Bobby K

pics now added bump...

Ok guys All done and dusted, just need to play the drivers in now. Thanks a million for all your advice along the way Bob

Thanks for the advice guys. Here's a point though; is it normal for these cabinets (it's an old Trace 1048) to be full of fibreglass??? Had a look inside earlier and there's sheets of this stuff behind the drivers.... Hmmm.....

Hello folks! Come and see the UK's finest tribute to The Smiths. Andy Rourke is an unsung hero in the world of bass playing, his lines are legendary and I reckon I'm doing a half decent job reproducing them, so come on down for a great night! While we're on the subject, if anyone's selling a Yamaha BB2000, give me a shout cheers Bob

[quote name='wrinkleygit' post='794096' date='Apr 2 2010, 10:58 AM']2 core mains cable in 0.75mmsq section toolstation or screwfix do a 50m roll for about a tenner, used this for all my speaker leads for years, don't be fooled by more expensive imitations, always use good quality ie Neutric jacks tho, mike b.[/quote] Hi wrinkley. I've got decent speaker leads with Neutriks on already. I was actually referring to the wire [i]within the cab[/i] which connects the drivers... Thanks for the contributions gents

Hi guys I'm going to rewire a bass cabinet (4 x 10) and was wondering where to get the right wire from?? Any particular brands to look out for? For that matter, which gauge of wire should i get? 16?? Any help is much appreciated

[quote name='BarnacleBob' post='790852' date='Mar 30 2010, 05:44 PM']There is a USA(?) one in the for sale forum but that was mis described and not cheap IMO[/quote] These basses generally aren't cheap. My CR4M cost £1895 from The Bass Centre back in 2002, still wondering how I ever managed to buy it ! The WAV models (like the one referred to above) are meant to be NS's budget versions, have never tried one though, so not sure how they compare to the CR models in terms of quality.

Hi guys I'm still selling the flight case I had made for my NS CR4M. It's hardly been used since i got it a few years ago. It's basically the same design as the one featured on the NS website which can be seen [url="http://www.nedsteinberger.com/instruments/flightcase.php"]here[/url] The NS version is listed at $600! I bought mine from Flightcase Warehouse in Staffordshire for just over £200 a couple of years back. [b]I'm now dropping the price to £100.[/b] It's a rock solid case and will keep your investment well protected in the tour bus (just don't try and get on a regular bus with it ) The bass goes inside the NS tubular gig bag (see pic) and then inside the flight case. The tripod stand can be slotted alongside in its own bag- It's a snug fit, but it goes in As you can imagine, it's quite a large item, so local pick up would be ideal Cheers

Would Celestion BL10-200's be suitable replacements? Would be getting them wired to 2 ohms of course...

[quote name='Bobby K' post='781776' date='Mar 21 2010, 04:41 PM']So I'd need to know the wattage of the cab first. Is it simply a case of taking the drivers out and looking at the figures on them? When you say [i]250w mode [/i] do you mean when the output power selector switch is on [i]low[/i]?[/quote] Ok then. I've now removed the drivers from the cab... I was very dubious about these from the start, but imagine my horror when I looked at the back of one of the drivers and saw the words [b]McKenzie Disco Series[/b] on the back of the magnet! These it turns out are PA/disco drivers and most certainly are not bass drivers! Gutted, but you live and learn eh? Thankfully, the cab itself seems to be a genuine 1048, so I'm now thinking of turning the cab into a 2 or 4 ohm version by getting the correct [b][i]bass[/i] [/b]drivers. I'll have a look around the forum but in the meantime, can anyone recommend some decent ones that won't break the bank... Looking forward to getting closure on this [i]enclosure[/i] issue!

[quote name='Musky' post='781985' date='Mar 21 2010, 07:37 PM']Strictly speaking you don't [i]need[/i] to know the power rating of the cab, so long as you use your ears for signs of it starting to complain. Even if the cab is rated at 320w like the later 1048's, you could still push it to it's limits (or past them) with say an amp rated at 300w if you like distortion and boosting the bass. And if you do like distortion, that can mask the sound of the speakers complaining. But it won't hurt to look in the back of the cab anyway, just for a bit of peace of mind. Or you could have a word with Merton - he's quite up on old Trace gear and might know the power rating. 250w is the rated output of the VA350 (AFAIR) on the medium setting, although I'd expect that to be quite conservative. Edit: I just took a look on harmony central to see if anyone had left a review for an older cab, and someone mentioned that they used Celestion C100h speakers, rated at [i]32 ohms[/i]. That might put the kibosh on any idea of using this cab as a standalone.[/quote] Thanks again Musky. As far as power rating of the cab goes, i'm fine with the using my ears thing. I know when to back off on the power if the speakers grumble. I'll definitely need to look inside this cab because the original drivers have been replaced. I can tell this because the discs in the centre of each speaker (are they the voice coils?) are [b]silver[/b] instead of black. you may have seen this very cab on ebay last week. I think a lot of buyers were put off because the speakers looked different. I got it for 137 quid in the end and it sounded fine in conjunction with the 1153. I'll look at the back of one of the drivers and see what's on there and report back if that's ok?

So I'd need to know the wattage of the cab first. Is it simply a case of taking the drivers out and looking at the figures on them? When you say [i]250w mode [/i] do you mean when the output power selector switch is on [i]low[/i]?

Ok guys, the VA350 shook newcastle to its foundations last night with those two 8 ohm cabs Now then, I'm quite interested in musky's suggestion earlier about rewiring an 8 ohm cab to 2 ohms. My band now hates me because we're carting around two bass cabs and it would be more practical to just carry the one. The Trace 1048 cab i've got is 8 ohm and looks like an older one (no wattage info etc on the rear socket plate, tolex covered, not carpet, with the red stripes accross the front) Not sure of the wattage, but just wanted to know if the rewiring to the correct impedance for the VA350 can be done and what the implications/ramifications of doing so are. Is it easy to do and as a great man once said [i]Is it safe??[/i] I'm guessing it might be more practical to just buy a 4 ohm cab but I'm skint after buying the VA350!

[quote name='obbm' post='779476' date='Mar 19 2010, 09:31 AM']If 1048 is 8-ohms and 1153 is 8-ohms then using them together will be 4-ohms.[/quote] I thought so obbm, thanks very much for the reply! Phew, for Newcastle at least

[quote name='Bobby K' post='779463' date='Mar 19 2010, 09:22 AM']As it stands, i've got a gig in Glasgow tonight, armed with the VA350 and the 1153. Don't know if i should use it now. The gig the night after is in Newcastle, where we'll be picking up a 1048 (bought on ebay too from someone else) - I'm guessing it's fine to use the 1153 and 1048 daisychained with the VA350? those cabs are both 8 ohm yeah? * I say daisychained because there's only one speaker out on the VA350[/quote] Can anyone give me an answer on this.. i'm leaving for Glasgow imminently Sorry to be a pain...

[quote name='bumnote' post='779462' date='Mar 19 2010, 09:20 AM']I saw that as did a friend, we were both going to bid and then it disapeared nice score[/quote] Sorry guys... Got it for 300 in the end. Had to get it from Hull yesterday!

[quote name='Musky' post='779452' date='Mar 19 2010, 09:05 AM']I just had to do a search for that one. £62! How to screw up your chances of maximising your sale price in one easy lesson! Congratulations are due if you did manage to score that one Bobby. I forgot about that option - it would work with a more common 8 ohm cab rewired for 2 ohms as well. Whatever cab you end up with you just need to bear in mind that Oxblood ended up measuring the output on his VA350 at 470w - it's a lot more powerful than the rated output would suggest.[/quote] yes, it was the one on ebay. I needed it as a matter of emergency, so contacted the seller and arranged a buy it now, outside of ebay (tsk tsk, I know) As it stands, i've got a gig in Glasgow tonight, armed with the VA350 and the 1153. Don't know if i should use it now. The gig the night after is in Newcastle, where we'll be picking up a 1048 (bought on ebay too from someone else) - I'm guessing it's fine to use the 1153 and 1048 daisychained with the VA350? those cabs are both 8 ohm yeah? * I say daisychained because there's only one speaker out on the VA350

[quote name='Musky' post='779312' date='Mar 18 2010, 11:52 PM']Another VA350 owner. Sadly whichever preamp you use, you'll still be risking the power amp running at 8 ohms. It's the power amp that connects to the speakers, so that's what will 'see' the load. The VA350 pushes its valves pretty hard in standard form, so you really don't want to strain them further. You might like to do a search for posts by Oxblood, who bought a VA350 power section and did some pretty major work on it. He also lovingly detailed all that work and his findings. You'll have to go to finnbass for the conclusion though.[/quote] Ok, thanks for that Musky. Am i right in thinking then that if I ran the VA350 through [b]two[/b] 8 ohm cabs, the impedance will then become 4 ohms and thus eliminate the risk to the power amp? I don't really have the capability to transport around two cabs plus the beast that is the VA350, if I'm being honest. Would be a lot easier for me to be able to run it through just one cab. I'm now assuming that that one cab would need to be a 4 ohm cab.. Am I correct?

[quote name='obbm' post='779285' date='Mar 18 2010, 11:23 PM']I didn't mean to confuse. The GP11 is all solid-state, the direct input on the VA350 chassis is valve all the way but has no tone controls IIRC.[/quote] Yes, that's what i thought and I intend to mainly use the solid state input (GP11) not the direct valve input. So, if i input through the GP11 only, using the 1153 on its own, will the issue regarding the strain on the output valves still remain? If I used a 1048 on its own, would that be ok? Sorry to harp on..

[quote name='obbm' post='779250' date='Mar 18 2010, 10:51 PM']BTW I think you'll find a lot of solid-state in that pre-amp.[/quote] what do you mean? Do you mean it would be better to use the top section of the head (the GP11) as opposed to the valve input section. Sorry if that sounds confusing... Also, would using the 1153 in conjunction with, say, a 1048 (4 x 10) make it a lot safer for the amp? How about using the 1048 on its own with the amp?

Hello again guys I've managed to get hold of a lovely old Trace Elliot VA350 amp, the one with the GP11 and valve preamps. Just wanted to ask if I could use it safely with a Trace 1153 speaker? The amp is 350 watts and the impedance switch on the back of the amp is switchable between 2 and 4 ohms - it's set on 4. The 1153 speaker is only rated at 200 watts and is an 8 ohms. Can I use the amp with the 1153 on its own, or would I have to use the 1153 in conjunction with another speaker? I've got the output power selector on the back of the amp set to "low" - it's got low medium and high settings - but it's bloody loud enough on low (I tested the amp through a friend's 1153 and 1048 speakers together) Sorry to bring up the old impedance/wattage issue but I can never get my head around it Any answers would be most appreciated....