alexclaber

[quote name='argle' post='618469' date='Oct 6 2009, 12:50 PM']Any reason for specifically looking at Peavey stuff: just because they're cheap[/quote] Cheap, loud, reliable and quite gnarly sounding when you push them. I wouldn't be surprised if a TNT115 does a great job! Alex

It's that kind of bass playing that's so solid you can turn it up and up without ever taking over the mix. Big notes in just the right places. He's really working the note lengths and using pickup ghost notes to make it pulse. Alex

[quote name='Mr.T' post='618390' date='Oct 6 2009, 11:28 AM']Have you tested the response of the LM2?[/quote] I haven't yet but I've seen plots taken by others. However come next week I should have a whole library of amp measurements! Alex

[quote name='chris_b' post='618332' date='Oct 6 2009, 10:49 AM']A grand day out, if you ask me!![/quote] An emergency cheese finding mission?! Alex

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='616876' date='Oct 4 2009, 09:31 PM']The Barefaced Vintage would also probably be happy. Ridiculously loud.[/quote] It's about time one of these got used with a big valve amp - that's what it was designed for! Alex

I just hope it doesn't fit with my theory that mint condition vintage instruments are the ones that didn't sound great and so didn't get used! Looks very nice though. Alex

[quote name='Mr.T' post='618289' date='Oct 6 2009, 10:28 AM']I personally wouldn't describe the LM2 as 'hi-fi', I think it is quite a dark amp, but it does lack grit.[/quote] If you're using to amps that have an in-built boost in the highs then it might sound dark in comparison, but really it's just near flat across the board. Similarly my Avalon U5 sounds dark compared to my old SWR Grand Prix - but play a CD through it into some studio monitors and you realise that what comes out equals what goes in. Alex

I'd try some overdrive pedals and then you can use almost any rig. The Fulltone BassDrive is excellent yet is somewhat out of fashion amongst FX aficonados so you can probably pick one of them up cheap. Avoid tweeters on the cab. Those classic grindy shortscale tones don't have much extension in the lows so a surprisingly tiny rig will do the job. P'p'p'pick up a Peavey? Alex

[quote name='Major-Minor' post='617752' date='Oct 5 2009, 06:17 PM']But where did you find the term ?[/quote] I've been using it for ages so I can't remember! Maybe I just extrapolated it from triad? Having googled it it doesn't appear to be in common usage but it is referred to here: [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyad_(music)"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyad_(music)[/url] The spelling is due to the Greek root. I think I use it rather than double-stop because double-stop really feels only suitable for stringed instruments because it relates to how the notes are stopped (i.e. fretted) so if you use open strings or a piano then it's not really a double 'stop'. Here's great double-stop tune: (First ones 47 sec in). Alex

[quote name='BB2000' post='617732' date='Oct 5 2009, 06:03 PM']I guess you mean you wouldn't normally measure the THD of an amplifier without disabling any limiter circuitry.[/quote] Well I meant that you can't measure the power of an amp (for which you have to measure the increasing THD with voltage and thus specify the power delivered at the maximum voltage where the amp meets your required maximum THD) without disabling the limiter because on some amps the limiter kicks in a lot sooner than you'd expect. For instance according to Genz the limiter on the Shuttles starts acting at ~2dB below max power, which equates to ~380W into 4 ohms. What clouds the issue even further is that if two amps are producing the same power output the one with higher THD will sound louder... Alex

Difficult - as it's a serial jack it really needs an identical cab to perform well. First thing I'd do is see how using acoustics in your favour can help (wall/corner reinforcement for more lows, pointing speakers at head for more mid/treble), and also coax your guitarist to thin their sound out a bit. Alex

[quote name='Major-Minor' post='617634' date='Oct 5 2009, 04:38 PM']Just what you would expect from the great Laurence Cottle - bass guitar playing at its very best ! Thanks for that Alex.[/quote] I was only half-listening to Woman's Hour but that certainly got my full attention! To those just starting out with chords, have a go at root/fifth/octave power chords* (actually they're diads not chords). Take a rock song where you'd be playing something simple on the roots, go up twelve frets and fret power chords whilst strumming with your right hand (I use the tops of my finger and thumbnails but a pick will work just as well). Then send your second guitarist home on account of redundancy... Alex

I may be there and I may bring some cabs! Alex

[quote name='jonny-lad' post='617584' date='Oct 5 2009, 04:03 PM']Isn't one of the main benefits of a rear port that the port doesn't take up any space on the front of the cabinet?...although this doesn't take into account how well designed the cabinet is.[/quote] Yes, much better to put a big port on the back than squeeze an undersized one onto the front. If you look at Acme cabs the 2x10" has dual rear ports because there's no space on the front. The 4x10" has three ports, two on the back, one on the front because there's some spare space on the baffle. The 1x10" has one port which is on the side because there's no space on the front and if it was on the back there would be enough box depth with the port colliding with the back of the driver. Two things really matter with a port - how it's tuned (which is decision based upon the driver, enclosure size and target performance) and if it has enough cross-sectional area to handle full power without output compression, chuffing (air noises) or phase shift. There is one other detail which I'll cover below... [quote name='jonny-lad' post='617584' date='Oct 5 2009, 04:03 PM']Having said that, I've heard plenty of rear ported cabinets that I like the sound of, like the Bag End 1x15 that is really compact and seems to just have a circular hole cut in the back right behind the speaker with no tubing.[/quote] Great cab, bizarre porting! If you place a port directly behind a driver you end up with midrange energy escaping through the port, which when reflected by a back wall will recombine with the direct output from the driver out of phase causing ragged response. The Bag End 15" exhibits a big change in sound depending on where it is placed vs walls. I'm actually looking to place the port in a hi-fi cab on the top... Alex

Raise the bridge pickup as high as it can go without causing string warble or pole piece collisions, then adjust the neck pickup to match the volume. Bear in mind that heavy use of EQ will throw the pickup balance off. But as Ste says, you should be able to get your slap sound unplugged. Alex

This morning on Radio 4 Claire Martin performed a tune accompanied by Laurence Cottle on bass guitar in a chordal tour de force - not a good place to start but shows you far bass guitar can go! [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/01/2009_40_mon.shtml"]http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/01/2009_40_mon.shtml[/url] The song starts about 6 1/2 minutes into the 'listen again' link. Alex

[quote name='Sibob' post='617469' date='Oct 5 2009, 02:33 PM']It will sell for as much as someone wants to pay for it.[/quote] And shipping to Oz is not cheap, hence everything costs more there. Alex

[quote name='obbm' post='617458' date='Oct 5 2009, 02:27 PM']Just personal experience with the pair of Ashdown Mini 4x8s I had 6 years ago. Fine indoors, especially in front of a wall. Useless outdoors in the middle of a stage. That's why I sold them.[/quote] That's simply because those cabs don't have much ability to move air (cone area x excursion) and therefore really need the boundary reinforcement to cope. Common problem - amplifying bass outdoors is tough! Alex

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='617425' date='Oct 5 2009, 01:58 PM']With a poorly designed rear-ported cab there is the possibility for slight cancellation, which basically means it's gonna have a lower SPL within a certain frequency range than a front ported equivalent.[/quote] What's your thinking behind this? Alex

[quote name='obbm' post='617362' date='Oct 5 2009, 01:06 PM']Except when you're playing outdoors old boy, when your LF content disappears into the field behind you.[/quote] No, that's completely wrong! All cabs lose bottom when outdoors, wherever their ports are located or if they're sealed or horn or bandpass etc. LF output is omnidirectional due to the large wavelength vs source size. Alex

[quote name='51m0n' post='617328' date='Oct 5 2009, 12:46 PM']Well to a point I agree with Alex, However a rear port does rely on a certain amount of space behind the box to work well - if you work in small venues alot and squeeze you cab right against a back wall the a rear port can suffer as a result....[/quote] A rear port only needs a port diameter behind it to work well and most heavy-duty speakon cables force you to give the cab that much clearance at the back - literally only 3" or 4" is required for the vast majority of cabs. [quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='617342' date='Oct 5 2009, 12:53 PM']Fairly sure putting the port on the botom is going to fail the implementation bit automatically.[/quote] With feet of the correct height you get a lower tuning with less internal port volume. I've seen this used on one nice DIY bass rig. Alex

[quote name='umph' post='617332' date='Oct 5 2009, 12:47 PM']what have you had the oportunity to pick up? i don't think you should completely bin the idea if you marketed it right it could work, i.e super loud, big bass response and lots of speaker break up(for doom guys)[/quote] Lots of Eminence guitar drivers - about twenty different models. Hence no idea where to start! Alex

[quote name='fenderiko' post='617279' date='Oct 5 2009, 12:21 PM']can any of you tell me the difference in sound between rear port amps and front port ? ? ?[/quote] Assuming its correctly implemented, then it doesn't matter whether the port is on the front, back, side, bottom, etc. Alex

If I made guitar cabs (as opposed to guitar modelling cabs) they would use traditional high colouration speakers because so much of guitar tone is in what they do (or fail to do!), but I'd combine them with advanced lightweight enclosures so you'd get the same tone but without the weight penalty (and probably better dispersion). I've an opportunity to pick up a load of guitar drivers cheap but I think I'll have to let that pass as I've really only touched the surface of guitar speakers and don't want to end up with lots of the wrong model! Alex

Yes, I play them loads. It just takes practice - start with double-stops and work up from there. I'm using double-stops against pedal tones in the verse on this song and then in the second (skanking) section I'm playing power chords on the unison riffs. (Excuse the awful vocals and pre-song prattling...) Because bass guitar notes are so big (they contain lots of lower overtones) chords are best thinned out to their essential colour tones - fifths often cause mud in triads or extended chords. Alex