Stub Mandrel

Nice lateral thinking.

Thanks Bill lots of useful stuff there. As far as I can tell the transducer in the horn is pretty well aligned with the main driver, so I'll experiment with changing its polarity to see what happens.

I've got another thread about testing microphones. I bought a cheap Behringer reference microphone and it seems to work pretty well using it with REW to get a reference trace from my cheap Thomann powered speaker (EQ set flat, 4 10 second frequency sweeps at 0.5m in a large room with plenty of soft furnishings and curtains closed). I asked a query there which has gone unanswered that I wonder of the likes of @stevie or @Phil Starr can answer. REW also produces phase plots, and the one for the speaker is below. It shows several phase reversals, mostly well beyond hearing range. One just above 100hz probably relates to the reflex port and is to be expected. Another is just below 2kHz and is accompanied by a dip in the SPL trace. My question is: Does this make it likely my tweeter is wired back to front, and could reversing the wiring help eliminate the dip? Any other observations welcome (yes I know this is not a very flat trace at all, although it sounds fine and works well as a monitor).

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Iogrk4uDJko

Yes... I associate her with a mustang too.

Another thought .. here's the speaker curve using the reference mic. It also shows a phase curve, There are two significant phase reversals. One where the bass starts rolling off, no doubt due to the reflex port and relatively unimportant. The other is just below 2Khz and associated with a dip in output. I assume this is the crossover frequency. Is it likely that I could improve the response by reversing the polarity of the neutron flow, sorry, the tweeter?

Just saw this on Facebook from Macca: It is very sad to see Höfner go out of business. They have been making instruments for over 100 years, and I bought my first Höfner bass in the sixties. I have loved it ever since. It’s a wonderful instrument to play: lightweight, and it encourages me to play quite freely. It also offers pleasing variations in tone that I enjoy. So, commiserations to everyone at Höfner, and thank you for all your help over the years. - Paul

I've done my first test using the ECM8000 reference mic and my SM58. The problem is the advice stresses not changing the gain, but the sensitivity of the ECM8000 (condensor running of 48V phantom power) is over 15dB greater than the SM58 which means that just isn't feasible, I had to turn the gain up. Does this look right/plausible/feasible?

Dong

Went to the Earl Haig jam on Monday hosted by James Oliver Band. Some interesting new faces, some youngsters (boy drummer & girl bass player) and a band who looked like four brothers and plenty of familiar ones - yook a couple of mates who hadn't been before and were happy just to see what the situation is. Played some bass for Ken Wood with Mark Kemlo on drums. It was a nice Trace Elliot through Ashdown cab, but the previous bass was active and despite fiddling as I played I wasn't loud enough. Still had fun, first was a long, slow blues, so I based around a nice simple riff I stole from Leo Lyons who no doubt found it somewhere else... next was Crossroads, hard to really channel Jack Bruce (😂) when you're struggling to hear yourself, but folks said it was OK (if quiet).

Do you have an Elf? My brother's sounds fine through a Portaflex 15.

I've got loads of Sunday afternoon gigs lined up for '26. They are great - don't interfere with my social life or work!

Starshit

Unleash the bear!

Oh yes... I missed the Ozrics

My partner cut me 3/32" dots from white high-stick vinyl. They last about a year before needing replacement and don't cause any harm.

Here's an example of a club that does it right. One thing they do is allow promoters to puit on gigs in 'the Hall'. In the last few months we've had Focus and Curved Air (not tributes). I've got five gigs there across three bands next year. It's a brilliant place to play.

Skywatcher 66ED cell. ZWO guider on one of my home-made bitsa guidescopes. The cooler is an online design that uses a copper plate slipped between the sensor and the next circuit board. I 3D printed a cover to help insulate it and support the peltier, heatsink and fan. Quite tricky to get right as you have to make a heater from resistance wire to go around the sensor to stop condensation and get the right balance of cooling and warming! Camerea also has the IR/UV filters stripped out. Made a huge difference, but then I got a big cooled mono ZWO and a filter wheel. Sadly, not got up to much since 2021. I think this one is with the ED66. After this, I'd better shut up and let the thread get back to speaker cabs!

I like the relatively modest output of vintage pickups, I'd say they are pretty spot on for a vintage sound.

At last we see it! Well done.

It takes some experimenting, but I've done just that. I built thus scope, Including the focuser, around an ED lens cell. Won a silver medal for it

Mush

Recently posted in another thread. Check out the pups on Tina Weymouth's Mustang.

Looks like the perfect venue for a Christmas concert... must feel odd having anything else there!