Balcro

[quote name='jynxterstu' post='1368828' date='Sep 10 2011, 07:36 PM']Hi all Just looking for any comments on the ibanez 700 and the Cort A4 custom. Feel, sound, build quality and the likes. I currently have a Fender jazz (MIM) and a Cort Ltd. Playability wise i prefer the Cort due to the slim wenge neck, but for sound it has to be the jazz. I do prefer the style/ shape Ibanez and Cort over the Fenders, hence I am considering the two above, in an attempt to gain the playability and the sound in one bass. As i have not heard or played either i could do with some opinions. Cheers folks[/quote] I doubt if there's much difference in quality betweeen the Ibanez and the Cort. I'd go so far as to say that at that level, they're cousins. However I dont think Ibanez's/Cort's will do a traditional jazz sound, especially with humbucker pickups. The now defunct Ibanez EDB series had jazz-style pickups and made a fair stab at a jazz sound, but it's a modern interpretation of a jazz. Neck width at the first fret is the same as the Jazz at 38mm. So it must be the neck profile that's making the diference. A quick look on the Fender site showed four neck shapes. There's "C" shape, modern "C" shape, thin "C" shape and slim "C" shape. You could check them all out before you jump in and buy. Balcro.

Why modern music sounds rubbish...................... er, discuss. Try the link and see what's missing [url="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/07/loudness_wars_stfu/"]http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/07/loudness_wars_stfu/[/url] Balcro.

www. giggear.co.uk Only small selection in Hertford apparently better in Harlow. Europe:- www.woodbrass.com (France) Prices displayed in Euro's & Pounds. 3yr guarantee. www.euroguitar.com (France). Likewise with prices. Balcro.

Hi WPD, I may be completely off base (no pun intended) here, but the only easily available black block inlays are on the Squier VMJ. Presumably the Geddy Lee Jazz will be prohibitive and there's nothing with blocks on the MMite web-site. Now the mad guesswork. Er MightyMite. Strong Links to Cort, er no names mentioned of course. Who make s the Squier VMJ? I couldn't possibly say. As for profile, neck pocket dimensions, depth of neck and finish you'll have to check elsewhere. but, you never know........ Balcro. PS. Unfortunately only 20 frets.

[quote name='StevieD_FenderP2009' post='1355432' date='Aug 29 2011, 05:25 PM']So this is the horn I think would be perfect for my cabinet: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Eminence-APT80-45W-Super-Tweeter-HF-Driver-/140586613504?pt=UK_ConElec_SpeakersPASystems_RL&hash=item20bb9d7b00#ht_3167wt_905"]Eminence APT-80[/url] Would it be alright to just run it off the input on the cab or do I [b]HAVE[/b] to put a crossover in there?[/quote] I'm no expert on HF stuff, but as Mr Foxen says, that unit seems to need a crossover. There's no reference to "piezo" in the spec. By the way, it costs a lot more on Ebay than on the sellers own web-site. On the Ebay shop it's £27.93, while on the bluearan web-site it's £23.49! A high-pass crossover will probably will be an additional cost. For example, the Emnence PXB-3K5 is £21. More complications come later as you can't guarantee to match it to the existing speakers exactly how you'd like. Balcro.

[quote name='daflewis' post='1354046' date='Aug 28 2011, 01:30 AM']I just came across these two youtube vids of a gig i did with daniel boys a year or so ago - didn't even know they existed! But i think the sound guys have done a great job with my double bass sound (please wear headphones!) [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMELQUHkLYA&feature=related"]Everything[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIsf41MY0Eo&feature=related"]Annie's song[/url][/quote] Thanks. A very nice sound indeed. Balcro.

[quote name='catmanhog' post='1353874' date='Aug 27 2011, 08:35 PM']Hallo! One has a Fender Deluxe - not sure of the RMS, had a quick look around and couldn't see anything about an 80w?! - & the other a Line 6 Flextone 100w - 'but it's a loud 100' he keeps telling me! Its quite a small space to rehearse and i wondered if the quality of the Ampeg would show up a bit more. Chuck in a drummer and it seems im fighting to be heard or being heard with no tone at all.[/quote] So it sounds like it's about 100w each. By the way the 8 Ohm is the impedance of the cabinet, not the power rating. Most 5-15's have the extension speaker outlet socket designed for an external/additional 8 Ohm speaker. Try before you buy: - change the eq. Cut the bass a little and give the mids a big boost. If that doesn't work, then I would suggest you add an 8ohm speaker cab such as a 2x10, a 2x12 or even a 4x10 and power it from the extension speaker socket. Look out for something in the cabs for sale section. Balcro.

[quote name='catmanhog' post='1353816' date='Aug 27 2011, 07:04 PM']Hello, I currently have an Ashdown five fifteen 100W- which i have been trying to offload in the marketplace ! - and until its gone, i'm having issues in rehearsal with two guitarists & a drummer - 'What do you mean turn down a little?', they say to me! I have been offered an Ampeg B100R and wondering if that would be a better option, don't really want to go above 100w for the room space we are in. Any advice? Thanks![/quote] Hello fellow 5-15 user. Q1. What size of amp are the 2 guitarists using, and what cabinets? Balcro.

[quote name='clarkpegasus4001' post='1353070' date='Aug 26 2011, 09:35 PM']I used to use a mint condition 1X15 USA Acoustic amp from about 1980 when I played in a Wishbone Ash tribute band. It sounded really good, loud/powerful great tone. I only sold it because it was too bulky. I have no idea if the new Acoustic stuff is any good, I guess it's not American made looking at the prices online. :unsure:[/quote] There are two Acoustic companies. There's the Acoustics obtainable from "TheGuitarCenter" which are made in China and there are the bass only AcousticUSA products which are Made in the USA. $3000 a pop. These new 2011 360's are smaller than the old 70's original. Check out the forum: - [url="http://unofficialacousticcontrolcorpmessageboard.yuku.com/"]http://unofficialacousticcontrolcorpmessageboard.yuku.com/[/url] Balcro.

Hello AsterL A follow up to yesterday. - I re-installed winISD yesterday morning before getting a repeat of the errors with the Qms and Fs. Yesterday evening after receiving Eminence's reply I ran the test again and it worked. Huh! How did that happen? I'd followed the info on data entry in the winISD help file, just as before. Mystery. Anyway, the figures computed, producing only a marginally different response. To verify, I changed the Qms from 17.5 to 7.5 and all it did was to flatten the humpy response in the low-mids. So I'm now chewing my way through a large slice of humble pie. How are you getting on? Balcro.

Hello AsterL, further to my earlier post I have received a reply from Anthony at Eminence. "They have looked into it and believe their data to be correct." Ha! Well try it for yourself. If you enter a "Qms" of 7.5 in to winISD it correctly calculates the Fs and other parameters. If you enter a value of 17.50 it produces nonsense and the oddest of response curves. This may be one example, I suspect there may be more. From my calculations I'm not sure you'll find the cabinet and the proposed drivers are a good match. Balcro.

[quote name='AsterL' post='1348310' date='Aug 22 2011, 07:43 PM']Ok. After spending the afternoon researching and using winisd I am utterly confused. So I've decided to ask for help! :) What I want to do is this: I have just got 2 old 15 inch Class D subs off a friend. I want to turn them into bass cabs. My plan is to remove the 15 inch speakers, baffle, and port, and add either 4 isobaricly mounted 10 inch speakers or regularly mounted 2 10s. They will fit in the front area of the new baffle (after removing the old ones and the port and adding new bass reflex tubes) I plan to use the Eminence Basslites Ca2010 for the speakers. Now I've been trying to interoperate the plots winisd, but I have no idea what is good or bad in the plots, or if the cabs are suitable for the job. If someone could help me figure if this is a good build idea that would greatly appreciated. The inside cabinet dimensions (after removal of all the old hardware) are: L- 44.1325cm W- 44.7675 cm H-51.75cm If anyone is interested my ultimate goal is to have 2 compact isobaric 410s that are in tweed with similar styling to a original Fender Bassman.[/quote] In this case I suspect you and the rest of the world. I think the published data - the.pdf - is wrong! For Qms, enter 7.5, not 17.5 It's been sending winISD crazy. I ended up with repetitive errors about The "floating point" and an Fs of 1592 Hz or something similarly crazy. Balcro. PS. I've e-mailed Eminence to get them to check it. So maybe the error messages were right after all.

[quote name='silddx' post='1348456' date='Aug 22 2011, 09:45 PM'].. that this quest for the perfect bass bullshit, is BULLSHIT! Being on basschat has somewhat corrupted my thinking, that I need a bass that's perfect for me. I don't. I need a good bass, good strings, and my brain. That is all. I've been playing, not talking, and I have found out that all I need is a decent bass. There is little difference between any of the basses I have had, only practical things. Playing and thinking about music has shown me that any decent bass will do. I've talked about bass far too long. When you actually PLAY, you start getting a more real connection with yourself, and the instrument itself becomes less and less important. Your LIFE is what is important. Live it and you will speak though your bass.[/quote] Ahh! Grasshopper. You have reached the cloud of enlightenment. Cue Bach's "Air on a G-string". Balcro.

[quote name='fretlessguy' post='1325096' date='Aug 3 2011, 12:08 AM']My favorite rounds are GHS Pressurewounds, which are very similar to Ken Smith Compressors. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GcQJyHGbeY"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GcQJyHGbeY[/url][/quote] Nice. These, or Brite Flats. Send an e-mail to [email protected] and they can be yours in a couple of days. Balcro.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='1343783' date='Aug 17 2011, 10:42 PM']if i were buying a bass for £300 i would get a used cort gb74 and have about £100 change (based on one ive seen on gumtree)[/quote] So would I They're over £430 new. Also consider the next model down, the GB34. £245 new from www.woodbrass.com with a 3 year guarantee. (Think Squier Jazz Bass with a J/MM configuration). Both come with the jazz bass neck width at 38mm. Balcro

[quote name='51m0n' post='1342786' date='Aug 17 2011, 09:48 AM']As for the difference in sound between the 70's 80's and now, a huge amount of the issue is the way things are mixed and mastered now. Everything is a competition for loudness and punch, even in folk music! Its a breath of fresh air (sorry, no, its less common than rocking horse poo) when you get an artist whoi wants a mix that is all about the song and emotional content and not just being as loud as the next CD. Blame the marketing hype, the artist, the mix engineer, the mastering engineer, radio station, but ultimately blame the stupid consumer for buying stuff more when its louder. Oh hold on, its just a fact, the human ear perceives louder as better in the short term every time. Thats a sorry but completely true fact about psychoacoustics for you. And that is ultimately what drove the horrendous loudness wars that we are still coping with now. It is a damn shame though![/quote] FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) for a digital format. If you can't get WMP to accept Flac's, try the JetAudio media player. Further to what 51m0n said about sound engineers, give your ears a treat here:- www.sheffieldlab.com Limited range I know, but just check out the catalogue and many of the artists have three 30 second sound samples. Balcro.

Mmm. clever stuff in that TC RH45 amp. I may be completely wrong, but here's my guesswork on what's going on. It looks like every function is being "managed". To me it's the bass amp equivilant of an Electronic Control Unit in your car. All the engine requirements are continually adjusted to give the best performance and economy at the same time as controlling emissions. In this case it looks like the Active Power Management is refereeing between the modelling/contouring side and the compressor. My guess is that It's really (conventionally speaking) a 225/230 watt amp with added electronic control tweaks. The "APM" DSP circuit seamlessly and continuously re-shapes the output between the (TC version of flat) and something like the well known "Equal Loudness Contours". To your ears, this gives an apparent (frequency shifted) 3db boost compared with the standard flat frequency response, so it sounds, in volume terms, like a 450watt amp. A bit like having a super sophisticated version of an old fashioned "loudness" button on a stereo, but one which bends the "equal loudness curve" shape more as the input signal rises, rathere than just boosting the bass end at low volume. Given the sharp cut-off below 70Hz I suspect the trick is to engage the compressor. On de-compression it then puts out boosted harmonics/overtones it line with the ELC, so that low bass sounds like low bass, but isn't. Now everyone will have to do it. Psycho-acoustic output curves. On the other hand with such control available, i suspect you'll never blow up one of their own speakers. Balcro

[quote name='ficelles' post='1323747' date='Aug 2 2011, 12:40 AM']Just tried it out... nice to see what looks like Delphi software still around. But the problem is it seems to be design rather than reverse engineering i.e. it tells you what you should have not what you have got, you can't adjust port length afaics. What is the Sd parameter? Can't find that for my BN12-300S and can't think what's in m2... It's always interesting to read people's profiles btw :) ficelles[/quote] If you've got a Celestion BN12 look it up here. [url="http://professional.celestion.com/bass/pdf/BN12-300S8.pdf"]http://professional.celestion.com/bass/pdf/BN12-300S8.pdf[/url] However, be careful in all these sites because there's a variation in the way the T/S parameters are expressed. Some will refer to Kgs and others will use grams, sometimes it's fractions of a metre, sometimes it's in cetimetres. winISD has it's own. Then there are the country to country variations. Thiele/Small parameters - [url="http://yu-ra.tripod.com/ts_parameter.htm"]http://yu-ra.tripod.com/ts_parameter.htm[/url] Just one site in hundreds with the same info. There's another inside the "Help" area of winISD. The Celestion description is part of the above problem. The easist way is to follow the winISD "getting started" info under the "help" button and just input the first four or five parameters and let it do the calculation for you. It will tell you what the Sd is. You've got the BN12 parameters, now measure the box. winISD tells you what you've got. Balcro.

Maybe your original post was confusing. Saying are you in favour or not is probably asking the wrong question. Most people on here these days, would expect you to have a ported enclosure. That's why both alexclaber and I asked you "what's the purpose of a adding a hole?" I think this thread has established that whether there's a hole or a port, a tuned frequency exists, whether it's useful or not. The usual response to questons such as yours is to recommend the use of winISD software. Use that and you can get the tuning, frequency response and power handling sorted out in a few minutes. Because of tools such as this you can achieve an optimium setting and you might avoid damaging drive units. In other words it would solve the first two sentences of your post #26. Take a look at my post #18. The diameter of a 100mm drain-ppe is very close to one of the standard port diameter settings in winISD. It's also cheap and adaptable. The apparently odd-ball device in the link is actually a serious device used in hi-fi and would prove useful if you had a closed box loudspeaker and then cut a hole in it. It lets the air out for a purpose and is an alternative to a reflex port. The research on it goes back more than fifty years. I have no idea why this sub-forum, not just this thread, that attracts such dissent, but it does. These days you half expect it, and then the protagonists veer off at a tangent. Whatever. As far as I'm aware Bill Fitzmaurice and Alex Claber are the people who know their physics. Some others will have lots of experience in the the entertainment industry and they may also know their physics, others have a passion for loudspeaker boxes. THey will have to tell you who they are. Balcro.

[quote name='ficelles' post='1322644' date='Jul 31 2011, 11:41 PM']Lets the air out. ficelles[/quote] Rule of thumb for size: sized so you can fit a 100mm plastic drain pipe in the hole. That way if you don't like the first result (just a hole in the baffle) you can try fitting a length of pipe for an alternative tuning. If you really want to look cool try one or two of these - [url="http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/flares/ports/vents/scan-speak-aperiodic-vent/"]http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/flare...aperiodic-vent/[/url] Balcro.

[quote name='ficelles' post='1320497' date='Jul 29 2011, 02:46 PM']Untuned ports i.e. just a hole... anyone in favour / not in favour? Any rule of thumb for size? ficelles[/quote] What for you is the purpose an untuned port? Balcro.

To the best of my knowledge, Councillors in themselves have no legal authority to "move you on". That would be the responsibility of something like a street-trading inspector, who would be able to inofrm you/refer to the local regulations relating to busking. The following might be of interest - [i]From the minutes of North-Somerset District Council: QUESTION NO. 3 From Councillor Crockford-Hawley To Councillor Roe, Leader of the Council [b]Weston-super-Mare Town Centre Partnership/Company[/b] (1) Would the relevant Executive Member indicate the areas of responsibility which have been vested by this Council in the Weston-super-Mare Town Centre Partnership/Company and the Town Centre Manager? (2) What financial contributions, commitments and office facilities have been granted by this Council to the Town Centre Partnership/Company and the Town Centre Manager?” Reply: “(1) Weston-super-Mare Town Centre Company (TCC) was established to promote the economic vitality of the town centre. Earlier this year, as a part of their initiative to deter illegal trading and encourage quality busking and events in and around the High Street, the TCC requested that the Council allow them to take on the responsibility of event organisation and management at three key locations - Town Square, Italian Gardens and Big Lamp Corner. The Executive Member for Economic Development agreed to a trial period (to be reviewed after twelve months) during which a number of new events and activities have taken place, culminating in the location of an ice rink on the Town Square on the run up to this Christmas. The Council (N-S DC) retains all other responsibilities for these areas and no other ‘responsibilities’ have been vested in the TCC by this Council. (2) When the TCC was originally formed, North Somerset Council provided annual grant funding (£15,000) and office accommodation at the Winter Gardens for the Town Centre Manager. This funding support finished in March 2002 but the Council continues to provide an office at the Winter Gardens. Computer, telephone and other office services are paid for by the TCC. North Somerset Council also supports the TCC with Member representation on the Board of Directors and with officer help and advice when needed.” [/i] So N. Somerset DC are the major power, but WSM Town Council is responsible for just a few local functions,i.e looking after activities on the beach. You (or a mate) could contact the Town Centre Manager and ask him for details of street trading, busking etc, and whether he can provide you with copies of the relevant rules and regulations. You might also contact North Somerset D.C and find out their attitude to street-trading/busking in WSM. They may well have on-line T's and C's. However, they may also be responsible for what's called street-trading Licences/Consents, even inside WSM. Obviously someone will have to consider the potential for "nuisance", but that proviso is found everywhere. It is possible to play with and amplifier and not cause a nuisance. Balcro.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='1294958' date='Jul 6 2011, 05:09 PM']Not quite. Load figures are only vast generalizations, based on the DCR of the drivers used. Even with the same nominal load rating different cabs have very different loads, even when using the same drivers, as shown here: This shows the same driver in a sealed and vented cab. A tube amp will be much happier with the lower average impedance load of the sealed cab, SS will be happier with the higher average impedance load of the vented cab. The inverse is also the case, and is likely the source of Ampeg's problem with its Micro VR SS head and sealed 2x10 cabs.[/quote] Further to your post No. #14 above:- Wooks79 has a SS power amp section to his SVT3 Pro and its operated into a vented cabinet, which displays that typical double peak impedance (red-line) plot. Therefore from your explanation, can it be assumed that amp will be reasonably comfortable under such conditions? Balcro.

Reading between the lines, I think Bill is cautiously referring to the potential for damage that may occur to the amplifier if your amp is not capable of operating into a 4 Ohm load. Therefore he has asked you for amp details. He wouldn't want to give you an unqualified recommendation on loudspeakers if your changes caused your amp to burn out If you replace the speakers, you'll need two 8 ohm drivers. When wired in parallel - which is what you probably have now - (check it anyway) you amp will see a nominal 4 ohm load. It looks like the SVT-3Pro is comfortable with that. I don't know if your other amps are the same. There's probably a reference to Ohms/Resistance in the forum wiki. Balcro.