Bill Fitzmaurice

[quote name='nickhuge' timestamp='1327593196' post='1513924'] Hi All I'm geting a Markbass Traveller 1x15 and being a dumb guitarist clueless with bass I have been told I am being naive thinking for bigger shows I can pair it with Markbass 4x10 (even though on the markbass site it says its been redesigned so it stacks with the standard cabs). Is there anything other than another matching cab I can pair it up with? Perhaps a 2x10 102P? What's best? Hope you can help ps, it's being fed by an ampeg SVT III Pro [/quote]You can pair it with anything so long as the amp will handle the impedance load. Most of the time you'll get best results with another identical speaker.

[quote name='far0n' timestamp='1327342003' post='1509645'] Yeah same cones, just different impedence. I'm assuming the 4 ohm cone will have more windings? [/quote]If anything less, but that assumes the two coils use the same wire gauge, and you can never assume anything. In any event if you need to know the end result difference modeling software will tell you.

[quote name='Dave Tipping' timestamp='1327002394' post='1505128'] THE QUESTIONS -> 1.) Will the terror bass head through the SP210 be a decent bit louder / punchier / bassier and have more clean headroom than the Ampeg BA115? [/quote]The amp, maybe. The speaker, no. Go to the Barefaced bass site and read about the main limiting factor in speaker output, displacement. The displacement of the SP210 is about 150cc; a standard 2x10 with the same drivers would be 300cc, but the isobaric loading of the SP cuts displacement in half. That's the price paid for its small size. The displacement of the BA115 is 330 cc.

[quote name='lovetheblues' timestamp='1326664433' post='1500282'] Cab 1: Ampeg SVT Classic 410 BE, USA made, 8 ohms, 500 watts (sealed) Cab 2: Avatar B410 with the ceramic magnets, 8 ohms, 1400 watts (ported) [/quote]Avoid the Avatar. The drivers used, Delta 10s, are marginal for electric bass use.

Use a DI for the lows, a mic for the mids and highs. Effects pretty much don't affect the lows anyway, and a mic will catch the tone of the speaker as well.

[quote name='mikhay77' timestamp='1326318605' post='1495525'] Can't see valve production stopping in my lifetime!Only when musicians aren't needed anymore. The day it happens is the day Fender stop making Strats,Jazzes and P's,well IMO! [/quote]Tried buying Kodachrome lately? How about a typewriter? Buggy whip?

[quote name='clauster' timestamp='1326286624' post='1494898'] According to my plans, the Beta10 was a recommended driver and that has a 16 ohm variant. [/quote]There may have been a Beta 10b (16 ohm) at some point, but it's not currently offered.

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1326227648' post='1494186'] I think some here said in another thread, some time ago, that had Neo not been available then ceramic magnets would have been developed to meet almost the same performance by now anyway. [/quote]They were developed and have been in use since the 1970s. The advantage to neo is that it can do the same thing with both less weight and lower cost. The cost benefit has been largely lost, but not completely. The Eminence 3015LF still holds a slight price advantage over the typical ceramic equivalent, such as the B&C 15TBX100, at least on this side of the pond.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1326207372' post='1493798'] I can't see valves disappearing unless demand really does disappear. [/quote]Demand already has disappeared. The music industry alone uses tubes, and it's a very small industry in the grand scope. The largest consumer of tubes was the military, and the reason former Eastern Bloc countries continued to produce tubes long after the West stopped was that their militaries still employed them. Once all the Soviet era military hardware using tubes has been retired so will the tube, as few musicians would be willing to pay the 50 pounds each that a 12AX7 will eventually go for. Eventually the tube will go the way of photographic film.

[quote name='kennyrodg' timestamp='1326186421' post='1493339'] It makes me wonder why it's 8ohm in the first place [/quote]Good question. None of the drivers recommended for it are available in 4 or 16 ohm.

[quote name='jackers' timestamp='1326198111' post='1493560'] This is true. China have almost all of the worlds supply of rare-earth metals, so they have a monopoly on neodymium, [/quote]Rare earths aren't rare at all, and most of the world's supply is outside of China. It's only rare earth mining and manufacturing that's concentrated mainly in China, a situation that is changing by the day. The current neo shortage won't last. Tubes OTOH are going away, it's just a matter of time. Producing them without destroying the environment is just too expensive, and when the Russians and Chinese finally wake up, smell the coffee and institute safe manufacturing regulations tubes will be history.

[quote name='kennyrodg' timestamp='1326038442' post='1491390'] Hi Bill, Thanks for coming along. i want to run the cab at 8ohms then I have the option of running another cab for larger venues if required. If you there is no need or a better option for me i'd appreciate the advise. See forum title=Numpty Thanks, Pete. [/quote]You'll likely find 4 ohm or 16 ohm drivers hard to find. I don't know of any off hand, neo or ceramic.

[quote name='kennyrodg' timestamp='1326031286' post='1491247'] run the can at 8ohms. [/quote]Why?

Output is limited by displacement. You can read about it on the Barefaced site. But you won't be able to compare the displacement of any other cabs to Barefaced cabs, because only Barefaced publishes their displacement figures.

[quote name='cytania' timestamp='1325485856' post='1483527'] I still wonder about getting some drummer headphones and standing there looking a noob like Paul Gilbert or Keith Moon (or do they look cool?). [/quote]Danny Seraphine used headphones back in the 60s, for a very good reason: foldback monitors had not yet been invented. No one ever accused him of being a noob.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1325462303' post='1483451'] "Wattage" also relies on the cabinet since it varies with impedance, hence voltage swing, since that is the what the amp provides. [/quote]+1, and that's another reason why even rating amps with watts is of dubious value. They should be rated by voltage swing, just as light bulbs should be rated by lumens, which completely removes the fudge factor. But that's very much diametrically opposed to the goals of marketing.

I wouldn't take the amp volume all the way up, that leaves the door open to an untimely accident. Experiment with the bass volume. Turn the amp down to a low level, bring the bass volume up until you hear the clipping. Back the bass volume off enough to eliminate the clipping, then bring the amp volume up to playing level.

[quote name='Skezza' timestamp='1325011195' post='1479109'] the bass is active. [/quote]Make sure you aren't clipping the input. Turn the bass down and the amp up. If the amp has a master volume run that high and the input gain low for maximum headroom.

[quote name='deepbass5' timestamp='1325004186' post='1479041'] Sounds like you are driving the pre or power amp into distortion, which ultimately is going to be bad for the speaker, clipping/square waving the signal. [/quote]Point of fact, clipping has no effect on a woofer. It can result in over-powering a tweeter.

Both an amp and a speaker will fart out when its output capacity is exceeded. In most cases the speaker is the weaker link, but in yours it seems it's the amp.

[quote name='deanbean502' timestamp='1324908653' post='1478384'] Yep 30 watts! [/quote]Fine for the bedroom or studio, but not for gigging.

[quote name='alanbass1' timestamp='1324757114' post='1477691'] should I take the RMS as the safe load for my Bergs (should I get excited and turn them all the way up ). [/quote]99% of speaker thermal ratings are worthless as the drivers will run out of excursion at no more than half that amount of power anyway. That includes Bergs. If it distorts turn it down.

[quote name='ShergoldSnickers' timestamp='1324750113' post='1477627'] Yes, I found conflicting views on that and was wondering if we were back in that strange parallel world where 'larger drivers sound slow' etc. Fast transient response means a cliff-like rise in amplitude, something that can only be accomplished with a small and light driver - a mid or treble driver. Yes, it makes sense. [/quote]A number of factors influence transient response. Best results tend to come with low Mms high Qts low Le drivers, which tends to be common with drivers that work best in sealed alignments. Drivers optimized for vented tend to have higher Mms lower Qts and higher Le, so they may not have as good a transient response. But it's the driver that makes the difference, not the box you put it in. And if you want the lowest possible Mms along with the lowest possible Le you get it with a driver that has a smaller cone and smaller voice coil. In other words, a midrange driver.

[quote name='ShergoldSnickers' timestamp='1324744192' post='1477538'] The transient response of a ported cab is compromised through having to use the port resonance to get the extra output. Apparently. [/quote]That's a common misconception, and isn't true, as transient response is mainly a midrange issue, while porting doesn't affect the mids. Some vented cabs sound good, some don't. The same applies to sealed. One can mess up with either topology. The main reason to use a sealed cab or vented cab is the drivers contained within. Most drivers today are made with specs that work best with vented cabs. Most drivers from 40 years ago were not. Vented cab technology wasn't well understood prior to about 1970, and it took driver manufacturers about ten years after that to get up to speed. [quote]I've always gone with the general rule of ported for SS/Hybrid heads, and sealed cabs for valve heads.[/quote]There's truth to that. The impedance characteristics of vented tends to be more friendly to SS output stages, that of sealed more friendly to tube output transformers.

It's OK to run any amp with any cab so long as there's no impedance mis-match. If the amp is powerful enough to cause the speakers to distort turn it down.