stevie

Interesting stuff, thanks all. Looks like a move to a Premium model might be on the cards. I'll be watching the For Sale section with interest.

Al, do you think the Nords are an unpgrade on the Barts, or just a different flavour?

Another SR500 user here. I've had mine for a year and love it. So much so that I have been considering upgrading to one of the more expensive Ibanez models, especially having tried a few of Woodinblack's Ibanez basses at the SW Bass Bash. I particularly like the slim neck and the light weight.

Let us know how you find it. It seems to be a bit of an "insider tip" at the moment.

I've got one. I think it's about the fifth lightweight head I've had and I like it better than any of the others (all well known brands). It has more clarity and punch, and the feature set - particularly the tone controls - is ace. The compressor is very usable, although I have no use for the subharmonics generator and have found - although it might just be me - that cutting 240Hz a bit improves the overall sound.

No need for multiple rigs or multiple cabs. A modern 15" cab will cope with virtually any gig and be as loud as you need on stage. What's not flexible about that? The only time you really need two, or even three cabs, is if your single cab is not up to it. Better buy one that does the job properly. IMO, of course.

I prefer a good 15 myself, although they no longer seem to be fashionable. If you're looking to save weight, choosing a driver that's too small to do the job and then using two of them makes no sense at all. Not helpful, I know, but I just wanted to get that off my chest. Lightweight 4x10s? Don't be silly! 😛

Trace did use some Fane and Precision Devices speakers, but it looks like a Celestion to me from the photos I see on the internet - same one they used in the 1153. If it has a small dome, it's a Celestion. You could use a more modern driver if you wanted.

The vertical integration helps - they also make their own drivers. Another important aspect is that the market is much bigger and more competitive than the bass cab market, and margins are therefore much thinner.

Does Acme publish a frequency response curve? Or Bergantino and the others? That's your first clue.

It's fairly easy to do. You don't even need a switch.

Do you know something that the rest of us don't know?

Yes, you should always leave feedback in the Feedback section - even (or especially) if you're not happy, as Basschatters tend to trust their fellow forumites.

Is anyone going directly into the Line In of these PA cabs rather than using a preamp?

That's an amazing collection of transcriptions. Thanks for making them available. You don't know how helpful this is.

Those were the days - when you could blow up a 4x12 with a 100 watt amplifier! 🤑

In which case, in addition to the suggestions that have already been made, you might like to look out for a Peavey IPR1600 on eBay. It's just 3kg and a good, reliable amp with plenty of power. Your easiest and lightest option would of course be to sell the Tonehammer preamp and get an Aguilar TH500.They're not cheap, but used ones do come up in the Basschat For Sale section. I expect that's crossed your mind.....

From your computer to the amp - a signal cable with a mini jack on one end and 2 x phono plugs on the other. The black and red sockets on your speakers are for banana plugs, but you can also use bare wires. So, standard speaker cable between the amp output and the speakers. Bare wire at both ends I'd guess (without seeing the Denon).

As Dan Dare says, you can get some good bargains in used power amps these days as long as you're happy to carry 12kg+. The PA guys tend to favour the lighter amps with switch mode power supplies nowadays - which is understandable if you're carrying several dozen. I sold a 900W QSC on here for £90 a few years ago and a Carvin 1000W for £100 - both really nice old-style amps.

Does anyone have a transcription? I quite fancy a go at that.

Yes, it's a problem I recognise well. Anyone playing through a small cab in venues like pubs, etc. has to contend with this. As I'm sure you're aware, the difficulty with hearing yourself when you're standing close to your cab is less a matter of volume and more a matter of hearing the frequencies that let you make out the pitch of your bass notes. Those frequencies aren't there when you're standing off axis with cabs like this. That's why I'm unconvinced that a more powerful amp is necessarily the best solution for gjopnes - but that's obviously his decision to make (although having plenty of amp power on tap is always a "good thing"). As well as providing additional SPL, adding a second cab on top of the first lets you hear those pitch-identifying frequencies a lot better because the top speaker is a lot closer to your ears.

I agree with this, and have done it several times myself. It's really fiddly because the wire is incredibly thin, but it's not that difficult. I can see why you might want to let someone else do it.

Exactly! My experience with auditioning new gear is that first impressions are crucial - and they're usually right. Your impression of that item of equipment may alter as you become familiar with it, but there's also a good chance that in time you'll convince yourself that it's actually OK when it isn't. The problem is not your bass, your amp, your cab or you. It the cab. Quite why you were sold this as a solution for hearing yourself better up close is anyone's guess. However, your volume problem is easy to explain. The midrange sensitivity of the 12" driver in the Super Compact is about 97dB - fairly standard for that kind of driver. The midrange sensitivity of the 15" driver in your other Compact - as Ebenezer has pointed out - is 100dB. As Phil mentioned earlier, to compensate for that 3dB loss of sensitivity will require twice the amplifier power. Not only that, but the Kappalite 15 has a broadband rise in efficiency across the entire octave between 1 to 2kHz, where it measures 104dB. Without going into too much boring detail, that should actually make the 15 easier to hear than the 12 when you are standing in front of it. So, having spent £600, or whatever it costs, on a box that you describe as underwhelming and that obviously doesn't do what you want it to do, you are now being advised to go out and spend another £500 on an 800 watt amp just to get back to where you started. Before long someone will be telling you to buy another Super Compact so that you can hear yourself properly. If you're happy with the sound, volume and convenience of your current cab, the best and the cheapest solution is to keep it, and tilt it upwards towards you. That will cost you (virtually) nothing. If you fancy a new cab, have a look at cabs like the TKS 1126 which are fitted with a separate midrange driver, because they will direct more midrange to your ears when you are standing in front of them and make it easier for you to hear what you are playing. The (only) bass cab manufacturer who has really considered this problem properly is Greenboy with his F112. That cab not only has a midrange and HF driver but it also has a tilt position. I haven't heard it (or the TKS) - so I'm only suggesting the kind of cab that is likely to work for you. The other option is the active PA cab solution that some bassists are working with now. There is a long thread on those somewhere on here.