Al Krow

Speaking of cool dark...the black sheep of the Krow Yammy family has arrived I had originally thought I might also get the BB735A refinished in white (and even got a couple of quotes for getting it done). But I'm much less sure about doing that now!

@lee650 and I are proud to announce the arrival of our BB twins (by adoption date) and Lee's rapid ascension to half-Trav (and potential simultaneous renunciation of anything made by Fender) and my much more lethargic middle-aged-spread journey to full-Trav status. It should, however, be known that full Trav is still considered a tad usurper. Advanced grade = hookystringbass or (hush now) even a hypercarrot as the ultimate destination for a true BB believer. Normal service may now resume.

Middle aged spread can signify a whole load of medical ills. It's definitely not a laughing matter.

Hmmm...are you sure?! I think they're pretty evenly matched overall!

The cab thread got me thinking, if someone was looking for a world class lightweight D-class amp to pair with the best 112 cabs out there, is there really anything currently better out there in the market than these two?! Which would you go for? Or is there something else that really does give these two a run for their money and is < 8 lbs?

Ah maybe I'm getting confused. The headstock is certainly different (IMO much uglier) on the 'Basic' models. When did they start being produced with the current headstock?

I really loved the old shape, maybe precisely because it was the classic Fender design. I've not really been able to gel with the idea of the new shape, particularly the head which I find yuk. But each to their own, eh?

Are you sure you're not taking the whole issue of getting a fair price on your WD-800 a touch too far? 😄

I personally prefer to take the views expressed by trusted and experienced fellow BCers (yours included!) to corroborate the sometimes inflated claims made by manufacturers about their products. But maybe that's just me.

Your question is exactly the right one. The 1$: 1£ conversion rate has long been accepted as the ballpark conversion rate to take account of shipping, customs and 20% VAT i.e. US made gear will cost approx 30% more in the UK. We can live with that, it's just a fact of life. But there is a level of profiteering going on here at the expense of Mesa's otherwise loyal European user base, which we are all finding more than a little like having one finger stuck up at us by the suppliers. And it's getting an understandable two fingered reaction from us as consumers. I'll be voting with my wallet.

That's very interesting. I struggled to find any legal action taken by Fender against Sandberg (and they would likely lose given their inability to trademark their equally iconic guitar designs, following their recent court loss). Hearsay or something more substantial? Sounds highly anti-competitive and illegal to me. Surprised that Sandberg didn't sue the pants of Fender, if this actually did happen and that they didn't have an army of lawyers on their doorstep looking to act for them on a no win no fee basis.

So I'm with you at the bottom (sub 60 Hz) range. But not there at the top end in my thinking (yet!). Doing the same sine wave tests at 5kHz and 10kHz, my hearing is pretty good still (in my case up to 13K) and there will be a lot of overtones in that range - what I refer to as 'zing' - that, for me, makes a difference which I can clearly hear in a cab that rolls off the high end eg a Markbass 112 or a BF SC (and I suspect similarly the BF 210 / BF ST) and those that don't eg the VK 210s, the BF BB2 and, from what others have said the BF SM. Now, obviously, there are plenty of folk who prefer the more vintage tones of cabs that roll off the high end. For me, I would prefer the option of having the high end when I want it and dialling it out via bass / pedal / amp EQ when I don't.

Get the best that you can afford, and be content with your lot. I'll leave you to do the cost / benefit analysis! In my case my headphones are a huge amount better than the tiny speakers on my computer for hearing this stuff through.

Ok thanks, so that's a yes. There's a thing called a 'free market' model which I and most Americans are normally fans of. More competition is a good thing particularly when, as it seems to be the case here, the local operators are ripping off their customers. Btw Amazon has no difficulty undermining local UK retailers either.

Surely it does depend on matching the cabs very carefully to make sure they are complimentary? It seems that the SC and SM work well together, from your experience. But from the advice I've seen on other threads ('daisy chaining two cabs') this is very much not always the case, and you would, more often than not, be worse off with two different cabs than two of the same. You then have the cost / convenience of 2 cabs vs a better 112 or a 212.

Yup, I think I might just have... 😄

Been a discussion about whether we need to worry about the 'fundamentals' on another thread. You might find this interesting to check out. Low B string - fundamental Low E string - fundamental Low B string - first harmonic (i.e. one octave up from the low B) Low E string - first harmonic (i.e. one octave up = low E string on a 6 string guitar)

Agreed. Maybe not so counterintuitive once you've had a listen to the low note fundamentals (which I thought I'd better do, following the discussion above!) Low B string - fundamental Low E string - fundamental Low B string - first harmonic (i.e. one octave up from the low B) Low E string - first harmonic (i.e. one octave up = low E string on a 6 string guitar) (Recommend you use a decent pair of headphones).

@agedhorse if we bought one of these in the US for $999 and got it shipped over to the UK, would there be any issues with the different voltages or is there simple switch to cater for the difference in the UK and US current / voltage i.e. can a US model be easily used in the UK?

Indeed there is - which I'll have to 'fess got me thinking about F112's seriously for the first time as this FS ad coincided with me thinking about upgrading my BF SC. But now I've seen just how handsome the F112 looks in black with a black grille (as pictured in the OP), I'd personally find it hard to go for another finish, so I'm resigned to stumping up the extra 15% for a new one. But even then, a new F112 would still be a nearly £100 saving on the BF BB2 (which is an eye watering £894 with silver cloth & cover). They're both beaten on value terms by the VK 112MNT, which is further £85 cheaper.

I've just heard from a Swedish bassist that the guy making TKS cabs has stopped production due to ill health. Is this old news? If the TKS 1126 is no longer being made, that's a real shame. @funkle you mentioned needing bags of power to get the most out of the Fearless and an adjustable HPF for some scenarios. It seems to me that Mesa's WD-800 could be a match made in heaven for the F112...

@funkle great post! Thanks.

I've got Alnicos in my Yammys and also like them a lot. Seems to be a bit of a pattern with views being expressed on the Berg Delanos. I like fretmeister's description of them being a little 'hi fi' in the mids. A nicer description than my 'tame / polite / civilised' , but I suspect conveying exactly the same point. Up to folk to take from that what they will!

John Deacon liked sunburst?! Well if it's good enough for him... 😄 Congrats on the new basses.