warwickhunt

Sorry but after listening to the lick at about 0:45 I had an irresistible urge to pick up the bass and play Pearl Jam's - 'Alive'

Don't get me wrong, the last thing that I am actually searching for in my quest for sonic heaven is a flat response cab and amp that faithfully reproduces every f*ck up I make on the bass I want a cab with a bit of colour (preferably a sort of dark chocolaty brown <sorry that may well bug the p*ss out of Alex > ), unfortunately (for me) I had the tone I like for about 12 years from a pair of vertically aligned, vertically stacked 2x10 H&K combos that clocked in at about 45kg each. The combos both imploded at virtually the same time (it wasn't the 1 year + 1 week bug that they put into replacement car exhausts and vacuum cleaners) and were financially unrepairable; ever since then I've been searching for that 'imperfect' tone. Sigh! I suppose the difficulty for me is that even with the knowledge gleaned from various persons on this forum, and from other sources, I've STILL not learned my lesson. Hopefully the OP will

[quote name='chris_b' post='219917' date='Jun 16 2008, 03:08 PM']I'm not questioning anyone's ability or knowledge, just how that knowledge is moulded into the advice that is given. [b]I'm not happy when beginners ask questions and get techno speak and "a lot of people say ...." in return![/b] It seems that people here look at the technical stuff and think "wow, I've got to do that", when they don't. Does anyone think that the icons of bass, Jamerson, Jaco and all the others knew anything about xmax or comb filtering or would even care if they were told? Did John Paul Jones or Stevie Wonder ever think, "I wonder why I sound like this"! These guys did what everyone should be doing and that is using their ears to listen and evaluate without worrying about SPL's etc. While I find Bill Fitzmaurice's technical writing interesting, I know that at the end of the day Bill is also a businessman, he runs his own company and more importantly, seems to be running a crusade to tell the rest of the world they are making cabs the wrong way. Well the “wrong way” has been pretty good to me and the rest of Rock and Roll for the last 60 years. There are many "right" ways and that advice has to be got across as well.[/quote] Surely the very reason that people are asking is because they want to know and are specifically asking people who may well be knowledgeable on the subject! Of course people experiment and pre t'internet, pretty much the only way to find out if something worked was 'suck it and see'. However there is a wealth of knowledge available (and being offered) on this forum; to deride, however mildly, someone for offering an educated insight is a bit narrow minded. We could have a sticky at the top of the thread that just says 'Don't bother asking... just do it.' However it would make for a pretty boring forum TBH it is 'almost' pointless asking anyone for an opinion on ANYTHING with regard to something as subjective as tone BUT science isn't subjective, so really that is the only advice that can mean a blasted thing.

I've known a couple of Streamer 5's make £1000 lately... anything less than that seems good value.

[quote name='Jamesemt' post='219671' date='Jun 16 2008, 10:10 AM']Thanks for all the advice, any more tips? Really need to travel and actually test these cabs. Can I expect a similar type of bottom end to smaller cabs? How much bottom end would I get from two 1x12 Bergantino's for example? I'm actually newish to the bass world (playing bass for about a year), but MUST get lightweight gear as a priority.[/quote] With commercially available cabs you'll 'generally' get what you pay for; there will also 'almost always' be a trade off between size/weight and tone. It'll be a compromise, if you want small and light you'll struggle to get the absolute best tone. You have to just decide where your priorities lie and how much you are prepared to compromise. With regard to how much bottom end will you get out of the Bergs (or any cab for that matter) it depends what your point of reference is. If you are used to a 2x15 the size of an American fridge then no. If you've been using a cab like a Hartke transporter or similar then you may be very much impressed. You also have to consider all of the other components of your set-up... what bass, which amp? I've got a smidgen more experience with gear (28years) and I still find that some bass/amp/cab combinations just work however some just don't. Just read some of the recent comments on the forum about people buying cabs with mid dips that are exagerrated by amps that have a natural mid cut etc... Hello boom

[quote name='ped' post='219316' date='Jun 15 2008, 05:48 PM']I want to bite your nails[/quote] I've had stranger requests...

Everyone is correct Turns out it is an MEC 3 band unit (German). I assume this is a much later addition as all of the MEC preamps that I've seen from pre 91 have been 2 band. I now just need to find out what Warwick would have had fitted originally to go with the Barts, as I'm certain that they are original and I've seen plenty of Wicks from this period with them fitted. Funnily enough I sold a SSI to 'GremlinAndy' from this forum and that had Barts fitted (never did look inside that one myself)... Andy!

I've just picked up a Stage I fretless that is equipped with Bartolinis and a 3 band EQ. The layout of the controls is unusual in that the stacked pot that is where a traditional Stage I pan pot would be is actually the vol & pan controls. Not the most intuitive position when you are used to the Warwick layout, so I may well move it back. However, when I opened up the control cavity I found a 2nd battery (18v circuit) and a preamp board that I am not familiar with. Does anyone recognise the board or has a fretless from this period (1990) that can shed light on if this is the original factory Bartolini pre or an upgrade? Cheers guys and gals

Not that it matters at this kind of power but... Is it 2x900watts into 4ohms each side (ie you can drive a pair of 4ohm cabs @ 900watts each), it wouldn't be bridgeable to 1800w @ 4ohms?

Just taken delivery of a 1990 Warwick Streamer Stage I fretless with Maple neck (wenge stringers) and a (factory) lined ebony board. I'm about to go and open it up to see what the preamp is as it has Barts (fairly certain they are original) and a 3 band EQ with stacked vol/pan in the traditional Warwick pan pot position... very unWarwick. Very mellow toned.

Not mint but they are genuine Chrysler items and if you are getting them for free what do you want Took them off a Cruiser we (briefly) had and I had to loosen the allen bolts as we didn't have the lock key, they'll go back on the same way. Collect or pay for the postage and they are yours.

[quote name='JPJ' post='218798' date='Jun 14 2008, 12:28 PM']20kgs ffs. Cheers WoT, I didn't have gas until I read this thread but now I bloody do! Never thought you'd move away from the Schroeder mind. [b]We should probably A/B your real Schroeder with my Eminence equipped clone[/b]. Now my speakers are played in, its probably the creamiest but well defined cab I've ever heard and I still haven't figured out how to wire in the horn yet?[/quote] Oh I feel a bit of a bash in the air... especially as I have the Aggie 1x12s

Nice review. I've always fancied trying one of these but as you say, as rare as a rare thing. Having owned a Demeter preamp (which I dropped in a Warwick) in the past I also envy you that, they are a great pre with loads of headroom and no extraneous noise (though mine looked a lot less complex that yours). I have to disagree with one aspect of your review... I think that headstock is great and an aspect of the bass that should be saluted not passed over swiftly

Problem with getting settings off other people is that it is majorly dependent on your playing style and even your rig. If you really dig in and beat down on the string as you pluck/pick it then you may need to drop it a bit lower, if you've got a light touch then you can have them a fair bit closer. I personaly like my pups to be as close to the string as possible so that my fingers almost come to rest on the pup below when I strike the string.

[quote name='Bigwan' post='218121' date='Jun 13 2008, 09:47 AM']I've had an Ashdown 1x10 ABM combo for a long time. The cabs that you use make a BIG difference. I found pretty much my perfect sound last night with the combo running into an Aguilar 1x12. Growly, punchy and defined using my Lakland JO. I was so happy with that combination (which I hadn't used before since the Aggie cab is fairly new to me) that I'm seriously considering selling off my (also recently acquired) Thunderfunk and getting myself a chrome rackmount EVO III...[/quote] Please tell me the Thunderfunk is one of the new 'big' ones

Just watched the BP video review. Yep that sounds like a bass string to me I'm not trying to be negative and p*ss on their efforts but slapping a set on a bass and playing them like that was as much use as a chocolate fireguard! I have no idea what that bass/amp would sound like with an alternative string but it sounded exactly like I'd expect any string to sound. I realise they can't video every bass manufacturer with every combination of strings so that we can get a comparison but absolutely no one could put there hand on their heart and say that the soundclip gives them an idea of how that 'string' sounds. The least they could have done (and probably the most actually) is to put a fresh set of commonly available strings on a bass (that Lakkie would do, or any bass for that matter), recorded it then whipped them off and without changing anything else played the same thing again with the DR's on. I realise the reviewer could simply change his technique and make it sound different but in the interests of an honest review we'll assume that he played the same. Hey presto I can now hear the difference between the DR and at least one other type/make of string. ... or is it just me?

$30 in the States... that'll be £30+ in the UK then

Come round and try my 2x Aggie 1x12s see what they do for you; I also know of a pair of Berg HS 2x10s possibly going spare (not local though). Better still isn't it time we got a bunch of cabs and amps together again?

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='216758' date='Jun 11 2008, 12:13 PM']There are some demo videos on Youtube I've seen. The design intent seems to be to recreate a system that has a very full dynamic range - something that Hellborg has always pursued in his signature gear since getting into acoustic bass guitars. The marketing seems to be promoting something akin to a hi-fi system. Hmmm. Personally, I don't think I need that level of dynamic range in my music and certainly find it difficult to understand where my money would be going if I bought the amp system. The stage is a very crude listening environment, I think that all the refinements on offer here would probably be completely lost unless I was doing a solo acoustic gig.[/quote] +1 That's why I asked about musical styles. I'm not saying that the Hellborg system couldn't do rock/funk/etc but it was the design intent to get all of the nuances out of Hellborgs playing/technique/instrument. Bumping an' grinding away with a pub band probably wouldn't get you much benefit from all of that exquisite design and quality components. An amp cab retailing at 50% of the price (or less) would probably achieve about the same desired affect.