Chienmortbb

I tend to stay away from Bose as teheir products are designed to "sound good" rather than accurate. A;os avoid Baets like the plague.

This is a copy of the original MM active circuit. Uncle Fluffy on TB has laid out a PCB and built several.

I accidently wired my PJ with both pups in parallel(J pup was a humbucker). It sounded like a Telecaster (guitar not bass).

If anyone needs a lead with a silent plug on I can make one up for a small fee.

Some years ago, when I started going to open mic, the guys suggested I got an acoustic bass. I tried loads from inexpensive Ibanez to Taylor and Martins. None of them were worth playing without an amp. So |I bought a semi-acoustic. I played it for quite a few weeks but realised that I prefered playing my usual bass. Acoustic basses looked great on Unplugged but suck acoustically. Maybe we should call them hollow bodied.

The gain pot in the feedback path can work but you really need a fully active volume control which (from memory) needs two opamps. A full explanation can be seen here. The acive volume control was designed by Peter Baxandall who also designed the bass/tredle circuits use almost everywhere.

Do the do it in Black and Green?😉

I like the chicken head knobs on the Minimax (Mk1) the nice thinks about them aid there is no doubt as to where they are set. The new Minimax MkII is £400+ Just to continue the sill pipe references, I hope it does not chuff too much.

In my experience UPS have always been high on proice and low on service. On another matter, the good old Royal Mail only chages £8 for customs clearance. Hands up those who are glad they voted leave (hands down you in NI)

That is the only sensible way to do it.

Very True.To be honest the ASX range is very long in the tooth and is largely superseded by the AS range. To me the ideal module for the diyer is the 700AS1 from ICEPower 350W 8ohm, 700W 4 ohm and all the functions needed to make a modern amp easier to build. I believe that this amp is used in many of the "800 watt" amps of the last 3-4 amps. ICEPower seem to have controlled distribution of this model better than the lower power ASX modules. I suspect @agedhorse knows this module well but it is unfair to ask him about it.

@nilebodgers does have a point. No one would suggest that the few distributors of ICEPower products do not have a have a right to mark up a reasonable amount but for example Profusion's one off price o £190.39 excluding VAT (sales tax) and shipping ends up close to £250 ($340 approx) for a single piece of 125ASX2. Without the knowledge you have shared with us, you can understand why people buy ONCE from EBAY.

I have been lucky, I bought an 125ASX2 from someone in the UK from a half completed project. It has been running for 3-4 years and is fine. I also bought three 50ASX2s and those were also from a UK seller. The only problem with this was my hamfistedness when I blew the fuses in the aux supplies of one of the 50ASX2s. It is the 50ASX2 that "reminded" me of the high DC voltages.

I should add that I respect @agedhorse's knowledge here. I used to think that they were all probably fake but was persuaded otherwise. However I suspect that there are few people on the planet that have more experience/knowledge with class D modules that @agedhorse so if he says those sourced from the Far East are fake, I trust him.

The scooped mids are caused by a numbet of things many of which are mentioned above. The way pickups are wired often on passive basses means that adjusting the volume also chnages the freequenccy response much like EQ or tone knobs do. In addition (and subtraction) there is a comb filtering effect that will boost some frequencies and cut others. As this is a feature of both the response of the pickups and the postion of them, there is little that can be done to mitigate the effect e3xcept find two pickup version of a Westone Rail. The comb will happen whether the bass is active or passive and irrespective of whether each pickup is buffered independantly.

Warning long reply. @Phil Starr the blown module from his Behringer active monitor some weeks ago and I have to say it was well put together and extremely well engineered. I have salvaged the Switch Mode power supply for use on another project. All these active speakers from te low/mid priced systems seem to use the same basic systems, chip based class D amp(usu ally from the TDA89XX series) to drive the Woofer and a class A/B chip amp to drive the tweeter (either TDA7493/7494 or LM3876/3886 series). This is true of Behringer, Mackie (Thump range) and EV to my knowlledge and I have seen the LM 3886 in cheapo Gemini type active speakers. Despite things like the Mackie and EV speakers being claimed 1000W speakers, the reality is that the most you can get from those chip amps (TDA8954) is 320-340W bridged into an 8 ohm load. Add 80watts from the treble amps and the reality is that these speakers will struggle to get to 500 watts (at 1% THD plus noise) , unless superb cooling systems are deployed. So can you use these for "activating" the BC112 MK3? Yes and No. There are few good implementations of these chips available to buy that will allow them to used at anywhere near 300W. The Ebay/AliExpress/Banggood ones costing betqeen £15-£30 are 5H1T. Some will blow at well belpw the rated voltage (so you cannot get the power out) and others will overheat due to the lack of cooling if they don't blow sooner. Are there any good implementatiosn of these chips available? Yes, Connex Electronics do both an amplifier and a complete unit with power supply included. Funnily enoough they say it can output 360w at 8 ohms at 1%. That would drive a single BC112 Mk3 nicely. However you will still need to add improved cooling. Connex say " For proper operation the board must be installed on a heatsink or an aluminium baseplate which will serve as heatsink." https://connexelectronic.com/product/tda8954smps/ Plate Amps On to plate amps. As mentioned most prebuilt amps are for subwoofers only and useless for us bassists. The frequencies they ampilfy are the very ones we need to tame usually. the exception to this are the Hypex plate amps. These are exteremely well engineered and the Fusion Model 252 would do very well in this application, except that the power into 4R is reduced to 400W when bridged. It will give 2 x 250W into 8R or 1 x 500W into 8R so would suit but then the price (£462 excluding postage from Wilmslow Audio https://www.wilmslowaudio.co.uk/hypex-fusion-fa252-2824-p.asp ) makes it an expensive option. These do include a limited form of DSP to allow digital crossovers to be tailored. The other option is MiniDSP's PWR-ICE units that include ICEPower modules alongside extensive DSP. these will do 450W* into 4R. These will also set you back close to £400 including duty and shipping. https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/amplifier-boards/minidsp-pwr-ice125-asx2-amplifier-module-450w-4-ohms-dsp-p-9530.html?search_query=PWR&fast_search=fs Both these options have built in power supplies though unlike the cheaper Chinese amps. *As with many amplifiers, manufacturers quote their power ratings in a favourable light. Firtly many will quote assuming that normal listening is at 1/8 or even 1/10 full power. Another "trick" is to quote at a high distortion figure. Some will quote at 10% distortion. Both these options have built in power supplies though unlike the cheaper Chinese amps. Of course you could buy an ICEPower 125ASX2 module BUT the distributor prices are high, approx £240 inc VAT and delivery from Profusion https://www.profusionplc.com/parts/icepower125asx2, You will need to add about £15 for the cables and you will have to supply your own metalwork. you will also need a bridging converter and regulator board as the 125ASX2 is a stereo amp and you need to bridge it to get the full 450 watts into 4 ohms. The 125ASX2 are available on Ebay from China and all indications are that these are genuine models however some on here have had problems with EBAY boards. See the comments to the contrary below from @agedhorse So what is the best solution. Not for me to decide but I have been trying out the Connex IRS500SMPS. 500 watts into 4 ohms and 300 watts into 8 ohms. It has a connector to wire in a volume control and does not need any other circuitry. However, as with the other modules mentioned, it will need extra heatsinking. More later.

If you read througb the thread on @stevie's DIY thread for a 1x12 ( the so called BC112 MK3), you will see that one of thre main criteria for this FRFR design was that the bassist could hear him/herself clearly on stage, hence the vertical positioning of the horn. This ensures that the mids/highs are not being lost at leg height for the player and ensures that both player and listener are getting similar sounds. So whether used without PA support or with, the sound is more consistant. Of course to a greater or lesser extent the same is true of the QSC/RCF/Yamaha cabinets. I read comments about the harshness associated with tweetered cabinets and I have some sympathy for that. Many respected brands use cheap tweeters and minimal crossovers and the result is a nasty sound. Not to pick on Markbass but one of the subjects that often comes up for MB combos, both on here and on TB is disconnecting or replacing tne tweeter. However a proper;y designed cab with either a passive or active (DSP) crossover should sound smooth, not harsh

I am no great one for pushing products but I have to say that Tuffcab is brilliant. I bought some vynyl to cover my After Eight and after trying a dry fit, decided the Tuffcab I already had was a better bet. How right I was. As Phil says it is really easy to apply and really is tough. I would never use anything else now on a roadworthy cabinet. In the event that it does get damaged (one of my cabs has done well over 100 gigs and still pristine) just reapply some tuffcab. It does cover well but as with any covering will show any gaps so be sure to fill them. I use some saw dust mixed in with the same wood glue that is used to glue the cabinet together. Tuff cab is supposed to stick over PVA wood glue but I seem to remember that @stevie had some trouble on one cab. Including the sawdust gives a better chance of adhesion.

Come on man, stand by your opinions, no wavering😁

I will try to give my experience and of course it is only my experience. A cabinet with a single driver cannot cover both PA and Bass duties and I feel I am missing something playing through a Barefaced Super Compact. On the other hand these are super lightweight cabinets. Despite the lack of very much signal from bass in the upper reaches, I miss the clarity of a cab with a fuller range. I suspect this is also why some of the better PA cabs have found favour with some bassists. The usual suspects form the QSC, RCF and Yamaha ranges provide a viable bass amp and and also PA tops. They are fitted with Digital Signal Processing and some models have settings for floor and pole mount use. Youh could argue that DSP allows the use of inferior drive units I suspect the three brands mentioned do use DSP for fine tuning the response of quality components rather than getting an "acceptable" sound from poorer drive units. To be honest I would not swap my BC112 Mk3 for a powered PA speaker (at least any I have heard yet) but that being said, despite it being great on the flour it would need some work to make it ideal for pole top use (perhaps @stevie coukd comment here). If I HAD to go for a single solution, to do both jobs I might well go for a decent powered/active PA cab. I suggest you write down a check list of what you need from a PA speaker and what you need from a bass rig. If one solution gives you most of you "like to haves" then go for it.

Whether you like a cab and head or a PA speaker, the fact that you are happy with your setup is the main thing.

Somebody can't make up their mind what colo(u)r the like. Seriously though that purple with black hardware is divine.

Sadly: PLEASE NOTE ; IPL ACOUSTICS ARE CLOSING NOW FROM 08/03/21 ,FOR A PERIOD OF AROUND 2 MONTHS IN ORDER TO TAKE STOCK AND ACCESS THE SITUATION. MANY THANKS TO ALL MY CUSTOMERS FOR YOUR PATIENCE , all current orders will be processed normally, please check on this website for updates. During this time I would be grateful if you would not attempt to contact us, as phone numbers, email addresses, etc may change. Many Thanks Kind regards Ivan Leslie