LukeFRC

[quote name='JazzBassfreak' timestamp='1393870191' post='2385321'] I can come to an assumption mass produced basses maybe have that. That's probably why it looks like MDF & chip board. I must say though, I've never seen anything of low quality from fender or Squier. No matter how cheap, the bodies are always a good hefty chunk of real solid wood. From a wood tree. That's most probably more than not, made of wood. [/quote] hmmm... I had someone in the industry tell me the Fender USA solid finish bodies would be made of up to 4 bits of alder while the sunburst would be 3 maximum so you were best going for sunburst- a few years back now. Danelectros are made of MDF. Ever played them they sound wicked. Ok not on the same level as your nice new bass but pretty good! [quote name='JazzBassfreak' timestamp='1393886522' post='2385575'] Yeah definitely it's not that I can't get on with it, it's just in general it wouldn't be my first choice to have in the neck position if that makes sense? It's extremely versatile though literally this thing will sound great in absolutely anything. Don't think any less of me but yesterday I was giving it the "Metallica test" which few basses pass for me. But EMG's + Fodera = match made in heaven. [/quote] So would you say, categorically, that it's good for metal?

[quote name='JazzBassfreak' timestamp='1393869734' post='2385309'] Am I right I'm saying some companies use the term basswood for an undisclosed species though? As I said I've had basses with bodies of "basswood" and I can definitely say it's verging on blended sawdust+glue rather than wood [/quote] no, in the same way you can't advertise and sell an oak chest of drawers which is made of MDF and acrylic veneers

looks real to me. It's a domestic one though so not particularly desirable.

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1393593835' post='2382336'] If the guy is english, it sounds like an amazing bargain! [/quote] pretty much - I don't know how to describe it but.... almost every other acoustic guitar I've ever played, and i've played a fair few mainly low to mid end stuff,sounds good but compared to this it sounds dead - the guitar sounds alive, you can put your hand on the top and deaden it to sound like other guitars i've had, take your hand off again and booooom! you strum and it sounds ok, but fingerpicking and each note bounces out sounding rich and lush and full.... I think i've found some good deals before, my Streamer stage one in a hard case cost me £400, I picked up a Peavey T40 for £120 a while back, my Yamaha BB1200 was cheap... but this is a mental instrument for the money I paid just need to learn to play it now.

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1393579706' post='2382067'] Interesting that its NZ made! I hope the craftsmanship is OK as NZ made stuff can often represent extremes on either end of the quality scale. [/quote] I think it could be old enough that he made it when he was based in yorkshire ... it is exceptional instument n- previoussecondhand price was 1.5k!

look at the weight in the specs though - one downside!

[quote name='shizznit' timestamp='1393420727' post='2379981'] I personally have never played through an ACME can, but all of the reviews and feedback I have read is that they have the flatness of an EA Whizzy, but with the bottom end of an elephant! I think that Stephan Lessard from Dave Matthews Band used them for a short time and I can remember a comment that he made about them being like a FOH speaker. [/quote] yeah that sounds about right. I got it at weekend and then on monday was practicing in our new church building as they were installing the PA.... the sound though the PA and through my headphones was surprisingly almost identical to the character of the ACME. Also shows up the clarity and warmth of the Hellborg preamp. Daftly rich sounding in the in ears!

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1393405068' post='2379733'] Pleased the cab is doing it.. but surprised about 1st cab that can do bottom end comment..??? [/quote]a lot of cabs roll of a lot higher than the acme. it gives propper bass rather than low middy bass

So I took delivery of a ACME B2 last week.... It's the first time I've had a cab that can actually do the bottom end... and it sound so so so so so so different to anything I've ever played before- makes all my basses sound like different instruments. I would say I don't like it but it's uncannily like hearing my bass through the PA so quite a good reference point!

[quote name='Reverend' timestamp='1393150382' post='2376601'] Sorry, gotta cut in here - PEDANT ALERT! With reference to 'analog amplifiers'. Class D amps are analog amplifiers. Class D amps do not by definition convert analog audio into digital audio and back again. They still contains transistors, just like your big old GK 800RB or your EBS HD350 etc, the difference is a clever way of turning the transistors on and off to increase efficiency (hence the loss in weight!). Class D amps ARE NOT BY DEFINITION 'DIGITAL AMPLIFIERS'. It's just a name that people have come up with, just like Class A, Class B, class A/B etc which categorises a particular design philosophy. I've had conversations with guys from Crown recently who've been telling me about their new Class I and Class J amps which can fit multiple hugely powerful amps onto tiny chips. But they don't contain any A-D or D-A conversion to do the amplification. So in terms of Class D amps having no design philosophy, that's not true, otherwise all Class D amps would be the same, right? And clearly they aren't, and clearly some are crap and some are unbelievable. It's just that the parts are all very small, because the efficiency gain means that they can be small. Some class D amps do have built in digital EQ and effects, but there's no reason these couldn't be put into the audio path of a huge tube amplifier at the input stage. It's just a question of whether that would tarnish the perceived 'purity' of the brand or not. You'd never see a Matamp with a digital amp sim built in, but there's no reason why they couldn't do it. Anyway. As you were :-) [/quote] Good point on the "Not Digital" - but on the no design philosophy I don't think that is what Torben was getting at. From what I understand Class D amplifiers are hard to engineer compared to older types - what I think you find in Bass Amps is lots of bass heads all based around different power amp moduals - the B&O ice power one seemingly cropping up everywhere. So if you look at a range of 10 bass heads and 7 of them have the same B&O ice power power amp inside... what you're paying for is the preamp and the box...

Good question Torben I wonder if it would be a good idea to approach it into two different directions - amps and speaker cabs. It's kinda easier I find to think about the kinda school of tone each maker is shooting for in separate directions. Looking at some of the brands you've listed Hartke for instance have a reputation for really great amps, but less people seem to get excited by their cabs; a few years back Epifani were the vogue cab builder, and Glockenklang (or Bell sound if we translated it ) have a rep of really nice flat amps... but don't seem to stock their cabs anywhere.

explained to wife - still alive! So it's a OM guitar - sounds AMAZING this is what I picked up - and my fingers hurt in a good way!- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171244215904?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[quote name='pendingrequests' timestamp='1392903342' post='2373958'] Could you maybe keep the worship leader with onstage wedges? [/quote] the way the sound works in that room I doubt it would make much difference in practice! but apparently not what we're doing.... our main guy sorting the sound knows what he's doing though.

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1392991882' post='2375037'] Washburn do some nice acoustics and its probably worth checking Tanglewood out too. [/quote] I've liked some of the Tanglewood's I've played! I saw something that looked interesting on ebay... bid on it and seem to have won it. :S could be amazing or a pile of poo - was not expecting no one else to bid at all.

[quote name='owen' timestamp='1392934533' post='2374552'] The module in the Berg IP is not a Powersoft one. If only IP came in neo! [/quote] my bad, I'ld heard it was.

it won't be the same as turning everything up to 10 as it will effect the pickup loading too (i.e. the pots still have an effect fully open) I can't think of the name at the moment but you'll want a switch that switches it across at both the input and output(jack) points. the next question you'll ask is about the second switch for having the pups in series or parallel....

The Roland D-Bass range is also interesting and ticked enough of the boxes for me to try out. I ultimately am moving it on as it doesn't fit in the back of the car with the castors on and I don't like the amp modelling. A pod into the effects return and it would be quite a versatile DSP equipped little amp.

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1392931549' post='2374498'] Hmm! Interesting! I was also thinking about a Greenboy Fearful/Fearless type build adjusted to house a power amp module or have a 'head case' type design so that an amp head could be fixed. [/quote] was it you that had used a wee class D module in a cab in the past? I thought it was. I was thinking about a Fearful 12/6/1 build, RichardD has some super light 12mm ply and it was all great till I costed it up. Decided to pay less and get more weight with a secondhand ACME B2 I think the ultimate would be a Powersoft Digimod 500 with DSP into a high end bass cab and then programme the DSP to get the most out of it. But I think that's just one of Jim Bergantino's IP range, which is what I would like to have had...

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1392931279' post='2374492'] But the pertinent question is : does letting the wood dry naturally over several years ect actually add up to much of a tangible difference in the quality of sound in the final finished instrument? And even if it is measurably different, is that difference actually" better" and necessarily preferable? I would venture that the difference between identical pieces of kiln dried wood and slow dried wood would be negligible , at best, and insignificant compared to other differences. Indeed, some manufacturers have a clear preference for kiln drying as it means they can control and more accurately guarantee the moisture content of their woods, especially neck woods like maple. [/quote] I've no idea, accurate drying would be better, I think I saw a video of a tour of taylor guitars where they did similar- I wonder if the big volume makers like Cort and FMIC do similar...

[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1392920606' post='2374263'] Any room for a post about a guitar? [attachment=155762:ljhf 022.jpg] I have an old Martin parlour guitar from 1870 - with original hard case! It's Brazilian Rosewood back and sides and has such a sweet warm, soft and direct tone. Even strung with nylon strings this guitar defies how parlour guitars should sound, it has a big tone with lots of projection and absolutely no harsh mids, which parlours are known for. I've also tried two Martin parlours from the early 1900's when they switched to Mahogany, completely different guitar and not very nice at all. The bridge and tuners have been changed and it has a few repairs but it's a real players guitar. I believe that the tone is all in the very old Brazilian Rosewood and nearly 150 years of use! When it comes to acoustics, old guitars often sound phenomenal. Of course, I've also found the same with older basses from the golden age of guitar making so with Fender it'd be [b]l[/b][b]ess production amounts = higher quality wood and build. Mass production = less value.[/b] Still, modern basses can still be great, as can 70's one's, but I find the pre 1968 Fenders have a feel and warmth that is unique and unreplicated. If that's good or bad, your choice! That's my 2 cents on vintage gear. [/quote] I bet the wood used on that Martin was cut and left to dry naturally over any number of years. I bet the same would be practice in American wood yards in the 50's and going into the 60's. I wonder how much of the wood used nowadays is left to sit for years and years to dry out, and how much is kiln dried or the equivalent? I remember years and years back Warwick making a big thing of their massive wood stores for drying wood naturally - they kinda stopped mentioning that when they went mass production...