ShergoldSnickers

I think 4x10 is a format in danger of being left behind. They are an answer to a problem that has largely disappeared - the inability of speakers with enough sensitivity and volume displacement to not require 4 or more of them in a box. A single well designed 15" speaker cabinet or a well designed 2x12 can outpace most commercial 4x10s for low end response and volume displacement, giving you higher sound pressure levels without stressing anything, and will often weigh far less and be a more portable shape. I say largely disappeared, as modern lightweight speaker driver designs don't come cheap, so lower down the market a 4x10 will still have a use, by using enough lower cost but less capable drivers to do the job. The penalty is weight. The classic 4x10 layout also has other problems to do with sound dispersion, but these are perhaps of secondary importance. There are some excellent 4x10 designs out there, but make sure you review the alternatives first, as they tend to solve the problems of weight and enough volume rather more elegantly.

I just love way that someone like Ibanez can be quietly producing some great basses, while some of the big shouty manufacturers constantly tell you their basses are good... but you always feel disappointed after trying them.

Fumps popped over from Leeds on Saturday to buy an Eden Nemesis NC 115 combo from me, surplus to requirements at the mo'. He brought along a pearl white Ibanez SR300 similar to this one: I knew nothing at all about these basses, so approached it with an open mind and came away very impressed. Excellent thin neck, great playability, and it sounded good as well. It just goes to show how far things have come on in the budget ranges, really squeezing the mid-point guitars above them in terms of playability, sound and finish. The photo above doesn't do the finish justice, it was a subtle pearl that suited the bass really well. A little gem that I'd be more than happy to use live if I didn't have my main bass with me. Well, apart from being a fretted bass but we'll ignore that.

Having just met Gav I can confirm he's a brilliantly decent bloke. Just bought a bass combo off me, and we spent a few hours gabbing about all sorts. More importantly he brought over some of the orange jaffa tape and some Crabbies Ginger Beer for Gillian. Yay! Top fella.

[quote name='dmccombe7' timestamp='1333105628' post='1597420'] Shergoldsnickers :- An understanding wife and no kids is definately the way forward. Dave [/quote] Far too late to punch the 'reset' button on that one.

It is apparent from the first moment you hear this amp that it is special. Just wish my bank account was equally special at the moment.

[quote name='Low End Bee' timestamp='1332505697' post='1589244'] A Behringer combo. With the Koh I Noor superglued to the volume knob. [/quote] Well I appreciated it anyway.

Reading this thread is torture. Had a quick go on a very old German DB way back in 1982 - that was all I was allowed. It was a three stringed one that hadn't been converted to 4. Massive and controlled tone. All this is just reminding me.

[quote name='fumps' timestamp='1332424919' post='1588138'] It's tiny ......i can carpet my house using one postage stamp ! [/quote] Genius. One lick saves on a box of carpet tacks. Good luck with this Gav - I've been toying with getting an EUB for the past 15 years. Out of the question for some time now, but eventually....

Looks like he lives in a bomb factory.

You should be able to see a graduated rule - the timeline indicator marked off in minutes or bars, depending on how you set Garageband to show song progress. This will be immediately above the top track, so long as you haven't got loop playback for the whole song enabled. Scroll right to the end of the song, and in the timeline you should see a small triangle pointing to the left. Drag this back to the 4 minutes marker or where the song should end. Job done.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1331634806' post='1576114'] Is this a 'Snickers' and 'Marathon' moment, Dave? Mark [/quote] Eh? Oh... I see. As you were. PS Dave's cables and accoutrements are just first class.

[quote name='sk8' timestamp='1331639055' post='1576227'] Is that the one of a big spurting cock? [/quote] The very logo.....

You don't see many pro commercial cabs looking that good. Very few in fact. What a great job you've done there.

[quote name='JellyKnees' timestamp='1331558242' post='1574689'] Ah the 80s...it all started so promisingly and ended up with Deacon Blue...never mind. One of my faves from the mid 80's... if you can get past the syn drums, it still sounds great to my ears. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hu0LL-M5gxM&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL094ABECF15457526[/media] [/quote] Must dig that out when I get home. Great album.

Went to school in Ovenden. It I hadn't had my skull padlocked, chained and superglued they'd have stolen my brains. Severe shortage in some parts round there, yet in other parts you have the nicest most intelligent human beings you'd ever want to meet. I'll ask friends and family still there to keep an eye out. Hoping for a speedy recovery of intact gear.

Linear Conchord 30w Sound City 120 H||H VS Combo Marshall Super Bass II 100w The H||H sounded better when it was properly stuffed* with wool insulation material - less 'honky', but it ran out of steam very quickly. The 'Valve Sound' was the source of some amusement. The Marshall was OK, but getting any really deep bass out of it was a trial, as it too ran out of steam. The best sounding was the Linear Conchord, a better tonal frequency spread, but with only 30 watts, it never went loud enough. Edit: * Lined rather than completely stuffed would be more accurate, as there was a crude attempt at 'folded horn loading' with this combo. All that did was overemphasis the boxy nature of the sound.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1331285035' post='1570665'] You had better go and tell Abbey Road then, silly them, what would they know Its as much about quality of components and testing when you get into that league. ALLL speakers are innaccurate. 'Monitors' are just supposedly flatter. You get up to the top of the B&W range and they will give as revealing an insight as any monitor out there. Personally I'd love to have a set of [url="http://www.pmc-speakers.com/products/professional/active/bb5-a"]PMC BB5-a[/url]'s but I'd need to win the lottery I'm afraid.... [/quote] Indeed. I'd heard that hifi speakers were unsuitable. I challenged that dogma, and after protracted listening and arranging numerous time consuming demos in situ over a period of weeks found that with careful choice you could find something better than the studio monitors available, and at a similar or lower price. By better I mean truer to the original intention. Besides which the so called monitors all sounded completely different, so we were immediately in subjective territory anyway. I freely admit this was a while ago, and studio monitors have improved. So have audiophile speakers. Same thing with mics. And headphones. And cars. and breakfast cereal, and beer. Challenge the accepted dogma and be prepared to come away surprised. Besides it's just fun doing the research and being a nerd for a while.

[quote name='Alex Spencer' timestamp='1331222335' post='1569761'] Surely you're looking for headphones that will represent the sound well, rather than give a 'better' sound? Personally I'd go for Beyer DT770's. I use them a lot for mixing and general audio work when I can't get to a decent pair of monitors. Pretty popular headphones, BBC use them a lot too. [/quote] By 'better' I mean more accurate (as I hear it). I don't hold with the idea that we should monitor on something that represents an average consumer set-up or something that may be ruler flat but manages to stifle detail that should be there. This is a personal opinion that works for me, it won't work for others. All speakers are a huge compromise - and headphones to a lesser extent. After protracted listening to JBLs, Tannoys etc a number of years ago when helping to set up a studio, we actually settled on some hifi speakers for monitoring. Strangely enough the bloke that made them - a former BBC engineer - said we weren't the only ones using them for that purpose. They didn't reach the same SPL figures the others could, but they were definitely more revealing and transparent. Things have moved on since then, but if presented with the same problem - of finding some studio monitors - I'd find a good audio dealer and listen to the likes of B&W, Linn and Naim speakers, as well as looking at dedicated studio monitors. After what I heard the first time, I'd be daft not to. Challenging the norm is a duty - you don't know what you'll find. On the bonus side of using hifi speakers for monitoring, I still have my hearing as the monitoring SPL was kept to reasonable levels - a good idea in any case. If you have to blast it out before it sounds impressive, there is something wrong. I nearly put the B&W link in myself, but 51m0n got there first. I've heard a pair of these B&Ws, and others way down the range. There is a family resemblance all the way down, even to the 'budget' £500 CM1.

Aluminium enclosures? Like to see the price ticket on that, although the benefits in rigidity and producing complex shapes to iron out cabinet resonances are obvious. They are probably something that would start to endear me to them reasonably quickly in the looks department. Different. On the technical side, the sensitivity is average, but the dual coil impedance sounds intriguing - although they've had this on other cabs. Like to see that working before I passed judgement.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1331123033' post='1567951'] I always gathered that Grado were the "hifi" equivalent in headphones. Lovely sounding but not really great for mixing (PS. Grado is a "big name") [/quote] They are indeed sold as 'hi-fi' phones. This does not disqualify them from use for mixing. They tend to be neutral, detailed and comfortable to wear which is a good combination really. Incidentally I've used various hi-fi speakers for mixing in the past - and still do, in conjunction with Grado SR125 phones. They do the job very well..... and I still contend they are not a big household name. Hi-Fi can mean artificially enhanced - a lot of speakers and headphones are like that. By using your ears though you can sometimes come across products that do the job better than the 'pro' gear. Well I think so anyway.

Tempting as it may be to go with the big names, Beyer, Sennheiser, AKG etc, there is a company knocking around that specialises in headphones* named Grado. Not a household name, but the sound quality is staggering for the money. They range from £90 to £1700 ( ). The SR60i are £90, personally I'd go for the SR80i at £110 or the SR125i at around £150. *They also make audiophile standard pickup cartridges for turntables.

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1331046137' post='1566783'] No [/quote] I agree. No (Slow day today )

What would I do with 6k......? Mmmmm [url="http://www.themicstore.co.uk/small-diaphragm-studio-mics/dpa-3503-130v-stereo-ab-kit-incl-2x4003-microphones.html"]tempting[/url]

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1331040348' post='1566668'] As a heavy metal fan, I like black instruments a lot, and my first student bass was indeed black, as is my new fretless and my upright. However, I also love natural and blue. [/quote] What a splendid trio. Very nice indeed those.