alexclaber

[quote name='escholl' post='248358' date='Jul 26 2008, 12:12 PM']How do you know Fs is lowered and Qms is raised if you haven't measured it?[/quote] You can hear a HUGE change in the sound between a completely fresh 3015 or 3015LF and one that's broken in, which is consistent with an increase in suspension compliance and thus the resulting effect upon Fs and Qts. I'm talking the kind of difference akin to adding over 3dB of bass boost. There is a big difference between the fabric concertina surrounds on these woofers and the foam/rubber/polymer rolled surrounds on hi-fi woofers. When brand new these fabric surrounds are far stiffer than after a good few hours of heavy use, to the point that Acme recommends breaking in their woofers gently as the extra surround stiffness when new can cause the cone to crease if driven hard. I can't see any reason why most hi-fi speakers' surrounds' compliance would change, the composition/construction is totally different. Alex

Alex

The first of my production models has been finished! More info here: [url="http://www.barefacedBass.com"]http://www.barefacedBass.com[/url] Just weighed it and it's actually a mere 32lbs or 14.5kg. Not bad for a high output 15" that can hang quite comfortably with all but the loudest drummers (at our last gig there was no PA support for the backline or drums and I noticed on the recording that when we were at our loudest during one of the solo sections I was almost drowning out my drummer despite him going for in a huge Vistalite Bonham-style kit!). Alex

I have spent the last hour weighing and reweighing my cab. I am thus confident to declare that it weighs: [b]Thirty Two (32!!!!) Pounds[/b]. That's 14.5kg if you prefer a Royale to a Quarter-Pounder. Alex

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='248504' date='Jul 26 2008, 05:03 PM']But is wide dispersion always desirable? Yes if the rig is FOH as well, but probably not where the PA is FOH, the stack is for stage only and would be better beamed at the bass player rather than dispersed and bleeding into all the vocal mic's?[/quote] In my band my fellow bandmates like to be able to hear what I'm playing. Alex

The dispersion of a source is inversely proportional to its size and the frequency it is producing. So a horizontal 2x10" has worse left-to-right dispersion than a vertical 2x10". If you have one cab with 10" speakers and one with 15" speakers, generally you want to hear the mids and highs from the 10" cab. By lifting that cab closer to ear level you improve the audibility of those frequencies. Alex

[quote name='escholl' post='248159' date='Jul 25 2008, 11:11 PM']speaker break in huh? think you might find an article like [url="http://www.audioholics.com/education/loudspeaker-basics/speaker-break-in-fact-or-fiction"]this[/url] interesting.[/quote] Having listened to the 3015LF and 3015 before and after break-in I can state there is a clear lowering of Fs and raising of Qms and thus increased low frequency response after break-in. If I ever have an excess of time on my hands I'd be happy to measure the change in frequency response. The same is true for the Acme OEM woofers. I wouldn't expect much change in specs with hi-fi speakers due to the surrounds being far more compliant out of the factory. Alex

I use the tone generator on WinISD Pro, a laptop and a bass amp. 10Hz overnight so the speaker is running beyond 50% of Xmax seems to do a nice job (and you can even do that with it loaded in the cab because it's so far below the tuning frequency you get decent phase cancellation). Alex

Any RATM, much P-Funk, prime era James Brown. Lots of other stuff too but that's all very reliably effective! I like my big grooves. Alex

That sounds great! Have you thought about chambering the body, seems to bring out more of the resonance with a thru-neck bass. Any side markers? So what's going on with the preamp? Alex

[quote name='cheddatom' post='247049' date='Jul 24 2008, 05:11 PM']I am not arguing for the sake of arguing. I am debating for the sake of reaching a reasoned conclusion - much like every other debate should be conducted. I hate this "Oh let's agree to disagree". No, if someone has a good question, let's find out the answer.[/quote] There is no answer! As you said yourself it's ART. Any method is valid. Alex

[quote name='cheddatom' post='247028' date='Jul 24 2008, 04:50 PM']Which I think is irrelevant. Having an instrument and experimenting with it opens up previously unknown possibilities. Having music theory knowledge opens up previously KNOWN possibilities - by deffinition. Fair point - I like to debate, but that's what we're doing isn't it? Come on, address my points, and i'll address yours! It's fun.[/quote] My knowledge of music theory has just as often led me to try something that counters established practice as I've gone with the norm. Some great examples of writers doing this are Steely Dan and Frank Zappa, where all the composers have excellent knowledge of theory and use it to go to very strange places. Meanwhile lots of people without no knowledge write mundane three chord rock (no, not Status Quo or ZZ Top, they are masters of the three chords!) Sometimes it just seems like you're arguing for the sake of arguing which is really annoying! This has happened on numerous threads where you seem to do everything in your power to not understand the alternate position. Alex

[quote name='cheddatom' post='246974' date='Jul 24 2008, 04:03 PM']Language is for communicating. I think if you're thinking in words to yourself, you may actually be talking to yourself (in a covert way).[/quote] I think you'll find that language was the cornerstone of development of the human race, and not just through enabling better communication. An interesting example is how one of my friends is tri-lingual (having gone to international schools where you learn in English and having parents of different nationalities) and he's commented in the past that he thinks differently in different languages. A simple example of theory helping you find the right chord more quickly would be when writing something that is going repeatedly between I and IV and you want to bring the progression back to a fresh start. By going to the V you step up a strong resolution back to the I. [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominant_(music)"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominant_(music)[/url] Alex

[quote name='cheddatom' post='246954' date='Jul 24 2008, 03:35 PM']Why would I want to describe chords to myself? Can't I just play them? In what way would giving a chord the "right" name make my playing any better or easier?[/quote] No need to give it the right name but if it already has a name that you can use then why reinvent the wheel? Here's another way to look at it. Try thinking about any challenge without using any words. Language facilitates the thought process just as theory can facilitate the compositional process. Alex

[quote name='silddx' post='246951' date='Jul 24 2008, 03:30 PM']Dearest Alex, you telling everyone with a divergent opinion to yours to f*** Off...[/quote] Dearest however-one-pronounces-your-name, no am I am not. Have you considered a career in tabloid journalism? An ability to completely miss the point and create a furore out of nothing is very well thought of amongst editors of The Mail. My position all along has been that the extreme views on theory or not are rarely terribly useful, a balanced view is valuable, and a theory can be used as a compositional tool. Whilst you have conjured from such viewpoints gloriously blinkered statements such as: [quote name='silddx' post='246780' date='Jul 24 2008, 12:34 PM']If you need theory to tell you what might be acceptable to you in a song, you are not a songwriter.[/quote] I rest my case. Alex

[quote name='silddx' post='246937' date='Jul 24 2008, 03:13 PM']And thus you are not open to others' ideas or to a debate and become frustrated because you believe you are correct in your thinking. There is no right or wrong in this thread, only opinon, and the product of influence and experience. It's all useful. Don't knock it.[/quote] Read what I've written again. My view is open-minded, your statement was closed-minded. Debate is fine by me, black and white statements in grey areas are not. Do you what you like but don't tell others how to do it, nor tell anyone what they are or are not. I'm starting to doubt the comprehension skills of bassists, it's like we're turning into drummers or something... Alex

[quote name='cheddatom' post='246929' date='Jul 24 2008, 03:00 PM']I don't see how you could immediately identify what chord is required if you DID know theory. Are you saying it just speeds things up? In what way? I accept your point about labelling, but I don't think this is necessary for everyone. Especially in rock bands where the bassist can look at the guitarist's fretboard and have a good idea of what is going on, and vice versa. I'm not quite sure what your last point is about. It sounds like you might be making violent threats. I know you're probably not talking about me, but for instance, if I HAD insulted you in some way or another, be it in real life or on a forum, I would like to think that I wasn't risking a black eye.[/quote] Read what I write, don't read between the lines. I never said that theory would mean you could immediately identify what chord was required, I said that if you could do that then you wouldn't need theory! The labelling I referred to was so that you yourself would have a vocabulary to describe different sounds to yourself, not for communicating with other musicans. Again, don't read between the lines, read the content, don't make up your own inferences. I am not making any threats, I'm commenting on the bizarre lack of interpersonal skills that are demonstrated on forums and if such interpersonal skills are developed to avoid violence. Alex

[quote name='Machines' post='246930' date='Jul 24 2008, 03:01 PM']Alexclaber, if you had reacted that way in real life you likely would have received the aforementioned 'black-eye' from someone yourself (not me though, i'm a nice guy !).[/quote] Trust me, I do it all the time and no-one's hit me yet. Alex

[quote name='cheddatom' post='246844' date='Jul 24 2008, 01:35 PM']I am interested to know how your knowing theory helps you reduce the amount of trial and error in the songwriting process, compared to say a guitarist who has never learned a scale, but knows his way around the fretboard by ear.[/quote] If your ear is perfect and you can always immediately identify what chord is required, complete with all the extensions, then you don't need theory. But then again, if you don't know theory how are you going to label all those chords? I am imperfect and therefore the theory helps - though that doesn't mean I don't write plenty of things without using any theory and sometimes still have absolutely no idea what is going on with the harmonic structure of some songs. Regarding my earlier outburst, as I informed one of our esteemed moderators, I believe that if you wouldn't say it in a face to face discussion then why would you say it on a forum? Maybe it's the lack of risk of a black eye? Sweeping all-encompassing statements are usually full of holes and oversimplified at best, if not plain wrong. Those of us with more knowledge, wisdom, experience, brain, whatever, can see through the bs but there are plenty that can't and thus I will continue to pull people up when they post with their foot in their mouth, blinkers on, or talking out of their... Alex

[quote name='silddx' post='246807' date='Jul 24 2008, 12:57 PM']No, Alex, I did not misunderstand you. You are talking about songwriting as happy accident and applying theory to it in order to navigate to parts you should be hearing in your head. When I write, I hear what I want to do in my head, away from the instrument. Then I have to learn a bunch of stuff I have never played before to execute my song physically. Couldn't tell you anything about what I'm doing other than possibly what keys the parts are in. There are times, when noodling, I come up with a beautiful chord combination that I want to write a song around. Then I hear in my head what comes naturally and learn to play it.[/quote] No, I am not talking about songwriting as a happy accident. When I write songs I generally hear the direction of the vocal in my head and am searching for the underlying riffs or chords that best support that. However the songwriting process happens many different ways and I wouldn't presume to tell anyone else how to create new music. [quote name='silddx' post='246816' date='Jul 24 2008, 01:09 PM']Sorry Alex, I am not having a go at you. But why are you inviting me to make some meaningless assessment of your songwriting prowess on a public forum, as if songwriting were a competitive sport? I can have a listen and tell you if I like your songwriting or otherwise, if you really want me too. Are we all invited?[/quote] Did I ask you to make a meaningless assessment of my songwriting prowess or did I ask you to listen to some songs that I have written which thus proves that I am a songwriter, whether or not you like my process? Your attitude is reminiscent of those bassists that deem other bassists not be be bass players because they can't play all styles of music, can't read, maybe can only work in the originals band they're in. I write songs, therefore I am a songwriter. And if it was all a happy accident, how the hell would I write so many songs when I spend relatively little time doing it? [quote name='cheddatom' post='246825' date='Jul 24 2008, 01:19 PM']The way you describe your writing process sounds more like trial and error, just the same as anyone who knows nothing about theory, therefore it doesn't do much to back up your point that knowing theory helps song writing.[/quote] If it's reducing the amount of trial and error, which it does, then it is helping. Why is everyone being so f u c king argumentative this week? Overdue a holiday? Well go on then, f u c k off then. Alex

[quote name='Merton' post='246693' date='Jul 24 2008, 10:46 AM']At the risk of shameless plugging, buy my [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=23397"]TE 1*15 speaker [/url]and get a cheap head [/quote] Yep, definitely do that! Alex

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='246796' date='Jul 24 2008, 12:48 PM']I understand why the 1212L is louder than the UL212 and yes, the UL212 was more fuller sounding but seemed to loose some punch when pushed. No amount of EQ's could get it sounding as loud as my 1210R.[/quote] The greater unEQ'd bottom of the larger cab means that the speakers move more and thus run out of excursion with less power. With the Schroeder having more restricted bottom your amp will find it much harder to push them beyond their limits. The risk you then run into is that if you used a very high power amp to get more bottom you could actually suffer thermal voice coil damage. Adding low-midrange/high-bass boosting EQ to the UL212 won't really make it any louder because your amp still runs out of power at the same voltage as if the EQ was set flat, whilst the 1212L makes more sound for the same voltage. Having listened to a clip of you playing The Jam I can totally see why the 1212L works so well for you - great tone! I'm more into the deep fat clean thing so the lack of bottom would be a serious problem for me. Horses for courses! Alex

[quote name='silddx' post='246780' date='Jul 24 2008, 12:34 PM']I absolutely disagree with your statement. If you need theory to tell you what might be acceptable to you in a song, you are not a songwriter.[/quote] You have completely and utterly misunderstood my statement! Read it again! When I come up with new songs it usually happens when I'm messing around on the bass or classical guitar and something just appears and off we go. Inevitably you get those moments when you're thinking, "I want this to go in that direction, I'm heading for that note over there" and when you don't immediately fall into it you go "hmmm, the fifth, is that it, no that doesn't feel right, how about over here, no that's not it, maybe if I do something weird like hold those notes the same and shift the root to that chord there, ah yes, there it is." Listen to my music, then tell me if I'm not a songwriter. They're songs and I wrote them. Alex

Theory can be very handy when you're writing a song and have hit one of those problems - like how to get from a verse to a chorus, which chord to play next, how to get back after the bridge, etc etc. Without it it would take a lot more trial and error to land on what sounds right. Alex

I don't know if this is any use to you but the Series 2 UL cabs and the last generation Schroeder L cabs use very similar Eminence neo speakers. In the mids and highs you can expect the Epis to be more true whilst the Schroeders have a bit of a low-mid boost from the quasi-horn and then reduced uppers mids. In the lows you can model the response as shown in the attachment - the Epifani goes lower and stays flatter whilst the Schroeder has a hump which makes it louder but less deep sounding. (I've assumed 40Hz tuning for the Epifani - fairly typical for a cab like this - and 50Hz tuning for the Schroeder to maximise the loudness - I suspect Jorg has done the same). For the older B&C speakers and newer Celestions I'd expect a similar result in the lows with more variation higher up. Alex