alexclaber

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='592842' date='Sep 8 2009, 12:58 PM']They're set so they're good out front.[/quote] But that's only working when you being careful and controlled during the soundcheck, it's all changing once the gig starts and the volume escalates. Set the volumes so it feels right and work the FOH around it. And if your onstage level is so loud that you totally screw up the FOH sound then you need to change the SPL you rehearse at. What's your guitarist playing through? Where does he stand vs it? Alex

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='592824' date='Sep 8 2009, 12:49 PM']This is the problem I've got. We soundcheck, levels are set (even if they feel weird to us)[/quote] Don't set your levels so they feel weird then! Alex

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='592798' date='Sep 8 2009, 12:25 PM']Our rehearsal place is larger than most, perhaps 20m x 10m, but we shouldn't need plugs (though I do often wear them) because we don't need to rehearse at performance volume.[/quote] If you rehearse with a drummer using sticks then you need earplugs. Alex

I'll be very interested to see the results of this! Often excessive loudness is due to everyone standing in non-ideal place relative to their amps. Point the guitarist's amp right at his ears and he'll soon turn down. Give the drummer lighter sticks and keep the amps away from him, especially the bass amp. If you record your band with a single mic, is the kick drum loud enough when unmiked? Many drummers are too loud with their hands and their right foot can't keep up. EQ the instruments so they leave each other space - frequency slotting is essential. If your bandmates have been gigging for years without earplugs then their hearing is doubtless less than 100% which means more struggling to discern sounds and more turning up of themselves. Which equals more hearing damage and so on... Alex

If the amp really is producing 250W into 8 ohms and 500W into 4 ohms, then your current 15" woofer is getting as much power at it can handle without over-excursion. There are very few 4 ohm 15"s on the market and none that I can think of at an affordable price that can handle over 250W cleanly. Bear in mind that knob position and output power do not correlate. There are 100W amps that are as loud as 1000W amps at equal knob settings, but the 1000W amp can be turned up more and more. The only way of knowing how powerful an amp really is is to turn it up until it starts clipping/limiting. The LG amps do appear to be quiet for their ratings which suggests that some liberties have been taken with the latter. Pro audio power amps are rated to strict standards, whilst when comparing bass amps you might be comparing one 500W amp that produces that 500W @ 5% THD for a 10ms burst whilst another 500W amp might produce its 500W @ 0.1% THD and be able to sustain that power continuously. If the second amp was rated according to the less stringent specs then it might turn out to be 1200W @ 5% THD for a 10ms burst. BIG difference. Alex

[quote name='51m0n' post='592174' date='Sep 7 2009, 03:45 PM']Sounds similar to the ply in Markbass and Epifani cabs. Conversely the Berg AE series use thinner material to lose weight (and Neo drivers natch).[/quote] From what I know of Markbass and Epifani UL Series 1 they are/were using poplar ply, not a dual density composite. I think the new Epifani DIST cabs have gone to thin baltic birch and more bracing. Not sure what the AE use, they've certainly gone to thinner ply. Compared to all their drivers mine are about 2lb heavier per twelve due to the larger motors but you get another 3dB or so of max output in compensation! Alex

[quote name='davidmpires' post='592160' date='Sep 7 2009, 03:30 PM']How light/thin can you go until you start to affect the durability and the strenght of the cab? The wood is put through so much presure inside. I'm sure one can only go so thin...[/quote] We haven't gone any thinner, we've gone to a special ply with harder denser outer plies and less dense softer inner plies, with markedly reduced voids. I've wanted to use something like this from the start but it required quite a bit of investment. I wouldn't want to go any thinner as the next size down is a lot thinner percentage-wise and the amount of bracing you'll have to add will offset the amount of weight you'd save on the panels. With plywood construction I don't believe it'll be possible to save any noticeable weight compared to the new cabs. A cheaper neo driver could save some weight but it'll cost you on performance. My guess is a 15% total weight saving - I'll verify this when I find my scales... Alex

Note that the port in the Big One has similar csa to a 9" diameter round port, two 6" ports or three 5" ports. Alex

If you have lots of space then a single large flared round port is ideal. It's important though that you minimise the amount of midrange energy (see BagEnd S15-D for a great cab with a silly port) escaping through the port, which limits your location choices. I'm also convinced that unless your ports are huge that putting them behind a grill is a bad idea. There is an argument that a slot port is less likely than a large round port to go turbulent if it's sized correctly, due to the reduction in airspeed differences across the cross-section. I'm digging back into my degree-level fluid mechanics here, on which I'm somewhat rusty. One thing that is rather disappointing about ports is that wherever they're positioned they completely fail to act as a cooling mechanism for the enclosure. The only way you can get them to provide cooling is make them so small that the have very high speed turbulent air flow, which totally defeats the object! I guess you could put the port on top of a sub to encourage warm air to rise from the enclosure but that'll reduce the beneficial effects of floor coupling as the enclosure gets larger. Bass Gear Magazine has had impedance and response plots in its first three issues and I've learnt a lot about the competition's driver choices, cab alignments and port sizing. What's fascinating is how some cabs seem very well designed whilst others are clearly just a case of cross your fingers and hope for the best, and there's almost no correlation between what you pay and whether best practices have been followed. Bizarre! Alex

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='591998' date='Sep 7 2009, 11:19 AM']That should absolutely be an option. [/quote] Tempted though I'm sure some would be to spend £2K+ on a single bass cab, I don't want Mastercard and Visa to have the opportunity to earn so much interest off over-stretched bassists! Right now I'm pretty certain I've hit the sweetspot for cost vs performance. Alex

I find it's much easier with basslines I've written myself, and they can get scarily complicated without it affecting my vocals. I do struggle to sing and play reggae, I think because the bassline is more like playing a tune against the drums than grooving with them. I also find that my body plays bass whilst my head and neck sing - and if I can't feel the lows then I find it harder to groove - it's like my ears listen to the vocals whilst the bass is felt through the rest of me, and that's what determines my timing. This was brought home to me when the bass amp at rehearsal broke and I had to have the bass through the vocal PA - I could hear the bass but I couldn't feel it and it was SO much harder to groove and sing simultaneously (though when I wasn't singing I could groove just fine). Strange but true... If you can play the drums or piano it'll help - it's about doing two things at once that though different are complimentary. Alex

[quote name='mildmanofrock' post='591979' date='Sep 7 2009, 10:42 AM']Is the sound quality the same?[/quote] Yes. I could make them lighter still and maintain the tone using more complex composites like foam-core carbon-fibre but that would massively increase the cost (like double or triple it)! Alex

Right, all change here at Barefaced! We've invested in some bespoke composite plywood to lower the weight and increase strength/rigidity of the enclosures, so everything has lost quite a bit of weight. There is a cost implication but I think it's more than worth it. So new prices: Compact £450 Big One £675 Vintage £700 First five Midgets will be £375 (these are with the heavier old ply) Thereafter Midgets will be £425 T'Midget £500 Double Midget £575 T'Double Midget £650 Vintageised look is now standard on the Big One (and the Vintage obviously) with a metal grill a no-cost option. Vintageised look is a no-cost option on all the other cabs. White finish is +£25 Custom finish is +£50 Custom grill cloth is +£25 White metal grill is +£25 Custom colour metal grill is +£50 Alex

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='590306' date='Sep 5 2009, 12:46 AM']Lots of small ports or one big one? Can see single port is easier to make, any advantage to many?[/quote] Generally more ports equals more friction which equals earlier compression. But it's complicated because the key is to maintain laminar rather than turbulent flow, so shape matters. I've been trying to be diplomatic but sod it, here's two fine examples of how not to do ports: Alex

Try using fewer notes but more rhythmic stuff - mix up short and long notes, rests, syncopations, accents. When you go for a fill think more like a drummer doing a kick/snare/hi-hat syncopation rather than a tom roll. Alex

The amount and quality of speakers you use will have far more bearing on your loudness than the number of watts your amp is rated at. The loudness you'll need depends hugely on your bandmates - moronic guitarists could literally increase your power needs tenfold (which will only double your loudness). Poor tonal choices and technique on your own part can also eat power. Volume wars are bad! Play together. Alex

[quote name='Musicman20' post='590047' date='Sep 4 2009, 07:16 PM']Dont let people say a 4x10 isnt necessary.[/quote] I don't believe that's what they're saying, seems to be more the suggestion that for someone stating "as for cabs, I have no clue where to go" then tying themself into exclusively one speaker configuration is short-sighted. Alex

[quote name='Zach' post='507403' date='Jun 7 2009, 10:24 AM']I was just wondering if you knew the reasons behind the strange arrangement for both the tuners and tail piece, since I'm guessing it's more than aesthetics.[/quote] The tuners were Robbie's idea - they look cool and allow a nice break angle over the nut. The tailpiece was an evolution of Robbie's fishtail design - I didn't want the fishtail but I liked the concept of embedding the tailpiece in the body for maximum transfer of resonance. I also wanted the bass to have two points that it could stand on as I don't tend to use stands, so that would stop it falling over. Plus as my bass is a 36" scale I wanted the bridge as close to the end of the body as possible to keep the overall length down. Robbie tweaked my initial idea and that's how it came out. Looks even better in person! The 'baby sister' is looking great! Alex

I'd take them along and compare. I've never really understood straplocks but I gather some people take their strap off their bass when they put it in their gigbag - I'd be just as happy with a screw and a damned big washer. Alex

My '87 Warwick has had Schallers on it from new. Even if the straplock screws are smaller than the original screws that's an easy fix with a matchstick or two! Alex

[quote name='chris_b' post='589295' date='Sep 4 2009, 12:27 AM']Only goes to show that money and taste don't necessarily go together![/quote] Is David Hasselhoff still in fashion over there? Alex

Does 'the dirt keeps the funk' still apply? Alex

[quote name='Hot Tub' post='589255' date='Sep 3 2009, 11:25 PM']*Feeling:- Alien concept to anyone who listens to (or plays) jazz, or anything written after 1976[/quote] It seems that song was first released in late '79, which explains a lot... Alex

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='589754' date='Sep 4 2009, 03:18 PM']Strings feel tighter at the first fret than they do at the 7th fret and, as I said [b]IMO[/b], the tone is better up the neck.[/quote] Well to be pernickety the change in feel depends on the nut height, relief and action, plus the change in tension across the gauges/tunings. And is the tone really better per se, or is it just more to your taste for that situation with that bass? I realise you used the reliable IMO get out clause but if the tone was consistently better a string down and five frets up, then why don't all those five string players who say they don't really use the lower notes just play 26" scale basses, tuned E-C with standard 5-string gauges? Alex

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='589577' date='Sep 4 2009, 12:24 PM']... and being able to play songs in F/F#/G etc further up the neck where the string tension is lower and IMO the tone is better.[/quote] Tension depends on gauges and doesn't vary up and down each string. And the tone is different, not better. But that does give you another tonal option which can only be a good thing. Alex