Phil Starr

You would be doing two entirely different things for different reasons and you would need different speakers, at least, to achieve either. Taking a mono signal and using a crossover is about sending the signal to more capable speakers. Bass needs a big heavy cone, a long coil, high power handling,a particular magnet design and so on. Highs need a small cone for dispersion, lighter so it moves quicker, excursion isn't a problem so you can make the coil shorter and the speaker more efficient (louder) so saving on power handling. This will usually give a cleaner sound all round and if you like the sound of DI'd bass from a stack it could be the way to go. Another alternative might be to use a guitar speaker to give you a desired distorted sound but protected from the bass with a 100Hz crossover and then to fill in the lows with a sub below 100Hz. but essentially most people would go this route to get a cleaner sound. Having said that a better way of doing this technically is just to DI and use the PA sound and set up monitors on-stage. your problem here will be finding someone who makes a really good 'satelite' top for a bass. Feeding two signals to two stacks is a bit odd. As Synaesthesia (nice to see the dipthong) said the joy of twin pup's is blending them to get phase cancellations or 'mid scoop' and you'd lose this capability for something less predictable by separating the pups output. What you would gain is having two stacks with different sounds so you could use either or both during a gig for different songs and get a range of sounds you couldn't get otherwise by 'blending' the stacks. It wouldn't matter that this is unpredictable because you could hear the results. The trouble of this for me is that I would probably not want to feed the two stacks from different pups. The old way of splitting signals and feeding to a 1x15 and 2x10 makes no sense, unless you want that particular old school sound, as modern drivers are so much more capable. You really couldn't get decent power handling and bass from anything with high frequencies back then. If you want a super-clean on-stage sound then go for the crossover. You might need to look to unconventional speakers though. Barefaced sub with Phil Jones tops? If you want to try splitting the pup's find a fellow bassist who fancies some experimenting and try his stack/combo with yours in various combinations rather than spending a fortune on extra amps and speakers.

go to the doctor. Even if everyone here was medically qualified you need to have someone examine your finger, it is probably nothing to worry about but it needs checking as early as possible especially if you need to be ready for the gigs. Make an appointment this morning. Good luck

Too harsh on drummers guys. The OP asked how much power, and the answer isn't to be louder than the drummer can possibly ever be. The other thing is that the volume control isn't the only way we have of playing louder, we should have dynamics too. I set to the drummer at the beginning of the set and if he plays harder so do I and vice versa. Of course a drummer should use the appropriate dynamics for the song but shouldn't the rest of the band.

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1385666411' post='2290971'] Fight your ground for your opinions on ported or sealed cabs. Which is tighter? Which has more 'thump'? Does it change tone? In a fight....6X10 sealed (eg, Matamp) or 2x12 ported (eg Barefaced)? Which one is best for Metal? What do you think? [/quote] Great question, there are differences some of which are down to the type of cab and some down to just differences due to the actual speaker in question. Now the physics isn't really helpful on the above. mainly because 'thump', 'tone' and 'tight' mean different things to each of us. I'm not a fan of metal but even my superficail listening tells me that metal bassists don't all sound the same, though big cabs seem to have the image needed [quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1385666411' post='2290971'] Fight your ground for your opinions on ported or sealed cabs. Which is tighter? Which has more 'thump'? Does one have more bass/mid/treble? What differences does it really make? How does the same driver react in sealed and ported cabs? [/quote] There are differences which Lawrence has talked about, They are all in the bass region so no, they don't make any difference to mid or treble. Yes in hi-fi speakers some midrange sound can be reflected off the back panel of the cab and come out through the port though this isn't really relevant to bass cabs as it isn't going to be noticed unless you are miking up in a strange place. The main effect of the port is to give you extra output at the frequency around the ports tuning point, About 3dB or double the output which you can see clearly on Bill's graph, Most bass designers can't resist this 'free' extra bass so most modern style cabs are ported designs. Older cabs with walls of cheap drivers were filled with speakers that couldn't work in ported designs so tended to be sealed getting their extra bass from sheer muscle, a bit like American sports cars. The other advantage of porting is that sealed cabs always raise the resonant frequency of the speaker so the bass output starts to fall from a higher starting point in a sealed cab compared to a ported cab depending upon which drivers you use. (it's a bit complex here but this holds true for most commercial cabs IMO) There are disadvantages coming from the port though, below the resonant frequency of the cab the speaker unloads very quickly. The air in the port acts like a plug at high frequencies, like a tuned bass string at resonance and like a big open hole below resonance. This has lots of consequences because the cone flaps around under little control from anything. First of all it is likely to exceed its excursion limits and the power handling can be reduced to a tenth of its rated level as it starts to hammer against the back of the magnet. The bass output falls very rapidly in a ported cab (at 24 db/octave) so if the cab was tuned to 60Hz the bottom note of a 5 string might easily be 1/200th of the power of B an octave above. (you'd still hear plenty of harmonics, just not the fundamental tone) You also get problems with phase at these frequencies. If you are using a ported cab and want it ot go on working then you really need to cut all the bass below 40Hz or even higher with some designs With the sealed cab the bass falls off at half the rate of a reflex cab at 12 dB/octave though it will do this from a higher point because of the raised resonant frequency. Because the cab is sealed it acts on the back of the cone and reduces the excursion at low frequencies, this means you can often use a little bass boost safely to bring the level up to that of a ported cab. At some point the ported cabs more quickly falling output will cross over the slowly falling output of the sealed cab. Bill gives one example where it crosses over below any bass note we play but there could be any number of examples where it is higher than this. Sealed cabs can be designed easily to either give a big hump in frequency and a slightly woolly bass or a flat response or a really tight well damped bass simply by changing the size of the cab. This makes it easy to design in 'thump' or 'tight, fast bass'. You can do this with ported cabs too but I would say with less flexibility. The other factor is room resonance, you can easily get an extra 6dB or more of bass by the sound being reflected off the floors and walls, I find myself cutting the bass more often than boosting it when I play live so a slow bass roll off might be something between a curse and a blessing. It is hard for an engineer designing a speaker to turn down the advantages of the extra bass of a ported design and most sealed cabs have really cheap drivers in them so you aren't comparing like with like quite often. No-one I know of has taken the Barefaced approach of putting the best modern bass drivers into a well engineered lightweight sealed cab yet, though someone will correct me on that. I don't think there is anything intrinsically wrong with the idea though.

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1385716898' post='2291377'] definitely this unless the guitarist is doing something rhythmically tight i tend to ignore the guitar and just focus on the drums and then the keys in our band - the guitar can be sort of left to its own devices to a degree because as long as drums and bass are locked together it gives the guitarist room for a bit more fluidity im always telling our singist (much to her amusement) that i havent got a clue what she is doing - its not so much wilfully ignoring her but my ear seems to zone out the vox when i focus on the drums and the structure good luck with the gig tonight [/quote] Yeah good luck. This is getting interesting, I've always seen it as my job to knit the band together. I learned to play with a drum machine when I started so timekeeping wasn't an issue but I was shocked when i joined a band to find most singers and guitarists can't play to a drum machine or indeed any steady beat! I try to control the tightness of our songs by defining the first note of a chord change and if i hear someone drifting or making a mistake I'll try to emphasize those notes a little to draw everyone back in, Actually once a song is secure you can pretty much relax and concentrate on performance but I always try to listen to everyone, I always thought this was my job. In practice I mainly concentrate on the singer and the drums. My pet hate is singers who think phrasing is singing out of time. Obviously there is more than one way to be a bassist, so do i have it wrong?

[quote name='Mog' timestamp='1385633808' post='2290385'] These "Smart Power" cabs have intrigued me for a while. The principle is sound but something in the back of my mind keeps saying gimmick. Has anyone been using one of these for a few months/years? [/quote] [quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1385647060' post='2290637'] The principle has been known for 40 odd years. Take two drivers, configure them so that only one of the cones is exposed to the air and one to the cabinet, and you get the same response curve with half the net box size as is required with one driver. That's a plus. You also get the same net output as with one driver. That's not a plus. [/quote] [quote name='BurritoBass' timestamp='1385652818' post='2290724'] Can I buck the trend by being the first person to comment who has actually been using one for years? The reality for me is it is all I need. I tend to play in a range of venues from Art Centres to pubs and in small / medium pubs with vocal only PAs it really holds up well. In the larger venues it is standard to mic up the bass so again, no issues. I get more comments about my sound now than at any other time and I've been playing 25yrs. [/quote] There you are then, not confusing at all. The truth is they are both right. The principle isn't sound, as an engineering solution it is completely bonkers. I can't believe it is anything other than one engineers daydream and a complete marketing gimmick from then on. If you want a little cab then make a driver with a bigger magnet, which will be cheaper and lighter than two drivers. If you want a portable cab don't make it so heavy! If you want it to sound nice then using an isobaric cab won't change the sound it just makes it more expensive. But these cabs do sound OK if you like that old school sound, There's nothing actually wrong with them and you'll either like the sound or not. I quite like how they sound as it happens. Just ask yourself though if you are happy paying almost twice as much for a cab to have a gimmicky extra speaker which doesn't contribute to the sound and where the money could have been better spent. If that really is the sound you can't live without and you don't mind the weight then go for it but it isn't good because it is isobaric and it isn't the first speaker I'd look at at that price.

I'll be only the first to say this; you don't need to match the guitarist who will have to turn down. Your job is to match the drummer. If you are louder than the drums they will need to be miked up and that means a big PA which you can then use as well. If the guitarist uses 50W turned right up you will all be deafened anyway. Literally. The other thing is that you don't need to specify a power but a dB level as some speakers are a lot louder than others, Drums chuck out just over 100dB or thereabouts so this is the level you will be aiming at, The loud bits will need to be louder than this average level. If your speakers are an efficient 100db/W you might get away with 100W if they are a relatively inefficient 94db/W you'd need 4x this or 400W. This doesn't allow for your tone, if you play a 5 string or like to boost the bass then you'll need a bit more power than if you like a nice clanky mid dominated sound. I'd say go for something in the 400W range and you'll cover most eventualities but 200W will probably be enough, remember that you need to double power to make a noticeable difference.

Blue Aran do a range of feet of various sizes with washers in them. I'd bolt them on if it is practicable.

Good advice from everyone, your problem is very simple though. You are in a volume war and you need to end it by talking to each other. The tone you carefully set up at home won't work in a band situation or in a different room acoustic, for you or the guitarists. Talk to each other. Good luck.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1385480681' post='2288746'] Blimey, that week was better than i thought. Some fantastic songs there. I had my ear glued to my transistor radio in the 60s. Myself and my friends at school always listened to Radio Caroline and Radio London which both started around 1964. We also had Radio Luxemburg in the evenings so there was plenty of opportunities to listen to this music even before Radio One opened in 1967 so i'm not really sure what your point is. [/quote] My point is simply that a, there is some good stuff there but more cr** than good, unless you like Jim Reeves b. yes I listened to Caroline too but a casual listener to mainstream stations wouldn't have known of say, John Mayall just as I suspect those bemoaning the current state of music don;t really know what the kids are listening to. I'm also a little wary of becoming something I despised when I was at school [b] “Our youth now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for their elders and love chatter in place of exercise; they no longer rise when elders enter the room; they contradict their parents, chatter before company; gobble up their food and tyrannize their teachers.”[/b] Socrates

Thought this old f**t would be posting the old stuff but I like this, it has the correct ratio of drums to bass too. Nothing earth shattering but rather nice. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4EWfdEyoLs"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4EWfdEyoLs[/url]

[quote name='jmchich' timestamp='1385467449' post='2288534'] While not in the same style, this is some incredible bass playing, and one of my favourite songs. Heavy yet melodic. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3B7yf6c3mY[/media] Oh, and Wishbone Ash are still pretty cool [/quote] Love it

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1385462020' post='2288452'] I've just had a random look at the charts in the 60s. Here are a few of the records that were in the charts in one week on 1965: Ticket To Ride - The Beatles Here Comes The Night - Them For Your Love - That Yadbirds The Last Time - The Rolling Stones Times They Are A Changin' - Bob Dylan Nowhere To Run - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas Stop! In The Name Of Love - The Supremes Bring It On Home To Me - The Animals It doesn't look awful to me and i reckon that there are a definitely a few iconic songs there. It was certainly a golden age of music for me. [/quote] Of course there were some great songs but if you listened to the mainstream radio you wouldn't have heard much of these, No Radio One in those days so you'd have to wait till Sunday to hear most of these songs. This is the charts from my birthday week in 1965. A few great songs but an awful lot of potboilers too. I suspect if you look back at the 00's in fifty years time it'll look like a golden age too. My point is not that it was anything but a privilege to be listening to music in the sixties but that it is a privilege to listen to great music now. [b] THE LAST TIME[/b] [b] ROLLING STONES[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 2 1 [b] IT'S NOT UNUSUAL[/b] [b] TOM JONES[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 3 3 [b] SILHOUETTES[/b] [b] HERMAN'S HERMITS[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 4 2 [b] I'LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER YOU[/b] [b] SEEKERS[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 5 7 [b] COME AND STAY WITH ME[/b] [b] MARIANNE FAITHFULL[/b] 6 13 [b] GOODBYE MY LOVE[/b] [b] SEARCHERS[/b] 7 9 [b] I MUST BE SEEING THINGS[/b] [b] GENE PITNEY[/b] 8 4 [b] I'LL STOP AT NOTHING[/b] [b] SANDIE SHAW[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 9 10 [b] YES I WILL[/b] [b] HOLLIES[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 10 5 [b] THE GAME OF LOVE[/b] [b] WAYNE FONTANA AND THE MINDBENDERS[/b] 11 16 [b] I APOLOGISE[/b] [b] P J PROBY[/b] 12 8 [b] DON'T LET ME BE MISUNDERSTOOD[/b] [b] ANIMALS[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 13 19 [b] HONEY I NEED[/b] [b] PRETTY THINGS[/b] 14 14 [b] GOODNIGHT[/b] [b] ROY ORBISON[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 15 12 [b] THE SPECIAL YEARS[/b] [b] VAL DOONICAN[/b] 16 17 [b] IT HURTS SO MUCH (TO SEE YOU GO)[/b] [b] JIM REEVES[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 17 11 [b] FUNNY HOW LOVE CAN BE[/b] [b] IVY LEAGUE[/b] 18 27 [b] CONCRETE AND CLAY[/b] [b] UNIT FOUR PLUS TWO[/b] 19 32 [b] DO THE CLAM[/b] [b] ELVIS PRESLEY[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 20 18 [b] MARY ANNE[/b] [b] SHADOWS[/b] 21 30 [b] I KNOW A PLACE[/b] [b] PETULA CLARK[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 22 24 [b] IN THE MEANTIME[/b] [b] GEORGIE FAME AND THE BLUE FLAMES[/b] 23 26 [b] I CAN'T EXPLAIN[/b] [b] WHO[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 24 23 [b] A WINDMILL IN OLD AMSTERDAM[/b] [b] RONNIE HILTON[/b] 25 15 [b] TIRED OF WAITING FOR YOU[/b] [b] KINKS[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 26 38 [b] THE MINUTE YOU'RE GONE[/b] [b] CLIFF RICHARD[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 27 25 [b] THE ''IN'' CROWD[/b] [b] DOBIE GRAY[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 28 21 [b] GOLDEN LIGHTS[/b] [b] TWINKLE[/b] 29 20 [b] KEEP SEARCHIN' (WE'LL FOLLOW THE SUN)[/b] [b] DEL SHANNON[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 30 NEW [b] REELIN' AND ROCKIN'[/b] [b] DAVE CLARK FIVE[/b] 31 NEW [b] YOU'RE BREAKIN' MY HEART[/b] [b] KEELY SMITH[/b] 32 NEW [b] FOR YOUR LOVE[/b] [b] YARDBIRDS[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 33 37 [b] I DON'T WANT TO GO ON WITHOUT YOU[/b] [b] MOODY BLUES[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 34 31 [b] CAN'T YOU HEAR MY HEARTBEAT[/b] [b] GOLDIE AND THE GINGERBREADS[/b] 35 NEW [b] KING OF THE ROAD[/b] [b] ROGER MILLER[/b] 36 39 [b] I BELONG[/b] [b] KATHY KIRBY[/b] 37 22 [b] YOU'VE LOST THAT LOVIN' FEELIN'[/b] [b] RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS[/b] 38 RE [b] I'M LOST WITHOUT YOU[/b] [b] BILLY FURY[/b] [url="http://www.officialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/1/1965-03-20/#"]Buy[/url] 39 NEW [b] HEY, GOOD LOOKIN'[/b] [b] BO DIDDLEY[/b] 40 NEW [b] STRANGER IN TOWN[/b] [b] DEL SHANNON[/b]

You generally get an extra 2dB more volume from the amps contribution by going 4ohm and 2dB more headroom. This is only just noticeable in absolute terms and only noticeable in practical terms if you hover at the point of distortion as Lawrence has said. As Bill points out by doubling the speaker count you'll get an extra 6dB, actually probably 5dB (3dB from the extra cone area and 2dB from the extra amp power) Since you are using a very efficient driver changing the speaker will probably lose you a dB or two. (2-2=0 so no change in volume) Most 4 ohm speakers sacrifice either efficiency or bass extension (Xmax) so you will probably be worse off.

Yep, great customer service from Ashdown.

Now as an incredibly ancient person who actually remembers the whole of pop music from the early days of Rock'n Roll and who plays predominately stuff from the last 10 years with his bands I'll stick my neck out and say [size=4][b][color=#444444][font=arial, sans-serif][b]plus[/b][/font][/color][/b][color=#444444][font=arial, sans-serif] ça [/font][/color][color=#444444][font=arial, sans-serif][b]change[/b][/font][/color][color=#444444][font=arial, sans-serif], [/font][/color][color=#444444][font=arial, sans-serif][b]plus[/b][/font][/color][color=#444444][font=arial, sans-serif] c'est la même chose (“the more it [/font][/color][color=#444444][font=arial, sans-serif][b]changes[/b][/font][/color][color=#444444][font=arial, sans-serif], the more it's the same thing”)[/font][/color][/size] [color=#444444][font=arial, sans-serif]As a teenager in the sixties it is easy to look back on them as a golden age with so many iconic songs, look back at the charts though and it looks awful. You find the iconic songs barely scratched the charts and the sixties equivalents of Simon Cowell dominated what was broadcast. It's pretty much the same, old blokes like me who used to get their music by sharing with mates at school now only listen to the radio, and radio 4 most of the time too, we only get to hear the mainstream stuff. (unless you are lucky enough to have a music obsessed daughter). You can't kill creativity and young people are just as driven and imaginative as they ever were, but the good stuff only rarely becomes mainstream so my generation don't get to hear it so much[/font][/color] [color=#444444][font=arial, sans-serif]T[/font][/color][color=#444444][font=arial, sans-serif]here's a slight grain of truth though. A lot of Indy uses a fairly steady eight beat root pump as part of the overall sound, just as Rock'n'Roll used a lot of major triads and pentatonics, and bands at the beginnings of their careers often write simple I,IV,V songs moving on to better things as they mature as musicians. I don't think many bands get the chance to mature nowadays.[/font][/color] [color=#444444][font=arial, sans-serif]I've often thought it would be fun to put up an old and good bass player and challenge someone to come up with a good modern player. I'm sure I'd learn something.[/font][/color] [color=#444444][font=arial, sans-serif]Have some Martin Turner [/font][/color][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia73dAETiGk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia73dAETiGk[/url] nice tone, check out Argus by Wishbone Ash for more.

Yep, you have a problem with the amp. If you have a voltage across the pots they will crackle quite often, this damages the pots too so good idea not to use it apart from the risk of shocks. Take the amp in with your bass on Saturday along with all the leads you were using.

In a circle, the rehearsal is the time to listen to what each other are doing and thinking. We tend to concentrate on arrangement issues, you kind of assume everyone knows the songs before you start, though that isn't always as true as it should be. You need the eye contact and to be able to talk. Every now and again we have either a 'dress rehearsal' where we set up as at the gig or a technical rehearsal where I get a chance to tweek the PA but you need a bigger space for this than our usual practice room.

The primer serves two functions. Wood contains lots of water and air, the primer acts as a barrier between that and the top coat which may not be compatible with water. You might be restricted to using water based top coats now and your emulsion may be porous to water and air and so is not sealed. The second function is to stick the paint to the wood. Your finish is possibly going to peel and will chip more easily than if you used an appropriate primer. Traditional wood primers contain very little pigment because their primary function isn't to colour the wood. In spray based systems the primer is designed to be compatible with both the wood and the paint and if it is a two coat system should be coloured to work with the top coat. If you want a relic'd finish you are probably going to get it very quickly.

It's an interesting technical challenge to implement an 'XLR' feed from a guitar. There are several advantages and you could have some or all of them. Better and locking connector Balanced line for lower noise induced in lead Balanced system throughout with lower noise from the bass Lower impedance and compatibility with mics If you just want a better more secure connector then just removing the jack and putting an XLR is a really simple job for any tech but there will be no change in sound which would probably be better by using a short jack to a DI box. It would also be relatively simple to convert to a balanced line inside the bass by putting a small matching transformer between the controls and the output socket. Effectively the working part of your DI is moved inside the electronics cavity of your bass. These are mass produced as mic matching transformers and cost about £10. This gives you all the electrical noise rejection of balanced line from the bass onwards so you could run absurdly long leads if you wanted. Is this what your tech is doing or is he/she just replacing the socket? This is how you would do it with a passive bass or an active one where you wanted to keep the electronics. If you were designing from scratch you'd do the electronics differently. Wonder how the various makes mentioned achieve a balanced output, if they do. Most humbucking pups could be adapted to have a balanced output. P-pups would be a particular doddle. This would give even better hum and noise rejection and a much cleaner feed to the PA, Again you'd have to adapt the electronics but the loss of noise would be worth it in my opinion. The other difference between a mic feed and a guitar feed is the impedance. 600ohms for a mic and around 8,000ohms for a typical bass, because bass pups have a lot more and bigger turns than a mic' coil. All those turns of wire have inductance that filter out high frequencies. Reducing the number of turns means lower output so amps would need more gain and I doubt a 600ohm balanced bass pup would have enough output to be practical. You don't need to go up to 18,000Hz like a mic but 8kohms is a compromise between output, signal to noise, and gain needed from guitar and bass amps which dates back to the 1940's which we only do because that's the way Leo did it in the first electric basses. I wonder what the ideal impedance would be? Forgive me, I'm such a nerd. In a practical sense find out if your tech is just changing your socket, I'd say no point as you'd be better using jack to DI and running as much balanced line as possible. If they are putting in a matching transformer then that should work well but check the low frequency response of the transformer, one designed for a vocal mic may well roll off at 80Hz ish.

I've used a Hartke Kickback for gigs, with and without DI and for a lot of rehearsals and it does the job and sounds pretty good. the shape control is a rather nice way of dialing up sounds quickly. Whatever you go for the kickback facility is always useful at this sort of power level so I'd not look at something that won't do this unless you want to carry a stand with you.

People have inadvertently answwered the question. If it plays and sounds good then it doesn't matter. At every price point Fenders are very variable and MIA ones are more variable than MIM or Japanese ones. If the pocket is out by 8mm then so is the neck, pickup placement, bridge and everything else. My bugbear is not fishing off fret ends properly. It's not just Fender in the States either, my Gibson TBird had one side of the neck more rounded than the other so the G string tended to slip away from you if you didn't fret spot on. The variation in playing has to be down to poor quality control and a general lack of care. Poorly fitting parts are the symptom of something which does show in the end because all the little things clearly do make a difference or there would be less variability and all Fender MIA would be good ones. Banning Japanese imports from Europe so they don't show up their USA masters is pretty shabby treatment of their customers IMO. Don't get me wrong, I have a Jazz and a P both MIA but it is buyer beware with Fender, great design with indifferent execution far too often. Both mine were bought used and I'd look elsewhere if I was looking for a new high price bass.

I had a good look, some of the stains had soaked deep into the wood and I know from experience the only way to get them out is to sand them out and I didn't want to go that deep, the others had crept under the lacquer and again I did not really want to enlarge the chip to get them out. the neck was sufficiently marked that the only alternatives were to strip it right back or to patch up and make do. It now feels and plays perfectly and the stains can't get any worse whilst not looking too bad. I just love the sound it makes, gig tomorrow night. I can't wait.

You are being a little unfair on BFM and JTUK. there are all sorts of issues about using speakers like these for bass and it is only right to warn people They blew all the time in the 70's and farted out at high levels and unless used carefully still will. they were never designed for bass. It's a shame to blow vintage gear and my instinct would be to trawl eBay for a replacement G12-65 to keep it original. Having said that if you get the sound you want and you are clearly being careful because they are still going then the other issues with mixing the speakers are these. make sure they are all equally loud. Most Celestion 12's are around 97dB/W but they vary between 96 and 100. If there is more than 1dB difference the louder speakers will dominate the sound, If the 12-30's are 30W speakers then your cab will be a 120W cab, less if you use bass boost. the handling of the cab is 4x the lowest powered speaker. The sound won't be the same as before, the two types of speakers will have different frequency peaks which won't line up and the sound will be a blend of the two, less characterful than the 12-65's on their own. To keep as much of the sound as possible use three 12-65's and one replacement. Celestion are very helpful, it might be worth emailing them and asking how compatible the new 12-65's are with the old.

One more for Peavey. I have a 1x15 Black Widow cab in my practice room. Too big and heavy to move often but I look forward to practice and the sound it makes. Immense and rather like drowning in warm chocolate, mmmm.