Phil Starr

Generally speaking the more turns the higher the impedance and the higher the output, but more turns also mean a higher inductance. This means that high frequencies will be reduced and the pup will sound darker (pup=pickup). The no of turns isn't the only thing that affects output or tone though. The magnetic core also has an effect so this is an added variable. I realise that this muddies the water but you want a pup that both matches the output and sounds good. I'd find out as much as possible about your neck pup and then contact the pup manufacturers to see what they would recommend as matches to your existing pup.

I use a Hartke Kickback 10 for just this sort of use. Sounds great but it's shape means it bangs against your legs a bit if you have to carry it any distance. Not a problem carrying from the car park but not much fun in pedestrianised town centres. Again I paid about £100 for it

honestly if you are running a practice studio with all sorts of people using stuff then I wouldn't start here. The Marshall tube head will be 100RMS but a valve head will be more liable to damage with every Tom, Dick and Harry playing with it and probably has good second hand value. I think those Carlsboro speakers are very old Fanes rebadged and aren't probably worth trying to fix. You can probably repair small tears with copydex and some tissue paper, layering the tissue up with the latex based adhesive like fixing a bicycle puncture. Other adhesives won't really work. you need something flexible. Your best bet on a budget would be to go for something old and heavyweight, which most bass players are getting rid of. Old Peavey stuff is pretty reliable and goes for peanuts because of it's size and weight but in a studio where you don't want it moved it's ideal. Sounds OK too. You'll probably pick up a working cab for less than a reliable new 15" driver.

The 10" Yamahas have both an HPF and a limiter built in. http://download.yamaha.com/api/asset/file/?language=en&site=usa.yamaha.com&asset_id=63438 I'd think it unlikely they'd have problems with a kick drum as monitors. They claim 129dB which would make them plenty loud enough even if you allow for the 3dB they are probably adding for 'peak' output. However the Allen and Heath mixer won't allow you to have a series of different monitor mixes. you might need to go digital to get that.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1462330878' post='3042164'] I was referring to Ronnie Wood. Blue [/quote] Ok I didn't think of him as a bassist but google tells me he played bass with Jeff Beck. Maybe there's a tendency for guitarists to play with a pick?

[quote name='mingsta' timestamp='1462215589' post='3041211'] Because our drummer uses an electronic kit, we'll definitely need to hear that. We don't need to feel the kick, but need to hear enough to lock in. [/quote] [quote name='mingsta' timestamp='1462221663' post='3041298'] Yeah, the drummer doesn't need a monitor as he has his own mix from the desk going in to his headphones with the rest of the band in but no drums. He then mixes to taste with his drum and click when this gets to his drum unit. I'm now leaning more towards getting a 12inch wedge monitor such as the Thomann The Box Pro Mon A12. [/quote] OK it's pretty clear that with an E-drum you will need the monitors so you are doing the right thing. I played with one band with e-drums and monitoring was a real problem in some venues.Depending upon the acoustics you could lose the drums altogether below the rest of the band, even though he had decent monitors behind him for his own use. With him using 'phones you won't get anything. I think the idea of 10's will work and there will be a reduction in size too, which you are after. The only problems are will they be able to handle the dynamics of drums and will they handle the excursion demands of a heavy kick sound. My feeling is that cheap speakers like the Box won't. To handle the dynamics you need the loudest sounds to be undistorted even though you'll need to keep the overall sound down to keep feedback at bay. I'd be looking for something that went to at least 126dB. That alone rules out the 'bargain' end of the market. I'd also want to know the excursion of the bass drivers was able to cope with kick. On that basis the Yamahas or something like QSC's or RCF's or Wharfedales would do the job, as well as having a better sound. It's no different from bass speakers. A decent 10" driver like (dare I say) Barefaced is going to outperform some cheapy 12 or even 15 due to better excursion but that comes at a price. You don't get cheap, small and loud bass all together. You should be able to do what you want with a 10 if you choose carefully. I'd still consider using the 12" Yammy's Just so you can use them in the PA at a pinch but that's probably just me. Once you've got them it would be worth using the 80Hz filter on the mixer feed if you can or rolling off the bass at the speaker to protect it from the extremes of kick. If the speaker has DSP built in then the compression built in will protect it for you and you don't need to worry. DSP might be something you'd consider an essential when choosing a speaker for this application. Don't all the new Yamaha actives have this as standard?

OK brief explanation of how the ports work, because if they stick out of the cab front and back they won't at all. The ports hold a lump of air, at the tuned frequency the air in the port bounces backwards and forwards on top of the air in the cab, which kind of acts like a spring for the air in the port. This works in exactly the same way as when you blow across the neck of a bottle where the air in the mouth of the bottle bounces on the volume inside. Now if you change the mass of the air in the port or the size of the air in the cab it will resonate at a different frequency. The trick is to tune the cab so it kicks in just as the speaker starts losing bass output so you get just a little more bass. Now you can see why the ports need to be identical, if you have two masses they will each have different weights of air in and will resonate at different frequencies. Now it's not only the length of the port that matters (long ports=more air and lower tuning) but also the area of the port. By making the area smaller you end up with a smaller port. So a single shorter port is going to tune to the same frequency as a longer double port. So if you make long ports right through the cab they won't be connected to the air in the cab and they won't resonate when the speaker hits the tuned frequency, you won't have a port you'll have a passageway through the cab. You can bend the ports inside the cab if you want, you could even have them sticking out of the front of the cab, but I think your best solution would be to have a single port.

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1462199007' post='3041008'] Hmmm ports have to be deeper than my cab to get to 55hz [/quote] Go to a single port re-run the program and block off the other port

There are only a couple of differences between a PA speaker and a monitor, (and that doesn't apply to all of them either). They may need some sort of stand or wedge to get them to point at the right angle and some monitors have the controls on the front where you can reach them whilst playing. Pa speakers generally have them on the back which is awkward if you are trying to kill feedback for example. Functionally they are pretty much the same and are interchangeable. It's a common trick of touring and function bands to use identical speakers for monitoring and PA so they can be swapped around if there are problems. Worth a thought anyway. Poor quality ones won't handle a lot of bass or drums, whether PA or monitors,

It would make more sense to just work out the internal dimensions of the cab and tell us, then someone will work out the best port length and you won't end up with a damaged driver. You've now got two convenient holes to put your tape measure through At the moment you've got it tuned too high with the problems you've been told about.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1462146617' post='3040662'] Did Ronnie Wood play bass with a pick back in the day. I'm thinking he probably did. Blue [/quote]Ronnie Lane? If that's right then in Small Faces times he plays finger style on at least some of the videos I've seen. Mind you there's a lot of miming. A lot od the early material has quite a soft sound too which could either be down to the gear or indicating fingerstyle. My guess is he'd have used both? A bit of a hero as a songwriter and a lovely man. A sad loss.

[quote name='luckydog' timestamp='1461919269' post='3038680'] It's generally a switch mode PSU which allows the amp to be small and light, which could be applied to any class of amp I suppose. But it lends itself to Class D because overall there isn't then much heat to get rid of, so amp case can be small and the overall amp light. In class D the PSU still has to stand and deliver significant current to the load, at significant slew rates - it also has to be able to sink current returned by the load. Really it is as important in Class D as any other class, the PSU. Has some different constraints as well ! LD [/quote]That's my thinking too I think that there are a few amps out there with under specced PSU's which are probably more responsible than the amp for the lack of h**t.

It's Peavey BW is the Black Widow series of speakers, Peaveys best and still up to decent modern standards.You can also replace all the working parts in a single basket change. Parts are still available and it's a simple DIY job. The only problem is that you can buy a new speaker from Eminence and the like for the same price or less. I've found that BW speakers o this vintage have problems with the adhesive used to make them breaking down. The dust cap dome in the middle of the speaker can partially come away and the cone can separate from the corrugated surround. It can be successfully stuck back together with Copydex. Have fun

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1461656453' post='3036413'] Phil the first solid state amps like the Vox T60 were not even using 2N3055 transistors. Of course the real boost in power came with MOSFET. They could be paralleled up to get more current as in the latter HH professional power amps, Trace, Ashdown and Ampeg among others used this technique. [/quote] Yes and of course the Mosfets weren't susceptible to thermal secondary breakdown so reliability improved. About that time there was the introduction of integrated circuits as well which made a further huge difference in mass produced amps. I suppose I was answering the OP's question about why early SS amps were so poor. They were under powered due to the cost of high voltage components and unreliable/unstable due to the technology available. We went a long way in the ten years following the early attempts at high powered ss amps. I guess underneath the OP's question is the thought that we are in the first few years of commercial Class D amps and the problems of these will be sorted as more reliable and better engineered solutions are worked out.

Most of the first generation SS amps used the 2N3055 transistors as output devices. These were cheap and handled quite a lot of power but were limited to 70volts and only developed just over 60W into 8ohms. Like all bipolar output transistors they were liable to breaking down very quickly when hot and many did. Protection circuits were developed but many of these sounded awful or even shut the amp down when triggered. A lot of the early amps also oscillated at high frequencies which didn't help either. A lot of early class AB designs also suffered from a lot of artefacts (distortion) at the point where the output transistors crossed over. More consistent component manufacture and the adoption of split rail power supplies helped. When the HH amps came along they used the superior 2N3773 which ran at 100V and better protection circuitry was developed. The price of components also fell rapidly and for bass and PA a load of output transistors were run in parallel increasing the power handling. Is that geeky enough?

Yep, I think the solution is fairly simple. You've tried a range of amps and not liked the sound of any of them. It must be either the bass or the speakers. Maybe head for the next Bass Bash in your area, or just networking with a few basschatters up there if you can't find a good shop?

[quote name='Subthumper' timestamp='1461446024' post='3034762'] I get to talk to a lot of regular players in the guitar shop I work in and it always amazes me how much pa gear a lot of bands use. Even when using old school big backline a lot of guys are micing cabs and drums in a tiny venue with a pa using tops and bass bins. Surely it's over complicating the setup and far more than a small venue needs. You only need an engineer if you have a complicated setup. [/quote] [quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1461502105' post='3035172'] If you want to get better gigs then you have to sound better, and if you want to sound better that means doing whatever you can to differentiate your band from the rest. That means good PA, and someone to run it. Even if he's not George Martin he will still give you something that no one on the stage can: a set of ears in the audience. [/quote] I think this is the point where a decision has to be made. Bill is right of course a set of reliable ears in the audience will be the biggest thing you can do to improve your sound once you've got a basic package. Getting a decent mix is something that is going to make your band sound so much better than the other bands around and potentially get you more and better work. There's really no substitute for someone hearing what the audience hears. However IME there is a shortage of people with decent ears who are prepared to give up their time to do the job week in and week out. I've never found one for any of my bands who can make every gig. That's where you pretty much have to make the decision to keep it simple, back line and vocals only PA. There's little point in miking up cabs etc if there is no-one to mix and if the technical help isn't always available you have to design a system that works without it.

Never in doubt, well done.

I won't be the only on to have picked this up but there's an interesting bit of research on his remarkable voice. The easy read is http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/04/new-scientific-study-confirms-the-audience-freddie-mercury-had-an-unparalleled-singing-voice/ and if you want it from the horses mouth http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3109/14015439.2016.1156737 good luck with this one if you aren't a scientist Apparently he was a natural baritone singing in a higher range and had unusual use of his ventricular folds in the voicebox. the authors neither confirm nor deny his ability to sing over four octaves, Wish I could manage two. Fascinating.

[quote name='Kevin Dean' timestamp='1461188501' post='3032368'] I haven't seen EV mentioned & I've just ordered spme of there speakers ..I hope I haven't made a huge mistake . [/quote] They are good speakers if you got them at a decent price. I did a shoot out a couple of years back and they were more articulate than the JBL's, warmer and more 'natural sounding' (struggling for the right words there) than the Yamahas. The RCF's however give a lot more detail in the vocals and are freer of resonances especially the ones with the larger horn drivers, but at a higher price than the others. I've heard a lot of local bands using EV's to good effect.

Stop worrying about impedance. Because of the way we perceive sound the extra 200W only give you a barely noticeable increase in sound level. Technical explanation here https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/columns/gear_maintenance/making_it_loud.html Choose on the basis of sound and practicality

Sad but true most bands don't notice the bass player until they are gone. Your job as they will see it is to keep it simple and tight. All they are looking for is Will the new guy work at it (25/30 songs says yes) Does he have the pro attitude and gear (take all you'd need at a gig and your best bass, spare in the car)? Will he fit in with the band or cause a lot of strife? how quickly can we get gigging with him? If you can play 25 of their songs then it isn't going to take you long to learn the extra 5. Play like the original but erring on the side of simplicity. Make sure you listen to them, smile a lot and relax. If you've got the gig you'll all relax forget it's an audition and just play music. You'll just be musicians having fun and their bassist headache will be over. In half an hour you'll only get to play four of five songs. They may choose them or you might have to suggest some, be prepared either way. Good Luck let us know

Depends upon what you mean by paying well. It's mainly small country pubs and £200-250 is the going rate unless you get functions. Skidder has pointed you in the right direction. Lemonrock covers pretty much all the venues round here and contact details are on the site.

I find it hard to believe a simple drop would create enough acceleration to o that much damage. I suspect the speaker might have been loose inside the van.That would make it the responsibility of the courier. Unless it was damaged before it left. Write to the courier. Point out that the cab was undamaged so the packaging was adequate. The damage was clearly caused by a violent deceleration. Tell them that you intention is to repair the item and then bill them for the repair via the small claims court if necessary.

There's a local covers band (Blue Arse Fly) who have gone down this route, electronic kit, no backline, musicians with IEM's. I think they had some vocal monitors turned down low but that may be a false memory. Behind the stage you could clearly hear the tapping of the sticks on the rubber pads and a bit of vocals acoustically, out front it sounded like most of us probably sound. Quite enjoyed them. I'd find the atmosphere a bit odd but I wonder if you get used to it.