alexclaber

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='434924' date='Mar 14 2009, 10:23 PM']One cab is not Doom.[/quote] You'll like what's arriving in a couple of weeks then - 10 Compacts. That'll make two nice crossfired stacks 8' high with >108dB sensitivity and 5000W of power handling - that's >140dB SPL @ 1m. Looks what's coming to me tomorrow: Alex

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='437429' date='Mar 17 2009, 03:49 PM']but what about the equation? [/quote] I'd rather trust my ears than all this newfangled algebra. Alex

[quote name='ARGH' post='437369' date='Mar 17 2009, 03:09 PM']Look Alex...this is,like most things,going nowhere...just agree that Im right,you're wrong and all is good,yes?[/quote] Indeed, I am right. The instrument has far greater mass than the string so the amplitude of the body/neck vibrations need only be a tiny fraction of the string movement to still contain similar energy levels. Unless the fret and the bridge have infinite mass then the body and neck wood will absorb and re-emit energy through the witness points to and from the string. If you want a bass where the wood has little effect then get a graphite thru-neck Status or Alembic. Or stick a 2-tek bridge on anything, that bridge has so much mass that the body is far less involved in the system than usual. Alex

Transparency is not an opinion. It means accurate reproduction of the source. A large hotwound humbucker will filter out so much of the higher harmonics that you hear a blinkered view of the instrument - that is not transparent. My '87 Warwick wearing tapewounds has more aggressive mids and highs than most Fenders with stainless steel rounds. Unplugged. And plugged in even more so due to the EMGs. If strings are more important than construction how can that be the case? If you think only a small amount of vibration goes into (and out of) the wood then either you have a problem with the nerves in your hands and abdomen, you've only ever played really bad instruments or you're being deeply unobservant. Alex

[quote name='Pookus' post='436968' date='Mar 17 2009, 10:19 AM']As long as the dimensions add up to 55 litres does it matter how wide / high / deep the cab is? Thanks [/quote] No, not to the bass response. Alex

[quote name='ARGH' post='436840' date='Mar 17 2009, 03:19 AM']Its what the replacement part industry (Badass,DiMarzio,EMG etc) was founded upon Alex[/quote] If a bass doesn't sound good unplugged then no amount of electronics will save it. I would never claim that "wood X sounds like Y" because the system is too complex and interactive. But the tone starts with how you pluck a string and then how that string vibrates due to how it is supported and how energy flows between the string and the instrument. If your bass has a big mudbucker up by the neck and you play through an overdriven valve rig then the wood choices matter very little, save them being of sufficient neck rigidity and body resonance to have some tone. If your bass has reasonably transparent pickups like nice single coils or more fancy ones like Alembic, Wal or Q-Tuners, and you tend to DI through a reasonably transparent preamp/DI when you're recording then the wood choices make a lot more difference. So although getting hung up on the tone of exotic woods is futile, it is very important not to forget the importance of construction in the tone of a bass - that's what makes some cheap basses sound fantastic and some sound totally blah. If one has a stiff neck and a resonant body it can sound fantastic even if it costs hardly anything. But then pick up another one where the neck doesn't have that rigidity and the body is just dead sounding when you tap it and the tone will be disastrous. And it's the ability to choose the right pieces of wood and the QC to make sure they result in the right tone that sets apart something like a Sadowsky from a Squier. But try enough Squiers and you will probably get lucky and find one with as good an unplugged tone as a Sadowsky (though it may not feel so nice to play!) and that's when aftermarket electronics prove their worth. Alex

The great thing about this is that ARGH can buy all those basses that sound really hopeless, put nice electronics in them, and sell them for a fortune because they'll sound amazing. Alex

[quote name='ARGH' post='436396' date='Mar 16 2009, 06:10 PM']SO in that statement you admit that all the wood,and type of construction,means sh*t all when its plugged in...because you are hearing P/Us and strings...not the wood....hense,I win..YAYYYYYYYY.....[/quote] Did you ever do any of those things called 'comprehensions' at school? Where you learn to read something and comprehend what it's actually saying... Alex

I think the only person that believes that wood is the be all and end all of tone is the mythical creature that ARGH is arguing with. The rest of us have enough sense to realise that everything contributes to varying degrees. Alex

[quote name='dlloyd' post='436266' date='Mar 16 2009, 04:37 PM']The one person that would notice would be you, and that might well influence how well you play.[/quote] A few rehearsals ago I treated my bandmates to the Barefaced Big One prototype. The subsequent rehearsal cue incessant winging about not being able to hear me properly through the old Trace Elliott 4x10" - I on the other hand didn't give a damn about it not sounding as nice, I could hear what I was playing and it sounded like a bass, more important to get on with the music. But sadly the music didn't happen quite as well as I'd like because they couldn't lock onto me as well. Next rehearsal I took the Barefaced cab again and they were happy campers. I on the other hand was annoyed that I couldn't just turn up with my bass! Alex

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='436253' date='Mar 16 2009, 04:26 PM']It's not irrelevant, but it matters more to the player than the audience.[/quote] I don't actually think it matters to the audience on a conscious level at all (apart from the bass players in the audience but they don't count - or is that drummers that don't count? Anyway...) It matters to the player because you are involved with the creation of the sound - generally I can get the sound I want out of most basses but if I'm going to pay for an instrument then I want the bass that fights me least in getting that sound (and note that often isn't the bass that responds to the lightest touch). Alex

If a bass sounds like a bass sounds like a bass to the audience and thus tone is irrelevant then you might as well close down 3/4 of this forum! Good reading: [url="http://www.mtdbass.com/articles/quest_for_tone.pdf"]http://www.mtdbass.com/articles/quest_for_tone.pdf[/url] Obviously construction (which includes wood choices) has to make a difference otherwise all those shopfuls of basses wearing similar roundwound strings would sound identical unplugged - and I've played enough basses to know that is no way the case! How much you'll hear those differences when plugged in depends on the honesty of the pickups and amplification. Alex P.S. The reason ARGH trots out the same line on every thread regarding this is because he's taken the word of a hippy eccentric as gospel: [url="http://www.ctbasses.com/CTinterview.html"]http://www.ctbasses.com/CTinterview.html[/url] - good bass builder but not omniscient

16 ohm drivers can't get you 4 ohms. 8 ohm can. I gather lower impedance is better than higher (assuming you don't have the right tap) with a valve amp. Alex

The fuse probably blew because your amp was distorting on the peaks which in turn increases the HF energy. This used to happen with my Acmes before I got a more powerful amp. As you have a combo the only solution is to turn down and/or change your EQ. Counter-intuitively, reducing the lows on your amp is just as likely to solve the problem as is reducing the highs. The change is likely to be due to your new bass having more true bottom than the old one. Alex

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='435902' date='Mar 16 2009, 11:14 AM']Well, as it stands at the minute, the only thing that could *possibly* sway me is a Berg NV.[/quote] Just you wait... Alex

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='435797' date='Mar 16 2009, 09:20 AM']The only difference being the height advantage of the stack, and a very slightly warmer lower end (not sure what the science is behind that).[/quote] More internal volume in two 2x10"s than one 4x10", hence more bottom. Alex

Loud, Acme and Bergantino HS woofers are going to all be very different animals. One cheap, one designed for max bottom and needing a midrange cone for higher mids, one designed for max sensitivity. Alex

Have you bought the 410RBH yet? Alex

You'll need a very specialist speaker to work in that small sealed box and I highly doubt you'll find one, or get any benefit from it being able to draw more power from the amp if you do. Note that adding the extra cab (assuming they're near identical) is increasing your sensitivity by 3dB, increasing the max power from your amp by ~2dB, and doubling your excursion limited power handling. All a 4 ohm speaker will do is increase the max power from the amp but it's the other two factors that make the real difference. Alex

A great idea but only if you always have a good PA with good monitors and are willing to cede control of your stage sound. Personally I like the consistency of always playing through the same rig, it removes a critical variable which in turn tends to make gigs go better - but then my cabs sound very nice and are very easy to move! Alex

[quote name='AM1' post='434708' date='Mar 14 2009, 05:12 PM']Advance warning - I am ultra, ultra geeky on techie details so prepare for some brain zapping questions![/quote] But can you handle the answers? Alex

[quote name='Delberthot' post='434248' date='Mar 13 2009, 10:37 PM']I absolutely love Larry and GCS. The whole reason I slap the way I do. None of your Mark King 24th Fret widdly widdly widdly widdly bits. Always just behind the pickup.YOu can totally vary the sound from there[/quote] Absolutely! I swear you wouldn't get all this slap hating if slappers stuck with the Larry Graham vibe. Bobby Vega is incredible at nailing that sound, hearing him play Hair on BP.tv a couple of years ago totally blew me away. Alex

Done some rough and ready RTA testing of the Big One this afternoon. Mic positioned at ear level, mic stand about 6' from the cab. Cab on the patio. So here's three measurements with the mic stand in front of the cab, at 30 degrees and at 60 degrees. Ignore the actual frequency response plot, too much weirdness from my garden going on! But what is significant and explains why the Big One is so incredible on the gig, is how little the response varies between 0 degrees and 60 degrees. Alex

[quote name='Spoombung' post='433828' date='Mar 13 2009, 03:56 PM']What is Xmax, Alex?. I assume you mean it won't be bassy enough - although I remember the 'wizzer' cone speaker was a bassy enough for me. Is [i]wizzer[/i] a make or description?[/quote] Xmax is how far a cone can more forwards or backwards with <10% distortion. Combined with cone area it is the limiting factor in how loud you can get the lows from a speaker. However a speaker with low Xmax can have excellent bottom and sound very bassy - you just won't be able to turn it up far before the distortion starts increasing and the sound gets less and less bassy. Whizzer is the description for the additional smaller cone attached to the main cone. They've been used in hi-fi since the '40s I believe, maybe earlier and the Lowther driver is the most famous example and is still popular with single driver aficianados: Lowther drivers tend to be used in enormous rear-loaded horn cabs, which increase the pressure behind the cone so that you can get more bottom from the minimal Xmax (if you double the pressure of the air you're moving then the cone only need move half as far to get the same SPL.) Alex

I recently resurrected my '87 Warwick Streamer and replaced ye olde Bootzillas with some nylon tapewounds to turn it into an old school funk machine. They're a little too fresh but I think given time it could be a fine beast for laying it down in the name of the sailor-suited brother. Alex