances. It does make you wonder why Adele album didn't get the award last year in 2016. From a pop point of view it probably is a good album. I quite like her voice but having bought one of her albums few yrs back i found the album a bit boring with the songs sounding very similar and for that reason wouldn't buy one again. Dave

Its just a shame Bowie didn't get that recognition when he was alive. Adelle has a great voice admittedly but she always comes across as false with all the tears and the "oh i can't manage to sing this because i'm so upset" crap that she does every year. Get over it Adelle. George Michael had a few good songs but he wasn't that good or that influencial and what is that crap all about with Beyonce. Lets be honest here she and her management team would stab her in the back to gain the award so stop trying to kid everyone to get the sympathy vote. Been done too many times now to have any effect on sensible people. I didn't actually watch the program, just the news highlights this morning, as its all back slapping friends of friends that enter it, run it and get the awards or nominations, Closed group IMHO. As i said Adelle has a good voice but she knows it and has been living the life for several years now so awards ceremony shouldn't be a surprise. All for the cameras crap telly. Far too many award ceremonies these days. Everyone giving their friends a wee pat on the back for doing their job basically and its a job they all chose to do because they enjoy it. Jings i'm sounding like a bitter and twisted failure now Dave

This is my first review i've tackled so hope its ok. I bought the OBC115 Cab from a fellow basschatter and have to say from the outset it has more than surprised me. The cab was in virtually new condition with Orange cover to match. Its the black version which means you don't see any scuffs the way the Orange cabs seem to show up. I've been finding that my existing amps or cabs don't appear to have the depth i'm looking for now that i'm playing in a Blues based funk / rock band using a Fender PJ. So far the test is at home in the bass cave and will find out later how it sounds at a full band rehearsal. Bass was set flat with centre balance between PJ. TRACE ELLIOT GP150 SM This is the main Amp i have been using with a TE 2x10 cab. I left the EQ as it was with a smiley face set up on the graphic and no contours selected and the EQ balance flat centre point. The sound was very low and an amazing depth to it. There was a lack of high end tone with the current settings. I then put EQ flat on the graphic and found that the tone from the cab was far more balanced across the tonal range and there was enough bottom and top end to play some slap and pop styles. Not ideal but it works ok. The cab provided a nice warm sound from a deep low E to a high G on the 12th fret. All clear but sounding rich and warm. GK MB200 This is my small portable back up ampand with everything set flat on the amp i had a usable tone but needed to boost the bass a little and cut the Hi Mid leaving the Lo Mid and Treble as they were at 12 o clock mid point. Switching the amp contour ON i found the low end was very booming and altho might suit some styles it wasn't for me. Setting the amp up with these settings produced similar tone to the TE above. Nice warm tone across the range with clear mids. MARKBASS CMD 121 COMBO (12" cab was unplugged to give just the amp and 115 cab) Started off with everything set flat and the VLE at 10 o'clock and VLF all way OFF. The cab sounded pretty good but a little too much hi-mids. Tweaked the EQ by backing off just the Hi Mid a touch and was able to use just the VLE to get some really nice warm tones from the Markbass. The higher end EQ didn't have a great effect on the cab or tone. However it was giving me that warm even tone i was looking for. MARKBASS CMD 121 COMBO (with 12" speaker connected) This took the overall tone to a new level where the top end was bright sharp and crystal clear yet the low end from the 115 was providing the lw end depth i was looking for. This set up would suit most styles of music in my opinion. GK1001RBii This was probably the biggest surprise. I normally use this am with my Bergantino HT322 cab and EQ is set upflat with just a touch boost on BASS control. The Contour is usually set at 10 o'clock and the BOOST set 12 o'clock. With these settings i found the cab to be very bottom ended and a little muddy even tho the EQ is minimal. The top end was very thin while the bottom end muddy and boomy. Decided to take Contour OFF altogether and bring EQ to flat. Left the BOOST at 12 o'clock. With the amp running flat the tone across the range was far more even and producing some nice warm, rich sounds. Taking the BOOST off gave it a warmer sound altho in my opinion a little dull Ideal home settings were EQ flat, Contour and Presence OFF and the BOOST back at 12 o'clock and that gave me a nicer overall tone. To round off i actually thought the Trace amp had the better sound with this cab at the lower home volumes but that may change when things get ramped up. The range off the cab is quite impressive for a 15" and i would have to say that 2 off these cabs would make one helluva sound with most amps. Afraid my Ampeg SVT4 Pro is not working at present and that would have been the ultimate test for me. Perhaps the nest step for me is the Orange tube head AD200b. I can see how that and 2 115 cabs would be a pretty powerful sound at higher volumes. Bit of an odd review using different amps but was trying to show how the cab compared with different heads. I will see about updating a bit after rehearsal next week. Hope this helps. Dave

Great review as i've only recently tried Orange gear and have been so impressed by it its fuelling my GAS no end. Just the price that puts me off but you get what you pays for in the end. Just bought an OBC115 and its quite a surprising cab. Lots of low end depth. Afraid my lightweight gear just doesn't provide that proper speaker depth. Yrs ago i was always a 15 & 12 custom cabs ot 15 & 2x10 custom cabs to get best of both worlds. Fair impressed with the Orange 115 and might start lokng at a matching 10 or 12 cab. Eventually top it off with that AD200b head. Tried the head thru a Hartke 8x10 and as many have said it just works. No tweaking required. The tone was just right from the Orange head. Warm, deep and lovely clear mids that allwed it to cut right thru the mix. Dave

Not sure if you've made your mind up yet but i just bought an OBC115 on BC and the sound is quite astounding. Very low end with lots of depth. I did find it lacked on the top end so if you're into slap and pop style not so good. I'm currently playing in a blues based funk rock band and this cab fits the sound perfectly. I've tried it with TE GP7 150W head, GK MB200, GK1001RBii and Markbass heads and the TE suited it very well with no tweaking of EQ required. Markbass much the same with minimal tweak. Both the GK amps i had to tweak a bit to get good sound. The 1001RBii i virtually had to take everything back to flat to get best overall tone from the cab. Guess that's a good thing. Then tried it with my Markbass combo 12" with Orange cab. That gave it everything. Great high mids to top end and that amazing low end depth from the Orange. I like the sound on its own but depending on style of music i would be playing would maybe add a 12 or 10 cab to offer bit more high end. You can see from my equipment list the types of amps and cabs i'm comparing against to hopefully help you understand my opinions. It is quite a heavy cab. Not a one hand lift but probably its size makes it a bit more awkward. 24" wide but compared to my Bergantino HT322 its nothing. All in all it would depend on your style of music and playing whether it will suit. Personally i love it. Dave

Well done and that's what its all about. Dave

Just returned from Perth after meeting Grant to buy his Orange cab. Grant was fantastic and offered to meet me rather than drive all way to Dundee. He even offered me £20 for fuel. Top class guy. Price was agreed beforehand on Basschat so rather than offend i asked if he would mind giving the money to his son who was with him. Hopefully we all had a good day out of it. Had a great chat about amps and cabs and how we have both tried the bi-amp route and still seeking the nirvana of sound altho i think Grant may have found his with his Fender Bassman head and Barefaced cab. Cab has unbelievable depth and low end. I am so chuffed with this. So far i've tried it with my Trace Elliot and GK MB200 heads and it sounds amazing. Looking forward to trying it with Markbass and GK 1001RBii heads later tonight. I can highly recommend dealing with Grant. One of the nicest guys i've met thru BC. Dependable, quick to reply and very obliging. And his cab is in virtually new condition. Thanks again Grant, very much appreciated you meeting me at Perth. Dave

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1486674194' post='3233800'] It's nice enough music of it's type, but what does a second drummer add to it? [/quote] Stereo

Surely the soundman should be dropping PA off to hear your backline and adjust FOH to similar sound. I occasionally have to tell sound guy that there is something not right and he adjusts to suit what i want. Of course he may change it back once the gig starts Dave

My Ampeg is a tube pre-amp but i also have GK1001RBii and Markbass rig. Its a TE GP7 SM 150 but its an old one and the cab is a very very old one. I think the tone thing is sorted now as i've tried it with gramma board and its a lot more stable tone and now has a bit more depth. I do remember that guitarist sat on the edge of the cab at one point and it changed the tone so it may have been the floor that was causing tonal issues. Have tried combinations of amps to cabs to amps and have tweaked the EQ on the TE amp to sound more like my Markbass rig. That may have been the prob. With PJ bass i found i had to cut the Mid frequencies a bit and boost the bass a touch. I had been using the contour buttons as well and think i was bosting mids on graphic but cutting with contour buttons. Someone had mentioned to me in an earlier post to leave the contour buttons and work of the graphic and that has given me a fuller sound thru the 2x10 cab. Hopefully it will sound better next weeks rehearsal. Failing that it will be binned and something more up to date used as a rehearsal amp. Maybe an Orange 15" with Terror head if i can find one. Thanks for replies Paul. Gonna try the Gain up higher too and see how it all sounds. cheers Dave