alexclaber

I just won one of these from Bass Player magazine... So, what do I think? It seems sturdily built, it's smaller than you'd expect considering the knob count, it's relatively easy to use considering the number of controls. The bypass switching seems very clean, as does the dry side of the blend. Very low noise too. It's quite inherently harsh sounding, like a kind of toothy fuzz, though obviously with all that EQ you can warp it considerably. It certainly leans more towards my Big Muff than my BassDrive. The blend control would probably appeal to lots of other bassists, however after a lot of fiddling and not loving what I heard I turned the blend to 100% wet and there were the sounds I was looking for! It seems I prefer to have an absolutely clean, open and uncompressed sound or a heavily compressed and distorted sound, and I play the instrument differently with the latter. The switchable frequency midrange cut and boost, treble cut and boost and torch switch, all allow you to shift where the dominant fuzz sound sits, which makes it quite a chameleon - every other distortion pedal I've used has done its thing in one particular way. I don't think it'll be coming out on any gigs with me for the moment, not unless I write something that is fuzzcentric. But without obsessing over the very finest details (which you won't hear in the mix anyway) I would say that this pedal can get pretty much every distorted sound under the sun. It ain't pretty but it is clever. Alex

It is very rare for an amp to have insufficient gain to reach full volume even with a very quiet bass. The only way you'll get a 35W bass amp to be heard over a drummer is by sticking the amp in the corner of the room for maximum bass reinforcement, cut back your lows, add midrange, and give the drummer hotrods or very light sticks. Gain and volume (or more accurately Sound Pressure Level) are two very different things. It works like this: Movement of strings due to plucking generate peak voltage of 1V in the pickups. This goes to preamp part of amp which adds, say, 5x gain, with the knobs at 12 o'clock. Thus the voltage is now 5V. This goes to the power amp section which adds gain of say, another 5x, with the knobs at 12 o'clock. The voltage is now 25V. This power amp is driving an 8 ohm load. 25V into 8 ohms equals (25x25)/8=78W. Now, say this amp has a maximum output of 100W. This means its maximum voltage output is 28V. Let's say that if you turn the preamp gain to max you get 10x gain. Let's say that if you turn the power amp gain to max you get 10x gain. This means that the amplifier has a maximum gain of 100x. So if you put your 1V signal in the amp will try to put 100V out - BUT IT CAN'T because the maximum voltage output is only 28V. If you put a preamp or booster in front of the amp you might be able to put 10V into the preamp but you still won't be able to get more than 28V out of the power amp. If an amp is not loud enough, no amount of louder effects pedals, outboard preamps, pickups, will make it louder. There is one thing that will make it louder and that is more sensitive speakers, or simply MORE speakers! The more sensitive the speakers the more dB SPL out you will get for the voltage in. So if you were to plug the power amp output of your little 35W combo into a very large efficient speaker cab or two (like a BFM DR280 on top of a Titan 48) then you would actually get enough volume to easily keep up with a drummer. But you wouldn't want to have to move that... Alex

[quote name='Rich' post='39045' date='Jul 30 2007, 04:14 PM']You've gotta be brutal. Just apply two criteria... 1)are you likely to use it, and 2)are you really actually sentimentally attached to it. If not, flog it, and ignore any thoughts of "yeah but it's nice to have around"... It's the only way to shift things.[/quote] Exactly! I'm thus stable at ~1 rig (two cabs but one rack), ~1 bass (fretless on longterm loan, custom in process), ~1 FX pedal (just won a Blowtorch, my other 4 are with my guitarist). Everything else is with a new owner and is hopefully getting used. And my bank balance is a lot more cheerful than it once was... I swear the more gear you have, the harder it gets to make music! Alex

[quote name='ARGH' post='38033' date='Jul 28 2007, 07:52 AM']You have outdone yourself there Alex,I thought 'Positional playing on an ERB is laziness' was the pinnicle,but hats off.....I applaud.[/quote] Once again, my point was that where you play a note should be determined by the sound you need balanced against how well you play that note (i.e. can you get to and from it without overstretching your technique). Playing in position with complete disregard to certain notes sounding better elsewhere on the neck is laziness. [quote name='ARGH' post='38033' date='Jul 28 2007, 07:52 AM']Ok,Take your pickups out and the electronics and see how far you get on your next gig.[/quote] All my songwriting and home practice is done unplugged. The pickups allow me to amplify the instrument to live volumes but they are amplifying the acoustic tone of the instrument filtered through their particular view of the instrument, just like a mic on a double bass. Nothing is absolute in luthiery but everything matters - in fact you've said that yourself. Yet you then contradict yourself by claiming it is just the player, the scale length, and the electronics. For those who want a fuller understanding of your stance, maybe they should read this interview with Carl Thompson: [url="http://www.ctbasses.com/CTinterview.html"]http://www.ctbasses.com/CTinterview.html[/url] Alex

New TallBoy Omni 15 now online: [url="http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/Omni15.html"]http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/Omni15.html[/url] Alex

[quote name='ARGH' post='37524' date='Jul 26 2007, 08:43 PM']a little bearing,but not as much as is made out. What are the strings pressing on? Metal frets. ok I'll give you fretless has a lot more to do with wood,but thats personal choice,what one man likes another hates.. All you are wanting a neck to do is remain stable,so it keeps true and the string stays in tune,if it looks good then you have a bonus. Scale changes sound,because that physics,electronics change sound....active vs passive..tone controls..boost/cut etc. I just find this kinda funny.....[/quote] It's all very well talking down to us as though we're impressed by the emperor's new clothes but your overly simplistic view leaves your position untenable. Spend some more time thinking about what's really happening in the very complex feedback system that is a stringed instrument, be it acoustic or electric, and then you'll see that it is not just scale length that changes sound 'because that physics' (sic) but also instrument construction. What happens to the energy introduced into the system when you pluck the string? I agree that the most important thing is how the individual plays the instrument, and that pickup location, aperture and construction have a huge bearing on tone, but the electric bass is first and foremost an acoustic instrument. Alex

[quote name='ARGH' post='37143' date='Jul 26 2007, 07:32 AM']Its Hokum... Just use good wood.[/quote] So you're saying that the massive variation in stiffness, hardness, self-damping, density, and so on, between different species of wood has no bearing on how the string vibrates? Alex

[quote name='MoJ' post='37005' date='Jul 25 2007, 08:32 PM']The new TE 1528 is 77 lbs so is comparable.[/quote] Ah, the old TE cabs were made of MDF and weighed a ton, easily as much as a 410TVX [quote name='MoJ' post='37005' date='Jul 25 2007, 08:32 PM']Is it just easier to wait for the plans[/quote] Definitely! All I did was bodge Bill's sketchup model into a new arrangement to illustrate my idea. The series inductor in the woofer lowpass filter needs to be pretty heavy gauge - like this: [url="http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&PartNumber=255-116"]http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.c...tNumber=255-116[/url] Alex

I've always liked Michael Tobias's way of describing the tonal effects of different woods: "A wenge neck and board add compression and focus to the speaking voice of the bass. A maple neck and rosewood board is more open and slightly warmer than a maple neck and maple board. Ebony on maple is very quick in its response with lots of snap. I have been trying ash as a neck material and found it to be leaning towards wenge but more open." I agree! Alex

I cannot imagine any 4x10" being heavy enough to make a TE 2x15" appear light in comparison! Alex

Do my eyes deceive me or are most of those fretboards 36" scale? Alex

[quote name='Bigwan' post='35966' date='Jul 23 2007, 03:45 PM']...getting an ACME is awkward (importing)...[/quote] Not really. You just buy it direct from them as usual, they post it to the UK and when it arrives you pay a tax bill of about 20-25% to HM Customs. With USD/GBP above 2.00 on the high street, the exchange rate makes the cabs extremely good value even once import costs are included. Alternatively, if you can DIY the Omni 15 tallboy is an appealing choice. Alex

Could we wiki these stickies? Alex

A London bassist I know uses an AI Focus and Epifani UL-112 for the same reasons, though his tonal needs are skewed towards jazz, funk and reggae. I think you'd be better off with a lightweight head and separate lightweight cab than a combo, even if the latter can be divided. The Walkabout is a nice piece of kit for blues and rock. Maybe you could combine it with a BFM Omni 10.5, as built by Thumper? £220 for a 25lbs 1x10" that goes loud. Alex

Ah, mine is the biggest! Alex

[quote name='walbassuk' post='34242' date='Jul 19 2007, 05:50 PM']...it's just the old vocals getting lost/monitoring thing.[/quote] Ah, that perennial challenge. I've been looking into more feedback resistant mics and have decided to get an Audix OM-5. It's supercardioid so very directional and high gain before feedback. Will report back once I've gigged it. Alex

[quote name='Russ' post='33928' date='Jul 19 2007, 12:16 AM']In retrospect, I'd have gone with a very different wood selection.[/quote] Interesting. What was the wood selection? Alex

Couldn't you just turn your amp up? Overwinding a pickup gets more output but it also increases the inductance and thus lowers the resonant peak and reduces the treble response. Villex and Q-Tuner pickups are both passive but very high output without mud but I don't know how they do it! Alex

Go to [url="http://www.bassplayer.tv/"]http://www.bassplayer.tv/[/url] , go to lessons and click on Bobby Vega. He nails 'Hair' and then goes on to groove your socks off with a myriad of techniques. Badass. Alex

The easiest way to try this out is by using a capo and retuning. A capo at the 1st fret will get you a 32.2" scale length whilst a capo at the 2nd fret will get you 30.3" scale length. Remember to tune all the strings down by one or two semitones to get the right pitches and tension. Alex

Guitarist has finally put most of his parts on! Had a brief listen during rehearsal last night and it sounded good. Has gone straight to saxophonist for him to do his things. Alex

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='30137' date='Jul 11 2007, 08:51 AM']Alex. thanks for that link. so would i get one piece and cut it up in to strips and lay them under the cab with gaps between or do i need to have enough under the cab to form a platform and use a piece of wood to cover it with? Sorry, not really looked in to this before.[/quote] You get one strip and cut it into two pieces with length equal to the width of your cab. Then when setting up your rig you line one strip up underneath the back edge of your cab and one under the front edge. If you're standing really close to your cab just use one strip at the front, either way up, to give you a degree of tilt - just having an edge of the cab touching the ground still gives good mechanical isolation. So much lighter, cheaper and more versatile than a GRAMMA! Alex

Even if the line array part works well - which it should do despite being hideously overpriced - the bass modules are not good. They're a simple bandpass design with low power handling and sensitivity and the usual problems of bandpass subs - best kept for in-car SPL competitions IMO! As ever with Bose, the marketing is brilliant, the engineering less so... Alex

Make sure you can always hear yourself clearly - digging in to get heard tends to be the finger killer. Let the amp do more of the work. Alex

[quote name='Stan_da_man' post='31883' date='Jul 14 2007, 07:18 PM']Well it was his own fault...[/quote] So you're not saying that whoever buys the resulting knocked off gear will be getting 'good sounds for a good price'? [quote name='Stan_da_man' post='31883' date='Jul 14 2007, 07:18 PM']Or do they have to save up more and buy something expensive to make you feel better?[/quote] Not me, you. If you want to buy battery hen eggs too then that's up to you as well. We live in an age where everyone seems to think they're owed something, like they shouldn't have to work for it. And also in an age where everyone wants new things. What happened to working hard, saving up and buying the used gear you can afford? I don't know why Behringer owners take it so personally. Shouldn't you complain to Behringer that their business practices are unethical and that it's unfair for them to take advantage of you by selling equipment whose R&D is knocked off? Caveat emptor. Alex