Chienmortbb

Good advice although I would use it on the keyboards too. Solo keyboards might be OK without, but in a band setting you need to keep those pesky pianists out of our sonic space. I always worry when they say, I can do that on the keyboard.

An order is usually 6dB, so 12dB is second order, 18dB is third Order and 24dB is fourth order.

The decision whether to choose an EI laminated transformer and a Toroid is not a simple one. I remember working on a TV monitor that was designed for an EI transformer. It was decided to change to a toroid to reduce weight and cut costs. All went great until switch on and HUMMMMMMMMMM. The picture had horizontal bars running up/down the screen. The magnetic field of a toroid is much tighter and well-defined than an EI, BUT in this case the stray magnetic filed was focused on the CRT neck and causing a brightness difference. The number of hum bars depended on how far the mains frequency was from 50Hz as TV timebases were very accurate but mains varies in frequency. In the right position the toroid can reduce magnetically induced hum in am amp but in the wrong place? I am sure that @stoneham is aware of this though.

I have only been using the Orchids for about 10 years but have never had a problem with it. If I had used the EMO, like you, for years I would be the same. Of course EMO were a quality manufacturer. The transformers used would not have been a cheap and cheerful one and that would have been reflected in the price.

No it will make it neck dive.

Don’t worry too much about the amp if you build one of the smaller BC variants. Your preamp is in the Dwarf so you just need a power amp. Also do not worry about the power. Choose an efficient driver and use an HPF ( you can probably do that in your setup already). Do not worry about the extreme low end. Battery power is a limitation but you can get inverters that double or treble the voltage. I have designed a PA for my local football club the uses a 12V leisure battery ( it’s a car battery but designed for continuous use rather than the peak use starting a car). By using a 12-36v inverter I can drive 2 x 100W amps that will operate in an emergency even if the mains fails. So decide how much acoustic power you need then you can work out roughly what driver/amp/battery-inverter you need. There are car amplifiers that include the inverters, I believe @Mottlefeederhas done a lot of research and amassed a lot of knowledge in that area. Regarding your Roland amp, the 5” speakers may well give a good output at higher frequencies, many 5” speakers approach full range. However the response may be tailored by Roland for a certain response.

At the end of the day, if you have the cabs already, why not. The advice to avoid mixing sizes is a rule of thumb and not cast in stone. I would not buy say a 15 to go with a 2x10 although at one time the received wisdom was that this was a good combination. However if you own a 2x10 and a 1x15 try it, what have you got to lose?

Yes, but the shape is a bit up and down. On a serious note, I agree about the sound of EL34s.

I know the theory. A good transformer is eye wateringly expensive, and will still colour the sound. I have never had a problem with the Orchid in over 200 gigs. A good active DI will not colour the audio and most mixers will use a similar output topology. My good friend @Passinwinddoes favour a transformer to couple preamps to power amps to add a little warmth to the sound, but do we need warmth in a signal from a DI?

Hard to argue with that.

I am not a great fan of valve amps but I love the shape of a KT88. Yes I am sad.

That will open your eyes,whe. You take the filter higher and higher and realise how little the real low end really contributes to your sound. We all know what frequencies the E and B strings are but it is really the 2nd harmonics, around 60 and 80Hz that we hear.

I do not know the preamp or model you are using, but there is no good stuff at 30Hz even if you plat 5 string. It will not hurt at all. In that region, all you get is excessive power being used for moving the speaker slowly. You are protecting your speaker and, as you say, tightening your sound.

Having recently had long email conversations with Neutrik, I can be of some help here. The old 2 and 4 way Neutrik speakONs have been discontinued as they do not meet the new IEC directive. The new directive comes into force on 1st January 2024. Whilst the new and old speakONs are compatible, the new ones only comply with regulations if the chassis sockets also meet the new regs. Most amps we own or those in stock at the moment in the market will not be compliant. However, cables sold on, or after, 1st Jan must be compliant. As I understand it, both UL in the US, CE marking and the UK equivalents (got to love Brexit) require compliance. I am still assimilating the information, but as I see it, these new plugs break all contacts simultaneously to remove the chance of am electric shock. They have also been uprated in both voltage and current. I was also advised that the combo sockets, that were rated at 10 amps on the jack socket, are now derated to 0,5A. That means a maximum of 2 watts into 8 ohms or 1 watt into 4 ohms. Before anyone tells me that they have been using jacks on an Ampeg since 100BC, jack plugs were designed as signal plugs and never designed for speakers. I am sure someone like @agedhorse will be well aware of these changes and be along soon to correct any errors. I have had comments that this is Neutrik's way of fighting the cheap Chinese copies. However, as a reputable company, they have to abide by the standards in force. I now have samples of the new XX series, and they are more robust, but are tricky to assemble properly. I have already seen prices of the old plugs reduce, while the new plugs are at a higher price point and are harder to obtain.

A problem you do not have with an active DI.

Orchid Electronics Classic DI. It is Active but runs on battery or Phantom power. I have two and they have never let me down. Having investigated audio transformers at some length, a good one is really expensive. The cheaper they are the lower the saturation point.

Warman pups come highly recommended. https://www.warmanguitars.co.uk/product/p-bass-classic-pickup-8-56kohm-and-5-21-henries/

And speaker efficiency is not measured in voice coil diameter. Such a large motor suggests an inefficient driver.

It is the same preamp and the knobs feel the same as on the V series basses, I will look at my M2 tomorrow.

I think that you mean, "some US basses approach the quality of Japanese Fenders"😇

Of course it does have 96K gold plugs.

I am not an expert but it looks like the old units use a parallel connection while this unit and pickup uses a serial connection. Having had to repair a number of Roland Drum modules, the parallel connector is the weak link, mechanically very unstable. A TRS cable is more robust but easy to pull out. Do you need the BOSS cable, is it not wired pin to pin on the TRS? If it is pin to pin it’s hard to see why a decent TRS cable would not work fine.

It’s odd. There can only be one twisted pair, is the third conductor a shield? Is so it’s a good quality TRS balanced cable. Mic cable is one twisted pair covered by a screen and it is the screen that does most of the interference suppression.

Thanks guys.