basexperience

I have a perspective here too - I've been using a Warwick Pro Tube IX (900w solid state with a valve preamp) for years through a pair of Warwick Neo Pro cabs (full 4x10 and 1x15) - great sound and huge power, plus biamp and stereo capabilities etc. I now have a Trace V4 head and the sound is just amazing. The all-valve gets so much more out of the cabs - it's so lush, with the EQ completely flat: of course it's oranges and apples, but they weigh about the same. The V4 is just that massively weighty all-valve tech with massive transformers. I think there's something to it. For the cabs I'd wager the weight of the cab itself forms a kind of inertia which the speaker can work against to shift the air, particularly at high volumes.

I've been lucky enough to resurrect a Trace V4 amp into a new Zilla cabs shell. I had been using a little Warwick LWA500 (1Kg) and now I'm addicted to the weight of the V4 because it sounds amazing... there *is* something about weight, I guess. That said, I have a 2x10 MarkBass transporter cab which pushes out ridiculous volume for something which weighs 15Kgs. That thing is amazing. I had a Trace 2x10 cab for many years - even took it to Andorra for a season - and the strongest memory I have of it is getting it from the old Bass Centre in Wapping across to west london where I was parked... on the tube. At least I could sit on it. I thought it would destroy the freaking escalators on the jubilee line... 😀

I've actually got both on my board: the FI is amazing, and I do have a midi expression pedal attached to it, and for years the SYB-5 was really a curio: then I got the roland EV expression pedal and attached it to the SYB-5 and it came *alive*. The SYB-5 is an utterly different beast with the expression pedal on. The tones are amazing for solos - even the distortion "synth" on it becomes really usable - the sweep on the pedal is enormous.

So the HX still can't match an OC-2 with anything? Disclaimer - I've got an OC-2 on my pedalboard too 😉

Oh man, I LOVE that idea! I've had the warwick cabs for many years, love the weight / tone ratio on them, and I reckon I could do this with black hammerite quite nicely...

From last Saturday’s gig. This is the mega-analog-synth-pedalboard setup. Now with added recently re-shelled Trace Elliot V4 all-valve head (its first gig in a very long time). Zilla Cabs do GORGEOUS work IT IS SO LOUD

Here’s the end result - what a stunner!!!

SHould be with me on Monday - I’ll post a pic (maybe a video!) of the beast alive! I got an XLR to speakon cable to bring it bang up to date. Works a treat!

Haha yep, it’s 25Kg with the amp. Paul from zilla just got back to me, it’s complete and he’s done an excellent job; the oval window on the front looks excellent in tolex, and he’s put a good sized square window out back too. The V8 style 3-handle arrangement looks perfect! Now all I have to do is touch up the black paint on the head in a couple of places, mount the V4 badge on the front grille and she’s ready for some action again thanks for your help on here guys, much appreciated.

Hehe that’s cute - but not the plan. The amp’ll be getting a head shell as close to the original head version of the time as possible, with one slight addition of the twin strap handles of the V8 version for improved luggability.

Update - the head shell is coming along nicely. Looks well built - good job too, it’ll weigh 25Kgs or thereabouts when it’s done! Thanks for all your suggestions, guys. If anyone’s keen I’ll post pics of the finished shell and the head in place!

Thanks dude, I looked into Hoffnine. Nice work, but I opted for Zilla after I read enough reviews of their stuff - they seem to be quality and everybody mentions them first. Good gear though!

Thanks dude - I’ve reached out to them but haven’t heard anything back yet. If they do good work I’m not too concerned about their price being a little higher. Good to get a recommendation!

She’s naked, but she’s beautiful. Thanks for the steer @John_P!

Set an actual hoover on it! Just manhandle the hoover. I’ve got a handheld pet hair tool for the dyson with its own internal suction fed brush which works wonderfully. My Warwick cabs are also “felted” like the Trace ones.

I posted ages ago about a Rare Trace elliot V4 1x15 combo I was looking to renovate after the band that had it finally wore it out (literally). The cabinet was beyond salvation (although I did strip it before I realised this), and I’ve realised it’s better recused in a new shell as a head - I’ve got plenty of cabs which can take it and it will actually get out to gigs with me. I’m looking to get a new head shell made; I have the front badge, the amp (which is now working again!) and a sample of the original tolex from the combo (rescued from the bottom, literally the only tolex left on it). Has anyone recased a head before, and if you did, who did it for you? I’ve reached out to several online makers (eg Zilla, Vyse) but nobody has got back to me yet. Mum keen to try to make it look as close to the black V4 head as possible, but include the twin top handles that the V8 head has, for extra luggability. That front grille could be tricky, too - the combo had the head tilted backwards, so the grille was very shallow in comparison Thanks for any info, dudes!

You got something about XXXXinator style pedals? ;-) what does the prunes and custard do?

I’ve reworked my board a bit. Got a pedalbay 80 so I have room to grow. Not finished wiring yet, tonight was a test run to check the new power supply on the 9v side works (one 9v 3A supply for all of them! Woohoo!) The FCB makes the FI and PolyMod so easy to flip around, and I’ve got analog and MIDI expression pedals available. Does very strange but cool things to the PolyMod with both at the same time. The SYB-5 expression pedal is excellent, really makes the pedal sing.

I just got mine from GAK - sounds great, and a steal for the money.

The mooer arrived this morning - I’ve had the briefest of plays with it, at the end of the signal chain - which includes the Future Attack and the Poly Mod Pro in front, with the FCB doing midi control on synth mix on the FI and frequency on the PolyMod Pro with a basic envelope follower on. After the tinkering, I can report that; 1. The switch to select instruments is best left at “guitar” - it’s just a filter and extracts all treble on the bass setting, with the synth being somewhere in the middle. 2. The synth sound I was using definitely worked best with a fairly narrow range on the “bit” dial - but the sounds are exactly what I was looking for, excellent 3. The way the tone reacts to the expression pedals for both the FI synth mix and frequency on the PolyMod is AMAZING!!! I’ll try to post some video later - but it looks like this was well worth doing. I’ve actually got another Boss EV-5 for the PolyMod Pro as the expression pedal input has a lot more scope (LFO speed, and more) than the MIDI mappable continuous controllers. There’s like 13 mapping for expression, onto a huge range of different parameters in the filter. I started my pedalboard after years of using a Podxt (which I do still use) because I had a Boss SYB-5 and the OC-2 octaver lying around for years, and wanted to use them again. The journey to this point has been a revelation - so much tweakability; and some patch-based capability too, which I really do like in an effects rig.

Aw man, that sounds like a wicked project! Good on you. Sir! At the moment it’s just me and a rather amazing drummer; keyboard player is TBD. Drummer has sample pads too!

Dang, it doesn’t play on iOS! Not sure why... I’ll try PC later on

Cool. I’m always interested in experimenting - I actually got the Sourcs Audio PolyMod Pro rather than the bass one when I discovered you could enable another lower band on the EQ. It sounds great with bass and other instruments too. Have ordered the Mooer Lofi machine as a starting point - totally blown away by you guys and the response. Thanks so much, this has really made my Christmas!

Dude - that looks like an ideal entry point. The controls look like it’s the real deal, and it even has guitar/keys/bass switch (which I presume helps those sound sources). Will definitely try one of these first!