alexclaber

[quote name='Jebo1' post='326695' date='Nov 11 2008, 12:59 PM']For me, music is about sex. All the best music is in some way related to sex, and jazz is (apart from a few notable exceptions - Kind of Blue etc) the most UN-sexy music in the world.[/quote] Jazz is not just bebop! And something else: "But what about the word [jazz]? Unfortunately, its beginnings are especially obscure. It may have come from an African word, or from a performer's name, among other possibilities. But nobody would have dared include jazz in a respectable book or article a century ago because it was decidedly obscene, referring to sexual activity. Gradually, though, jazz came to mean any vigorous, enthusiastic activity, and eventually it became reputable enough to mention." Alex

Jazz isn't just bebop and fusion - the earlier stuff is much more accessible and far harder swinging - real dance music! And of later stuff, check out "Mingus - Better git it in your Soul" for a nice introduction to jazz. Forget all that silly widdling, check out a swinging band with an attitude and soloists that play tunes! Bass player-centric modern jazz is enough to turn anyone off jazz! Alex

[quote name='Mr.T' post='325242' date='Nov 9 2008, 12:52 PM']I rarely go past '2' on the output stage of the amp. ... So is that a "yes"? As I have said earlier, I don't want to compromise my current sound quality by 'going light'.[/quote] Still hard to give a concrete answer because some heads have really crazy gain staging so 2/10 could actually be using full power on loud notes - unlikely but possible... My gut feeling is that you're likely to be just fine - I'm willing to gamble my postage costs on it! Alex

[quote name='Mr.T' post='325233' date='Nov 9 2008, 12:22 PM']Would one of these 'Compacts' take the place of my two cabs?[/quote] With your current amp it depends on how loud you play. You do have a good onboard compressor and those old TE heads are notably loud for their power rating so it certainly won't be quiet! But with a more powerful amp then it should match them in terms of max SPL. Alex

[quote name='Mr.T' post='324972' date='Nov 8 2008, 08:24 PM']p.s. Anyone know the weight of a 'Big Deep One'?[/quote] It's probably about 40lbs but I wouldn't recommend it as a standalone cab unless you solely play reggae. The more full-range speaker in The Compact will do a far better job for 99% of players and the unEQ'd bottom end is likely to be similar to the small Trace 15" but it'll handle more power down there (and thus you can easily add fatness with EQ without mud/boom/farting occurring). Alex

I had to resort to visiting all my local timber yards until I found the right ply. If you google timber suppliers you should be able to get a short list together of those that mention supplying sheet products but as you've found until you see the ply you can't tell if it's any good! Spruce, poplar and okoumé (the stiffest for their weight) are particularly elusive... Alex

[quote name='Mr.T' post='324720' date='Nov 8 2008, 11:04 AM']..... My Sharan doesn't quite have the same impact [/quote] For a moment I thought you were talking about your wife! Alex

[quote name='Mr.T' post='324693' date='Nov 8 2008, 09:58 AM']And now want to go 'lighter'.[/quote] Be honest, you want to turn up to gigs on your bike don't you? Alex

If the 20th fret is in the same place relative to the bridge as the 20th fret was on the 22 fret neck then it'll be fine. Or to put it another way, if the bolt holes are in the same place relative to the frets on each neck then it'll be fine. Or another way, if the distance from 12th fret to bridge is about 17" then you'll be ok. Do Fender basses with more frets just have a longer fingerboard but the same neck length / bolt position? (Asks the man who's never owned a Fender-alike...) Alex

[quote name='Protium' post='324509' date='Nov 7 2008, 09:16 PM']Yeah but then I forget them 5 mins later [/quote] I hate it when that happens! I've got myself into the habit of developing anything good into a full song structure immediately so by then I've usually played it enough times that it sticks - that way as long as I remember how it starts I can remember the whole arrangement (Pino's "trust chops"). Alex

Absolutely and that's when all my new song ideas appear! The power of noodling... Alex

Nice router work - looking smart! Alex

[quote name='Mr.T' post='324447' date='Nov 7 2008, 07:52 PM']I am not wanting to change my cabs to get a better sound (although warmer would be nice)... It is really just a weight thing![/quote] I can totally see that, those old TE cabs, particularly the 2x10"+5" were really great for their era and still stack up well now. Before spending any money it could help to try each cab individually - you might really miss that 5" speaker if you go for a conventional woofer+tweeter cab but then again you might not. Alex

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='324428' date='Nov 7 2008, 07:25 PM']That’s quite a bold claim. Have you tested [i]everything[/i] on the market then?[/quote] Ben, that's a fair question and seven or eight years ago I'd have asked exactly the same! Since then I've learnt a lot about speaker design and acoustics (though I did do a mechanical engineering degree previously and have messed around with loudspeakers since I was in short trousers!) so let me explain how I can make that statement: Back in the '60s a couple of very clever Aussies, Mr Thiele and Mr Small, came up with an electrical equivalent circuit for a loudspeaker and enclosure which could thus be analysed using standard electrical transfer functions to very accurately establish the response of a loudspeaker below ~200Hz (above this frequency it gets more complicated and you have to work by a combination of measurements and modelling due to the output no longer being totally omnidirectional and the speaker no longer totally pistonic in its operation). All speaker manufacturers worth considering provide comprehensive thiele/small specs for their woofers and you can use modelling software to accurately predict the response of a speaker and thus the max LF SPL (you can even do it on paper but that's more longwinded!) The overwhelming factor in determining the max LF SPL of a loudspeaker is its Vd (volume displacement) which is equal to its Xmax (max linear excursion) multiplied by its Sd (radiating surface area) - the other key factors are the sensitivity in the lows (does the cabinet have enough internal volume to allow the woofer to move easily - too little volume increases the impedance at low frequencies due to increased back pressure) and the port tuning (if the port is tuned too low you lose max SPL at the critical frequencies, if it's tuned too high it doesn't go low enough) and sizing (if the port is too small in area it does not operate linearly and thus restricts output). I searched and searched for years for the ultimate woofer for producing as much LF SPL as possible for bass guitar use and I kept coming back to this same model. In a suitably sized cabinet it flattens everything else commercially available and although there are a select few woofers you can buy that can produce even more LF SPL from a similar sized cab they are extortionately expensive and need much much more power to reach that SPL. So no, I haven't tested everything and I don't need to! I have modelled hundreds of designs using woofers from Eminence, Fane, B&C, Beyma, 18sound, Celestion, BMS et al. and I have a pretty comprehensive knowledge of what's on the market and roughly how it performs quantitatively. Hope that helps, let me know if you want to know more or want anything clarifying. Alex

Oh, wow! Shame it has such an excessive preamp though, I'd be perfectly happy with the 6.0's preamp and just double the power. Alex

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='323230' date='Nov 6 2008, 09:42 AM']I thought we had a policy on this forum about commercial promotion?[/quote] Just pointing out that drthirkenstein is quantifiably wrong about low frequency sound pressure levels attainable from certain lightweight neo magnet speaker cabinets - my own design is an obvious example for which I know the precise performance and am 100% certain that you cannot buy any other bass guitar cabinet of similar size (not weight!) which can produce as much LF SPL. If he said he didn't like the sound of them then fair enough! Alex

[quote name='bassoctopus' post='324027' date='Nov 7 2008, 10:17 AM']My list of amps I want to try before making a decision[/quote] I know they're stupidly cheap compared to your other choices but check out the new Hartke LH500 and LH1000 heads. They're fantastic sounding amps, regardless of price but the price is the bargain of the decade. With the onboard EQ and inherently growly tone of your Warwicks the admittedly limited EQ and mellow fat tone of the Hartkes could prove an ideal match. Alex

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='322777' date='Nov 5 2008, 04:34 PM']Can you show us what the frequency reposonse of the Big One is like compared to the Compact?[/quote] This is the design plot of on-axis response: As you move off-axis The Compact should start dropping off from about 1kHz, whilst the 8kHz spike in The Big One's response vanishes and the response smoothes out and then droops gradually in the highs. Note that these plots were generated from a combination of thiele/small modelling, manufacturers' measured plots and passive crossover modelling, they're not measured plots. Am fighting with some RTA software right now so expect some measured plots in the near future. Don't compare these plots to the silly fictional specs most manufacturer's quote! Have a look at the measured plots that Bass Gear Magazine published in its inaugural issue to give yourself a feel for where reality lies. Alex

Which cab do you prefer the sound of, your 2x10"+5" or your 1x15"? Or more precisely, whose highs do you prefer, whose mids and whose lows? How do you set your EQ normally? What's your ideal bass sound? Alex

Yep, the pocket is about groove and I would rarely use it to describe non-rhythm section players. Alex

[quote name='chris_b' post='323308' date='Nov 6 2008, 11:36 AM']When you're good enough to achieve "being in the pocket" you don't care what it's called.[/quote] Yeah, yo haters wish y'all could find the pocket and get deep in it, fo' sure! Alex

It's more than just good timing. Still waiting for a better suggestion... Alex

[quote name='drthirkenstein' post='323162' date='Nov 6 2008, 03:07 AM']in my experience neo speakers cant produce any where near the same levels of low frequency as the heavy buggers. as a general rule the heavier your equipment the better it sounds! besides its character building![/quote] Maybe in your experience but your experience is clearly too limited! This cab can produce far more low frequency output than any non-neo cabs of similar size let alone weight: [url="http://barefacedbass.com/thebigone.html"]http://barefacedbass.com/thebigone.html[/url] Alex

The pocket is that ideal space that notes should be dropped into for maximum groovaciousness. It has a certain depth (think accenting and dynamics), a certain width (think note length) and a certain position (think timing). I can't think of a better term for when you're really laying it down - can you? Alex

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='294555' date='Sep 29 2008, 01:27 PM']presumably a compact folded wedge...[/quote] I have a solution for the whole wedge thing - stay tuned! Have also updated website a bit - it will grow more... Alex