Chienmortbb

[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.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1490609772' post='3266309'] A lot of the weight of those old cabs is in the wood (I think at least some of them were MDF), so it may be only a little lighter with neodymium drivers. [/quote]I had a conversation with an ex Trace employee and he told me they used MDF as it was sonically better than even Birch plywood.

I got to the Bash too late to hear this but aesthetically it lacks something. When I used to chose cars my wife had a test. Would it look good on the drive? Suffice to say if MarkBass made cars, Mrs A would haunt me from the after life if one of these went on the drive.

I seem to remember Phil saying he was thinking of doing a 40 litre cab using the Beyma. As for the screws, I finished the cab a bit too fast enable me together me to get to the bash and had to cut some corners. I am now going to replace the screws with dowels then re-applyTuffCab so the final effect will be much better. I also agree about the piping Stevie the whole effect is s bit too dark at the moment. Does anyone know where to get it?

Ok Just North of 14Kgs with only a handle (150gm)and a few more corners. I will be filling the screw holes either dowels an I have enough TuffCab left to paint another couple of coats.

I will weigh it when I find my luggage scales but here are some pics of the almost finished cab. I am still debating whether to pain the port black but I am starting to like the contrast so it may stay. My dad used to tell me that you cannot hide blemishes with paint and it is true even with TuffCab. I have some screw holes to fill and a bit more sanding OR I might just spend the time playing through it.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1491076030' post='3270376'] Would those vintage amps still have 1/4 jacks if Speakons had existed? [/quote]NO. Jacks were designed for signals not power and many are rated at under 1 amp. that is 8 watts at 8 ohms. SpeaKons are rated at 40 amps continuous ( just short of 13,000 watts). Of course the better makes of jacks from the likes of Neutrik (Rean), Switchcraft, Amphenol and Cliff have jack sockets and/or plugs that are rated ay 5 amps (200Watts into 8 ohms) or even 10 amps (800 watts into 8ohms) but are all the connectors rated that highly? Are all jack speaker leads using properly rated connectors (or cable). Of course the real problem is that it is easy to short out a jack lead and many early solid state amps have died this way. SpeaKons are bulletproof, they cannot be shorted and can take all your amp can put out and more. However... for a small form factor amp, a jack does make sense but make sure you use a good quality speakers lead and connectors and only switch the amp on oncer the cables are in place.

Well after burning the Midnight Oil and getting up early I just about managed to get the Cab to the Big Fat South West Bass Bash. I had about 5 mins to check the cab at home before setting off so it was a leap of faith to think that I had connected everything correctly in the crossover. I just knew I had noise of sorts coming out of both drivers. The handle was not on , there were no cabinet corners and Heath Robinson would have been ashamed of the crossover construction but it worked. We had about an hour comparing the my MK2(.5?) with Phil Starr's MK 1 cabinets. I think Phil will agree that you could hear the difference but it really did prove what a nice driver the Beyma SM212 is. Out in front (where the audience would be) the difference was noticeable but not massive. However when standing above the cabs, in "gigging" position, the improved dispersion was quite noticeable. This was the main design criteria for me. To be able to hear myself, without a monitor, when there is no FOH support. A number of people said they would be happy to gig with Mk1 or Mk2 even though they owned high end cabs themselves. We tried to record the cabinets but the "war of the bassists" made any meaningful comparisons very difficult. Hopefully we can get some real sound clips and other opinions soon. sadly my guitarist has a damaged nerve (no not his brain) in his left hand so no gigs for me until June but I will tidy the cabinet up and keep using it until then. At some point I will take it to Stevie so we can measure its performance to see how close it is to the prototype and the original design goals.

[quote name='Jabba_the_gut' timestamp='1491166730' post='3271008'] I'd just like to add my thanks to Mike and the Scrumpys for a really enjoyable day. The atmosphere was really welcoming and the food was lovely - a very big thanks for that!! My wife and kids really enjoyed the cup cakes given to me for them to eat on the way home - a lovely touch and much appreciated. Both the venue and weather were perfect. If there's one next year then put my name on the list.... It was great to be able to put faces to names I've seen on here before and to get to try out some different gear (I really would like an RH450 now - great piece of kit!). It was also very interesting talking to the guys from Gillett, Chowny and Retrovibe guitars. Everybody at the bash was friendly and chatty, made for a great day. Thanks again! [/quote]I have to say that the pictures on the build threads do not do your basses justice, they are works of art.

What a great event. I have my Tee Shirt on now and I promise to buy another mug next year Mike. I am so clumsy i might need one on mail order before then. The catering was excellent and yes i did make a point of telling team Scrumpy in person. The venue was ideal and you must have serious connections with the man upstairs for organising that weather. The real thing though it was just nice to be with people that appreciate bass. I was not there long enough to see much but that Barefaced 1x10 was so small. There was a lot of Trace stuff on show and I like that and there were some beautiful basses all over the hall. Put me down for next year now please.

I was up at 7 this morning as time is running out. The wadding is in and I have glued the top and bottom. The glue sets fairly well in 2 hours but clamping time is 4 hours so four hours it is. That will be about 11:30 when the edge corner shaping and painting will be done, I have to be out for the afternoon (more pressure) returning about 18:00. While the box is drying, I will make the crossover. I have had trouble posting the template drawing for the horn, when converted to an image file the size is wrong so you need the PDF. I have now posted it and you can get it by clicking [url="http://candheat.co.uk/documents/PH170.pdf"]HERE[/url]. The drawing is a very zoomed version of the small image on the P--Audio data sheet. Although slightly pixelated, it is accurate to within about 1.5mm and using the cropped rugby ball shape in the middle, I cut a template that made a good hole as can be seen in the baffle image in an earlier post. The complete P-Audio data sheet for the PH-170 Horn is [url="http://www.p-audio.co.uk/products/P-Audio_PH-170_1_inch_Throat_High_Frequency_Horn.php"]HERE[/url]