VTypeV4

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1384084578' post='2272504'] I think Warwick basses do vary an awful lot. The ones I have had so far have been from 1984, 1988, 1990 x 2, 2000 and 2006. My least favourite was actually the 2000, which from what you have said is about the age of yours, but yours could be cracking! My favourites are the two 90's (the red streamer as above and a Thumb NT, which I regretfully moved on). The new ones have slimmer necks again and the 2013 models return to Wenge so would really love to try one of those. [/quote] Interesting insight, thanks for that.. I've played a few others although not sure about their year of build. One was a 4 string Stage one but was a bit of a freak as it had a maple neck as opposed the usual ovangkol / wenge. It sounded a bit 'lighter' and dare I say it, a bit more Fender than Warwick. Great looking and playing tho. The same chap used to have (may still?) a bolt on thumb and that was pretty cool offering the more traditional Warwick sound. I struggle withe ergonomics of the thumbs tho, it always feels like they're 'too far over' if you catch my drift. Another chap used to have an all singing all dancing 5 string thumb with the thru-neck and stripes, bright blue simms LEDs, turbocharged bartolini pre-amp and pickups etc. Great bass but he struggled with the ergonomics too. Of all that I've played, I still feel really lucky that mine has the closest embodiment of what I percieve to be the 'Warwick' sound. The thing growls and barks just the way I like.

They've made some stunning basses over the years.. Mine is coming up to 13 years old now so I guess it's not yet considered a 'vintage' one but I'd like to compare it to a new one and see the difference. And I mean a proper 'Made in Germany' example, not the lower priced ones. Not that I've anything against them, my RockBass was an excellent instrument..

I do think they're a massively underrated bit of kit both in terms of sonic integrity and also ease of use. Glad your 328s are still going Crez, may they live long!

Well nearly six months down the line and it's still all smiles in the Soundcaft camp. Overview: Having done around 120 shows on the desk since it's purchase I thought i'd let everyone know how i'd been getting on with it. It's worked faultlessly and without drama which has pretty much been as I'd hoped, no crashes or mid-set resets. I've done gigs both at the Rigger and also with my own system on a couple of external gigs. The music types have been varied from blues, through classic rock, modern metal all the way to folk and cajun types with a number of acoustic singer / song-writer types. It seems to happily handle it all with enough features to get the production just where i need it. Sound Quality: It's a great sounding desk. Whether it was analogue or digital, it's a truly great sounding bit of kit. It posesses that super smooth 'modern Soundcraft' sound which I would say is at least on a par with something like a GB8 or above. Scine the Rigger re-opened, I've been doing shows back on the old A&H GL3000 whilst we iron any faults without any added complication. I was quite surprised at how 'stiff' the GL sounded, the low end was still warm but it seemed to have a bit more 'honk' in the 1Khz region whilst the top end felt almost brittle. A real eye opener to be honest as I've always thought the GL to be a great sounding desk. Ease of use: Having used it most days since purchase, I'm finding it really very easy to get round at speed. To be fair, I don't think I'll ever get round it as fast as an analogue board but things have become pretty much 2nd nature without me having to scratch my head. Auxes have two ways of being accessed which is really handy if you're dealing with 1 person / 1 wedge. I can either select the channel (guitar for example) and have the options of sending to Aux 1-4 and the two FX units -or- Select the Aux 1 bank then have the option send every channel (if desired) to Aux one. I can then repaet 2, 3, 4 etc. Access to the dynamics and manipulation of is easy, straight forward and simple. It's all layed out in front of you in two button presses. 1: puts the current state of the dynamics onto the channel meters (gain reduction and gate open / closed) 2: puts the controls onto the 'E-strip' which is the row of horizontal knobs. Pressing 'dynamics' near the DRO shows the control you're manipulating visually for even greater control. EQ is not quite the usual affair but simple enough to use anyways. It's of 3 band fully parametric design with bell filters on each band but the LF and HF can also be used as a varied frequency shelving filters if thats desired. Each channel has 100 Hz HPF so you don't need to waste a band of EQ using it as low-cut. It's sort of more flexible than the four band EQ on the GL. Changing the parameters of the FX is quite intuitive also although remembering to press the right button when saving the patch name is important as it will name it as 'FX patch 3 ' or whatever rather than what you just spent 10 minutes dialling in. Same with the mix / snapshot saves too! In the master section, things (such as channels, groups etc) can be queried and the desk will show you the routing or assignment which can be handy if you think things have been routed wrong. Very handy as a quick visual reference. FX and Dynamics: Just as good as my big rack of external gear (almost!) To be fair, the gates and compression have a certain 'flavour' to them, almost a bit DBX which suits me fine as I've used many a 166 and 266XL. They're more effective and better sounding than my Behringer gates and comps not to mention the extra parameters make detail tweaks all the better. The 2 internal Lexicon FX are a distinct improvement over my old Yamaha SPX units but not quite as clever as my TC M1. The only thing that I do miss is a tap delay facility but it does offer a multi-layered delay which is pretty 'big sounding'. I've had time to program some of 'my' patches into the FX now and I managed to build them quite quickly but more importantly managed get them sounding right usually first go. Overall, both facilties work very well, especially when it's considered they're internal and on every channel. Quirks: It does do the odd thing that bugs me but they don't distract from what a great bit of kit it is. 1: When a channel is muted, it doesn't mute the auxes so sometimes when I need to mute both, it's a page change to mute the aux too. 2: I'll pre-face this by saying that it's something I need to get used to, it's not the desks fault. It works using dBFS scaling so I've found '0dB' to actually to be around -10dBFS. On the panel it states 0dBFS = +18dBu but there's no way -18 is 0 on this desk. 3: All master controls don't exceed 0dB. I've seen this before on older Spirit desks and it's not too much of an issue, just wished the master L/R fader and all groups ran to +10 like most other things. Not that I usually use past plus five but to me limited to 0 just bugs me a touch. 4: Lack of extrenal analogue outputs. I have LR, Aux 1-4 and a couple of headphone and control room outs but thats about it. All group outs, direct outs and indeed pretty much any other out is digital which is great for linking into the computer but limits connectivity to other devices. Conclusion: It's brilliant, reasonably simple, very effective and sounds great all in one neat box. My business partner is so impressed he's pick up an original 328 to do his gigs on. I don't think he's quite up to speed with it yet but much like mine, it's pretty quick and easy to pick up. Hope this helps anyone considering one. This is a slightly edited version of a review I put on BFMs forum so it's slightly out of date but most of what I said still applies. Having gone a bit further in depth with the desk over the last few months, I feel the following is worthy of mentions: It's nice to be able put dynamics on groups, particularly separating main vocals / backing onto different groups and using slightly different compression curves on each to give them their own space. To be fair, I don't often use this and found it not to be quite as effective as individual channels dynamics but it was interesting to try it as an exercise. I find it works best with 'lighter' sounding musicians. Using -10dBFS has become second nature and using '0' on the A & H almost seemed wierd! It's very handy to have the knobs do whatever you're 'not' doing. I appreciate that sounds like a contradiction but let me be clear. The faders have four functions accessed by the square buttons on the left side of the desk. One does channels 1-16, the second does 17-32 and the last brings in the master section with groups and aux masters. With nothing selected the unit becomes a MIDI control surface. When on the master section for example with nothing (channels) selected, the knobs on the 'E-strip' become the 'faders' on channels 1-16 (or 17-32 if selected) so if needed whilst making changes on the master section, you can still mix your channels. Genius! I've had chance to properly setup my FX now and I'm really happy with where they're at.They're now better than I had out of the SPXs and on par with the TC but I just don't quite have the flexibility it offers. Damn good for inside a ten year old desk! [URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/RigCraft2_zps99d7b7db.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/RigCraft2_zps99d7b7db.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Bit of a ropey pic pre-refurb..

+1 on Crown. I haven't used one for bass as I love valve output stages but for all my pro-audio stuff, I always swear by a Crown.

I've spotted 'em on ebay at £24.95 a pop.. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12AX7-ECC83-Rocket-Tube-Preamp-Valve-NITROUS-GRADE-Higher-gain-Guitar-or-Hi-Fi-/231076387104?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Valves_Vacuum_Tubes&hash=item35cd39d920#ht_1592wt_958"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12AX7-ECC83-Rocket-Tube-Preamp-Valve-NITROUS-GRADE-Higher-gain-Guitar-or-Hi-Fi-/231076387104?pt=UK_Sound_Vision_Valves_Vacuum_Tubes&hash=item35cd39d920#ht_1592wt_958[/url] Not sure I'd be willing to throw that much money at 1 pre-amp valve. I recently bought a quad of Shuguang EL84s for my Leak for the same monies. And inspite the stigma of 'Made in China', they're great sounding. These may well be from the same factory..

Lovely V6!

Most of the valve amps I own and have owned have been pretty reliable with the exception of my old Trace V4 which Longtime Fred now owns. Ashton BV300: Owned for 2.5 years with no issues. It's done a number of gigs and rehearsals with plenty of travelling. Trace TwinValve: Only had it six months but so far so good. Leak ST20: Owned for 2.5 years with no issues. Gets used most days for hours at a time. Linear L30: Owned for ~10 years with no issues. Gets used at least once a week. Beavis 50: Owned for 16 years with minimal issues. I had an exploding cap about ten years ago so had a number of suspect ones replaced. This amp has been everywhere, used, abused and hammered in just about every situation for as long as I've been playing. Still in regular service getting used at least once a week. Zero issues since coonversion to 6550 from EL34 back in ~'07. +1 on looking after them although other than the odd valve failure I've found them to be as reliable if not more than some of the transistor amps I've had in the past.

Fancy site, very nice.. Has anyone tried these yet?

The proper posh ones are made from leather although the one I had was made from a nylon type stuff. I think because they only have one adjuster and the material is soft that they hold the reed in a more uniform manor. My experience was that it reduced the hard (probably my bad technique) and brittle sound in the upper registers. Made it less prone to squeaking too..

+1 on Buffet B12 although I found a change to the Rovner style ligature to make both the playing of and sound much smoother with less squeaks..

Whilst I don't use FX on my bass, many years ago I used to play my Korg MS-20 in a psychadelic group. During that period I tried many modulation units but (as already mentioned) nothing came close the agressive snarl of an Electric Mistress Deluxe.

Thanks Phil, those Altec things look awesome! I've seen the 'big daddy' version of these as a guy over on the Carver forum has a pair. [url="http://thecarversite.com/yetanotherforum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=9073&p=2"]http://thecarversite.com/yetanotherforum/default.aspx?g=posts&t=9073&p=2[/url] With regards to horns, I too like the increased efficiency which is why I'm also part of Bill Fitzmaurice's site and plan to get some of his OT12s built. These will go with my big folded horns when I get the other pair built. I plan to go big! My folded pair were originally a quad from a disused club. All four were ran from one JBL MPX1200 amp and it was truly devastating shaking my eyes in their sockets first time I experienced them! The other pair went into the Rigger when we changed the system a while back and I have the others. Mine still have their original JBL 2241 whereas the ones at the Rigger have a 3600 Crown up them and are loaded with a PD.918 one side and a Celestion FTR18 4080HDX the other. I'd put mine in the Rigger if we had space but It'd shake the building down! [URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/EVWbin_zpsd56efe78.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/EVWbin_zpsd56efe78.jpg[/IMG][/URL] A quick pic of the EV driver being loaded yesterday.

Well I've ran them both up today with three different drivers just to see how they perform. I've put decent guage wire in them too as the existing stuff was like old phone wire! I started with using the EV driver (SRO frame / EVM cone) as an 'intermediate' reference then tried both my JBL 2225 and a nasty cheap Sica / Ashdown to see what would happen. As Phil suggested, they colour the sound massively but not in a horrible way to be fair. Very 'oldskool' if you know what I mean! I was surprised that a change in driver didn't much affect the sound as the other horns i have you can tell the difference when swapping drivers. I should have tried the JBL 2226 too but I couldn't be bothered to pull the enclosure apart to try it although I don't expect it'd have made any much difference. They have a distinct hump at about 80Hz with extention down to about 60Hz although they don't really want to go any lower than that. Maybe if I corner loaded them and stacked at 90 degrees with a v-plate on top they'd do a bit more? As for their future, I'm not really sure what to do with them. They don't offer enough sub to work effectively as the bottom end of a PA and they don't suit my bass sound either. The Celestion Powercel is in good order although I want to use that for something else. That with it's ali dustcap it sounds sweet with a bright HF extention so stuffing it in a horn seems pointless. The K series on the other hand is totally goosed flapping nastily and an in-curable voice coil rub to boot. Scrap! An interesting bit of design and nicely constructed boxes, just a bit obsolete in this day. [URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/BigJBL2_zps7618db0c.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/BigJBL2_zps7618db0c.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Won't be changing these ones tho, love 'em. JBL 2241 loaded. Sweet!

It may well be, a friend had a Trace V-type combo that had a fried transformer which did the same. Did they so how much it was to replace the transformer?

Seems you have an offer of help from Ashdown themselves so I'd take it. Fuses blowing twice sounds like potential trouble to me, maybe an issue with the power stage or supply problems. Once might be a freak occurance but twice is telling you something isn't right. Good luck with it and keep us posted.

I love mine.. It just 'fits' so to speak.

Many thanks.

[URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/Powercell1_zps26b4862d.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/Powercell1_zps26b4862d.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/Powercell2_zps13d94cf9.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/Powercell2_zps13d94cf9.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/Powercell3_zpsa422345c.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/Powercell3_zpsa422345c.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Pulled one of these out of those W-Bins I've 'adopted'.. It seems to be in good working order and looks massively chunky although it would probably be a bit cruel to put it back into that bin. Maybe the 2225 JBL I have would be better suited.. [URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/WbinCelestions_zps9fcdf314.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/WbinCelestions_zps9fcdf314.jpg[/IMG][/URL] I'll post a pic of the speaker later.

Just acquired these today.. [URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/WbinCelestions_zps9fcdf314.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/WbinCelestions_zps9fcdf314.jpg[/IMG][/URL] They're in need of some restoration but their construction seems pretty solid. One has a serviceable (I think at least) Celestion Powercell driver with a big magnet and cast frame whereas the other has a knackered K15E 200. A severe voice coil rub and a caved dome probably will see it scrapped but we'll see.

[quote name='stjohn' timestamp='1380412347' post='2225051'] No, of course not, sorry for generalizing! But the jist of my post is that really that [i][b]vast majority of the audience couldn't care less what the bass sounds like at the level of valve vrs tranny.[/b][/i] [/quote] If they've even noticed that one guitar has less strings than the other and of course it's purpose! On a serious note I do think that your sound should inspire you and your playing and because surely the sound is nearly if not as important as the notes. A sound that isn't inspiring and pleasing is enough to knock me off my game. The valve amplifiers I own help with this goal.

Bass machine, Ineteresting that yours has a balanced direct out on XLR whereas mine simply has lights to show pre / power stage status. I'd rather the DI!

I ran a bright box for a bit, same as the one pictured above. It gives a top end extension above about 2Khz which could be handy if the 1518 is a bit dull. I never had a 1518 so not sure how they respond but some 15s are running out of steam above that frequency. Hope that helps.