alexclaber

I'm still on my first tin after 10 years of ownership. Maybe I should polish it more frequently! I'd have thought any beeswax based polish would be fine - just avoid silicones and solvents. Alex

Nice bass! Doubtless a few recommendations will come along soon, though as I'm biased I shan't say anything! Alex

Generally boom lies an octave higher, up in that strange ~150Hz region between the mid-bass and low-mids. Many cabs have more output than ideal there because of being in undersized cabs. Also a lack of excursion limited power handling down low causes extra output to be synthesised in this region when you ask for more true bottom than the cab can provide, hence the misconception that too much bottom equals boom. Clean deep lows are not boomy but not a lot of cabs can produce such lows at high SPL. Wall reflections can exacerbate boom problems, as can stage/floor resonance. Moving your cab vs the walls can make a huge difference - it's standard practice with hi-fi to try to make the distances between speaker and each wall not only different but also not multiples of each other. Isolating the cab from the floor will stop direct mechanical coupling causing boom but it won't stop the acoustic output causing indirect mechanical coupling. First thing I'd do is move the cab closer to the walls, and also consider tiliting it towards your ears - midbass boom is much less of a problem if the midrange is clear. Try lifting it onto a beercrate or some foam rubber for a degree of mechanical isolation. Valve amps are also more likely to suffer from boom if you overdrive them - don't ask for more bottom than the amp/cab combination can cleanly provide. I have never ever had to fiddle with EQ to get a good sound with my old Acme rig and especially with my Barefaced Big One - both rigs can do tons of deep clean bottom, so things never get boomy - plus good off-axis midrange means you always have plenty of punch and definition even when the acoustics are really challenging. But you have a very nice rig there so if you use it within its limits and use the acoustics in your favour (a valve powered 2x10" can't do big bottom, just too little power and LF sensitivity, so let the boundary reinforcement of the walls help it out) then you should be fine. A good parametric EQ can be very effective if used correctly but it really does strike me as overkill. Alex

[quote name='Musicman20' post='498381' date='May 26 2009, 11:23 PM']Tried all of them (see thread) and thought 500W at 4ohm is more than I will ever need. Also sounded awesome. So now, I might end up with a 1212L or BMF, purely cos Ill not be able to push a 1200W 410 properly...[/quote] To continue repeating myself, the power rating of a cab is a thermal rating - it does not take into account how far the woofers can move without distortion. So a 1200W rated 4x10" is unlikely to handle more than about 300W in the lows without distortion. (And I'm not just referring to run of the mill 4x10"s, I mean the boutique neo ones as well). Also the power rating of a cab does not tell you how much power is needed to 'push it properly' - in fact the larger the cab, the less power you will need to get to gig volume. Alex

[quote name='Musicman20' post='498397' date='May 26 2009, 11:49 PM']The extra wattage was not audible when I a/b'd it with the LM3 and an 8ohm cab.[/quote] The reason the extra wattage wouldn't be audible is because the cab wouldn't be able to handle it. You would need a 6x10" to notice a benefit in going from 500W to 800W, or in the case of an 8 ohm load a good 4x10". Just because a cab is rated at 1000W it doesn't mean it can actually handle that power - yes, the voice coils will need over 1000W to suffer thermal damage but the woofers will typically run out of excursion at less than a quarter of that power. Alex

Loose connection somewhere? Low voltage causes poor contact, sparking etc, turn up and higher voltage bridges the poor connection effectively and thus no distortion. My first hi-fi amp used to suffer with this on the cheapo spring clip speaker terminals. Alex

I think those Karlson cabs were an attempt at getting a quarter wave resonator to work over a broad range of frequencies. However although they are loud they seem to have a lot of colouration issues and not a lot of bottom. Alex

That reminds me I meant to start a similar thread for someone I saw I while back but I'll be damned if I can remember where or when it was now! Hmmm... On the other hand I still can't forget the covers band I saw at a ball a few years ago. I'm sure they were talented individuals at something but the rhythm section's talents clearly lay somewhere other than in rhythm! Alex

[quote name='Bigwan' post='497997' date='May 26 2009, 02:12 PM']I'm in the North too - Where's the cab heading Alex?[/quote] It's going to Belfast, should be there late next week. Alex

Looks like this batch will be done by early next week. A handful of Compacts remain unreserved, plus a lone Vintage. Alex

[quote name='Clive Thorne' post='496898' date='May 24 2009, 10:51 PM']So to summarise, the general feeling is that valve pre-amp into SS power stage is a waste of time (I guess that must go for the valve powered effects units as well then).[/quote] No, it totally depends on the individual components. Some valve preamps sound amazing and valvey, some sound amazing but not in a valvey way, and some sound mediocre. Just like generalising on tone based on speaker diameter leads you to often incorrect conclusions, so does generalising based on amp topology. Alex

[quote name='Bigwan' post='497280' date='May 25 2009, 02:08 PM']There's also Alex's Barefaced cabs. I'd love to try one of those but I'm on the wrong side of the Irish sea...[/quote] I'd expect a Compact to work well with the V4BH, it's a couple of dB more sensitive than your 4x10" (Ampeg are one of the very few that quote realistic sensitivity specs!) One of this next batch is crossing the Irish sea to the North - presumably shipping to Eire is little more expensive? Alex

Basswesty is also in a Police tribute band: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=42073&hl=basswesty"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;hl=basswesty[/url] Are you doing the vocals and bass simultaneously? Just learning Roxanne and it ain't easy! Alex

[quote name='Finbar' post='495428' date='May 22 2009, 06:00 PM']What would the width be if it was laid flat?[/quote] About 30" or 765mm. Like a medium sized boulder. Alex

From some quick simulations it looks like a Big Sub will match a 1212L in voltage sensitivity ([email protected]@1m) at about 75Hz and then as you head downwards the Big Sub gets louder and louder until it's a good 6dB louder at 50Hz. Could certainly do one without any crossover gubbins but can't do it in a non-standard width. Could put feet on the side though so could lay it flat and put the Schroeder on top. Alex

How interesting. So if the two channels sound different with the EQ flat, I wonder which is the most close to being transparent? Alex

[quote name='Stylon Pilson' post='495161' date='May 22 2009, 01:50 PM']If you made a barefaced t-shirt, I might wear it.[/quote] Now there's an endorsement! Duely noted and on the long list - definitely one for sooner rather than later. Alex

[quote name='machinehead' post='494158' date='May 21 2009, 12:43 PM']Alex... I'm not giving up my place in the queue this month. haha.[/quote] I wouldn't dream of it! But doesn't it make you feel great knowing that Mr London is so happy? (Not sure about his neighbours though...) Alex

There's no doubt that some people have sweat that kills strings a lot more quickly than others. Mine always last more than a year and I'm dripping by the end of a long gig. It's also tied in with the bass that they're on - some basses are just way brighter than others (acoustically) and thus sound better to most ears with well worn strings. That's partly the logic behind my RIM Custom 5 - wenge thru-neck and board and stainless steel frets gives a very bright acoustic tone, then the Q-Tuner pickups catch every last treble detail. Result = fantastic tone and very little time and money spent changing strings. Alex

[quote name='High score' post='494229' date='May 21 2009, 01:41 PM']This type of full range kit already exists but tends to be floor standing and getting into 60kg a speaker. I have used mackie versions and they have awesome high powered output but don't mix well with other gear suffering frequency overlap if speakers were too close to them leading to signal cancellation. Do you think you could achieve the weights you quote though?? You explored pa build already Alex?[/quote] My Big Series cabs are basically designed like high-quality PA speakers, just minus the tweeter. For PA use I'd be inclined towards making the box taller and narrower so it's less visually obtrusive and that would allow me to vertically align the mid and tweeter. Would probably use a different midrange speaker which has a bit more output where it would be needed and then a full crossover to the tweeter (the midrange I use in the Big Series goes higher and remains good off-axis remarkably high up but in a PA cab the tweeter would be doing everything up there). Weight-wise could definitely come in under 55lbs or 25kg. Would best be used with an amp that can give each cab 1000W+ (personally I see little point in running many PAs in stereo, so you could bridge a relatively cheap amp into the pair). I suppose one could do a pair for about £1500, so about £2000 with an amp. My other thinking is to do a smaller main/monitor, again using a 15" so it's loud and can do good bottom, but will go less thunderously low so you'd want subs for bigger gigs. That would be about the size of the Compact and could also be used as a wedge monitor. Wouldn't be much cheaper though. Having heard the pleasure of a 3-way design I think it's well worth making PA cabs like this, particularly for smaller venues where the acoustics are more challenging and hardly anyone is on-axis. For larger venues I'd lean towards 1.4"-2" compression drivers on big horns and high output midwoofers in 2-way biamped cabs as really wide dispersion isn't so beneficial. I keep looking into amp modules but at the moment the best price/performance is definitely from outboard amps - also looking into designs where amp and cab are a complete system and use DSP driving bi/tri-amped designs. Alex

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='494159' date='May 21 2009, 12:43 PM']What always tickles me is that my PA 'expertise' (bwa ha ha ha) has led the rest of the band to see me as the techie of the group. Those of you familiar with my technical abilities can stop sniggering now ...[/quote] One thing I have pondered is doing a large PA cab based around the Big One - so a 15" high-excursion woofer, high output 6.5" mid and then a nice compression tweeter. It wouldn't be small but would still weigh in at under 50lbs so very manageable and you could put a pair on short-ish stands and play a pretty large gig (the kind that would normally demand decent 1x12" tops and a couple of decent subs) with just a pair of cabs, no subs. As someone that's gigged with a Big One and has a feel for its size and output, what do you think of that? Alex

[quote name='JackLondon' post='494102' date='May 21 2009, 11:56 AM']If you're ever in London you can try my Barefaced Compact paired with GK1001RB II. Sounds very nice [/quote] Just had an email from Steve after he tried your rig: "Two words would sum it up, and they rhyme with "clucking bell". I am seriously impressed, especially with the weight - I'd be very happy taking that on the tube with a MarkBass and my bass ... Can't believe the response out of a single direct radiating 15" driver ... Bloody awesome stuff." I think he liked it! Alex

[quote name='AdamWoodBass' post='494052' date='May 21 2009, 11:14 AM']Never tried Epi, Barefaced or EBS so I might have to check those out too and I'm really interested in the Berantino's. I read a review about them years ago in Bassplayer mag and they loved them and they seem to get a really good reception from most bass players I talk to. Perhaps a trip down south might be in order to check them out.[/quote] My Barefaced cabs are a very long way south as I'm in Brighton, however there a few owners up in the North West so if you keep your ears peeled you might hear one! Alex

If you want a cab to produce big bottom that will keep up with the midrange from your Schroeder it'll need to be really big - like the size of my Vintage. The 1212L pretty much cuts off at 80Hz, so to get a worthwhile amount of extra bottom you'll want another octave. Unfortunately to get equal sensitivity that'll require a cab that is eight (yes, 8) times as large. You can get round this by using a cab with lower sensitivity that can handle a lot of power, like the Big Sub. But then you need more power to push it. So how about this as an alternate plan? Add the Big Sub and bridge your power amp into it. Get a low powered head/amp to push the 1212L (it really doesn't need much power if you're not asking it to produce lows). Alex

I shall be following this with great interest! Intially I'm working on a lightweight 3-way PA main that should be potent enough to handle the whole mix for smaller gigs without subs and still have solid bottom. Be interesting to find out how many bands own their own PA, how large it is, and what it cost! Alex