eude

[quote name='bobpalt' timestamp='1329838922' post='1548259'] [color=#0000CD]I'd be on this like an aggressive moss[/color] I always thought Kate was quite a submissive type of lady??? [/quote] Not after 14 Smirnoff Ices!

My mate who is setting up a new rehearsal studio near Edinburgh, is putting in these with the MB200 head for the bass rigs. At that price he's got one for each space and a spare! I know it's not going to move the earth, but it'll kick the arse off anything at a similar price I reckon. If I didn't already have my Promethean Combo, I'd be on this like and aggressive moss Eude

I might have confused my bits... Zoom - 32bit, higher quality audio devices 64bit, right? sh*t, I don't think I know what I'm talking about Eude

I believe the Zoom is only 16 bit, where most dedicated recorders these days are 24 bit. If sound quality is ultimately an issue, it might not be the best bet. Having said that, I can't really hear the difference between 16 and 24 bit... Eude

[quote name='jjay69' timestamp='1329733762' post='1546393'] Just adding a couple of thoughts from this bassists point of view. 1. Im very dissapointed if i walk into a rehearsal room and find a bass combo, no matter how good it might be. From experience i've found them underpowered, farty and usually been hammered and give the impression of a cut corners approach where the bassist hasn't been considered. 2. Im equally dissapointed to find only 15"speakers available, too boomy and no clarity, 10's or 12's are much more flexible imo. I have gone out of my way to convince the whole band to avoid rehearsal rooms with gear like this and rehearse at a place where i know i can get a half decent sound. Based on this crude bit of research i would say picking the right gear can have a big effect on the success or failure of your venture. Whereas how fancy the studio is makes no difference to me at all. Though one thing i think all rooms should have is a blackboard or whiteboard for jotting notes down or explaining parts to the guys in more complex songs. [/quote] Noted dude. I know what you mean, crap kit can make or break a studio, at least if it wants to attract the right kind of customer. I also appreciate what you mean about finding a crappy combo. My experience of almost all rehearsal studios has been crap bass gear though, combo, 8x10 fridge, never ever the kind of gear I would choose to use. Finding a battered old Trace 1x15 combo is equally crap to a solid state ampeg head and fridge. Since the advent of Micro Bass Heads I would always at least take along my own head. The best compromise is quality kit that doesn't cost the earth. I think a GK microhead and 1x15 + horn cab is a good compromise, especially as my pal could buy in a spare too. Would that kit turn you off too? I'd be quite chuffed to find something like that... Eude

Morning, thank you for all your help guys! I've relayed all my (your) thoughts to my pal, so we'll see what happens. If he's willing to go secondhand though, I reckon that would be the best bet, there's a couple of Ashdown ABM 1x15 combos on here at the moment which would be ideal, and there's that Trace setup I could get hold of too. Failing that, I reckon that little GK setup would be magic, with a simple bike lock setup to keep the amp attached to the cab, to stop it getting stolen... Cheers BassChat! Eude

Not sure what the plans are. Like I said, I'm just trying to help a mate out here with speccing the kit out. I do think he's going to be operating things in a slightly "classier" manner though, as it's going to be used as a teaching facility for local schools, youth groups too. I'll have all the info when it's done though. Just a shame I'm all the way down here in London, I won't even be able to make the opening doo Eude

I'm thinking the credit card details on booking is looking like a VERY good idea...

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1329684918' post='1545979'] Sod that shop in Edingburgh, get these GK amps! 200W into a 4-ohm speaker will be plenty loud enough for a small rehearsal room, and this is quality gear. Only problem is the amps are so small they could be easily pinched. [/quote] Oh, I hadn't thought about that. I'm sure there'll be a way of dealing with that though, credit or debit card details to confirm a booking perhaps?... Eude

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1329684634' post='1545970'] I have to confess that the GK stuff looks a bargain and my past experiences are that they are robust... result! [/quote] Yup, and that MB200 head is getting silly good reviews. Job done I reckon... Eude

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1329681539' post='1545898'] Your mate needs to take into consideration that a lot of folks using rehearsal rooms are complete fcukwits when it comes to using gear! Not all but you'd be amazed. Reliability and ease of use are paramount; my mate runs a rehearsal studio and he had LOADS of grief when he bought cheap cr4p the first time round and it took no time for the gear to die/get wrecked. Our own personal gear might get used a couple times a week (more if you use it in the house) and gets used by someone who knows how it works; rehearsal rooms can have gear running 12 hrs a day, 7 days a week and being used by folks who don't have the foggiest idea about input gain never mind ohmage issues (more in a second). As such I'd personally be looking at Peavey gear as it has a proven track record (old Trace gear stands up to abuse but then you are talking used). Also, though they may not be everyone's cup of tea I'd suggest combos rather than separates; reason being that I've known bands swap cabs around and plug multiple cabs in using all sorts of cr4ppy guitar leads and it is all too easy to have a bassist grab a bass amp and plug it into a guitar 4x12 (using some totally inappropriate cable) and before you know it you have a blown 'guitar' cab or worse if they stick a couple of 4 ohm cabs on an amp that operates at min 4 ohms and you have a fried amp (bonus of some of the Peavey gear is that it is safe down to 2 ohms... though you don't tell your rehearsal space customers that ). Not trying to put him off but he needs to assume that everyone is an idiot... then he won't be disappointed! [/quote] I hear you mate. There's no availability of any of the big Peavey combos anywhere in the UK, that I can find anyway. We already tried to order them through the shop my mate wants to buy through, who are a Peavey dealer and the Tour Range of combos aren't being made anymore = balls. The only combos powerful enough that are readily available are the Marshall and the Ashdown MAG, the Marshall being a bit of an unknown entity and the Ashdown MAG not having the greatest rep, although I'd be confident it would be robust as hell. Assuming I can convince my pal to buy from Thomann... I'm really liking the idea of the MB200 and 1x15 4 Ohm cab, solid and light. The MB200 is very simple to operate and will have all kinds of protections to prevent frying the digital amp section. All that and the fact my pal could buy three set ups within budget keeping one as a backup. That sound like a good idea?... I'm fairly confident that the location will weed out some of the total w***bags though Eude

Sh*t Off! I've just found this >> [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/gallien_krueger_mb_200_bundle.htm"]http://www.thomann.d..._200_bundle.htm[/url] At that cost he could get 3, leaving 1 as a back up... Eude

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1329679786' post='1545845'] Mention of shonky PAs in Colorsound made me smile, as one of my bands rehearses there, and they still have those! Hard to beat the central location though. I'm not a fan of Line 6 stuff for rehearsal rooms, as the last thing you want in a two hour rehearsal is to spend half an hour finding your sound. As someone who uses several rehearsal rooms, one thing I really like to see is stands for the amps - it makes it much easier to hear everything at a sensible level if they're raised and tilted, especially the guitar amps. Yet surprisingly few rehearsal studios have them. [/quote] My mate helped run Coloursound at the old site, towards Fountainbridge. The site's been completely demolished now... I'll mention the amp stand idea though, tis a good one. It's likely the bass kit is going to be too big for a stand, but the guitar amps won't be. [quote name='jjay69' timestamp='1329680201' post='1545865'] As far a great value heads go for rehearsal, our studio uses these amongst other things, i love 'em, i suggest adding them to your options [url="http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/BX4500H.aspx"]http://www.behringer...ts/BX4500H.aspx[/url] [/quote] Cheers for that mate. I've not been convinced with the reliability of Behringer stuff in the past, are these amps pretty solid? The other thing I want to avoid is skimping on the bass gear, I know I'd be urked if I came into a rehearsal to find nice shiny Fender, Vox or Marshall guitar amps when the bass gear is Behringer, maybe I'm being a snob though... Eude

[quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1329678628' post='1545806'] Well it appears the weight thing has been the deciding factor for me - and I don't mean how heavy it isn't! A few posts previously the comment was made that the sound doesn't have the 'weight' behind it, something I'd been trying to put my finger on. On Friday evening I gigged it at a local pub, on top of my Barefaced Compact. Yes it was loud enough, but something wasn't there that I'm used to with my ABM (and my Klystron which I have recently moved on). However it was lovely to not have the weight of the ABM - I turned up with cab, bass and a laptop bag loaded with amp, pedal and all my cables. Nice. After much consideration, I decided the MiBass is going back and I will continue with the ABM (and also a Terror Bass I've recently acquired). There's just something very special about the ABM that I can't let it go - it has weight on both counts, one positive and one negative, which must cancel each other out lol. Cheers Geoff [/quote] Have you any experience of Markbass gear, particularly the LittleMark amps? Just wondering how these MiBass heads compare sound-wise?... Eude

[quote name='twentyhertz' timestamp='1329677078' post='1545752'] I remember Coloursound... particularly fond memories of a PA system just about going on fire once. [/quote] Ha ha, I'll see if my pal remembers that, to be honest though, it probably wasn't a rare occurrence. I blew a bass amp up in there once. [quote name='twentyhertz' timestamp='1329677078' post='1545752'] As for the Line 6 thing, I'm sure there are some people out there that love them, but I don't count myself as one of them - I've always thought digital modelling stuff sounded a bit crap based on my own experiences. I'd just opt for something a bit more solid and good at one thing rather than a computer chip that tries to be 50 different amps in one (just my own personal opinion of course). [/quote] I know what you mean, and my gut tells me that there's just too much in that box to go wrong... [quote name='twentyhertz' timestamp='1329677078' post='1545752'] Good to see the bass amps getting some kind of attention though, most rehearsal rooms I've used have seemed to treat them as a bit of an afterthought, giving the guitarists really nice Orange heads and cabs, but leaving the bassists with sh*tty combo amps that don't even register when turned to 10. [/quote] My pal would've never lived it down if he'd skimped on the bass gear, I would've been a nightmare He's actually a big fan of the bass, the only singer I ever played with who never told me to turn down too! The annoying thing is, you can get a lot more guitar amp for the money at the kind of price range we're talking about, doesn't seem fair really, especially as seeing most guitarist couldn't give two sh*tes about their amp aslong as it says "Marshall" on it... Eude

[quote name='rOB' timestamp='1329675538' post='1545711'] Thus might be really obvious but if I was doing this then I'd be checking that all cabs have metal grills. Rooms down here get loads of abuse and a kicked through speaker would be no fun [/quote] Yeah I know, again, that's why Peavey would be perfect, they're litterally bomb proof. I had a a Mark IV head with 2 Black Widow 4X10s years back and it was amazing. I gigged it a fair bit, never got a mark on it and I sold it for a profit - stuff of legends Another reason for new gear, is it's probably easier to insure against damage too, assuming it's installed new. Metal grilles is a must for sure though. I'm fairly sure my mate is going to run a tight ship though, zero tolerance of arseholes, drinking etc. We've often talked about how one crappy band, and their mates, can spoil a rehearsal experience for everyone else, so that'll be in his mind I'm sure. I also think the space being outside of Edinburgh will probably act as a bit of a deterrent too... Cheers, Eude

Wow guys! Thank you so much for your input! Much appreciated! I can see the rational for the 2nd hand route, I really can. You can get solid as hell gear for a lot less, and if it was entirely up to me, that would be the way to go. As it happens a mate at my work has a virtually untouched Trace 7215 1x15 combo and a matching 2x10 cab, drawing the full 300W, which he inherited from his brother, which I can probably get for £300 off him, that would be one room sorted with £500 to spend on the other! I'm going to see if I can steer my pal in this direction. Failing that, here's my plan of attack. See about getting the best price on the following... Marshall MB4210 Ashdown MAG C410T or... having done a bit of digging, the shop in question are doing the Hartke HA2500 head for £249 and seem to have stock of some of the older style VX cabs. They're listing the VX215 for £239! So, that's regular joe pricing, so they might knock a bit more off seeing my mate is spending a fair ol' whack with them. That would make a fairly mean stack for rehearsal use, right? I know Peavey kit would be the dogs bits for this kind of thing, but they don't seem to be doing very well at the moment, stock levels seem real low and the prices ain't as keen as they used to be. I've also found this >> http://www.gak.co.uk/en/line6-hd-400/18698 Anyone got any experience with these heads? One of those with a cheapy 8x10 might be nice, if my mate doesn't mind buying from somewhere else... Oh, not sure where in Haddington the place is yet, but as soon as it's up and running, I'll be sure to shout about it on here. It's going to be a great space, run by a good mate who used to sing in my band. Amazingly nice guy and had a hand in running Coloursound years back, but this time, it's his baby, so it's going to be amazing Cheers, Eude

Hey guys, a mate of mine is setting up a new rehearsal studio in Haddington, near Edinburgh, and has asked me for a bit of advice on kit, particularly the bass gear. He's buying everything from a nice store in Edinburgh (other shops are available), but they don't seem too knowledgeable when it comes to bass watts. I've made several suggestions for gear which has ended up being deleted or hard to get in the UK, the 400W Peavey TKO 115 would have been absolutely perfect, but is "apparently" been discontinued... Anyway, my understanding is that a 100W guitar amp matches up well with a 300W bass amp, right? So suggestions for 120W bass amps certainluy won't come close to stacking up against 80W guitars amps and a live drummer right?... The budget has been set at £400 per amp, not much I know, but I imagine there'll be a bit of "trade discount" going on, so read that as £450. The gear must be new, as they obviously want to take advantage of a manufacturers warranty. In my opinion, the ideal set up would be a simple, 300W 1x15" Combo that can be tilted back, but there doesn't seem to be much like that out there at the moment. Any suggestions for loud, capable, reliable bass combos around that price? I did think about the Ashdown Touring Combos, and emailed them about using them in this context, twice, but with no response... Are they any good, or maybe the MAG C410T 4X10 combo? I like the look of the Hartke HyDrive combos, but they're just that little bit too pricey. P.S. I don't want to get bogged down here in arguments about technicalities, just some advice on amps please. Thanks in advance guys! Eude

[quote name='GarethFlatlands' timestamp='1329506012' post='1543661'] ...This thread has given me massive GAS for a single cut ACG fretless. [/quote] Me too!.... Eude

Amazing!

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1329478590' post='1543006'] [i]It might be hard to strike a balance between that and the right look, as the more you go into the body, the worse the upper fret access will be, if you keep the Hamer shape as is.[/i] Agree but if upper fret access is the main consideration then it is 'likely' less of an issue on an instrument like a 12 string. [i]Keeping the normal style bolt-on neck joint and carving the body to suit. Something that you would have to do, seeing as the neck is already carved.[/i] Agree again, as I am using a pre-existing neck I'd have to do it. [/quote] This might all come together nicely... Eude

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1329476137' post='1542952'] Done! [/quote] He may not thank me for the challenge, but he's certainly built for the job! [quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1329476405' post='1542960'] Further thoughts - If I set the bridge/tailpiece as far back to the edge of the body as possible then I could get the neck set further into the body and thus the top strap button would be nearer the 12th fret to assist balance/neck dive. [/quote] It might be hard to strike a balance between that and the right look, as the more you go into the body, the worse the upper fret access will be, if you keep the Hamer shape as is. Bolt on single cuts definitely work though. All my single cuts ever have been bolt-ons, albeit with fairly complex arrangements, but a simpler method is possible, like on some lovely Clement Basses. Here's a pic >> Keeping the normal style bolt-on neck joint and carving the body to suit. Something that you would have to do, seeing as the neck is already carved. Eude

Give Rich (Ou7shined) a shout, he might be able to help out... Eude

[quote name='woodyratm' timestamp='1329474097' post='1542910'] Well the paint wasn't taking to the bass correctly - so wasn't curing. It's well on the way to being done, we've decided on how the control setup will be (for LEDs etc). Its going to have some push/pull switching going on, so will still look like "classic" jazz. I think we're just waiting on the paint fully curing then the parts being put together. I'll ask Rich to snap some more photos just to see the current look (hopefully now the paints well on the way it'll photograph better [/quote] Yay! Can't wait to see it! Eude

Any news on this?...