LawrenceH

[quote name='muttley' timestamp='1322225912' post='1448190'] Interesting. I had a look at the datasheet for the driver mentioned by the OP but didn't notice the definition of Xmax (basic arithmetic, Klippel, or otherwise). [/quote] It's only defined on the datasheets for their 'pro' range PA drivers, but the voice coils and gap depths all strongly imply that they use the same calculation for their bass ones too. Interestingly, using the arithmetic method favoured by other manufacturers (Hvc - Hg)/2 + Hg/4 that particular driver clocks in at 4.5mm. Alex's very helpful Vd figures on his site suggests that for the Eminence drivers this value is close, but a bit optimistic compared to the distortion method, whereas the B&C drivers mostly meet or exceed it. Where these Celestions sit, who knows? But personally I'd choose this driver over the green labels for the midrange response, without losing any sleep over the xmax.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1322217653' post='1448003'] In order to get as loud as they can you supply more power to the driver than for a 'normal' cab with similar drivers, so the drivers are slightly less sensitive (less loud for the same amount of power) but happily handle a great deal more power than a normal cab. [/quote] Hmm. I can't think of many drivers whose sensitivity is better than the nominal 100dB of these speakers. Even a pair of 10" drivers running at, say, 98dB sensitivity each (high for a 10") will only couple effectively up to a few hundred Hz so it ought to be at least as loud as the Hartke. The one issue I can think of is that I expect the BF use lower tunings than a lot of other cabs so you might lose a couple of dBs on the mid-bass 'hump', but I'd still expect the real-world difference to be marginal and would argue that's more of a voicing than a volume issue.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1322220170' post='1448052'] Other substances might work better but access and availability...and price..? might be an issue [/quote] Isopropyl is indeed a better general solvent, as is acetone! Not entirely straightforward to get in quantity unless you happen to work in a lab though. Hmm, perhaps I should get into this string cleaning thing. All of these substances will contain water, I don't know how much is significant from the corrosion perspective.

[quote name='muttley' timestamp='1322216416' post='1447967'] I'm pretty sure the Celestion figure is based on Herr Klippel's machine (I visited the R&D facility a couple of years ago). [/quote] According to their datasheets, quoted xmax is still using the arithmetic method. Be interested to know if they have Klippel figures as well though! Btw I don't think Bill's 20% increase rule of thumb is necessarily accurate, if you look at the B&C 10CL51 for example it has a quoted Xmax of 6mm (Klippel) but an arithmetic Xmax of ~4mm. For the 10NW64 it's 8 and 4 respectively. They also claim the 10% THD is ambiguous and prefer Xvar, based on physical behaviour of the driver rather than output signal. It's perhaps pertinent that although Eminence rule the roost in bass cabs, in high-end PA it's a different story. For me, it just suggests that TS parameters are good for modelling small signal LF behaviour but to understand how a speaker performs at volume, easiest way is to build it!

[quote name='merello' timestamp='1322167926' post='1447578'] The 1970s ended, however, with possibly the greatest Precision Bass moment in all of rock history. [/quote] The supreme level of hyperbole in this statement is very rock ...nice article though!

I have an old pair of Celestion K300 12s which only have a nominal 2mm xmax...they sound fab on bass and have sufficient grunt that we have on occasion used them with active crossovers as stand-in PA subwoofers, a job they've done just as well as any other compact reflex box I've heard. I'm sure they're technically distorting away but you have to drive them HARD to make them audibly fart out. For musical instrument speakers one could argue that xmech is a more important parameter, along with the behaviour of the speaker on exceeding xmax. But this is not straightforward to measure or model. I don't think Celestion's designers are quite as clueless compared to the mighty Eminence as they seem to be made out to be in internetland - perhaps this comes partly from the very different relative costs of each in US versus UK. At £89, which was about what they used to be before prices went silly, they're pretty reasonably priced for a lightweight pressed steel 15" driver. £190 is clearly stupid and suggests Celestion may be effectively giving up on neo bass speakers for the time being other than for OEM replacements.

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1322072783' post='1446239'] Hi Laurence. To me it looks like that one doesn't lock on the open position, only stops [/quote] Yup that's right, but I can't see why that is a problem, all the force of the cab weight pushes it that way so it only has to stop in 1 direction. Good luck in your hunt though

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1321972351' post='1444951'] Yes, it's exactly like you described but it fixes the handle in the 90 degree at the same time. Tonight i'll take a picture of the one in my Promethean's cab. [/quote] So it looks like that one has a lock in both directions, holding it at 90 degrees or so. This should do a similar job, although these ones only lock in one direction this shouldn't matter if you mount the handle the right way round! http://www.penn-elcom.com/product/hardware/handles/elcom-recessed-handles/1851/306/ Alternatively I'm sure some of the surface-mount handles do the same.

Isn't that just a recessed flip handle? Something like these: [url="http://www.bluearan.co.uk/index.php?browsemode=category&category=Hardware&masthead=Handles&subheadnew=Sprung_Handles"]http://www.bluearan....=Sprung_Handles[/url] EDIT: I see it's non-recessed. There are some surface-mount sprung handles on there, looks like a 90 degree stop on the Promethean

Go secondhand, definitely. Peavey or perhaps Ashdown (EB/Mag series) can be had for that kind of money and will do the job, probably better than the Behringer. I've played a (I think) 90w Behringer in a practice room and it definitely isn't as good, reaches its limit very abruptly and rather nastily. Laney also do a little tiltback combo which is ok.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1321710368' post='1442260'] So thanks, Alex. If my band ever gets to playing bigger venues, I may have to call you up for a Super 15! [attachment=93367:bass cab new 2 003.JPG] [/quote] Great result! Jolly decent of Alex, look forward to hearing this at a gig some time. I really like the clear midrange voicing on the older Markbass 12" cabs, which I'm guessing used a similar driver, so I expect to like this.

Hi, The cab will be designed to work around a particular speaker. That doesn't mean you can't put an alternative in, but not any alternative will automatically do just because it is the right wattage/ohm rating. Bear in mind if the speaker is farting out, it could well be due to mechanical damage through overpowering the bass end (causing the cone to move too far physically) rather than exceeding the thermal watts rating. Also worth checking it's not something trivial like a bent grill pressing against the speaker. If the crossover is designed to work with 4 ohm speakers, then substituting an 8 ohm driver will make it behave differently. For a single 15 to keep up with and complement a 4x10 cabinet in your set-up then you probably do want one that has decent low-end sensitivity, is 4ohms, and can handle close to the full thermal wattage. The Celestion driver you link to is expensive because it uses lightweight neodymium magnet. If you don't mind the weight then a more old-school driver will be cheaper and give you a bit more choice. Eminence do a delta 15LF and kappa 15c that are both available in 4 ohms versions. I have no experience with either, though Eminence as a brand are fine. To work out if they'll suit what you want a good place to start is with the size of your cabinet (in terms of internal volume) and port tuning frequency. Loudspeaker modelling software like WinISD, which uses electromechanical parameters from the driver spec sheet to simulate how the bass end will behave in a given cabinet, can then be used. If that seems like a bit much, people here can probably help with the modelling side of things. There is a lot of info already on here and on barefacedbass.com about principles of ported loudspeaker design for bass guitar which is helpful. Also useful would be the details of the speaker already in the cabinet, Marshall will probably be using an OEM version of a driver from the likes of eminence, celestion, sica/jensen or similar and if we can work out which it is, then it'll give a clue as to the type of driver will suit as an upgrade.

[quote name='JohnFitzgerald' timestamp='1321791035' post='1442997'] Yeah, I think it's the heaviest lift we have. Would be great for a residency. [/quote] If you really love the sound and are handy enough with woodworking, you could check the weight of the drivers in the Peavey and work out how much they're contributing to the weight compared to the cabinet. I suspect the cab is pretty heavy. Lightweight 12mm premium poplar ply can be had for about £40-50 for a 1220x2500 sheet. You could build a cab clone (with additional bracing if you go with the thinner 12mm ply) and swap the drivers and hardware over. The weight difference between poplar and birch (or MDF which I suspect a lot of these heavy cabs are made from) is considerable.

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' timestamp='1321796029' post='1443059'] Good point snicks. The simple 'like' option seemed to be good for people who would have responded to a post they agreed with by posing a quote followed by +1 without any new content to add. Keeping a total score for someone's account and rating the person, not their individual posts does seem less useful and possible counter-productive. [/quote] I agree with this and would change my vote to 'likes only' if it was disconnected from a running 'reputation' tally and de-anonymised. That last is also important for it to function as intended I think.

I find transitioning smoothly between fingerstyle and slap is hard, too much shifting is required. Which is a shame because the style I enjoy most is probably something like the old Sugarhill recordings. Slap is an inherently more difficult technique to start with than finger playing as even a single hit requires a fast, accurate flick and recoil. But either can be taken to any level. One thing that's probably a mistake in my opinion is to be a better slapper than you are a fingerer! Oh dear. But really, players like that don't generally go down well.

Another one here...I've often puzzled over why, maybe I should string one bass up backwards and give it a go, perhaps I'll be wicked at it!

I voted against the whole thing in the end because I think it encourages cliques and ultimately won't really help the mods either. But I was torn because '+1' is so irritating. Can we get rid of the system but also ban '+1'ing? Where did it even come from?

I love this, it's just so weirdly brilliant. Just checked out an interview with him here http://www.bassfrontiersmag.com/quintin-berry comes across as a really cool guy as well. I can't even work out how he's playing the strings.

DI through a pad straight from the speaker leads is another possibility...('spect he used one of them Behringer units with the built-in cab emulator innit)

Does anyone else feel like they're on talkbass?

When is Grand Wazoo going to be along to recommend a wonky-fretted Dingwall eh? Reverse P pickup position might help too so you get more of the lower harmonics on the top string, but it's annoying to mod as an experiment unless the cavity rout's already big enough.

I am that sad These are very useful for a rock-type sound. Before the Behringer bashers jump in I have always found their comps did a decent job live, especially for drums and compared to other budget makes. In terms of tight punch though, they still don't substitute for a drummer who really knows how to tune his kit! I've met lots of drummers who seem to know how to tune a kit but a select few are able/willing to tune almost any kit until it sounds killer. Then the gates become more useful but the comps are almost redundant.

I sold a mint one for I think £350 a while ago. It's quite a good synth pedal but they are simply not worth that money. They track well, but they don't have anything like the filter quality of a proper synth nor are they programmable. They only have about 2 useful sounds and they're pretty low-fi at that. The cases are good but the actual electronics must be worth pence...I'd have an alesis micron or microkorg for that cash! As for £600-odd...

The midget is a very sensitive cab, you could probably drive it with abut 10 watts and it'll come out loud enough to annoy the neighbours. If it were me I'd think about a small practice cab, maybe made around a decent quality (but low sensitivity) 8" driver, and sealed rather than ported. Drive it with the Genz, which surely you can just turn down? You may need to do some rough loudness compensation with the EQ though.

Tbh I love my funk but I'm not really feeling this one, too repetitive in the rhythmic phrasing and doesn't leave enough space for me - I can imagine a lot of players doing something v similar but better. However, the tone is wicked - very Sugarhill.