PigBass

The school year I was in was probably quite unusual in that just about everyone was in a band, or at least played an instrument. One of my friends contacted me shortly after leaving school in around 1978 (he had by then changed his name to Mr X) asking if my brother (a great drummer) and I wanted to join his new band. We had one rehearsal at his mum’s house which culminated in a huge argument because my brother and I “had added flourishes” to the songs that he couldn’t live with. Neither of us had any idea we were adding flourishes or even what the flourishes were, but the 2 hour old band folded. The first band I had been thrown out of. Undeterred, Mr X gathered more compliant musicians from our school days and finally created his punk band The Stereotypes. They got label interest, recorded one four track EP, performed a debut gig, had a huge argument about a guitar solo and the band folded. Fast forward a few decades to 2011, there had been renewed interest in the band from the label mainly because the EP had become a collector’s item - mostly due to its rarity. The band reformed, recorded an album, performed one gig, had a huge argument and the band folded once more. In 2021 Mr X called me: would I be interested in re-joining The Stereotypes that my brother and I had been thrown out of in 1978? Of course I joined (what could go wrong?) and along with the original singer from our school, a guitarist we were at school with and a new drummer The Stereotypes are back in business. We’ve played four gigs and so far have had no arguments, huge or otherwise, as I type this, the band has not folded…….

HI, I'm unable to read the SN properly on the photo (my poor eye sight and low res screen) but I found this website: https://www.yamaha.com/YEC/Pages/Search/YECSerialNumberLookup.aspx which might help? Wrong Link I think - this may be better - chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.yamaha.com/yamahaguitars/ElectricandBassGuitarSerialNumberSystems.pdf Cheers, Darren.

Can only add a bit more speculation - sorry, but looking the specs of the Midget that I found on a old advert, the max output is 127dB compared to 125dB of a 2x10 which is essentially the same as 2 1x10s in practice. So I would guess volume wise they are about the same. The key question for me would be whether you prefer the colouration of the 10s compared to the more neutral 12s. Apologies for not answering your question 😁 Darren.

Just echoing what others have said already, joining a band will improve your level of playing and enjoyment of playing bass. What BigRedX says is valid, a band forming (or already formed) to play original music is well worth considering, although starting off in a covers band may well be an easier starting point as you have bass lines to copy and learn. Don't start with a Yes tribute 🙂 keep it simple and try not to obsess over learning bass lines note for note all the time, add a bit of your own style to it, make it easier to play if necessary. Likely no one will notice in reality. Take a look at sites such as Join My Band, I found my current bands through that site; there are people out there at all levels looking for bands who are just like you. Jump in have a go and most importantly have fun. Cheers, Darren.

Completely agree @BassAdder60, my comments were specific to the relationship between Gain and Drive on these fabulous amps. But you’re right, having a strong input signal is key to getting the best from the amp.

I had the opposite problem, I was turning the gain up really high so the signal was often in the red, and then adding drive. In my case that made the tube break up to the point it was just too gritty for my liking. Turning the gain down and increasing the blend gave a lower level of that tube grit. I found my sound by setting the drive on full and then adjusting the gain up until I heard the right amount of grit/drive. Adjust the master for overall volume. Worked for me anyway. Good luck, the sound you want is very likely to be in there, you’ve just got to find the right settings to get it out. Darren

Just an added pointer to the comments above (I got this from Ashdown when I had a similar question). The ABM drive works differently to the way I expected so when you select "drive on", the preamp signal is sent through the tube and the Drive control is a blend rather than "how much" drive. So fully off = tube effectively bypassed, fully on = all signal goes via the tube. The Gain is what controls the signal strength to the tube, so actually as you increase Gain (with drive on) the valve will break up more (I had assumed the drive control did this, but I was wrong). Hope that makes sense. What Lozz says above is exactly what I found in practice, a subtle grind/drive that sounds just right at home will be likely lost completely in a live situation. Darren

Just a quick update, I've now had a chance to play with the amp at volume to check out what's what. For info, my set up is - MIJ 60's Jazz with almost dead rounds, (or 4003 with lively rounds which has a significantly higher output than the Jazz), EVOii 500, Barefaced 8Ohm 410. No effects/pedals etc. My previous approach was to crank up the gain until the meter moved somewhere just below (but often in) the red zone, dial in the valve drive around 2 O'clock and add volume as required plus a bit more to annoy the guitarist (ha ha). Ear plugs in cos we have an acoustic and loud drummist - and away... By reducing the gain from about 3 O'clock to12/1 so that the meter peaks are roughly vertical, valve drive still at 2 O'c, to my ears the nastiness has gone and I have that slightly gritty but very warm valvey sound I was looking for. So I was wrong and Dave was right. Another good school day for me. Cheers all, Darren.

Thanks for your replies everyone, much appreciated. I contacted Dave at Ashdown and he replied pretty quickly as usual from Ashdown. I thought his reply was worth sharing as he explained how the drive control works on this amp: I would use a JJ ECC83S. Also try using a bit less input gain, this will alter not only the amount but the nature of the drive sound. The drive control on the amp alters the MIX of driven to undriven sound and the gain control alters the amount of drive, less gain = less drive. Matched BassAdder60's recommendation, but tbh I did originally believe the Drive Control altered the amount of drive rather than how much of the driven sound is mixed with the original signal. Darren.

Hi Bassybert, it's the original valve, a Russian SOVTEK 0506 Thanks.

Hello all, I hv an ABM EVOII 500 which is completely fab except that the pre-amp valve now sounds more nasty than gritty. I hv removed it and checked the pins but no difference, maybe time for a new valve? I checked the Watford Valves website and see nearly a million 😂 12AX7 options to choose from. Anyone here changed their valve and if so what to? Does the huge choice make that much difference in this amp? Cheers, Darren.

Like others have said, there's pretty much nothing inside that you'll hit unless you plan on using 10 inch bolts 😁 If it was mine, I'd go the extra mile by removing the speaker, fit the handles with the speaker removed and then put about 2 inches of wadding all around the inside surfaces of the box (leave the ports uncovered of course), the improvement in sound is well worth the effort. Cheers, Darren.

I've been using the same set up as this for a few years now, it's astonishing how it does what it does, small, light, loud and low. Bass, Ashdown, Barefaced and a few cables, for me it is perfect, enjoy your rehearsal 🙂

I have a 7215 SMC Combo which I found to be a little "flabby" at volume, not a great word but hopefully you get what I mean. I spent a couple of hours lining the box with two layers of damping material making a layer of about 4cm deep. The difference in sound is huge in my opinion, significantly more controlled. Using words to describe sound is not easy and it is subjective, but in my view the short answer to your question is yes, it is would sound better. Weight wise it's gone up from the weight of a small planet to the weight of a small planet + about 3 ounces 😁 Darren.