alexclaber

[quote name='bassace' post='562521' date='Aug 7 2009, 08:32 AM']If for any reason Jakesbass can't make it I'll definitely bring a double bass for anyone to have a try on.[/quote] Alex

[quote name='Musicman20' post='562133' date='Aug 6 2009, 06:10 PM']Half of the idea of a good cab to me is someone standing back and saying 'lets forget the science for a moment, as its made the cab sound pretty awful.....lets use our ears.'[/quote] Anyone who has managed to use the science to make an awful sounding cab simply doesn't have a bloody clue what they're doing! Engineering is a creative and intuitive process, which then uses science to assist. The people who say things like "well science tells you not to do this but it sounds good" are misunderstanding the science. Much of my cab design work happens entirely in my head! Alex

A bigger cab is more sensitive in the lows, so you get more bottom out for the same power in. However the output in the lows is limited by the max clean excursion of the woofer so sensitivity in the lows needs to be allied with sufficient cone area and cone excursion (area x excursion = volume displacement or ability to move air!) So in the case of my cabs the Midget, Compact and Big One have almost identical sensitivity in the midrange but each time you step up a size you get more sensitivity in the lows, and fortunately the volume displacement increases to keep up. Alex

I don't give a damn what the speaker sizes are as long as they do what I want them to do! Thankfully I realised long ago that you can't say that "twelves sound like this, tens sound like that, and fifteens sound like t'other" because there are far more important parameters affecting the tone that the nominal diameter. Maybe if the Qts was printed in a huge bright font on the cone of every speaker we buy we'd then talk about preferring a 0.3 Qts sound to a 0.5 Qts sound... But then we'd be omitting to consider Vas. And so on... Alex

[quote name='mrcrow' post='561479' date='Aug 5 2009, 08:58 PM']best accessory ever...all my basses had them...use the same strap for all and i always take the strap off anyway...gig bag.. [/quote] But don't you find you want slightly different strap lengths on different basses depending on where the strap buttons are and the body sizes and upper horn length? Alex

[quote name='The Funk' post='561798' date='Aug 6 2009, 10:49 AM']I take Alex's point as well about boosting fundamentals but surely the overtones have their own frequencies and there must be a chart of those somewhere as well?[/quote] They are, as Wulf said, simply multiples of the fundamental - however they get so closely stacked as you go higher that you'll never be able to EQ precisely enough to get one note but not another. Bear in mind that with a typical slap sound the tone of the pop is in the 1-3kHz region, yet the fundamental of that note is likely to be around 100-200Hz so you're looking at the group of harmonics from the 5th to the 30th, plus there's a bunch of non-harmonic percussive energy even higher. Alex

And IMO a chiropractor is well worth the money! Alex

[quote name='chris_b' post='561549' date='Aug 5 2009, 10:27 PM']OK. How about a Markbass LM2 with a Barefaced Midget, which is 3 lbs less than the PJ combo, at 25lbs. Two trips to the car, but probably a bigger, better sound.[/quote] I have to say I've been very impressed with the first Midget - it's so LOUD with a handful of watts and it can comfortably handle full power from any of the current micro-amps. I didn't honestly expect it to be quite this potent - it's not as fat in the lows as the Compact but that's easily rectified with a twist of the bass knob. Alex

I think in most cases such a list is an over-simplified disaster waiting to happen, especially when a brand sells everything from practice amps to stadium rigs. Alex

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='559635' date='Aug 3 2009, 08:50 PM']By the way, has anyone heard 'D'Angelo's album, which I think is called Voodoo (forgive me if I'm wrong), with Pino on bass. He has this style where the instruments are so far behind the beat, it actually sounds out of time. This has pi**sed off quite a few people, as it did me on certain tracks. Any opinions on this?[/quote] It's absolutely brilliant and one of the most incredible groove albums ever. Also Raphael Saadiq on bass, plus D'Angelo on keyboard bass and Charlie Hunter on 8-string guitar. Essential listening! Alex

Just looked in that forum - bargain! Alex

It'll be 6dB louder than one combo on its own, which won't sound quite twice as loud but it won't be too far off. With the Briefcase you are fighting against it being designed to go low and as its only small that does cost in sensitivity. Should sound nice but don't expect miracles! Alex

I found the SM57 worked better for me than either the SM58 or Beta 58 - doesn't go quite as high as the latter but less boomy in the lows and nice open midrange. Worth a try as you're bound to find plenty of other uses for them! Alex

[quote name='bumnote' post='561218' date='Aug 5 2009, 03:21 PM']I am fairly relaibly told that Denny lane used a 6 in nail on his rickenbacker 6 string back in the moody blues days[/quote] Am pretty sure Stanley Clarke has the woodscrew/washer combo on his Alembics - not quite as rock and roll but definitely not smooth jazz... Alex

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='561227' date='Aug 5 2009, 03:31 PM']Dude, Myspace is old news.[/quote] Does that mean it's old school and vintage? Or just not doom? Alex

[quote name='tauzero' post='561179' date='Aug 5 2009, 02:32 PM']Used them ever since I got a Warwick with Schallers on in 1987.[/quote] My first bass with straplocks was my '87 Warwick with Schallers. Unfortunately they have now worn out but I guess they've done pretty well. My RIM Custom 5 has Dunlops on it. However as I never take my strap off I'd be quite happy with a big wood screw and a large washer. Alex

Right, you can add Twitter to that: [url="http://twitter.com/barefacedbass"]http://twitter.com/barefacedbass[/url] Alex

[quote name='John Wheatley' post='560707' date='Aug 4 2009, 10:25 PM']Hi Alex, I'm in Nottingham, but our vocalist is in Chester so that might be a good excuse for a night away and a few pints. Whats the score with making arrangements timing etc.. Cheers John[/quote] Hi John, If you're not in a hurry you could join the Chester posse, towards the end of the first cab's route. Alternatively I could send a third cab out and it can work its way backwards along that route. Alex

It won't work. All that will happen if you boost the fundamental frequency of that note is you're get a load of extra rumble/thump. Those charts of fundamental frequencies are best ignored. If you have a multitrack recording your best bet is to loop that section of the soloed bassline and sweep a parametric EQ to bring out the necessary overtones to make it leap out of the mix. Then add automation to just bring that EQ in before the phrase and take it out again afterwards. You could also add some additional gain. If you don't have a multitrack recording then either overdub that note and mix it in, or forget it! Alex

We are now befriendable at: [url="http://www.myspace.com/barefacedbass"]http://www.myspace.com/barefacedbass[/url] or become a fan at: [url="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Barefaced-Bass-speaker-cabs/130257677703"]http://www.facebook.com/pages/Barefaced-Ba...bs/130257677703[/url] Oooh, modern. Alex

I'm waiting for the Lemmybot for the next Barefaced design! Alex

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='561104' date='Aug 5 2009, 01:02 PM']I'm guessing we're responsible for getting it to the next person...?[/quote] That would be logical as I did the first step. However it's probably best for you to sort it out on an individual basis. Alex

Just had an idea about the specs. Rather than have one sensitivity figure, one LF roll-off point and one power handling figure, how about this? An average midrange sensitivity figure, a thermal power handling figure, and a max continuous midrange SPL figure. Plus a low frequency sensitivity figure, an excursion limited power handling figure, a max LF SPL figure and -3, -6 and -10dB figures. The excursion limited power handling figure is the lowest power handling in the lows with <10% THD (measured at that point before the port starts to help out) and the max LF SPL is taken at that frequency. So this is a worst case scenanario - at lower and higher frequencies within the bass region the max power and max SPL are higher. This fits well with the fact that, for instance, the Midget is just as loud as the Compact but the Compact goes lower, whilst the Big Baby isn't as sensitive as the Compact but handles a bit more power and reaches lower, thus similar LF ability. So, for the Compact: Midrange sensitivity: 100dB Continuous thermal power handling: 450W Max continuous midrange SPL: 126.5dB LF sensitivity: 98dB Minimum LF power handling @ <10% THD: 410W Max LF SPL: 122.5dB -3dB @ 63.5Hz, -6dB @ 51Hz, -10dB @ 42Hz And for the Midget: Midrange sensitivity: 100dB Continuous thermal power handling: 400W Max continuous midrange SPL: 126dB LF sensitivity: 96.5dB Minimum LF power handling @ <10% THD: 355W Max LF SPL: 118.8dB -3dB @ 78Hz, -6dB @ 59Hz, -10dB @ 46Hz Whilst for the Big Baby: Midrange sensitivity: 95dB Continuous thermal power handling: 500W Max continuous midrange SPL: 122dB LF sensitivity: 94.5dB Minimum LF power handling @ <10% THD: 480W Max LF SPL: 121dB -3dB @ 47Hz, -6dB @ 41Hz, -10dB @ 36Hz And finally for the Big One: Midrange sensitivity: 100dB Continuous thermal power handling: 500W Max continuous midrange SPL: 127dB LF sensitivity: 97dB Minimum LF power handling @ <10% THD: 780W Max LF SPL: 125.5dB -3dB @ 48.5Hz, -6dB @ 41.5Hz, -10dB @ 35.5Hz Note that the quoted power handling ratings are RMS, as are the calculated max SPLs, so peak power is 41% higher and peak SPL is ~1.5dB higher than these average values. Burst midrange SPL will be at least 6dB higher than continuous. Much greater LF SPL can be coaxed from these boxes but THD will increase. Alex

[quote name='Uncle Balsamic' post='560326' date='Aug 4 2009, 04:19 PM']Can we have SPL charts? Or are they unimportant?[/quote] I will be adding them to the site once they've all been measured accurately but they'll be buried fairly deep in the techy realms to avoid scaring those that think they should be getting flat response down to 30Hz... It's not the easiest job in the world to get accurate publishable plots (as opposed to the working plots I use) when you live in a fairly crowded city but I now have a suitable space for doing broadband measurements, just need to get power to it. Sensitivity charts on their own are only part of the puzzle - you also need to consider the power handling limitations, both thermally and excursion limited, to find out how loud a cab will go and remain clean. My forthcoming PA cabs won't be that impressive on the sensitivity front but they will be impressive in terms of max SPL. Alex

I'd try to get your tone without much amp tweakery - I presume your Shuker has a host of onboard EQ? Then when you plug the Fender in you just need to turn the gain up a bit. Alex