alexclaber

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='551280' date='Jul 25 2009, 06:24 PM']I could see giving up SPL might not be too much of a problem, since the amp is relatively high powered for a practice amp, so there would be the power available to push air out of a less efficient driver. I'm out of touch with hifi stuff - are we talking high 80s efficiency as opposed to the claimed 96dB for the Celestion?[/quote] Yes, high 80s, maybe a bit lower. I presume by practice amp you mean something for home practice, maybe accompanying an unplugged acoustic guitarist? Alex

Instrumentally they're pretty unarguably great. Excellent drummer. Alex

Oh yeah! Alex

[quote name='steve-soar' post='551111' date='Jul 25 2009, 02:17 PM']Alex, I'm thinking of getting an SVT 2 Pro and was wondering about the sound a vintage would give me. Would 2 Compacts give me more nastyness than a Vintage?[/quote] They should sound almost identical, certainly so close you couldn't tell the difference on a gig. Alex

It'll work ok but it won't have much bottom because the Fs is rather high. Slot port on the top won't do anything beneficial, there should only be lows coming out of it and any mids that escape will be out of phase. Vas and Qts are both low so you shouldn't have midbass hump troubles in a small cab, which makes it better than many other options. So I'd say it's worth the gamble. I've been searching for a high performing good value driver for a small practice cab for ages and have yet to have any success - starting to lean towards giving up SPL and looking at hi-fi drivers, at least that'll get great tone at a good price. Alex

But what sound do you want? If you want the ultimate clean sound get an Avalon U5 and a big power amp. If you want something similar but smaller and lighter get a Markbass SD1200, EA iAmp 800, Glock or Epifani UL. If you want something more aggressive get a GK or a Mesa Carbine (the 1001RB is more than enough power). If you want something more coloured but still solidstate get a Thunderfunk. If you want something tiny but awesome sounding get a Markbass, Eden, GK, or Genz Benz micro-amp - lots of different flavours. If you want something more valvey get a Mesa Big Block or GK Fusion. And so it goes on, and on and on and on... As you say you like the GK sound then I'd get a 1001RBII and keep the spare money for when you decide you want an awesomely badass cab like the one on the left. Alex

Peavey almost brought out an amazing high-end head a few years back which would have been perfect for driving a big rig. I think it somehow managed to run bridged @ 1600W but also could run biamped with more power on the lows than the highs, like 1200 vs 400. Was quite lightweight too. Ah, here it is: [url="http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM04/article/Peavey/Pro-1600.html"]http://namm.harmony-central.com/WNAMM04/ar...y/Pro-1600.html[/url] Their new valve amp with SMPS looks good but I gather there have been some QC problems with the first run. Alex

[quote name='crez5150' post='550310' date='Jul 24 2009, 03:43 PM']I bought 2 x DB112NT in the end matched with a GK MB2 500w head.... great sound. This is replacing the Eden Metro and 2x10 ext cab I was using.[/quote] Be interesting to see how the cab that must not be named compares to both those rigs! Alex

[quote name='steve-soar' post='550237' date='Jul 24 2009, 02:40 PM']Have any of you boys tried the Vintage with a big valve head?[/quote] jonthebass is using a pair of Compacts with a Mesa 400+. [quote name='steve-soar' post='550237' date='Jul 24 2009, 02:40 PM']I'd be worried about the cloth, as drum hardware has a nasty habit of going in unwanted places when your packing down on stage.[/quote] I doubt drum hardware could pierce it, but I shall have a go at throwing some cymbal stands at a cab one of these days. Alex

[quote name='Boneless' post='539128' date='Jul 13 2009, 09:53 AM']But aren't drivers supposed to sound better if feeded an amount of power closer to their RMS rating?[/quote] No. The more power you put into them, the more they distort, from 0.1W to full power and beyond. [quote name='Boneless' post='539128' date='Jul 13 2009, 09:53 AM']In other words, if you have a 4x10" with 150W RMS drivers (600W total), wouldn't they respond better with 200W instead of 50W? Or does it depend on the driver?[/quote] Response will be the same if the amp isn't distorting, just the 200W amp will go 6dB louder. [quote name='Boneless' post='539128' date='Jul 13 2009, 09:53 AM']I find that my Ashdown 4x10" needs to be kind of cranked to start sounding "alive". Same thing for the Ampeg 8x10", there was a gig where I had a Peavey head + Ampeg 8x10" as a backline, and I had to keep the volume really down for several reasons (but REALLY low, most probably under 50W), and my tone was extremely dull. And trying to compensate with EQ was useless, since the cab seemed not to budge from that lifeless tone.[/quote] In that case you're relying on speaker distortion to get your tone. That isn't a problem, most guitarists do, but many bassists don't. Alex

[quote name='OldGit' post='550142' date='Jul 24 2009, 01:17 PM']Just Shim the neck .. put a bit of card under the end of teh neck at the body end. That will pivot it differently and can bring the action down..[/quote] Exactly. Last thing you want is your daughter getting used to it and then laughing at the girly action on Dad's bass. Alex

Strings are definitely one of those things where it's all about the interaction between the instrument and the string. Curiously even when making seemingly drastic changes in string type the tone still comes more from the bass's natural resonances and structure, so it's then a question of finding a string that gels best. Alex

I had a Peavey Sessionbass 2U head loaded into a 112MB whizzer cone tiltback combo. Not as loud as the usual giant Peavey rigs though certainly potent when stacked on a big Marshall 1x15" I used to borrow, but I did like the response of the whizzer 12". Weighed a ton for what it was. Presume it's still going strong, wherever it is. Never seen or heard of anyone having another one! Alex

Tapered strings have fewer windings over the bridge saddles. Usually sound a bit brighter. I used to use them on my Hohner but my Warwick and RIM Custom are bright enough that the seemingly thicker resonance of non-tapered works better. Alex

This might seem counter to what everyone else has said but I feel the best bet with the drums is to just lock onto the backbeat from the snare and play against that - this should intuitively lead you to hitting accents on the bass that match or complement the kick. Once in a blue moon I'll actively listen for the kick but generally that stuff sorts itself out subconsciously. I would therefore advocate playing along with a metronome that is clicking on just 2 and 4. This will take some practice but it shifts the onus onto you to lay down your half of the groove in the correct place. Alex

Bi/tri-amp rigs need to be designed from the ground up as a complete system. Unfortunately the only systems I can think of like this a Forge and IP Technologies they are both heavy and expensive. And doing this through mixing and matching gear yourself will also end up big and heavy (though not necessarily expensive if you hunt around the used market) but it does require a fair amount of expertise to end up with a successful rig. The killer for bi-amp rigs was companies encouraging bassists to send highs to their 4x10" and lows to their 1x15", omitting to consider that the 15" speakers they were using could put out less bottom than the 4x10"! Alex

[quote name='iamapirate' post='548964' date='Jul 23 2009, 02:44 PM']hah, yeah, make an effort to wear nice stuff, but don't become a 'pretty boy'[/quote] I try not to but I can't hide my natural beauty... Alex

I was going to do the squash balls between slabs trick for my hi-fi when I was at uni. Never got round to getting the squash balls so it just ended up a hi-fi sitting on two paving slabs... I think it could work ok for lightweight bass cabs. Or some PlatFoam - more on that later... Alex

Just got a neat little scale for measuring the weight of my cabs. As there aren't any finished ones of those lurking here I thought I'd check my basses: 1987 Warwick Streamer: 4.02kg or 8lbs 14oz. 2008 RIM Custom 5: 4.1kg or 9lbs Now I think that's pretty damned good for a 36" scale 5-string with a wenge neck! Alex

Yes, it's much more of a P-bass kind of softer plucking mellow thick tone, hence it doesn't need to be muted as with a more aggressive 16th note (like Jaco on the back pickup or Rocco just digging in really hard). There's no doubt that as the scale length gets longer you get further from that round sweet tone and conversely, until you to the point of mud and boom, going shorter maximises that sound. Alex

[quote name='Finbar' post='548990' date='Jul 23 2009, 03:01 PM']It isn't that - I don't want the bottom cab shallower than the top one for stability purposes - something inside tells me that is so wrong! Hah. Even though I know an inch or two would make very little difference, its the peace of mind that I won't knock it over so easily (accidents can happen!)[/quote] All cabs are front heavy because that's where the drivers are, so even with a few inches difference in depth the centre of gravity is perfectly stably positioned. I used to get people saying that my dual Acme Low-B2 vertical stack looked unsafe - it wasn't at all. If something crazy enough is going to happen to knock a rig over, then it'll fall over whatever you do! [quote name='Finbar' post='548990' date='Jul 23 2009, 03:01 PM']I am thinking of upgrading my power amp though. Very happy with my PLX1202 under normal circumstances, so I could just do with a higher powered one of them I guess.[/quote] Even a PLX2 1804 will do serious damage with a Big One on one channel. Or an old 3402. Alex

[quote name='eude' post='548751' date='Jul 23 2009, 11:48 AM']You might be right there mate. I've always been a fairly busy player and I've always struggled with longer scale lengths, particularly a home made 36" 6 string, god only knows what I was thinking Having now moved to 33" my left hand rarely feels tired and I've never cramped up once, even without warming up properly... Eude[/quote] A 10 year old recording of me: [url="http://www.spiderplant.net/agentorange/mp3/untitled/kickers.mp3"]http://www.spiderplant.net/agentorange/mp3...led/kickers.mp3[/url] I remember we often used to play it a lot faster live which could be fun... When I am busy nowadays it tends to be a lot more percussive and muted - always found it interesting that N-WR said the HMWYRS was because of Jaco but if Jaco had played it it wouldn't have been running about in that smooth burbling way but much more punchy with more space between the notes, if you see what I mean? Like much as I love Son Of A Preacher Man I would never play anything that smooth and subtle. Warming up? Isn't that why cabs used to be heavy, get the blood pumping before you play? Alex

[quote name='BigRedX' post='537797' date='Jul 11 2009, 11:39 AM']2. It's a much better idea when tilting a speaker/combo back to support it from behind then to lift it at the front. Simply physics really.[/quote] No it isn't - two reasons why: Firstly cabs are front heavy because that's where the speakers are. Secondly if you support the cab at the back you have to tilt it a lot further and that degree of tilt means you're going to end up with tons of ceiling reflections and hardly any upper mids or treble taking a direct line to your bandmates or audience members. [quote name='chris_b' post='541996' date='Jul 16 2009, 10:11 AM']This might be true, but surely it's a bit of a lottery if you are relying on the floor for your tone or volume! You really should be looking for a bigger rig![/quote] All bass cabs expect to be getting boundary reinforcement from the floor. This doesn't mean they're relying on sound coming from the floor, like when the bass cab sets a hollow wooden stage resonating, but that the floor reflects sound rather than letting it pass through. To get this boundary reinforcement the cab needs to be within a quarter wavelength of the boundary, so the higher you lift it off the floor, the lower the frequency at which boundary reinforcement happens. For 40Hz this 1/4 wave distance is 7 feet, for 100Hz it's 2'8", and for 150-200Hz (which tends to cause nasty boom rather than good fatness) it's 1'10" to 1'5", hence the benefits of beer crates in stopping reinforcement in this region but allowing it lower down. Alex

[quote name='Changles' post='548873' date='Jul 23 2009, 01:20 PM']i wouldn't know, the amp is still quite new, and it has not yet been DI'd... but i'd really rather mic up the cab cause it really does sound awesome despite its hissing...[/quote] I'd definitely take a DI as well, or even instead of (you can always re-amp if need be). Hiss is just one of those things that is rather expensive to avoid. My Avalon U5 has absolutely none but it wasn't cheap and it isn't small. Fortunately I can almost guarantee that any hiss from your bass amp will be overshadowed by the hiss from the guitar amp! Alex