LawrenceH

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1324040865' post='1470100'] Buy a cab with a tweeter then turn it off if you don't need it and then when you do you have it maybe....? [/quote] Problem with this, is that often the switches just turn off the tweeter leaving the low-pass on the crossover still engaged (assuming the cab has one) meaning it doesn't sound equivalent to cab that didn't have a tweeter in the first place, much duller in fact. I'm no rock player but I've never seen the need for a tweeter on a cab with decent midrange extension All these different cab suggestions are fine, but essentially you're just buying Eminence drivers in a box, and nearly all the neo ones are based around some kind of Deltalite with (I think) the sole exception being the BF models which use the Kappalite. That's Eminence's top-of-the-line driver. If there's a crossover involved then that changes the voicing, as does using OEM tweaked versions of the drivers. But Alex is using both the highest spec woofers and, where applicable, midrange drivers of any of these manufacturers. Whether or not you like the styling or prefer the cabs a bit chunkier/tougher than the braced 9mm is a different matter. For me I'd think about the voicing I prefer, notably whether you want a separate midrange, then decide if you need/can utilise the extra output on offer from the BF gear. The EAD stuff does look lovely and I bet it sounds nice as well, but ultimately it won't match the BF for maximum output and the same goes for every single other 2x12 mentioned. Of course, that's immaterial if you don't need it in the first place.

When you say 'bending to the right' what do you mean? If the neck has a kink that isn't forward to back (as looking from above sighting down the neck) then you may have a problem

[quote name='Bloodaxe' timestamp='1323915327' post='1468713'] Wouldn't risk Acetone... It might well degrease the finish right the way down to bare wood, & that would be bad. [/quote] I definitely would risk acetone...if the finish on the guitar at the moment is acetone soluble then it would be risky spraying over it anyway, due to the compatibility reasons outlined by Ou7shined. However since it's most likely chemically cured 2-pack polyurethane, acetone won't do a thing to it.

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1323867775' post='1467944'] Yep, it's possible. The cab i owned was buildt around 2009/10, before the Neo crisis... [/quote] Genz Benz's website certainly used to have a bit explicitly about the driver, which they call GNX 12300. It said in that bit [size=3]'rated at 300 watts RMS and utilizes a 2 1/2" aluminum edge-wound high temperature voice coil. The 7 oz Neodymium magnet[/size]'... The sensitivity spec is lower than the nominal Eminence figure for a Deltalite though at 98dB - perhaps they tamed the mid peak below the 4k crossover but I wonder if it isn't modified with a longer voicecoil and perhaps a bigger heatsink to give a little more power handling and excursion? Over on Greenboy's forum I've seen references to it being a 3012-based design based on woofer appearance, so maybe it is indeed somewhere in between.

[quote name='EdwardCunliffe' timestamp='1323521059' post='1464148'] I suppose I should check mine is disconnecting properly whe the lead is unplugged. [/quote] Yes, based on what you see on forums it seems it's surprisingly common for them to be wired up wrong!

Also, in case you haven't spotted it I have started a build diary over in the relevant subforum to construct a pair of lightweight 35 litre 1x10 speakers, using Celestion drivers but they'd work with the Eminence drivers - I try to explain my thinking behind it over there so perhaps it'd be useful if you're looking to do something at all similar.

[quote name='tm486' timestamp='1323776391' post='1466800'] Will there be any large benefit to having the box tuned to 41Hz or will this increase the box size too much? [/quote] The problem with doing this is that mechanical excursion of the woofer in the crucial 1st harmonic region gets considerable placing a practical limit on how loud you can go, while at the same time you lose sensitivity in that same region. The other issue is that tuning to this frequency requires quite a long port taking up further internal space. It's all a trade-off but personally with typical 10" drivers I'd place a greater priority on 60 to 100Hz region than 40-60. What are your priorities from a cabinet out of small, loud, deep? To get an answer to this question it helps to have a play around with speakers that have a really excellent smooth bass response to see the effect of boosting different frequencies on bass guitar. Decent headphones do a surprisingly good job here, certainly compared to typical small hifi speakers, but they won't thump you in the chest like a big subwoofer can! What amp and bass would you be using with these cabs?

I've said it before but though the filters give quite a powerful funky sound, they sound very lo-fi compared to a proper synth (not in a good way) and the flexibility/editability is rubbish with a fair number of the oscillator configs being of very limited use. How good are the Roland bass guitar midi converters? Because if you linked one of them up even to something cheap like a minikorg then it would destroy the Deep Impact in every conceivable way!

Cheapy rubbish 12mm ply for prototype has been bought...don't have a router so advice on a blade for a powered jig-saw for cutting the baffle hole greatly appreciated! Have had problems in the past with the blade deflecting as you go round. Currently thinking about drilling at multiple points just inside the circle, joining these up then finishing off with a rasp. any alternative suggestions/general advice welcomed.

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1323773035' post='1466727'] it is a tiny concern and is certainly not worth any of us getting our knickers in a twist over. [/quote] In a practical sense I think you are quite right, the vast majority of times it will make no difference. But the theoretical key to this issue and what is poorly understood, even by those engineers who don't really work with wood, is that wood exhibits significant viscoelasticity rather than being purely elastic. You allude to this of course, but it means that (again 'in theory') Billy and the other people who get all wound up about neck tension in storage have a point. Even modest stress sustained for sufficiently long will result in what's termed viscoelastic creep leading to permanent deflection. How long is 'sufficiently long' is the question! Heating/steaming the wood under compression effectively speeds this up. Unlike what you seem to say earlier (I may have misunderstood your meaning sorry), loosening the strings with the truss rod under tension doesn't 'relax' the wood it just releases one side of a balanced-tension system. [quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1323773035' post='1466727'] People sometimes don't get just how little the t/r moves under operation [/quote] This is a bit of a red herring though, what matters is the induced stress and resultant deflection in the wood, whether it comes from a small movement via leverage is neither here nor there. I should reiterate that I absolutely agree it's really not likely to make a practical difference over a relatively short period. Chances of it having a big enough effect to pull the system out of range of the truss rod action are even less likely. But I wouldn't be surprised if basses kept for years with nasty bows that were initially temporary start to show permanent creep deflection, independent of environmental conditions. Of course, the two could interact with environmental factors inducing changes in the wood that in turn significantly increase the tension (I should maybe say at this point that my father-in-law is an engineer who specialises in timber construction!).

Tbh there is no harm in being a (polite, to start with) pain in the a&*e and it's often the best way, especially at a busy time like the lead-up to Christmas. I'd be nagging them daily at this point.

[quote name='tm486' timestamp='1323525448' post='1464196'] Hi, I am totally new to cab building and just fancy giving it a try, so forgive any stupid questions please. I am thinking of building 1 or 2 1x10 bass cabs mainly just to give it a go, and I’ve come up with a few questions. I’ve been looking at a pair of eminence deltalite 2510 ii’s or a pair of eminence basslite s2010’s. I’ve been looking at the specs and they seem to be fairly similar; my question is which is better suited to bass guitar or what would the main noticeable differences be between the two choices? Also how would I calculate the port size and length to make a ported enclosure? Thanks in advance for any help, Tom [/quote] Hi Tom, The Deltalite has a cast frame, which is generally a sign of a higher-spec driver (though what this means in practice varies). The extra thermal wattage rating means it'll go a little bit louder overall but the performance of each speaker at bass frequencies is limited to about the same output level due to how much the cone moves back and forth. For modelling the low frequency behaviour of the loudspeakers, the Thiele-Small parameters included on the manufacturer's datasheet (together with Xmax which indicates cone excursion linear limit) can be plugged into software like WinISD pro alpha (free). This lets you see the effect of box size and port tuning, and also indicates how long a port should be for a given tuning, box volume and port diameter. For a 1x10 speaker ~35 litres internal volume tuned to about 50-55Hz is a reasonable starting point for both these drivers IMO. The Deltalite will have slightly more of a 'hump' in the response around 100Hz, which can be quite effective at conveying an impression of 'bassiness', but the difference is pretty small. For a single 1x10 I'd personally use the Deltalite but for a 2x10 (say, 70 litres also tuned to ~50Hz) I'd consider using two s2012s to save a bit of cash and also weight, you have the potential for a very light cab there. You could go a bit smaller or a bit larger for these cabs, doing that will decrease or increase the bass response respectively.

[quote name='ficelles' timestamp='1323735547' post='1466502'] Ok so I just noticed an Akai SB-1 Deep Impact on fleabay with an asking price of £650. So I've never played through one or even knowingly heard one but I know they are well rated, but really? £650? *That* good? Someone tell me what it's all about... ficelles [/quote] They are not...they're pretty good but for that price I'd buy a proper synthesiser!

[quote name='jimcroisdale' timestamp='1323710054' post='1466108'] As a slight aside, knowing what I now know about xmax and fartout, do you think that manufacturers use the Deltalite 2512 instead of the Basslite 2012 just so that they can quote the higher wattage? [/quote] The 2512 has a cast frame, which from what I understand, in general leads to greater stiffness/less resonance compared to typical pressed steel (as seen in the basslite). The frame is also important for wicking heat away from the driver, and cast alu should be better at that so in theory you'd expect the deltalite to show reduced power compression in comparison to the basslite. It's not all down to T/S parameters, how the thing performs under load matters, and Xmax is not the only relevant measure. I bet waterfall plots would favour the deltalite. In a general sense cast woofers tend to sound better, though obv there are plenty of exceptions and cast frames tend to be reserved for premium drivers so you'd expect them to perform better anyway.

If you look at the insides of the traveller 10"-based cabs they (certainly used to) use a driver based on the B&C HPL64, whereas the Classic 108 uses what looks like B&C 10CL51. Assuming the specs are similar to the OEM drivers (and the travellers sound like it to me) then these will give quite different voicings, the former being more aggressive in the upper-mids and the latter being a bit more rich in the bottom end. Afraid I don't know about any other driver sizes but it's evident from the 10"s that Markbass use more than one chassis type depending on application.

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1323614247' post='1465021'] It all depends on what you are painting it with and how compatible with the original finish it is. Personally I'd take back down to the grain filler level just to avoid any misshapes. [/quote] Surely a Squier factory finish is going to be 2-part polyester or something equally inert? A new finish might even be more likely to react with any filler than the poly coat. I'd suggest keying a small bit of the original and spraying just that to check for good adherence and compatibility - stripping the whole lot off and getting a new flat black undercoat is a lot of work only to get you back to where it started.

[quote name='JohnFitzgerald' timestamp='1323515552' post='1464055'] but where do you draw the line ? [/quote] This for me sums it up. Better off just making sure all your kit, including the bass, is well looked after and regularly serviced.

[quote name='Bobby K' timestamp='1323292971' post='1461789'] Typical innit... I almost bought the orange label one, as they were going cheap in Watford Valves It turned out to be one of those "if it ain't broke don't fix it" things; I've put the original driver back in and it's fine. If truth be known, I was looking to save some weight by putting the neo in. It did make a very noticeable weight reduction too. Lightweight isn't everything though eh. Sound is king! [/quote] Doh! Yup I snapped up a couple of neo drivers when I had some cash before the price hikes put them out of reach...sound may be king but my back loves neodymium. I see watford valves still have the 4 ohm version of that orange label as well, tempting me...

[quote name='Bobby K' timestamp='1323288364' post='1461721'] The resulting sound was underwhelming, to say the least The cab space in the combo is tiny really, as you can see, so I'm blaming the resulting sound on the fact that this speaker enclosure is far too small for the Celestion to work properly. Or, perhaps my combo's amp section (200 watts) is under-powered for the Celestion?? [/quote] That speaker is a bit of an oddball, unusually high Qts for a bass guitar speaker - seems designed to give an old-school midbass 'hump' to the sound but it needs a big box tuned low to stop this being ridiculous. Probably the opposite of the type of driver you want for that Trace unfortunately! The Orange label equiv from Celestion would probably have suited it a lot better, unfortunately they're pretty expensive now.

I'd have thought loudspeakers are (or certainly should be) designed to cope with relatively rapid and extreme changes in temperature, given that we regularly flay them with several hundred watts. I don't know what a 'typical' minimum operating temperature is but I'd be more concerned with moisture than heat per se.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1323170689' post='1459979'] So what do you think... should I change my amp so that the DI is PRE EQ now!!?? [/quote] If you are using the preamp purely as a tone-shaping device then it makes no sense to change it to pre, under those circumstances you'd be better off getting a high quality DI box!

Have a look at Dave's pic on here, it may be the same for your amp http://basschat.co.uk/topic/156445-markbass-lmii-effects-loop/

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1323165782' post='1459888'] I think we need a bit more info before we get bogged down with a gazillion confusingly different ideas... like, does this beginner have any musical or playing experience at all (might explain the overly high budget)? [/quote] Listen to this! 'Best' instrument is going to depend on style of music, tonal and playing goals. Even though some basses are very versatile there is no one-size-fits-all.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1323046449' post='1458746'] crushing the life out of a track to less than 5dB of dynamic range as a part of the mastering process just destroys the musicality and power. [/quote] I agree with all this and was trying to make a similar point...but also it's worth recognising that the process is reflexive ie people including musicians will adapt and respond to these trends in (bad) mastering which has additional impact. Getting their instrument heard in a mix that's been thrashed to within an inch of its life [i]or, playing in bands that are consciously or unconsciously emulating that 'fashionable' sound[/i] is a challenge that deliberately introducing additional harmonic distortion helps them to meet. Of course, this then makes the overall mix even more busy and fatiguing and it becomes like an arms race, getting even more difficult to give each instrument its own space in the mix. Also, I absolutely don't buy the argument that flat, accurate monitors are undesirable for real hifi. I think that's a myth, built partly on misunderstanding arising from incomplete measurement information for certain 'flat' speakers. Except, if material is mixed to sound good on ipod headphones or cheap consumer docking stations then it probably isn't going to sound that great on speakers actually capable of reproducing real detail.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1323013730' post='1458264'] IMO if it was possible to build a completely flat amplification system most of us would find the sound produced dull and bland. It's those "good" distortions that make our music sound pleasing. [/quote] Pprobably true, but the distortion through decent studio reference equipment or even good hifi gear is a lot lower than what you get through a sansamp etc. You'd be fairly disappointed in your hifi if reproduced speech sounded no less coloured than through a Trace Elliot combo