Barefaced Vintage

[Riffland]

Hi all, this my first ever post on this forum.

I will also add that I am [i]the[/i] 'Tim' of which BottomEndian speaks, and thus I have heard the mighty Vintage.

I've been waiting to hear, see, and perhaps touch this cab for some time now (smelling and tasting might come further down the road). It was worth the wait! Firstly, it looks fantastic. As stated, the pics thus far don't do it justice. It looks almost innocent in its 'vintage' guise, yet the black rippled finish is rather menacing on closer inspection. The weight, or lack of, made my spinal column weep as I looked at my cabs. But what joy as the guy from the "far North East" started cranking some noise through the 2x15.

So much volume, so much presence, and compared to the Peavey cabs of yesterday, so much SOUND. "You can actually hear it" we remarked. The drive/fuzz pedals worked great with it, a lot of definition throughout the frequency range. We jammed some riffs together and it felt great to really hear (and feel ) the bass alongside my guitar. There was so much information coming through from the highs and mids whilst there was a lovely low end, and not just rumble, but defined notes. I'm amused by the news that it'll get fatter and deeper once the speakers are run in.

And, yes, we did try the detuned Les Paul>Big Muff>Carlsbro Stingray head>Vintage setup. WOW. I WANT ONE!!!!!!!. It sounded huge. I play with a fair (or unfair ) amount of bottom end and have used solid state bass amps for several years now, I think a 2x15 Vintage cab could finish things off nicely.

I am very jealous, like a child. I really want one of these for geeter. Plus it'd look pretty nifty on stage.

It's going to be really interesting to hear how this comes along, both in terms of the speakers running in, and in terms of tweaking and tuning the setup - basses, pedals, preamp. Once the rig is tuned with the new 'Monument to Bowel Destruction', there's going to be some serious sound being pushed.

"The horror. The horror."

I just need you guys to bully him into buying me one.

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='532336' date='Jul 4 2009, 11:23 AM']Oh, and Foxen... Vintage = Doom.[/quote]

Now that I have it at home and no-one can snatch it from under my nose, I can reveal why I was asking about alternative colours. Claber, can you do the Vintage in green with a white cloth? To match this:



I think it should match nicely with the Vintage.

[escholl]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='532699' date='Jul 5 2009, 12:08 AM'][/quote]
EPIC WIN!!

[steve-soar]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='532699' date='Jul 5 2009, 12:08 AM']Now that I have it at home and no-one can snatch it from under my nose, I can reveal why I was asking about alternative colours. Claber, can you do the Vintage in green with a white cloth? To match this:



I think it should match nicely with the Vintage.[/quote]Good grief, that's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

You bastard.

Cue Mr. Foxen, narrowing his eyes and grining.

Bastard.

The words "Matamp" and "slave" give me a hard on.

Bastard.

[Merton]

Is the Toyota Yaris actually the Tardis? No idea how the Vintage fits in the boot without putting the seats down, my Focus can't manage the same feat. Bloody Ford - make your boots bigger! It's annoyingly only about 2" narrower than the cab is long but there we go

Good excuse not to take the guitarists or drummer to the gig I suppose

[BottomEndian]

Pictures, anyone?

It's so big I had to use a wide-angle lens to get it all in shot, so apologies for the distortion. Here's the Vintage with my VMJ for scale (we all know how big a Jazz is, right?):
[attachment=28462:Vintage_4.jpg]
Here it is unclothed (and by 'eck, I had to work to get that grill off):
[attachment=28463:Vintage_2.jpg]
And this is how big it sounds:
[attachment=28464:Vintage_3.jpg]

[Born 2B Mild]

Good to see it 'naked' though I feel it looks vunerable like that.

Personally, I'm not a fan of cloth grills except for original vintage gear. More for practical protection than cosmetics. Maybe Alex will offer a non-vintage metal grill as an option ...or am I completely missing the point and should stick to knitting and looking after kittens?

[Raggy]

[quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='535163' date='Jul 7 2009, 09:43 PM']Good to see it 'naked' though I feel it looks vunerable like that.

Maybe Alex will offer a non-vintage metal grill as an option[/quote]

Thats what I would like to see also

[dannybuoy]

Or a metal grill with cloth covering, best of both worlds. Alex, how come the speakers aren't dead centre?

[Stylon Pilson]

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='535436' date='Jul 8 2009, 09:41 AM']Alex, how come the speakers aren't dead centre?[/quote]

Speaking of Alex, he hasn't logged in since Saturday. Is he on holiday or something?

S.P.

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='535163' date='Jul 7 2009, 09:43 PM']Good to see it 'naked' though I feel it looks vunerable like that.

Personally, I'm not a fan of cloth grills except for original vintage gear. More for practical protection than cosmetics. Maybe Alex will offer a non-vintage metal grill as an option ...or am I completely missing the point and should stick to knitting and looking after kittens?[/quote]
I originally approached Alex about a Vintage with a metal grill. He said it was certainly possible as a custom option, and I think he's repeated that somewhere on BC, but it changes the basic construction of the cab so it would have been an even longer wait and even more money that I shouldn't be spending anyway.

FWIW, the cloth seems [i]really[/i] strong. You'd have to put some serious effort into it to break through and knack the cones. Thing is, if you did tear the cloth, you could just get new cloth put on the frame. Just to be on the safe side though, I'm going to get a padded cover made.

[Alien]

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='535436' date='Jul 8 2009, 09:41 AM']how come the speakers aren't dead centre?[/quote]

To reduce the possibility of internal resonances, at a guess.

A

[51m0n]

Damn that looks the absolute canine undercarriage.

This is the one I havent heard (yet). I've played through a few 215s and love the grunt they give, but having played a Compact I would imagine these are approaching Holy Grail in terms of vintage bass sound. Certainly up there with the Berg nv215....

Cool!

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='535436' date='Jul 8 2009, 09:41 AM']Alex, how come the speakers aren't dead centre?[/quote]
From two months back (!):
[quote name='alexclaber' post='476649' date='May 1 2009, 08:21 AM']They're in a straight line but offset to smooth the response out front.[/quote]
Not sure how it does that, but it probably is something to do with internal resonances, although it might also be to offset the drivers against the ports. Dunno. Hope Alex is OK -- he'll surely be along soon to explain all in his own inimitable, tech-heavy way!

[Stylon Pilson]

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='535492' date='Jul 8 2009, 10:26 AM']Hope Alex is OK -- he'll surely be along soon to explain all in his own inimitable, tech-heavy way![/quote]

Actually, he did mention something back [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=52686"]here[/url] about a trip round Europe, so that might be it. In which case he might not be back for another week yet.

S.P.

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='Stylon Pilson' post='535493' date='Jul 8 2009, 10:28 AM']Actually, he did mention something back [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=52686"]here[/url] about a trip round Europe, so that might be it. In which case he might not be back for another week yet.

S.P.[/quote]
Ah, of course. But I can't see Alex staying away from BC, even if he is staring at boobs and firing automatic weapons in Eastern Europe.

[davidmpires]

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='535501' date='Jul 8 2009, 10:39 AM']Ah, of course. But I can't see Alex staying away from BC, even if he is staring at boobs and firing automatic weapons in Eastern Europe.[/quote]

I think he's only back on the 20th. I emailed him eralier this week and received his "out-of-office" in return

[Born 2B Mild]

Yes, he's on holiday for two weeks.

[BottomEndian]

OK, here's another bit of startling info. Sorry it's all coming in fits and starts. I'm just posting stuff here when it comes to mind. Weighed the Vintage today (on the bathroom scales, so not completely accurate, but good enough): [size=4][b]56 lb[/b][/size]. That's 25.4 kg.

About the same weight as a Bergantino HS210 or a Schroeder 1212. Only a shade heavier than my Peavey Max 700 head.

[Merton]

Alex is indeed on holiday - he dropped my Vintage off on his run back tot he office to tidy everything up before heading off...

BottomEndian - good work on the photos and weighing! it's lighter than my old Trace 1518, which is startling!

Regarding the speaker grille, I too agree that the cloth seems strong enough on its own, but I have lookied into three potential solutions should this become an issue:

1) a strip of wood across the middle of the cab to minimise the area of biggest deflection.
2) a metal or nylon grille behind the cloth
3) acoustically transparent foam, like [url="http://www.bluearan.co.uk/index.php?id=ADH019505&browsemode=category"]this[/url], hidden behind the grille.

I am not about to mod the cab in any way but I've got these three in mind if I feel later down the line that I need to.

[alexclaber]

The offset speakers is to smooth the response by reducing the peaks and troughs caused by the baffle-step and related edge diffraction. It doesn't cost anything to do but it's proper hi-fi geekery so no-one in the bass/guitar world seems to ever consider it!

Alex

[Merton]

Edited July 19, 2009 by Merton

[GreeneKing]

That does look rather the business, and Mikey's bass too!

[wateroftyne]

Schweeeeeeet

[alexclaber]

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='536074' date='Jul 8 2009, 10:43 PM']OK, here's another bit of startling info. Sorry it's all coming in fits and starts. I'm just posting stuff here when it comes to mind. Weighed the Vintage today (on the bathroom scales, so not completely accurate, but good enough): [size=4][b]56 lb[/b][/size]. That's 25.4 kg.[/quote]

I shall be very happy if that's accurate! I have ordered some scales so I can take measurements myself rather that trying to manhandle a rather large cab into a rather small local Post Office...

Alex