alexclaber

[quote name='steve-soar' post='238112' date='Jul 12 2008, 06:33 PM']Alex, where did you get the rack ears for your U5? That gig looks like the Albion in Brighton. [/quote] I got them from the US supplier when I bought the U5. Not cheap but kind of essential! The gig was the Hare & Hounds which looks similar on the outside too to the Albion - it's a cool place to play, good vibe and with our big Vistalite kit it's nice to run relatively acoustic, just vocals and sax through PA. [quote name='ste_m3' post='238289' date='Jul 13 2008, 01:06 AM']I imagined you to be a wittering old man in real life Alex! I do look forward to hearing one of your cabs sometime soon. Id have to agree on a tolex cover as my covering of choice, with painted being my least favorite. although thats purely based on aesthetics[/quote] Well I'm entering my 4th decade in a few weeks... My guitarist is the relative old man of the band - he'd just got back from his son's first gig so we hadn't even had time for a soundcheck! I know I can be prone to wittering in person but I thought I was a lot blunter online. Obviously I'm still too tolerant... From 10 feet away I wonder if you can tell the difference between textured paint and tolex? Alex

And here it is in action! Alex

[quote name='cheddatom' post='237489' date='Jul 11 2008, 05:49 PM']I still find that this is enhanced more when there is a variety in the clean tone i.e a thin trebly clean tone for a verse, and a massive big bottom tone for a chorus makes the world of difference. Some will say that they can make this kind of contrast by using just their fingers, but I remain sceptical (but open minded).... ...The contrast that YOU hear when playing a bit lighter/harder with/without a pick over the bridge/neck is pretty much negligable by the time it gets to the ears of the audience...[/quote] If your hands can't get that shift in tone between verse and chorus then either you're not trying hard enough or your gear isn't good enough. Come and hear us play. I guarantee that what I'm doing drives and shifts the vibe just as well as when I used tons of pedals. The great thing about doing all this with your hands - and in my case the odd switch of pickups (neck/series/parallel/bridge) or tweak of passive tone knob - is its very intuitive and thus natural and musical. Of course I don't just change the simplistic static tone, I'm also varying the note envelope through muting and attack differences and also hugely varying both the dynamics and my timing vs the beat. There very few bassists that can control a pedalboard as intuitively as I'm controlling my sound. Just curious, how do you change your sound without pedals, what do you do? Maybe you're missing a trick there, I know I used to when I was effects-laden. Alex

Gigged The Compact last night and it was awesome! As we didn't have PA support except for vocals/sax I used preshape 1 on the Avalon to add a wodge of bottom. Very clean fat sound, warm yet clear and tight etc etc. Amazing what a really nice 15" can do on its own. Used one side of the PLX 3002 into it, which is 550W real watts. Looking forward to getting the finish on and then starting on the first of The Big Ones. Alex

[quote name='cheddatom' post='237420' date='Jul 11 2008, 04:10 PM']...if I was an aspiring singer song writer looking to put together an original sounding band...[/quote] Not to blow my own trumpet but I am an aspiring singer songwriter who has put together an original sounding band and my bass playing totally drives the music and live I don't use any effects. When I've worked with other songwriters I've come up with subhooks, textural, feel and dynamic changes that all significantly contribute to their music if not also justify a writing credit. And I can do that with just a bass plugged into a desk, nothing more. That's not to say I don't sometimes say "I need Big Muff" but it isn't that often! Comparing a jazz bassist to a song oriented keyboardist is apples and oranges. What about a song oriented bassist with a session mentality? The vast majority of them do what they do with little more than a handful of basses! Alex

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='237344' date='Jul 11 2008, 02:45 PM']Another silly question arising from the same source - what happend if you put a low output head (say 150 watts) through a bigger cab (say 400 watts). Will it still work? I have only ever bought 'packages' and never mixed and matched.[/quote] It really scares me that a man with such a large bunch of vegetables could be asking this question! You can use any power ouput amp with any power handling cab. If any of these combinations makes bad sounds then turn down and/or stop cranking the bass EQ excessively or damage may occur. Simple. Alex

[quote name='cheddatom' post='237357' date='Jul 11 2008, 02:56 PM']In what way? What point is that?[/quote] We use our instrument to deliver the music. We are part of it. The sound of the instrument (whatever it may be) is totally subservient to the sound of the music. If your bass that is delivering exactly the same tone for every note it plays yet is still fulfilling its role perfectly then it doesn't matter that the tone is a constant. Conversely if you can drive the vibe/emotion/groove/feel/attitude/dynamics of your band and its music through just using a bass and amp with no EQ or effects then why is that not good, and why on earth would a keyboardist be better? I can see why you personally might need lots of effects for your band and I know its something I've done in the past, and may well do in the future, but I'm currently nailing my bass sounds without any effects and getting very varied vibes from my playing through how I play. A non-bassist may think I'm just making the same sound all the time but they'll definitely feel how the vibe of the music shifts of which much is down to those allegedly pointless (not so) subtleties of how I'm playing. Alex

[quote name='cheddatom' post='237334' date='Jul 11 2008, 02:32 PM']Obviously each bassist will have their own sound, and their own idea of how to get there. I am a little worried by the sheer amount of people who like to have just one sound i.e their bass, their amp, and maybe 1 pedal or something. This - "I change my tone using my fingers/pickdynamics/left hand etc" is what the audience couldn't give a sh*t about, they'll never hear any difference. They will notice a different if you have two drastically different EQ pedals, or a monstrous fuzz tone, or an octave pedal etc etc. I think that bassists need to get more inventive with their sound or risk being replaced by keyboard players (apart from pub-covers bands obviously)[/quote] I think you are totally missing the point. I mean TOTALLY! Alex

[quote name='chris_b' post='237305' date='Jul 11 2008, 01:40 PM']Very true, but then I'd have just said NO to the original question.[/quote] I'm not intending to offend anyone, I'm just saying that 9mm ply is really rather difficult to work with. The designs will work and be a much easier build in 12.5mm ply but I don't want to have to redo all the measurements! I'm sure Clauster is good enough to build these cabs but I bet he'll have to make a few before he gets one he's happy with, just as I did. If you want to build a similar cab seek out Greenboy's fEarful plans on talkbass and work out a crossover for yourself (if you dare ) or biamp. Alex

[quote name='clauster' post='236068' date='Jul 9 2008, 09:03 PM']Alex, I know you're producing some cabs for sale, but do you plan to sell plans at all?[/quote] I don't think so. One of the key elements to these designs is the particularly thin plywood and getting that to perform well takes really precise jointing and however detailed the plans were I forsee numerous disasters for anyone building one of these for the first time! Alex

Gear-wise, yep. Playing-wise there are always more subtleties to work on but few that anyone other than me would notice. Alex

Superfly and Shaft, obviously! And more recently, O Brother Where Art Thou Alex

[quote name='SJA' post='237150' date='Jul 11 2008, 10:50 AM']he's less than complimentary about this interview on his myspace blog- [url="http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=62717976&blogID=413882144"]http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...logID=413882144[/url][/quote] I thought much the same but couldn't be bothered saying anything. The interviewers in BGM have a long way to go before they produce articles anywhere near the quality of BP's. I bought an issue of BGM about a year ago and noticed that the most common interview question was "do you prefer 4 or 5 strings"? Why not ask them their shoe size whilst they're at it... Also all the technical info is even more inaccurate than that produced by BP. Alex

I'd like to see someone resurrect the EA 3x10" design but in a lighter format. 5.3 ohms is a perfectly sensible nominal impedance for a cab, treat it as a 4 ohm cab that's a little easier on the amp. I don't like these designs that achieve a 4 or 8 ohm impedance through strange series/parallel connections and mixed impedance woofers because you get uneven power distribution. The Berg 6x10" uses 24 ohm drivers to get 4 ohm impedance, I presume the 3x10" uses 12 ohm ones likewise. Alex

Endorsements, riders and really nice PA systems. How much does your cab matter when you have a full-size PA? Alex

Some of the TE cabs are definitely made of MDF which makes for an incredibly heavy cab if its going to be roadworthy! Nicely non-resonant though. Alex

Is that a +1 to everything or do you understand what I'm saying about the handles? I have a number of ideas to ensure the paint keys very solidly. If that still isn't sufficient then I may take the approach of using edging strip to protect the vulnerable parts which would also make a carpet covering easy. Part of me suspects that as ever it's those that disagree that are speaking up and those that agree are staying quiet - the amount of derogatory comments towards 'ratfur' across bass forums over the last five years is too much for me to believe that a majority still want carpet. Of course the real upside of carpet is the lower weight - I still prefer how a textured paint can be easily touched up or repainted to take the cab back to looking brand new. Am also wondering about a 2x3015LF plus 6ND410 as a way louder than an 8x10" but lighter than a 4x10" beast. But maybe I shouldn't encourage such silly stage volumes! Alex

AJ's solo two thirds of the way through this tune from Callé 54 is rather nice: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EcxC5AgnPU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EcxC5AgnPU[/url] Alex

I have an ethical problem with all of Behringer's gear but at least most of it is a tolerable rip-off of something decent. Their speakers are another kettle of fish - I can't think of a single redeeming characteristic. Poor tone, poor power handling, heavy, poor durability, poor resale value. Buy a secondhand Peavey or something! Alex

If I were you I'd get down to some writing and gradually try to put a band together. I spent a good few years trying to get things happening but finally ended up with a great line-up that meshes really well and is gathering momentum. I have lost count of how many people I auditioned/jammed/gigged with enroute. I'm sure you could easily produce complete music on your own - take some time out from the scene and do some music just how you want it, then use that to get a new live project rolling. Alex

[quote name='BassBunny' post='234072' date='Jul 7 2008, 12:24 PM']From talking to Mike, before I ordered my cabs, the secret appears to be in the ply he uses. It is the same stuff TechAmp use for their enclosures and as well as being very light and stiff, is bloody expensive. Apparently each consignment is costing Mike £1K.[/quote] Ah ok, probably some kind of poplar/okoumé composite. Much easier to get a light cab that way, far less labour involved though you can't get quite the structural integrity of a heavily braced cab. I think Epifani were using similar stuff before they recently changed (and their cabs gained loads of weight). Alex

Very interesting to see these Zoot cabs - I wonder how they've solved the problems of getting a stiff enough enclosure when making it so light? I know it's taken me a lot of work to get my Barefaced Bass designs to perform well. Alex

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='234006' date='Jul 7 2008, 10:54 AM'][b]I blame the guy that invented 'tabulation'. [/b][/quote] Probably a 14th century Italian. I guess if I had to name one it would be Mark King though only because he's influenced a whole generation of Brits who think all that tinkly bottom-shy thwackery is how you play funk... But that's not his fault, he himself says he's not a like a real funk bassist laying it down but almost like a jazz drummer in his approach. Alex

Almost got the first of The Compacts finished. I'm really pleased that I've been able to not only brace all the panels with plywood ribs but also have run tensioned braces between each panel which further increases the rigidity. I suspect this cab is now stiffer and has less bad resonances than the vast majority of heavyweight cabs let alone the current lightweight ones available. Alex

Blaming great bassists for having a negative effect on the myriad talentless hacks is akin to blaming Stirling Moss for boy racers. Alex