Wolverinebass

Sadly it does seem too simple. It's a 3U case. You can slide the amp out once you undo the 4 screws on the bottom of the wooden case holding it in place, but you won't be able to put a tuner in the top 1U gap that the grill occupies because it's 18 inches not 19 inches wide. The Hartke can only be racked with ears which you have to buy seperately. I had a similar idea when I got my 5500, but that didn't work when I did the measuring so I just racked the head instead and kept the wooden case for a rainy day if I flog the amp.

I think that was his thought to be fair. I was under the impression that Trace only made about 200. The last one I saw getting sold was John Entwistle's at Christies about 8 weeks ago and that went for something stupidly cheap like £700. I doubt he had any thought of doing this to sell stuff, it was mainly just for fun and the satisfaction of being able to.. I know that the Hiwatt copy he did took a fair bit of time but it sounded great when I played it. However, I'll see what he's using and get back though to be fair one is a bit of a luddite when it comes to actually building stuff. On the other hand, my mate doesn't even have a computer, so "in progress" shots may be a bit scarce...

I have absolutely no idea what he'll be using I'm afraid. I'm someone who just plays stuff and isn't really that sure how it works. I've only ever used valve amps in rehearsal rooms over the years and I've never owned one. The Hiwatt copy he did was really, really good and I have played one a few years ago. To me it sounded about the same, but I confess to not being very knowledgable about how they work. I tend to just go on sound really. Certainly though, my iron is Morphy Richards!!

A friend of mine has done some amp builds and recently completed a Hiwatt or at least something that is based on the original specs. He has now informed me that he is going to build what I'm sure many people regard as one of the best bass valve amps ever made - a Trace Elliot V8. Now, I'm not too knowledgable about such things as my experience of soldering is ocassionaly fixing a jack socket on a bass and mending scalextric cars when I was younger. I looked at the schematic for it and it just seemed monstrously complicated. Though of course, I didn't really know what most of it meant. Naturally, I am a bit of a div when it comes to this sort of DIY approach, but my question is firstly didn't the V8 have a circuit board in it? I thought it did, though I'm quite happy to stand corrected. Secondly, assuming that you can get all the equivalent parts, is it even possible to build something like that? I'm sure that some of you who have made your own valve amps will be able to shed some light on this, but it's more curiosity than anything else.

I've been having a similar dilemma myself and am yet to decide. How about something like this? Quite shallow and insanely light. [url="http://www.beglec.com/#product=digit1k0"]http://www.beglec.com/#product=digit1k0[/url] They're about £330 from Terralec. I think someone was sellling the 2K version here a while back. I don't think it went. I know that Dood recommends the Powersoft stuff, but they're seriously not cheap. Plus I think that they're slightly deeper than what you're looking for.

Put me down for one.

Thanks Dood. I understand what you mean perfectly and thanks chaps for your advice. The idea came about from realising that EQ settings and fx settings don't work for my different basses. That's not to say I want an 8 string to sound like a buzzard and that's not what I wanted to do. But I realised that I'd be piling through settings for ages setting patches when I could just control them centrally. I ended up getting the idea from an old Trace MP11. Very grateful for the advice and knowledge as this is something I've never done before.

With the expansion of my rig recently I'm toying with a bit of revision. However, I've noticed that if doing so I'd have 4 seperate foot controllers and that's just getting insane. I don't know if anyone has ever done this on this forum, but this is a hypothetical question which I've been pondering about my rig. Say for example you have a preamp which is midi compatable and your effects are midi compatable. Assume that all have midi in/out/through and I'm talking about at least or 4 seperate units of gear. My point being is you'd have a foot controller for each under normal circumstances and obviously that's getting into Fred Astaire territory. Is it possible to simplify it down to one? My point being can you connect the preamp and effects up via midi so that you can just press one button on a foot controller and you'd say change the sound from a dub sound with octave effects to a trebly tone with chorus and distortion. Just an example. In other words, with one button press [i]absolutely everything[/i] changes (if you want it to). Has anyone ever done this? Or even, [u]can [/u][i][/i]it be done? Opinions and technical advice gratefully received.

[quote name='Pow_22' post='881452' date='Jun 29 2010, 10:43 PM']Out of interest, settings wise on the HA5500 it obviously has the high and low contour, never had an amp with these on before. I cant have a full play round (at volume) till our next rehearsal but what settings on these would you recommend? The sound i have is very deep (almost muddy) and sometimes the highs do suffer for this (amlost silence on riffs/fills etc) so im lookin to obviously smooth this out but i do want the highs to still sound ''bassy'' and ''deep''[/quote] I'd leave the graphic flat then boost the low contour say to 6 and cut the high contour by the same amount. Try that then if you need to cut the 5kHz and above frequencies. Then boost about 250Hz a bit. Say 4dB. That should be a decent starter for 10 for you. Not the sound I use and you may have to have a fiddle as you play passive basses and I only play active basses. Though I think that'll be reasonable for you.

[quote name='Delberthot' post='880569' date='Jun 29 2010, 01:29 AM']You could do what I do and complain directly to the Uk distributor that they're the best part of £25 per pair - they could send you the ones that attached the amp Jack Bruce was using to the rack for the Cream reunion concerts No wait, I got those :brow:[/quote] Funnily enough I did complain. I heard the tumbleweed go past as they didn't reply for some reason.

[quote name='Pow_22' post='880272' date='Jun 28 2010, 08:27 PM']i recently acquired a HA5500 and am looking to have it permanently stored in a flight case. Im asuming for this i need rack ears? anyone know where i can source them and any tips on actually flight casing it?[/quote] I've racked mine. Try this. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/hartke_rackmount_35005000.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/hartke_rackmount_35005000.htm[/url] You have to buy 2 as they sell them singularly and most importantly WITHOUT screws. Hartke are having a laugh with that one. Who racks half an amp?!!

No, that's true the stuff isn't irreplacable. However, you might think that to get it all 2nd hand off ebay will cost a lot more than what someone's paid for them. For example: Ashdown Rpm £220 Digitech 2120 £300 Digitech Quad £80 Power conditioners say £300 Trace Elliot V8 £1000 Trace Elliot Power Amps 3 x £300 TC Electronics 1128 £350 Not to mention the hassle of tracking it all down. It took me 3 months to actually find a 2120 for example and when was the last time a Trace Elliot V8 ever came up on ebay? Not that often really. So irreplacable, no, but insanely difficult to replace or even find - most definitely yes. Trying to get the cabs is futile. It just won't happen. I did have the pleasure of playing that 2x12 and 1x15 and they are absolutely mental. The only Ashdown stuff I've ever played that sounds good. The reason is that the cabs weren't designed by Ashdown. They were designed by Acoustic Sound Solutions which Ashdown bought. Just for the records.

I noticed this the other day. Christie's auctioned off all John Entwistle's rig. Apparently he GAVE IT AWAY in early 2002. Who in their right mind would give this lot away? No wonder the guy was broke. Ludicrous to think that the whole control tower went for only £1500. A Digitech 2120 alone is £300 SECOND HAND. It's just mental. For £2500 you would have got the whole rig with the flared bass bins. The lot. I bet lots of people on here will have paid more than this either for a bass or the rigs which they use. [url="http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5331555&sid=4b9b46ec-8a80-4ea1-a96d-9d8b4d38a96e"]http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_det...6d-9d8b4d38a96e[/url] [url="http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5331556&sid=4b9b46ec-8a80-4ea1-a96d-9d8b4d38a96e"]http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_det...6d-9d8b4d38a96e[/url] [url="http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5331557&sid=4b9b46ec-8a80-4ea1-a96d-9d8b4d38a96e"]http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_det...6d-9d8b4d38a96e[/url] [url="http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_details.aspx?from=salesummary&intObjectID=5331558&sid=4b9b46ec-8a80-4ea1-a96d-9d8b4d38a96e"]http://www.christies.com/LotFinder/lot_det...6d-9d8b4d38a96e[/url]

I've been debating this for some time and have finally decided that my rack is too heavy with my Hartke 5500. It's a back breaker. So, I've decided to do the preamp/poweramp route. I was thinking Sansamp RPM, and a poweramp. For various reasons, I want to keep the weight of the poweramp 9kg or less. I know that someone is going to say get a Peavey IPR1600, but I have to have something 1U so it'll fit in my already ludicrously stocked up rack. Now, I've scoured about a bit. I notice Dood recommends Powersoft but they seem to be impossible to find aside from Thomann. The BK electronic looks decent, but I'm wondering about if this is made any more as I read on a previous thread that they are discontinued. [url="http://www.bkelec.com/Pro/Amplifiers/MXF1200D.htm"]http://www.bkelec.com/Pro/Amplifiers/MXF1200D.htm[/url] The Belgec stuff looks okay. [url="http://www.beglec.com/#product=digit1k0"]http://www.beglec.com/#product=digit1k0[/url] Is it worth getting a sort of middle of the road class D? Such as this? [url="http://www.kam.co.uk/index.php?action=product&product_id=354"]http://www.kam.co.uk/index.php?action=prod...;product_id=354[/url] One thing that puzzles me about this is the specs of the above. Whilst I understand the bridge mode stuff I don't get. Why do double channels at 4 ohms? Do folk think this is a mis-print or have they forgot to put "peak" after it? Still it does look like a fair bit of amp for £300. 2400 watt power amplifier 1200w+1200w @ 4 Ohms 600w RMS+600w RMS @ 4 Ohms 300w RMS+300w RMS @ 8 Ohms 2400w @ 8 Ohms bridge mode 1200w RMS @ 8 Ohms bridge mode Whilst I don't want to go totally mental and twonk £1K on a light power amp, I don't want to get a cheap disco piece of crap. If anyone has any good suggestions or uses something similar I'd be grateful for views if like everything you get what you pay for or is a super light, 1U poweramp in the region of 500W - 800W a myth or cost more money than Lloyds owe the Treasury? Opinions are greatly appreciated.

Having been intrigued by the Super Twelve, I notice that it's mentioned on the web that you can run 2 cabs if you have a massive amp like the higher end Trace Elliots or Ashdowns that have double 4 ohm channels. My question relates to the stacking for best sound dispertion. If you're someone like me who has loads of rack gear do you (a) stack them both on their side so that the ports are at the bottom (b) stack them vertically (though that would be very high) © Put them side by side Does the way you arrange them make any difference to what sound you'll get to any great degree? Or say you have for example, a Vintage and a Super Twelve, would they be best to lie on their sides so that any rack gear you'd be using would be at a managable height? Merely curious. I did notice the modular rig pages on Alex's website and noticed that the compact/Super Twelve stack would be very high and if you're rather puny and short like myself there is no way you could lift anything remotely heavy that high. Opinions appreciated as I'm toying with doing serious upgrades to to my amp/cabs setup.

Try a Rolls SX21. It's not switchable and you'll have to mix the signal back together once it's been processed. It's utterly tiny and the crossover itself is tiny. I had contacted Max about it but he steered me in the direction of a mix unit which I use as the combination of the splitting and crossover he suggested might prove a bit pricey. Had he done a crossover then, I probably would have bit his hand off for it. If/when he does make such a device it'll more than likely be genius.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='823512' date='Apr 29 2010, 10:45 PM']I know a lot of people lust after the Buzzards - And to have the very last production model is something very special indeed! Congrats on a stunning instrument [/quote] It was pure chance I got the last one. I was saving for it then it got wiped from their website and when I phoned Dawn said I had 3 weeks to get one due to Warwick setting their pack dog legal team on them. So my father in law lent me some cash. When I told him a while back how much it is now to try and get one he said "Why didn't you tell me?!! I would have lent you the money to get 2!!" I doubt I'd have been able to eat beans on toast that long.... I think as well it's that Rob is just such a nice guy. A few years ago I took the buzzard to the Bass Centre to get the action lowered. I told them not to do anything else as it was new strings and batteries. They changed the batteries and jammed one in with the plastic cap still on the 9V and screwed all the contacts. Rob kindly fixed it for me (for free!!) and we had a bit of a chinwag. I tried a few other basses which were about such as the Streamline and a couple of Mark Kings. Superb. I'll never go back to the Bass Centre for anything. For those interested, this was about the time that the Streamline was reviewed in BGM and I asked what sort of stuff he had in the pipeline. Rob mentioned that there would be a bass with a large body "sort of like the buzzard, but maybe something like an explorer." I was already salivating in the taxi back to the station. I guess we'll see what new models he has in store for us.

Now for the mother of all Status basses. My very own Buzzard. I got this in September 2005 (new of course) and it is apparently the last one ever made. I had planned to save for a year to get one. I'd given up smoking and everything then all that Warwick rubbish happened. I was skint for 8 months after that. The sweet taste of beans on toast became a regular occurence. It was all worth it though. The thing is a beast and arguably, the best bass bass guitar ever made. I'm sure lots of people will disagree. Just my opinion.

[quote name='jim_at' post='804788' date='Apr 13 2010, 12:41 PM']I'm not sure how light you're talking, but the Ampeg SVT-3 Pro is pretty small and light, with a decent full EQ.[/quote] I would define "light" as 10kg or less. I'm not sure if that's the norm. My Hartke is 17 or 15.8kg once it's out the wooden casing. The Ampeg comes in at about 13kg if my conversion from lbs to kg is right. Surely amp manufacturers are missing a trick here by not catering to those players who like me want almost obsessive compulsive control over their sound whilst not breaking their spines for it? Maybe it's just me...

I suppose it's all taste really. Whilst some amps with dials are great, I generally don't get on with them simply because I kind of need the visual cue to shape really. I think the point about precision of either graphics or parametrics can be argued for some time and it's all what works for you and your sound. The cost thing that Crez5150 mentions from manufacturers doesn't surprise me at all. Quite pathetic on their part really. In my case, graphics tend to work best as I flick between sounds quite a lot and generally they don't sound quite right if you only use one setting. Possibly something like an old Trace MP11 would be the answer, but I'm sure someone is going to say that that preamp weighed about as much as the population of Texas.....

Both of them seem reasonable, but I've been wondering about this for some time. I've never played either a Peavey or an Ibanez head. I remember once I used an old TC Electronic module which was something mental like a 32 band EQ into a power amp and that was genius. I suppose my question should have been where does one get a lightweight amp with most of the features of the current Trace Elliots and doesn't weigh a ton or cost more money than Gordon Brown gave to Lloyds? No doubt if it did exist, one would have to sell one's soul to satan to get it.