PlungerModerno

That is absolutely luverly!

Wow . . . Looks like a killer cab.

Hows the sealed 'vibe'?

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1354839663' post='1891238']
If you're anywhere near Glasgow you could do a lot worse than checking out [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/193370-peavey-databass-combo-l40"]this amp[/url]. A gigable combo for the price of a practice amp!
[/quote]

Aye all of Peavey's stuff is worth looking into - heavy but rock solid.

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1354789324' post='1890312']
Small bass practice amps,are by definition,less capable of reproducing low frequencies.I personally wouldn't use anything less than 50/60w RMS for practicing.
[/quote]

I agree - I think while you can get some decent tones out of most low powered combos - a 50 - 100W combo will give you more options - specifically will allow you to play with a fairly quiet drummer and/or an acoustic quitar or an electric player with a working knowledge of the master volume control!

Also if you want dub or reggae tones you need lots of power - you can't even practice them on very low powered combos (eg. a 10 - 15w combo).

Watts are pretty cheap these days - let your budget and medium term goals factor into your decisions.

EDIT: I should add that watts are a pretty inaccurate way to assess loudness and low end capability of a combo - I'm using the above figures as ballpark only - YMMV.

[quote name='Telebass' timestamp='1354806596' post='1890651']
Well, it's arrived, and it's a great little amp. Nearly as heavy as my Markbass CMD121H though!
[/quote]

Well fender amps have a tradition of less-than-feather lightness. Especially the ones that say Bassman.

Happy practice amping!

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1354723871' post='1889616']
love to see a pic of a 69'er
[/quote]

You and half the world!!!!

Nice. In good nic and at low volumes it should do great. for £41 quid you can't go too far wrong.

With the right strings you can probably get close - but AFAIK it's got a traditional sounding P pickup - a switch might be necessary for a super hot output.
Apparently the skyline and the regular lakland are great - I've yet to have the pleasure of playing either . They sound great when other people play them!

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1354112947' post='1882209']
Oh yes it has!
[/quote]

Oh no it hasn't!!!!

[quote name='BassPimp66' timestamp='1353833327' post='1878749']
What is meant here is: small amp wattage + big speaker wattage = DANGER for the amp.
If you try to drive a 500W cabinet, with a 10 W amp, the amp may burn/explode/disintegrate trying to keep up.

However, if you have bigger amp wattage , say 1000W amp, compared to 500W cabinet, that's fine.
[/quote]

I thought that with the master and gain etc. 'volume' controls you were regulating the voltage reaching the output of the power amp . . . which controlled the watts or power reaching connected cabs . . . meaning you can send 10W from a 1000W head to a 500W cab when keeping the output low.

Is this the underpowering mullarkey? Don't you have to damage or totally overdrive a poweramp to get far over the specced output at a heightened distortion level . . . which can send too much power to a cab and blow speakers?
That's the gist I get from reading engineers discussing this kind of thing.

I think this is useful: http://barefacedbass.com/uploads/BGM57,%20Aug2010.pdf

AFAIK the yellow 'Transient Attack' means it's a slightly older model.
See the 'Made In China' location on this pic (bottom left) . . .
From the samsontech site http://www.samsontech.com/hartke/products/amplifiers/ha-series-amplifiers/ha3500c/
they imply it was black, then silver, now black again.

It's a thing of beauty, and your spine and related ligaments etc. are going to thank you in the long run.

The grille cloth is sweet.

[quote name='eude' timestamp='1352818876' post='1867805']
+1



Had no idea you could patch and repair the finish, that's pretty cool
My impressions of barefaced are based on a fairly old compact from a while back, so things may well have changed wildly since then...

Eude
[/quote]

Perhaps they've changed. I know they've reworked some of the bracing to stop light heads vibrating!

The Silver grille cloth option does make the barefaced cabs look killer . . . I've a compact and find it really full and strong in the lows - YMMV of course, I'm using a GK mb fusion with it - which does give out a fair amount of low end. Never played through a berg, let alone A/B'd them so I can't draw a comparison.

The barefaced cabs are built with a pretty balanced approach IMO. They are designed to be light and rugged.
They are very very light, and feel well put together (everything fits fine, looks good, and works without issue - at least my version of the compact does). The only niggle I have is the feel of the duratex coating - it looks good, is readily touched up for repairs, and seems to be very tough - but it feels rough and unpleasant. Still feels better than rat fur, and while tolex might feel better . . . I'm not eager to strip and reapply it after it scraped and torn.

NICE.

[quote name='Protium' timestamp='1352674208' post='1866064']
Not everyone can afford to buy cabs with the most expensive speakers in... Imagine Ashdown's entry range cabs costing the same as a barefaced, they'd never sell any
By the way, their amps/cabs are present on almost every major festival stage in this country. By that standard I reckon they know [i]exactly[/i] what they're doing
[/quote]

I think there's a big gap between the BFM, barefaced and greenboy designs - which are modern, carefully calibrated designs often matching the leading PA and other high-end cab makers (and even besting them by a significant amount on price) - and an entry level cab that has obvious flaws in design that could be solved with inexpensive tweaks (eg. lack of bracing, tuning totally off for the drivers etc.) These tweaks would make sense given the scale at which production takes place - and while they might shave a little off margins, the improved performance would compensate with helping sales - AFAIK of course.

I think also that manufacturers may be complacent as their competitors are doing the same thing - perhaps it's to sell more of the more expensive ranges of cabs, where even more profit is to be had. Seems like a good way to damage your reputation as a maker of cabs though.

[quote name='bremen' timestamp='1352745194' post='1866931']
I wasn't suggesting it was you who spread the rumour Quite possibly someone heard that they were selling OEM modules and concluded that they were patented. No matter.

The SVP schematic is particularly hard to follow as it shows all the valves on a separate board...I've redrawn it to try and understand it and it's still pretty complex.
[/quote]

Cool cool. A lot of the specifics are well outside my level of experience, but I may change that in the near future.

[quote name='bremen' timestamp='1352720481' post='1866418']
What Beer said.


[url="http://connexelectronic.com"]http://connexelectronic.com[/url]
www.diyaudio.com

I've already got the Connex SMPS and class-D modules and the bits (including ancient Mullard valves) for an Alembic-a-like pre. I will use a resistive divider, clamping diodes and a high input impedance opamp buffer between pre and active crossover, then the power stages.

I have a schematic for the Ampeg SVP; it's do-able, and happily drives solid state power amps, but is very complicated compared to the Fender/Alembic and uses a multi-tapped inductor you'd have to wind yourself (unless you could find discrete inductors of the appropriate values).

That Bang and Olufsen have a patent on Class D and are the only manufacturers of modules is an urban myth that was repeated on another thread.
[/quote]

FWIW I was unaware there was a suggestion that Bang and Olufsen had a patent on Class D - I just thought they had a tested and economic line that other manufacturers were using in their micro lines for convenience. I've never heard rumours of a monopoly on the technology.
They probably have patents on some of their specific discoveries and the like but Class D is used by Power amp makers quite widely so a monopoly seems fanciful!

I think the whole process presents a daunting task to a hobbyist starting from scratch. I think I've seen a schematic (or part of one) for an Ampeg preamp . . . it's not a straightforward design at all to me, effectively a lay person/ novice hobbyist.

EDIT: By the above I mean to suggest simpler designs may prove more within the reach of a hobbyist to get working - without the need for trial and error and/or lots of troubleshooting.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1351938260' post='1857033']
In one venue the drums used to go on the opposite side of the stage to me, with the guitarist in the middle. I ran a long speaker lead to an extension cab behind the drummer so that he could hear me better.
[/quote]

It's a nice Idea. I could see it being a problem with high volumes or rooms with acoustic problems.
You'd get pretty unpredictable issues in some spaces as you'd have a few sources of bass frequencies - esp. if you have the low freq. drum(s) sent through PA sub(s) and the bass is used to carry the house!

In an appropriate setting it does sound promising, and might allow the rhythm section to monitor each other much more effectively!

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1352742408' post='1866877']
You can touch up the paint on the cab too if you do knock it hard enough to take a chunk out
Not that I have, mine still looks brand new!
[/quote]

+1. It's a pretty cool thing called duratex!

http://store.acrytech.com/Speaker-Cabinet-Coatings/
http://www.speakerhardware.com/categories.php?cat=10

I hate the way it feels, but it looks nice and is a good choice for a bunch of reasons, not least the home touch-up option, which allows a longer working life with a cab in near-mint condition.

[quote name='subrob' timestamp='1352739445' post='1866807']
And she's here. Piccies and thoughts will follow in due course, we're straight off to practice later
[/quote]

Good stuff. Remember to give the EQ a careful listen, and keep the contour control nice and low to get full mids - especially at high volumes.
Enjoy!

If you are willing to read up, amazing things can be achieved by a hobbyist.

If you check around for DIY tube preamp designs and theory of their design,
and are willing to use a pre built power amp section you may be onto something.

The high loads in a power section is, as I understand, far harder to work with and make a safe, reliable amp with.
As I understand it good amplifiers that are light tend to be complex - I've read that many competing class D micro heads are using identical power amps, many made by [url="http://www.icepower.bang-olufsen.com/en/technology/power/"]Bang & Olufsen[/url] . The simple ones that a hobbyist would have a chance of doing well would be heavier, Class A/B designs - more like tube power amps.

In short I'd look at a pre and power amp setup for simplicity, and safety first etc. as well. Those preamp voltages get high too, but nowhere near poweramp lethality as I understand it.

[quote name='yankeedoodle' timestamp='1352594201' post='1865080']
thanks for that reply, thats helpful

just found an online site that sells new power leads for just a few ££s

if anyone can tell me the exact rating of the cable I'd be as well to buy one thats an exact match for the original
[/quote]

Does it matter? surely overspec'ing the cable will be fine? All that you'll have is a slightly heavier gauge cable that'll likely be more rugged than a much lighter one. GK shipped a 16A power cable with my head - it's probably the standard they chose for that kind of plug - and they use it on all their amps LOL!
I found this: http://www.esc.org.uk/public/home-electrics/plug-fuses/
It seems to be that all devices come with 13A fuses apart from low power devices that have 3A. The cable will be rated to a higher current (as it should, the fuse is supposed to fail once the current reaches the rating, while the cable should remain intact unless a far higher current flows - if it wasn't it would heat up a lot and become soft when in use near the limit!!! Some do, but only when bunched together).

As long as the fuse in the amp is correct, any heavy duty domestic power supply cable (like a PC power cable) should work. I've always assumed as much with no problems. I use surge protectors on valuable equipment though.

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1352590968' post='1865043']
I'm not a Chillis fan at all, but that tune sounded like it might be fun to learn. I shall crack the headphones out in a bit and give it a go. I've never actually learned to play any slap tunes before, so it could be interesting.
[/quote]

Try it by all means. IME Slap is all about learning to do it efficiently. I'm inefficient so I struggle!

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1352587879' post='1865014']
Thank you!
[/quote]

My pleasure! Not my favourite song, I like some of fleas playing but sometimes the whole song, mix or something doesn't do it for me. It's fine, they have a lot of fans. It drives me crazy to have a piece of music stuck in my head and not know what it is.
A particularly ridiculous example was a cheesy guitar and synth line in the backround of a chris morris radio show - had it stuck in my head for ages. Heard a snippet somewhere else with a lyric 'all this red tape' - looked it up, it was part of the pina colada song!
http://i.imgur.com/NVX5S.jpg - I had a looped sample of the guitar part after the chorus stuck in my head. Lame. Catchy as hell though!