Jesus Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Ive been given what i believe to be a 100w Alligator Combo 2x10". Anyone know anything about them or it? Im lead to believe Alligator were a british company many moons ago who have since gone under, probably just as long ago as there is no online presence. I'll try and take a pic tomorrow. Deano Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Rings a vague bell. Were gonna be the next best thing and sank like a stone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Hi Jesus they were well made and well meaning combos. I tried one years ago though it was broke and didn't sound to clever. BTW what's with the name and stuff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 I used one for a few years - pretty good (for 2x8" speakers) but really heavy, and eventually got killed by an airline. Was a lot better with a 1x15 extension cab. "Hand made" from what I recall, and well designed, I guess they were a very small company that didn't last very long. Good amp but I wouldn't spend too much on buying or repairing one. BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 They were out about 10 years ago (don't quote me on that date as I'm clocking on in years) and were a budget(ish) make. An amp/cab/combo was reviewed in the old UK Bassist mag many moons ago but don't ask me when! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Posted July 11, 2008 Author Share Posted July 11, 2008 Cheers guys. I was given it by a mate who i think was given it by his grandad. Its a big old thing, pretty heavy, and i wont know how well it works untill i get my first bass sometime next week. I had to buy a kettle lead tho, and it turns on ok, i think it should suit my beginners needs. There was one on Ebay not so long ago which was in far better condition than mine, seemed to have the same sized speakers and be identicle in every way but mine is taller and has a bigger space between the top of the speakers and the controls. Do you think this is likely because they changed the subwoofers later on in development and could get away with a smaller enclosure, or that i managed to cock-up the simplejob of measuring the diameter of mine and their actually 12's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Posted July 11, 2008 Author Share Posted July 11, 2008 Oh and as for the Jesus thing, no real reason really, my desired login name was taken so i randomly typed Jesus and it was fine. The pic is a stock pic i made up many many years ago just playing around with my basic photoshop skills. I just think i should say its not meant to offend or be anti-religious in any way whatsoever. We all know the Flying Spaghetti Monster created the world anyway right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Posted July 11, 2008 Author Share Posted July 11, 2008 (edited) Im starting to get a little excitied about finally getting a bass now, so ive gone down the shed and grabbed my tape measure. It seems I have 2X8" (seem a little bigger than 8, but nowhere near 10), and cabinet is flightcase-looking with black vinyl covering. I know very little about amps apart from they "amplify" the power to run the 'woofers so i wouldnt mind a little info on what the switches do if anyone can help. Running from left to right:- 2 x Inputs - hi/low (would that be active/passive?) Gain (i know this increases the bass but why/how?) Compressor (no ideas what this does) 5 pre-set soundshaper presets one of them being EQ (which im guessing relates to the 7 slider graphic eq next to it?) Master (master volume?) bi-amp (for attaching another amp?) and the standby switch and on the back there is: Loud Speaker Output - Minimum 8ohm load (?) 2xEffects Loop - send/recieve (?) Mixer/Slave (?) Thanks for that info BeLow Dean Edited July 11, 2008 by Jesus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whynot Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 I used Alligator cabs years ago but not the amps. First came accross them when I bought a 4x10 from bassist John Curry around mid 90s. Used it on several gigs but it was quite heavy so visited the factory near Slough IIRC and ordered 2 2x10s. The drivers were Volt. Nothing flimsy about them and very well made. Same goes for the combos from what I remember from the factory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alien Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 I tried one of the combos many moons ago, I believe it was a 2x8 but I may be misremembering. The thing that most stuck in my mind was the compressor. It had a separate attack control that went from a 'slow attack' sound at one extreme to a peaking thump at the other, almost like a drum hit. The whole combo was built like a flightcase, with a removable front covering the controls and speakers. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Posted July 12, 2008 Author Share Posted July 12, 2008 [quote name='BeLow' post='237688' date='Jul 11 2008, 10:56 PM']If you have got a camera and can post some pics that would be good working on some very old memory I think what the controls will do are:- 2 x Inputs - hi/low (would that be active/passive?) - Yes that's about right Gain (i know this increases the bass but why/how?) - what you need is a good healthy signal from your bass going into the front end of the amp, so I generally turn up the gain until either you hear it start distorting or a peak light starts flashing, at this point then turn it back a smidge. Too much signal into the amp will give a distorted sound, too little means that that you have to turn the master volume up more and any unwanted noise from your bass is more noticeable in the end output signal. Compressor (no ideas what this does) - This processor is designed to stop peak outputs from overdriving the amp, it will also increase the lower leve inputs. This means that generally that you can play a bit louder without the amp losing it on loud passages. Some are good some are not - perosnal preference thing. 5 pre-set soundshaper presets one of them being EQ (which im guessing relates to the 7 slider graphic eq next to it?) - yep that sounds right in terms of the eq switch. I think the others gave a boost to the low end and the high end. Not sure about the others but it might be a contour switch which cuts mid frequency - which tends to work with slap or pick sounds. Essentially the switches should allow you to modify the sound quickly, then use the graphic to fine tune - best to experiment with what you like. Master (master volume?) - yep bi-amp (for attaching another amp?) bi amp will probablt split the high and low frequency part of your sound, it might be that you can route the the high frequency signal back through the combo nd the low end through a slave amp and bigger cab - say a 1x15. and the standby switch - generally this allows you to mute the sound of the amp when you turn it on which can avoid some fo the dramatic thumps. and on the back there is: Loud Speaker Output - Minimum 8ohm load (?) to connect an extension cab of at least 8ohm or more 2xEffects Loop - send/recieve (?) - you can use this to add effects after the eq which shoudl be quieter Mixer/Slave (?) connects to a mixer or slave to give you more oomph at gigs. It is coming back to me now - I liked the idea of this combo - use it on its own for practices and quiet gigs and with the extension cab to give extra volume and better bass response.[/quote] Thats great information again BeLow, thanks. It sounds like ive got a pretty capable combo for what im gonna be initially using it for which is learning in my room, and maybe eventually a bit of jamming with mates (although it wont be light to carry around). I think i get what everything does now but i'll post a pic up as soon as i get a second to take one. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 Hi Jesus I'm sure I've got a review of this somewhere in my ancient magazine collection, which is in the study, now, as I type. We had the loft insulated and all the crap was removed except for the mags, which are too heavy and need to be decanted into more manageable chunks. I'll have a route this evening, I'll also see what wonders I can find and scan them into the computer, let's have a laugh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 For what its worth, I really liked my Alligator combo, and I would've kept it if it wasn't so heavy (and relatively limited in volume). The speakers were great, and the preset buttons were useful, particularly if you combined them. My current stuff is better though! BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share Posted July 13, 2008 (edited) Thanks Steve, that would be great if you find something. Ive taken a couple of very poor photo's (camera phones arent what they used to be!), excuse the mess. Its reassuring no ones said anything bad about them...yet! edit - that first pic really is bad, sorry. Edited July 13, 2008 by Jesus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 That's pretty identical to my old one, except the cabinet looks taller? I'm sure the amp was closer to the speakers, and it was a fair bit shorter. Maybe they enlarged the cab to get more low end? BB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesus Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share Posted July 13, 2008 [quote name='BassBod' post='238586' date='Jul 13 2008, 03:58 PM']That's pretty identical to my old one, except the cabinet looks taller? I'm sure the amp was closer to the speakers, and it was a fair bit shorter. Maybe they enlarged the cab to get more low end? BB[/quote] Thats sounds exactly like the one i saw on ebay not so long ago, identicle, but no gap between the top of the subs and the amp. That one was also in excellent condition and had silver corner protectors rather than the black my one used to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojo filters Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 [quote name='BassBod' post='238586' date='Jul 13 2008, 03:58 PM']That's pretty identical to my old one, except the cabinet looks taller? I'm sure the amp was closer to the speakers, and it was a fair bit shorter. Maybe they enlarged the cab to get more low end? BB[/quote] Looks like there's possibly some sort of horn, porting arrangement, or maybe even a transmission line (exiting at the gap along the bottom) which would account for the bigger cabinet...though it could be the co got a good deal on some slightly larger cabs, and inserted a basic port arrangement tuned to enhance the very low freqs that old 2x10s often struggle with. I really like the look of all those contours; classic early solid state tone-control experiments that are both useful and fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mateybass Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 (edited) [quote name='Jesus' timestamp='1215947586' post='238446'] Thanks Steve, that would be great if you find something. Ive taken a couple of very poor photo's (camera phones arent what they used to be!), excuse the mess. Its reassuring no ones said anything bad about them...yet! edit - that first pic really is bad, sorry. [/quote] Sorry, very late to the party but what you have there (if you still have it) is a 300W into 4 ohm load amp and 2 x 10" Volt speakers. Those speakers are [url="http://www.voltloudspeakers.co.uk/"]high-end PA stuff[/url]. The amp puts out 200W as a stand alone combo because the 2x10s are an 8 ohm load. I believe the speakers were full range speakers so a tweeter was not fitted to the bass amp, the cabinet shape was also used for a drum combo which did have a tweeter fitted in the gap between speakers and head. There is an achilles heel on some of these amps, the large capacitors in the power amp stage may not be the right ones designed for the PCB. If yours have flat spade type solder joints into the PCB, you're ok, but if they are just normal 1mm legs soldered into the board, vibration combined with humping ( or dropping down a flight of stairs like mine did once, the floor was ruined at the bottom) can cause them to break due to the capacitors not being clamped in place, resulting in a crackling sound. I say achilles heel but I've only had it happen twice in 25 years, it's been totally reliable otherwise. Easily fixed though with a clamp mounted onto the pcb. The cab is ported and designed specifically for those speakers, hence the size, same with the 2x8. I have the 2x8 version which is a smaller cab (no gap between speakers and head) but there hasn't been anything to match it for versatility since I bought it new in 1991. For bigger gigs I sit it on top of a Harke vx410 and it's the dogs whatsits then, easily competing with the guitarists 4x12 valve rig. Edited July 27, 2016 by Mateybass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuNkShUi Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 I doubt he's still got it as those initial posts were 8 years ago!! And we all know how bad GAS gets on here?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deksawyer Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Ah, this brings back memories......although I never owned one, or even seen one in the flesh, I always dreamed about owning one of these back in the 80's. I almost bought an ex Derek Forbes Dynachord 1x15 bass combo in Sound Control Edinburgh around that time........I've just realised I've been playing for quite some time and I'm still sh*t! D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Well Jesus, hasnt been on here since May 2009 but maybe he will come back from the dead and revive this thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 Probably around Easter next year, I guess? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinehead Posted August 4, 2016 Share Posted August 4, 2016 [quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1470307499' post='3104909'] Probably around Easter next year, I guess? [/quote] Haha... I saw a sign on a telegraph pole on a road in the Republic of Ireland last year - it was on good Friday. The sign was a picture of Jesus and the caption was "Back on Sunday". Clever! Frank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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