Jazzjames

Standing in the Shadows of Motown

Super book that’s half biography, half transcriptions of James Jamerson.  Well worth the money.

Victor Wooten - The Music Lesson

I was recommended this book by my brother and was suprised at how interesting and enlightening it was. Worth a read for anyone who would like to better their musical skills.

As far as in depth books about specific techniques or styles, I’ve found it’s better to simply go to the source: a good teacher, and/or transcribe what you want to learn from a recording.

In my experience with more traditional designs, 1x15 cabs have a fair bit more low end punch than 2x10s.  I’m sure that there are some that can do the business, but most of them, not.

Best setup I’ve ever had, but I hardly ever gigged it because it was simply too heavy for me.  If I had roadies and I didn’t have to cart it all around, this would be my number one pick.

Hello everyone,

I'm looking for some advice about getting a custom case made.

I have a Quilter BB800 and want to house it in a small case along with an Avalon U5, which I have yet to purchase.  I feel that this combination will give me a nice DI sound, and ample volume on stage in a small and convenient package, if I can house them both in a suitable case.

Please see the attached picture for the kind of thing I'm after, except much smaller and not in the traditional rack size width, as both the DI and the amplifier are a lot narrower.

Thanks!

James

My Fender MIJ precision sounds absolutely great. Cost me £500.  So that’s my vote. Other manufacturers get close, but the japanese instruments offer a great blend of quality and value.

You could spend £5k on a ‘62 or £300 on a squier. Some of them are gonna sound weak, most of them will sound fine, and some of them will sound great. You need to test them to find out yourself.

I believe number 2 is the Fender because I think the labella strings should have less top end.  Both sound really nice, though.  In a mix I'd imagine they'd sound identical.  Nice playing.

Hello everyone,

Due to downsizing, up for sale are my DB112 and DB112NT cabs.  The cabs are both 8 Ohms and rated at 300w RMS.  They are in really great condition, with few signs of use.  I look after all of my gear and I have been using them with a Tonehammer 500.  Their sound, together or separately, is warm, punchy and focused.

Included are the covers, which I purchased from Hot Covers in the UK.  You can see from the pictures that these have more signs of use, but they have done their job and kept the cabs looking good.

This is a private sale, so I can't accept returns or offer any guarantee.  I can however say that they are in full working condition and should serve the next owner well for years to come.

I am based in Essen, Germany, and would prefer local pickup. I would prefer to sell them together, but will consider splitting in the future.

Check out my feedback here: https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/185497-jazzjames/?tab=comments#comment-1787512

Thanks for reading.

James

Fearless F112 and a head that can push out decent power at 8 ohms. Don’t be fooled that it’s “only one 12 inch speaker cab”.

I went with a Quilter bass block 800 because I like the no nonesense design and focus on the power section. ...and it’s cheap! But with so many 700w+ micro heads out there, pick the one you like the best.

Most of the class D mini amps run the same power amp module. Some are satisfied with the sound, some not. I ran a tonehammer 500 for a long time, and does sound similar to the db751, but not in terms of presence in a mix.

I opted for the Quilter Bass Block, as it promised a bass focussed power amp with plenty of power, and a simple but flexible preamp. The guys at Quilter did a great job! I am very satisfied. At the price, it’s got to be worth a try.  And it comes with a carry bag. If you want (for example) a Darkglass MT900 and case, you can buy two Quilters!

7 hours ago, BigRedX said:

IME having a decent cab with a high efficiency is far more important than your choice of amp. After that from a power output PoV all the small lightweight amps are pretty much the same since they nearly all use the same power amp module, so it's finding one with a pre-amp voicing that you like which can only be done by you auditioning the amp in question.

You’re not wrong but high efficiency normally means more speakers and a larger and heavier box to hold them in. I bought the Fearless because I wanted something smaller and lghter than my two DB112s.   I haven’t gigged them side by side, but my feeling is that the fearless sounds clearer and goes higher and lower. Shocking for its size I must say.  This thing will demolish many 4x10 cabs.  I’ve owned a few, and not the cheap ones either.

Regarding the amp, the Quilter is one of the very few with its own design of power amp, and boy does it sound good.  I took my tonehammer 500 along to A/B them in sound check, and to have as a backup.  The Quilter controls the notes much better, and does so with much more ease.  The Tonehammer sounds great, but you don’t get that same presence in a band situation that you want. It sounds good at lower volumes, but not at the volumes I (sometimes) require of it through the Fearless.  It’s loud but it runs out of puff, just like what TPJ said.

Pete sold me a bass cab. It was an easy deal. Great packaging!  Thanks Pete.

Thanks guys! I actually bought a Quilter Bass Block 800.  It controls all of the note extremely well. Lots of the lightweight heads go loud, but not in a very effortless way.  I can however recommend this amp/speaker combo.  I played an outdoor festival type gig on Saturday playing a mix of rock/pop and soul, and it didn’t break a sweat.

If you like the terror bass, get one! I think they’re cool.

Thank you for the quick response!

Hello everyone,

What amp would you buy/have experience with for pushing good power to 8 ohms?

I’ve bought a fearless f112 in an effort to scale down from my DB112s. I like the aggies very much but they’re a bit of a pain to carry around at night and I can’t park in front of my flat, so I bought the F112 as a single cab solution.

What portable amps would you recommend to get the F112 singing?  I use a TH500 but it’s not got so much power at 8 ohms.  I am tempted by the Darkglass m900. I don’t play music where I need distortion but a bit of ’furr’ is welcome.

I can also see the Quilter bass block as an option. It seems like a good albeit simple design.  Good price!

Missing anything?

Your thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

*I am aware that going from two 1x12 cabs to one means that I will probably lose volume due to less air being moved, and I realise sensitivity not watts equates to volume, however, the tonehammer doesn’t have the required headroom at 8 ohms.

Thanks! James

I’m always very happy when I get to play with my DB112 cabs on a decent stage, they put out a lovely old school round sound.  However, if I had to buy two new replacement 112 cabs, I wouldn’t buy two new ones, as the prices have gone pretty mental and here in Europe there are plenty of reasonably priced alternatives!

I wouldn’t discount slightly lower powered AB amps. I had a Warwick hellborg 500 power amp and it was the best amplifier I’ve ever used. It slayed everything! However it was almost too heavy to use, and as a result I sold it.

The Mike Lull 5 strings are very comfy and nice to play. My PJ5 had a lovely classic sound to it, and the B was very integrated into the sound of the instrument.

How does the bass sound acoustically? If it sounds good when played unplugged, that will usually translate into good amplified tone, in my experience.

Having a 75RI doesn’t mean a whole lot; there will be good ones and bad ones. The variation is pretty significant.

I’ve never owned any markbass gear but found it easy enough to get different tones out of their gear when I’ve had the gear supplied for me.  A little lacking in top end but really toppy bass sounds don’t work in most mixes anyway!

22 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Images couldn't be found. ?

 

Thanks for bringing this to my attention! I don’t think the advert survived the website update. I’ll put pictures up asap.

James

I played a duo gig on upright with a singer last night. It was my first time out in that setting with the amp one, and it did a great job. The eq  was easy to dial in, and my upright sounded very present and natural.  I love it!

I kinda wish I had found an amp 3 but the amp one is even smaller and plenty potent enough for what I bought it for!

I was going to buy an amp 3 new but when an amp one comes up for sale 5 miles from your house...

Is it Fjord lines in Norway? I did one of those once. No alcohol. They seemed pretty strict on it, so if it’s a problem, don’t do the gig!

It was my birthday while I was on board, and I still wasn’t allowed a beer, but whatever.

Two weeks without alcohol, hitting the gym every day and practicing in my cabin did me no harm whatsoever!

I ended up getting an Amp One second hand in perfect condition.

It has (as previously stated) a baked in tone- this combo doesn’t have lots of sizzle top end, but it has plenty of presence to provide definition, and sounds very natural and punchy.

It’s plenty loud enough for small gigs!  On Monday I played a Motown/Soul gig for about 150 people in a small club with a 6 piece band and it filled out the room very nicely with volume to spare.  The tone in a band situation is lovely.

Overall I’m very happy with it, it does a fantastic job- and it is a breeze to transport in the bag!

If you’ve had experience of the Berg NV610 then the SWR and Ampeg 610s are going to disappoint. Not that they’re awful, it’s just that Bergantino is much much better.  The technology has moved on.  I’ve had no experience with the bigger offerings from Markbass/Genz Benz/Barefaced etc but if I were you I’d be looking for some more modern designs than the SWR or the Ampeg.