Chienmortbb

Well the new cheaper decal papers from Amazon were awful. I have done a front panel with the white decal paper I have. There are some positional errors but it does not look too bad. [size=4]I am going to wire everything up, and test then finish the front panel after. I might still go for an engraved one. here is a mock up with [/size]the[size=4] knobs just resting on top,[/size] [size=4][/size] [size=4] [/size]

Charlie I will build one of your outboards once the Amp is finished.

What a nice bloke. Sold Mick my TC BC212 and he was a pleasure to deal with. Communication was only hampered as I had lost my voice. Happy to recommend Mick to anyone .

I just use the contact details from the website. They have always been helpful.

The others are right about the impedances. The MA100 or MA150 are as you say PA amps that have a simple two was baxandall EQ system but are also designed as mic inputs they won't be ideal for bass.

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1493279135' post='3287027'] Hi Charlie, loving your amp designs and can't wait to hear John's (chienmortbb) combo when it's finished. [/quote] A combo is my next project Phil, the current one is a 500 Watt head.

This build is still ongoing. I have been toying with different front panel ideas and decided to stick with the water slide decals I used for the back panel. The front panel is now drilled and sprayed silver. ( pics to follow). I had only one sheet of clear decal paper left and so really made sure everything was right. Put it into the slot for thicker paper and turned to the PC to select print. I thought I heard the printer start to take the paper through and tried to pull it out. MISTAKE. The paper creased and that caused a paper jam. My last sheet ruined. So I have ordered another 5 sheets and hope to have the panel finished next week As with the 1x12 cab build, I have deadline, my next gig is May 13th so you should see progress here's soon.

Date in the diary.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1493291184' post='3287166'] Do you know that in 4.5 years as a member here John has never bought or sold anything? Bit of a slacker I'd say, especially as he makes dealing with him so easy, needs to be trading far more. I bought a 2x12 cab from him, deal done over the phone without any issues and the cab arrived safe and sound. Couldn't ask for a better deal. Top fella, expect trouble free trading. Hope your cold/flu/bug goes away soon.... [/quote]Going for an ENT appointment this afternoon, fingers crossed. thanks for the feedback.

My old Mag 300 was Chinese but spoke fluent bass, never let me down, even without the alcohol.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1493143431' post='3286038'] Another meaningless statistic. Are those figures average or peak level? And do they take into account the duration of the sound? [/quote]Why is it meaningless?

I played through the Rumble at a Blues Jam on Weds and without being rude, it did not sell itself to me. Of course I could not try to dial in my preferred tone but it seemed to lack any mids. Of course the host bassist may like that sound so I would not discount it completely.

It is great that you can A/B them. What don't you like about the Fender Pre-amps? Or rather what is different? I plan to put a Class D amp in my HH alongside the Bipolar Class A/B power amp. I will have a have a switch (or two) so that I can change from one to the other. Sorry to go off topic.

I think you may have hit the nail firmly on the head there. I have been working on an Ashdown MiBass 220 And it is a nicely designed pre-amp that is let down by using cheap opamps. The extra cost of decent ones is quite low, it would put the cost up by about £1.50. (TL072 if anyone is interested). I suspected that the opamps used in the Mesa are no better.

My point was that many people attribute the "valve sound" to the power section. You may want to talk to passinwind about valve pre's (call them tubes though) his PW6 design was a full valve pre although all his recent designs (and the ones he uses ) are SS.

I have been playing at home through the cab since the bash although yesterday I filled the screw holes with dowels and re-painted the cab, pictures below. I said to Phil at the bash, the first thing I noticed was how poor my technique was, there is no hiding place. Over the days since I have tried to improve my technique and I am loving the sound. The cabinet shows how good my old HH amp was for its time. It has a fully parametric Mid control. allowing me to dial in just what I want. I can get a wide variety of sounds. A modern. slightly smaller version of the amp would be great. I am hoping my self build amp does something similar as the EQ is similar (but quieter). The great thing is that if I use the Parametric to get an "old school" peak around 100-200Hz it sounds right, not "old school with a tweeter". That makes sense when you think of it. When you are DI'd through FOH, the speakers are full range. just like when you hear recorded bass on a good HiFi system. Phil mentioned how nice the notes at the dusty end sounded at the bash. That has changed how I play, when I am noodling, I am often at the dusty end (it ain't so dusty anymore) letting those high notes ring. Sadly my next gig is a month away so unless I hire a rehearsal room, I cannot try it too loud. I might frighten the natives and take it to open mic night this week. Pictures: 1. The screws were removed and replaced with dowels. Once dry the top and edges were sanded, ready for being re-TuffCabed. 2. The edges look much better although in future I would just use dowels, or maybe even small battens, and a proper dowelling jig as it was a lot more work this way. It is strange how the pictures show up imperfections well. The join between the top and side is almost invisible to the naked eye and the irregular finish is hardly noticeable. Next put the corners back on and attache the handle. I also need to have the 12@ out as it is held in by wood screws and I have the TEE nuts to make a good safe fix. When I weighed the cabinet I could not find my luggage sales and my bathroom scales were fancy ones that will only work when you stood on them. So I had to weigh myself (13st 9Lbs since you ask and as I am over 6ft, the beer belly does not count). Then I stood on again holding the cabinet. I am not convinced it was accurate so I will try it again with the luggage sales when the handle is on.

Mosfets behave in a similar way to Valves. If you put a transformer on the output you would be just about there. But why bother? It it the transformer that adds a lot of weight and very little that a good compressor cannot. In addition you can switch a compressor off, so giving more versatility.

[quote name='fftc' timestamp='1491576986' post='3274108'] That is exactly the sound I'm after! [/quote]Not often someone makes me laugh in here but that tickles me.

I am happy if you get what you want by disconnecting the tweeter. I give my advice freely, you can use it or ignore it as you feel fit. 3.5 KHz is fine from most 12" drivers but only on directly in front, 45 degrees either way loses 6dB and that is only 1/4 of the volume on axis. So people to the side I the room do not hear what you hear. On the plus side the 3.5KHz crossover point is useless to counteract the "beaming" of the12". So it really does nothing for your sound.

[quote name='eddiehoffmann' timestamp='1491400945' post='3272737'] Unfortunately that's not the case. Even with the L-pad turned all the way down there's still a little bit of signal coming through the twitter. I can still hear its annoying noise and I can tell there's a little bit of signal being reproduced. Specially with fuzz. Fuzz and twitters are a match made in hell by satan himself. [/quote]On the Basschat 1x12 Mk2 you can see how complex the crossover design is. That was to get the 12" and Compression Horn or tweeter to sound good together. You cannot just bump a tweeter in and expect good results. Unfortunately even many boutique makers cut corners (and I am not talking kickback cabinets here). The reason you need a tweeter is that a 12`` speaker ends low frequencies everywhere but mids and highs go straight down the middle. Go 45 degrees offline and you might as well be listening to a fart in a plastic bucket filled with foam.

My PA has been kept in my garage for 12 years, no problem. If it has been very cold or damp, I run a low power signal through the speakers for a few minutes to get the voice coil warm and moving before going into my car. As for electronics, keep covers on Mixers and amps and you should be fine.

[quote name='SH73' timestamp='1491247939' post='3271594'] That valve amp looks cool.Must cost a fortune. [/quote]Its cheap to run though as it is green🤓

[quote name='fftc' timestamp='1491409860' post='3272831'] I know how you feel! [/quote]I fully understand as Phil and Stevie have far more knowledge than me and have put me right several times over the years when I have had that dangerous thing "a little knowledge". What this exercise has taught me though is that many, no most, commercial builders, whether boutique or major players, North American or European are not experts in the design of speaker cabinets. That may be harsh, it may be they don't know much about speaker design, just like me. It has reinforced the fact that the amp and speaker are two parts of the same system and so must be spec'd together. Most importantly it has shown that a box with a big speaker in is not of itself a good bass cabinet. I also know that over the past four years since Phil, Stevie and others started the design of the MK1 and that morphed into the MK2 in its variants, everyone involved has learnt a lot. What I have learnt is that many brands I respected have lost some of my respect as I now know how they cut corners. I have learnt the compromises they make for the sake of hitting a price point. How getting the smallest, lightest compromises sound quality. BUT that sound may be sound you are looking for so don' t believe the marketing or even other bassists as everyone has a bias. That bias may come from believing the marketing blurb or liking or hating the aesthetics. It is silly I know but I would rather run down Poole High Street naked than use Markbass. It is irrational but there you go. In contrast I owned a monster Orange staggered 4x12 guitar cab in the early '70s. I still dream about that cab. Go figure then think about your own prejudices. Like Phil I have another speaker project in mind but that will have to wait. I have the amp to finish and many other projects. In the meantime I will take my cab to as many Bass Bashes as I can get to so you can hear it for yourself. Oh and don't forget that there is no such thing as a stupid question, there are only stupid answers.

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1491379967' post='3272495'] If you are gonna DI an acoustic electric bass you'll want a passive DI as the bass is active ie it has a pre amp. [/quote]In many situations the pre-amp out will feed a mixer with no problem. You may need a DI to balance the audio on long cable runs we only DI passive electric basses and guitars at our open mic night.

When the original 1x12 Design Diary was spec'd it was for a single driver 12" cab that was capable of keeping up with a loud drummer (120dB SPL). It was to be wide enough to take a rack mount amp with no overhang and was to be easy to build. Phil and Stevie achieved this with the MK1. I bought a Beyma SM212 fully intending to build the MK1 but Beyma revised the specs on the SM212 (for the better) so I asked Stevie, who has the measuring gear, if he would like to check it. It turned out that Beyma had been turning out drivers that were better than the original published spec and that my driver and Phil's were almost identical. Beyma had just revised the specification to match the real performance of the driver. While I was with Stevie that first time, he pulled out a small cab fitted with an OEM version of the Deltalite 12" and a properly designed crossover and tweeter. The low end was nowhere near as good as the MK1 but the midd and top were so clear. I was persuaded to go the MK2 route. He convinced me that a good horn and compression driver could improve dispersion so that I could hear myself even with a small cab on the floor on a pub stage. I love an old school hump (that looks so wrong in print) but I have always thought that flat speakers and a good EQ is the way to go rather than a "voiced" cabinet. I had been in conversation with Passinwind regarding pre-amps and the design he came up with has a really flexible EQ that can dial in an old school response or just about anything else I want. All with a really low noise figure (virtually no hiss). I had hoped to get my DIY amp ready for the Bash on Sunday but illness and the late arrival of some components ruined that. I will get the amp finished in the next week or two then I will have a complete rig I built myself. Of course I will post pictures on here as soon as it is finished. The think is there is no right or wrong, it is a personal thing. Phil's idea of a smaller cab creating a low mid peak is as valid as the "HiFi" cab. The choice is yours.