alexclaber

[quote name='BassMunkee' post='246738' date='Jul 24 2008, 11:49 AM']Learning scales is gash, imho. Music should be about playing what you feel, how you feel.[/quote] Too many people who say that play the same mediocre predictable rubbish over and over again. At the opposite end of the spectrum I've yet to hear a band from our local 'modern music' academy that sounds even vaguely meaningful - great technique, little art. Alex

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='246661' date='Jul 24 2008, 10:01 AM']Using another cab is out as both my 12xx cabs are 4ohms... ...My cab is rated at 800watts and while i know that means not a lot i don't believe im reaching speaker compression yet. I dont know what im putting out from my MB head but its rated at 500watts max and i only have the master on just over half (again, i konw that doesnt mean much)... ...when i tried a SD800 last year it had a lot more headroom at the same volume as my SA450so i know its not my cab that is maxing out... ...99% on the time its not an issue and its fine.[/quote] For the 1% of the time it's an issue use both cabs. The 4 ohm impedance is not an issue as you have two heads - use one as your preamp and daisy chain the other. I can guarantee that you are regularly hitting the limiter on your Markbass. If you had a more powerful amp you'd be hitting it a bit less often. However you will simultaneously be running out of excursion on your woofers. When the amp does the limiting you tend to hear the highs getting squashed whilst the lows sound punchy, whilst when the cab does the limiting (through running out of clean excursion) the lows get squashed and the sound gets more trebly and growly (increased distortion). Having the master halfway means that you're likely to be hitting full power regularly. If this wasn't the case then you wouldn't be able to turn quieter basses up enough to get full power. Many cheaper amps reach full power with a typical bass as low as 2 or 3 on the master volume because of the newbies thinking that the amp that's louder at equal knob settings is the more powerful amp. The other option, which is far more likely to get you more usable volume than buying a more powerful amp, is to find a compressor pedal that gives you the right kind of squash. Cheaper too. The old Trace Elliot Dual Compressors are pretty gnarly and punchy like that. Alex

I'll happily agree with most of what Jeff says as long as I never have to listen to any more of his music! Great player but it seems too much like jazz written by and played by a talented computer. If Jaco or Stanley's playing had been similarly effete and dry neither of them would have had such an impact - when Jeff realises that maybe he'll be a little less bitter. Or maybe not... As an educator he has many sensible ideas, particularly relating to musicality vs technique. I manage just fine without being able to read competently but I write and play my own music and direct my own band. If I wanted to be a sideman I'd have spent the time I've spent on lyrics and composition on developing different skills. Context is everything. Last year he did admit that his stance was too combative and said he'd be more open-minded in the future. I don't know if he's followed through with that. Alex

[quote name='david_l_perry' post='246470' date='Jul 23 2008, 10:42 PM']Good luck with the venture Alex. Cant get the web site links working. How have you found the painted finish to hold up now ? I got great finish with it but its easily marked even with a fingernal.... Dave[/quote] I've only got the home page and FAQ up there at the moment. Although the painted finish dries quickly enough to add a second coat in an hour or so, it seems to take more like a week to fully harden up! Apparently it's particularly slow to reach full strength/hardness in colder weather. Am just adding the last few coats to this cab before putting the hardware back on, then I'm going to build a batch of four matching cabs. Alex

I'd give the Peavey a more thorough test in that case. Most lightweight heads can't sustain full power for very long but it might actually be that the Peavey has better limiting circuitry that makes the squash more subtle - their DDT is rather good. Try it with the limiters switched off too. Once you're putting 500W into a compact cab adding extra power is just more likely to break things, the gain in volume is likely to be negligible. If you need more output you'd be much better served by using both your heads and cabs at once. Alex

ZZ Top tunes with large beards gives you a unique exemption from all the rules of the trade. Alex

[quote name='clauster' post='245944' date='Jul 23 2008, 11:30 AM']10.5s for weight and cost but 15 for the mighty bass tone[/quote] It was that puzzlement that led me to return to designing my own cab! Alex

It's unfortunate that headless basses first appeared about the same time that pastel suits with rolled up sleeves were in fashion. Nowadays the only way you can look cool playing a headless bass is if you're Robbie Shakespeare or a fellow reggae brother. My first bass was a headless Hohner Jack - when I shifted over to a headed bass it took a while to get used to the worse balance and tuning stability and the hugely increased chance of smacking the far end of the bass on either the ceiling or my bandmates' heads during a moment of onstage excitement. Alex

I don't think you'll get much, if any, more output from putting more power into your Schroeder. Although the voice coils are rated at 1000W total the cones can't move enough to handle more than a few hundred watts without distortion setting in. If you're ever in my neck of the woods you're welcome to test the theory with my PLX 3002 which is 900W/ch @ 4 ohms and 3000W bridged @ 4 ohms. Alex

[url="http://www.barefacedbass.com/"]http://www.barefacedbass.com/[/url] Alex

[quote name='Machines' post='246103' date='Jul 23 2008, 02:03 PM']Welcome to the internet .[/quote] I've been on bass forums and email groups etc since 1997 and unfortunately this man keeps reappearing under numerous usernames: I'm glad we don't suffer this kind of behaviour at the Bass Bashes or they'd be some pretty nasty fights. Alex

The heavier your string gauge, the longer the scale length, the lighter your touch, the better the fretwork, strangely) the less the sustain of the fundamentals and the greater the amount of fret buzz you will tolerate, the lower your action can be. I use relatively heavy strings on a longer scale, nice frets, tons of fundamental sustain, with fret buzz only when I want it, and I sometimes dig in pretty hard - I like to use dynamics as much as possible - thus my action is around 2-3mm. Alex

[quote name='Machines' post='246052' date='Jul 23 2008, 01:21 PM']Chill out man ! Winding people up is what some people choose to do, and you reacting to it is taking the bait.[/quote] Those people that enjoy winding other people up should grow-up and consider being a more positive contributor. If you wouldn't act like it face to face with someone you barely know then why would you act like this online. Children. Alex

I think the original poster can easily make their mind up. Two speakers with fairly similar response but one costs half as much and weighs less than half as much. What is bugging me is how Stevie is being so bullish and completely ignoring that simple issue. We live in a world where money is always a factor. And I'm wondering where this information comes from: [quote name='stevie' post='245884' date='Jul 23 2008, 10:19 AM']As neither of the Eminences have particularly well behaved cones (to put it mildly)...[/quote] I don't give a damn about points scoring but I do get pretty throughly riled when I have to suffer old farts acting like close-minded fools - that's why I generally avoid music shops... Alex

A snippet from a gig from earlier this month. Apologies for the picture quality! Alex

Been rather busy of late! Will get some more coats on this ASAP and final photos up. Alex

[quote name='sk8' post='245204' date='Jul 22 2008, 11:11 AM']not really worth the expense or effort as its an old hohner and the neck is really warped anyhoo.[/quote] My old Hohner also has a broken truss rod - it's now a fretless with action like an upright! Alex

[quote name='Astronomer' post='244875' date='Jul 21 2008, 10:16 PM']Started using an old curly guitar cable which I found lying around, and oh... my... gawwwd! I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't heard it with my own ears. It's amazing! The difference in the sound of my bass is just astonishing. It sounds deeper... richer... fuller... just amazing. It's the sound I've been looking for, and I found it in an old curly cable. Try one! You won't be disappointed. [/quote] So that'll be the effect of increased cable capacitance reducing your treble. You could of course just turn down the tone knob on your bass... Alex

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='244865' date='Jul 21 2008, 10:03 PM']Off-axis response as a function of cone diameter assumes that the cone operates as a single pistonic radiator. In the case of extended range musical instrument and pro-sound drivers the dome acts as an independant midrange radiator, and the response both on and off-axis is not a function of cone diameter alone.[/quote] To expand on that, if you compare the cones of the 3015 and 3015LF you see that the LF has a larger dustcap and a straighter sided cone making it more rigid, whilst the 3015 has a smaller dustcap, curved sided cone, and concentric ribbing around the cone, all of which allow the cone to flex and allows more midrange and treble output by letting the voice coil act on a progressively smaller moving mass as the frequency goes higher. And as this smaller moving mass is due to a progressively smaller radiating area you therefore get decent off-axis response. I remain amazed by what a simple 3015 cab can do for bass guitar - loud, clean, clear, punchy, deep enough, and (if you build the cab right) incredibly light. Even with the recent price rises it remains far more speaker for the money than anything else I've seen. Alex

[quote name='ianrunci' post='244956' date='Jul 22 2008, 12:02 AM']My reasons are based on what I have used during my 30 years of gigging. I can only comment on things I have had experience with. This guy said he wanted a stack so I presumed he wanted something big and beefy. For me thats a 15 and a 4x10. For you its obviously different. As I said I don't like 12s but I wouldn't say to him don't buy them cos they're sh*te cos I don't use them. IMHO the sound of bass through a 12 inch speaker is pants but then again for someone else its the next door to heaven.[/quote] Deeming all drivers of a given nominal diameter to sound the same is like deeming all cars with matching tyres to have the same roadholding ability. I've owned four bass rigs over the years, a 15", a 12", a 10"+5"+tweeter and finally a 15". The current 15" sounds far more like the 3-way 10" cab than it sounds like the previous 15". Alex

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='244376' date='Jul 21 2008, 12:36 PM']I'm not arguing with you - just trying to get a better understanding. All the assumption I was making are obviously false but I was trying to simplify matters to aid comprehension. As for the car analogy, no it wont predict lap times but there is a high probability the car with the fastest top speed and acceleration will do the fastest laps. I did not make this up about mixing drivers - I got it from the resident basschat experts Bill F and Alex C. Have you changed your mind? This idea of mixing speakers producing unpredictable results explains my own experience. I had a Peavey Tmax with a 115BW. Conventional wisdon said I should get a 210 and when I did it sounded sh*t, even though both speakers sounded good on their own! It sounded so sh*t I px'ed the 115BW for another 210 at the earliest opportunity, because contrary to conventional wisdom the 210 was deeper than the 115BW. If the best that can be said is that mixing cabs will produce unpredictable results and will not necessarily be a sum of the parts because the differences in frequency response, both magnitude and phase, once combined, may or may not result in a more balanced sound, any further explanation will required detailed knowledge of speaker designs; then that will have to do.[/quote] A drag racer will be a lot slower around a race track than a 2CV, despite the huge gulf in straight line performance. Mixing drivers is unpredictable which is why I wouldn't recommend it but if you have the opportunity to test the different mixes to see which work well then I don't have a problem with this. We are bass players, not hi-fi audiophiles! I agree that the conventional wisdom about big speakers going lower etc is rather annoying but that's a separate issue. Scientifically predicting the results of mixing speakers is so difficult you're better off plugging them in and listening. I just felt I had to step in because whilst I'm sure you have good intentions your evangelical black and white stance was looking likely to put a lot of backs up and in the process leave any posts regarding the pros of better design to be read by an irritated and sceptical audience. Alex P.S. I like playing any basses through hi-fi's, I just wouldn't gig with one!

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='244006' date='Jul 20 2008, 07:45 PM']Take the example I have used [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=22504&st=0&start=0"]here[/url] and the ABM cabs. ABM 115 Frequency Response 37Hz - 2kHz Sensitivity 98dB 1W@1m ABM 210T Frequency Response 75Hz - 20kHz Sensitivity 102dB 1W @ 1m[/quote] Your example is completely flawed. It is as accurate as predicting the lap times of a car based on the 0-60 time and top speed without any other data, even the length of the track! It is not black and white. Model some speakers, sum the full frequency response plots and come back to me. Otherwise stop banging on and on and on. Personally I take a more engineered approach but the suck it and see approach can work. A lot of happy Schroeder users out there and that seems to be as advanced as Jorg's design process is. Alex

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='243929' date='Jul 20 2008, 05:24 PM']What I disagree with is "expert" opinion telling people they need a 1x15 and 2x10 or 4x10.[/quote] I agree with you there. However... [quote name='bass_ferret' post='243929' date='Jul 20 2008, 05:24 PM']OK I stand corrected, but I think Bill may have a stronger view on this. The phase response in particular is unlikely to sound better, unless of course the cabs have been designed to work together. I would expect that the improvements often ascribed to mixing cabs are far more likely to be the result of lifting the top cab closer to the ears. It would be interesting to check this out at a bash but I never seem to get to one.[/quote] I'm sorry but you obviously don't understand what I'm saying. The human ear is not at all sensitive to absolute phase response - it is completely immaterial. Frequency response is a vector with both magnitude and phase. When summing output it has to be done as a vector calculation with complex numbers, resulting in a total magnitude and phase response (though you can ignore the resulting phase, magnitude is all that matters). If this sum results in a more appealing response to your ears whilst still achieving a reasonable gain in sensitivity through increased radiation impedance then I don't believe it matters in the slightest how you've mixed your speaker/cab sizes/designs etc. Alex

[quote name='ianrunci' post='243922' date='Jul 20 2008, 05:10 PM']Whets science got to do with anything. this is music your sound is different from his sound is different from my sound etc etc. Who is to say which sound is better. Is mark kings sound better than some of the old mowtown tunes, possibly if you like mark kings sound Its all subjective to personal taste, you can add math until your head explodes but it wont make your sound better to my ears than mine whether your using a laney head or a boutique head with gold knobs on. heh heh[/quote] Ian, I'm agreeing with you dammit! Re-read my post! Alex

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='243893' date='Jul 20 2008, 04:41 PM']No it is a scientific fact, ask any acoustic engineer. That people say they get a great sound despite this scientific fact - thats personal opinion.[/quote] I think you're oversimplifying this. Although you cannot easily predict how non-matching cabs will combine this does not mean that they cannot sound good. It is feasible for the differences in frequency response, both magnitude and phase, once combined, to result in a more balanced sound when using two non-matching cabs compared to using two of either model. But its not predictable and needs testing on case by case basis. The scientific fact is that you don't need a combination of small speakers (usually 10"s) and big speakers (usually 15"s) to get both treble, mids and bottom in a nice balanced way, so it would be nice if old wives tales along these lines ended. But to make a blanket statement that you should never mix speaker sizes if said speakers do not have a full crossover to split the frequency spectrum between them is to spread yet more disinformation - it is not scientific fact. Alex