Machines

[quote name='Tee' post='257280' date='Aug 7 2008, 03:03 PM']Has anyone played a MAG 600 EVO II head? I'm considering getting a cheaper head for gigging, but i've read reviews that they don't sound like their full wattage potential. It could just be user error i guess. The 300 is pretty popular on HC reviews and as i said above i liked the 4x10 combo (MAG 300) version i tried. I'd like the 600 as i'll be using an 8ohm 210 cab. The 300 might not cut it.[/quote] What cab is it you have ?

Whoa, try a little punctuation there beastie ! Your post is quite hard to read but I got the gist of it . [quote name='beastie' post='257742' date='Aug 8 2008, 02:04 AM']you should not be useing a mag amp with abm speakers and vice a versa they will give you a poor sound[/quote] I can only disagree and ridicule that comment.

Sounds like you're overloading the preamp - try turning the gain(input) down or have a flatter EQ with less boost. Also if you have an active bass make sure it's going into the active input..

Nice choice of gear there, welcome to the forum !

They look nice, I just wish they did more than one finish.. never have been a fan of the 'surf' colours. Got a pic of yours ?

Alas not, they are custom order only. Even BGM couldn't get hold of one !

Ok - looks like people from Staffordshire don't like it .

[size=4][b]Fret-King Blue Label Series Esprit[/b][/size] Fret-King are a brand unknown to me but that have been around for before, albeit dormant recently. It appears that Trevor Wilkinson has revived and redesigned the brand for relaunch. From the Fret-King website: [i]Fret-King™ by Trev Wilkinson was born out of the desire to address a real need, expressed by many professional ‘journeyman’ guitar players for an authentic build ‘working vintage guitar’, free of compromise and without having to pay homage to nostalgic and outmoded design criteria set many decades ago.[/i] So what can we expect from this ? A vintage inspired instrument with a few modern twists ? We shall see ! The bass arrived extremely well packaged, opening the box in a box revealed the Fret-King branded Kinsman softcase, especially shaped for the bass. It has pockets-a-plenty and you could stuff a lot of accessories in them to ease the quantity of kit to carry from the car. The case is very well made and well-included with the bass. After removing the Esprit from it's case, the first thing that struck me was it's body shape. It's appears to be a cross-species of a Gibson Explorer and a Thunderbird. The large 3 piece mahogany slab is uniformly grained and nicely glossed. The stepped diagnonal lines add a nice visual feature, along with the B/W/B pickguard. At the business end of the bass we have an extremely solid looking Gibson style chrome bridge. It is only anchored at one end, and the rest of it is floating, so to speak. The one piece chrome bridge saddle looks lovely, but is only adjustable in 2 places. This would be a problem if intonation needed adjusting on individual strings. Looking further up we have a very closely placed P & J pickups. The gap between the J pickup and the bridge saddle is pretty small,I would expect this to give me a very tight and bright, but also thin tone. Next up is the P pickup, which looks very pronounced in the abscence of a pickguard around it. Still, this gives more anchor space for a thumb should it be required. Controls are a simple Volume/Volume/Tone via Gibson style knobs. The neck is also a solid piece of glossed mahogany, it's dimensions feeling more towards a Precision than a Jazz, with slightly less depth. The rosewood fingerboard is smooth and devoid of the cracks in the graining often seen in this wood. Fretwork is very tidy, no sharp edges or raised frets - as good as my Stingray. The headstock reminds me of a left handed Burns Bison (the new ones). I'm not a fan of the tunerpegs being on the bottom, and it felt awkward when tuning them (especially since the E string is furthest not closest). Still, they are Gotoh machineheads and felt well geared. A subtle Fret-King logo adorns the glossed black headstock. They could have left it glossed mahogany, although I don't know how this would have affected the overall look of the bass. As always, I had the backplate off to see the internal gubbins. The triangular blackplate is shielded and attached via a simple screw in each corner. The 3 250k pots were soldered and wired neatly, with excess wire being tied into a loop that don't get in the way when you put the plate back on. This bass is advertised as capable of "earth-shattering ultra-deep fundamentals to classic rock tones", let us check this claim ! I decided the comparison bass would be best as my Jazz, which as a passive single coil bass is most likely to be similar sounding. Plugged into my Ashdown ABM300, EQ out flat, set the input level with the Esprit and then cranked it up. Hmmm. I didn't expect THAT ! The bass sounds quite modern to my ears, definitely a low mid emphasis slightly lacking in fundamental, and very very bright. Dare I say it sounded a *little bit* like a Warwick ? The 2 pickups being so close to the bridge is going to give this sound and not the 'classic rock tones' advertised. I gave each pickup a chance to speak for themselves; the front P pickup first. Yes - it does sound like a Precision pickup, but not like a Precision bass. The body and neck woods are definitely playing their part in the sound here, there isn't a low end here like on a Precision, but again the mid frequencies. It doesn't sound passive, it sounds a bit hi-fi. The back J pickup alone is as expected, very trebley and lacking in booty. I wouldn't expect it to do anything else though.. the bridge pickup is best thought of as there to give the neck pickup some punch. The sound of both pickups is very different to my Alder bodied, maple necked Jazz. I took this bass to practise with my band (funk rock) and it shares a similarity with the basses that inspired it - neck dive. The short body made this inevitable really. It isn't the worst i've encountered, and is something you generally have to accept if you want a funny shaped bass. The Esprit is very audible in the mix, it felt like I had the the mids turned up on the EQ even though it was flat. The bridge pickup alone is completely lost unfortunately, I don't think it could ever be used on it's own in a band environment. The output is a lot lower than the neck pickup and without some knob-twiddling, you won't ever hear it. The neck pickup alone is fairly grindy and suits rock/metal quite well. Played with a pick it really shows it's resolve, it has that Precision grit but it's different to usual. What I must ask is where this bass fits into the existing market. With an RRP of £649, it's taking on some very well established competitors. In the price range of £500-£700 is the Fender Highway 1 Precision & Jazz, along with Gibson Thunderbird Studio, Lakland 44-01, Warwick Corvette Standard. None of these basses are lacking in quality or great sound, so it's going to be tough for the Fret-King to beat them. I think this bass is more for someone wanting a well made instrument that has some classic rock styling, but not with the classic tone. For those wanting something a little different to the norm, the Esprit may please. My personal feeling is that it is overpriced in today's market, especially since it is made in the Far East. The other brands i've mentioned (bar the Lakland) are made in the US and Europe, where production costs are significantly higher than the Far East. In this respect the Fret-King may struggle against the well other established brands. [b]Quality: 8 [/b]- Very well made, I could find no flaws. Fretwork is excellent and parts used are solid. [b]Sound: 6[/b] - Not what I expected and not workable in many styles, but does have sound of it's own that works for some music. [b]Ergonomics 6[/b] - Suffers from neck dive, I dislike the reverse headstock too. [b]Value for money 6[/b] - There are more versatile basses that are as well made for less. [b][size=3]Overall 6.5/10[/size][/b] [b]Summary:[/b] A great looking instrument that delivers a pounding rock tone, but isn't particularly versatile for anything else. Very well made, but this is definitely reflected in the RRP. There are other basses in this price range that in my opinion are superior in terms of sound, versatility and value for money. Many thanks to JHS for sending me the instrument and Tonyf for his photography.

The EB/MAG/ABM are 80mm fan, not sure on the MK500. It is a lot taller so I suppose it could have a 120mm, be aware that the computer fans will likely come with molex connectors, which the heads will not support, and thus manual wiring would be required.

Thanks for the clarification Alun .

Solid state amps can safely be run with zero load, so yes .

Sounds like a mail merge went wrong to me.. Anyway i've got my copy (cheers Tonyf !). It's a good issue, the effects feature is very informative, need to digest it thoroughly though, which will probably take a few reads. Also the Sterling 5/Bongo 6 reviews have really not helped the old GAS.

I find on most amps the fans are always on, I believe this is to prevent it getting hot initially rather than cooling it down when it's already happened.

[quote name='stylonpilson' post='256083' date='Aug 6 2008, 11:11 AM']That's strange, I have an EB12-180 and I can definitely hear the difference when the sub-harmonic is switched on. If you can't hear any difference when you switch it on and turn it up to maximum, then it must be broken. It basically adds an additional note(s) an octave below what you are playing. When the dial is turned up to maximum, that sub-harmonic note should be more-or-less as loud as the source.[/quote] It doesn't track well below the A string - and isn't really as good as just getting an octave pedal, I never use mine. [quote name='aceuggy' post='256076' date='Aug 6 2008, 11:02 AM']That's a great review. I intend to buy one very soon, two things concern me, first how loud is the fan? I will only playing this initially anyway at home with the volume down, unless the wife goes out! Would I hear the fan above low volume playing, that could be a bit distracting. And second the weight of the beast. I won't be shifting it about too much, but will I be able to get the bliddy thing up the stairs on my own?[/quote] I have an ABM300 head and MAG210 cab so maybe able to draw comparisons. The fan is an 80mm (like in many PCs) and low RPM, if you were playing the bass with the amp switched on but bass not plugged in, just the acoustic volume of the bass unamplified will be enough to override the background fan noise. Turned up you certainly won't hear a thing.. Regarding weight - I let gravity do the work coming down, I stand in front of it on the lower side of the stairs, and let it gently bump down. Going back up of course - this is no use. If the weight may be an issue for you I would suggest the EB180-15 may be better (although only 6kgs lighter @ 29kgs), getting someone to help you is ALWAYS the best method if available. If you have narrow stairs it can be a pain to lift it via the handles, I generally carry it vertically.

Got a pic ? I reckon about £200 tops.. maybe a little less.

[quote name='aceuggy' post='255782' date='Aug 5 2008, 09:07 PM']Ok, I'm sold on Ashdown, only question that remains. Is the Mag-C210-T-300 worth the extra £90 over the EB15-180 EVO11?[/quote] The MAG210 is definitely capable of gigging on it's own, the EB I would say will struggle when it get's loud (i've owned an EB previously by the way). You won't have to upgrade with the MAG and may regret saving the cash in a few months time if you went for the EB.

[quote name='lowhand_mike' post='255664' date='Aug 5 2008, 06:40 PM']the EB's are basically the same amp as the mag just without the VU meter and a lower power stage,[/quote] Wrong ! They have a VU meter and have done for a while now, they previously had an LED version.

On what basis have you chosen those amps ? I think you can get a lot better for your money that the ones you've shortlisted. The modelling/effects on the Line6 to me is a gimmick. Marshall aren't renowned for bass amps and the Roland is expensive for just 100w of power. Personally on that budget i'd go for an Ashdown MAG300-210.. [url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Ashdown-Mag-C210-T-300---Mag-EVO-II~ID~3071.asp"]http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~A...-II~ID~3071.asp[/url] I'm not just pimping Ashdown here, just wouldn't want to see you not get the most for your cash.