Leaderboard

Just a quick update on the 110T, I have it back from Stevie and reassembled it. I had a chance to run some test tones through it and there really was a serious panel resonance on the baffle centred around the area between the port and the bass speaker. You really need a brace on the baffle behind that point. I'll make some changes to the drawings to show this. Yesterday i had my first chance to try the cab in anger at a band rehearsal. Our drummer has returned from COVID lockdown full of enthusiasm and was really hitting the skins so it was a good workout for a little cab. That's the first thing to notice, the cab weighs in at 10.0kg at the moment, it still needs a grille and a handle but it really is a featherweight. First impression is that it was bass heavy but that was due to room acoustics, it's actually very neutral sounding. I've been trying out new settings on my Zoom B1 and it takes FX well. Dial in grit and that's what you get, dial it out and the clean sound is all there. I was drowning in bass until I switched to in-ears. As a stage monitor you won't need anything else and the drummer was happy too, he normally likes the bass louder than I do. Out front it was loud enough for a pretty hard rehearsal, it would certainly do the average pub gig without stress but I did have a bit of compression on and an HPF. We've acquired a sound engineer as we are attempting to move up-market as a band, well you've got to dream His response was very interesting as he was there setting up levels and monitor mixes "I didn't need to do anything to the bass other than set it in the mix" So would I use this as my only speaker? Well yes, but I do have a feed to the PA so I'm only worried about stage volumes. It will certainly cope with the average pub gig. This is a 10kg speaker with a pretty flat response and a lovely full rounded bass. You should be able to build this comfortably for £150 Get the panels cut to size and it's no more difficult to construct than some flat pack furniture, the only tricky bit is cutting the speaker and port cutouts and it can be constructed without needing to be soldered. What are you waiting for?

White pearloid pg on a white bass with a dark fretboard looks tastier than it sounds:

But it's not a hole. It's the dynamics of the song. You get more dynamics in a trio and that's one of the good things about them. Imagine the band as a duo. Bass and drums are the sound of the band. Add the guitar on top. Then it's either chords or solos, or maybe nothing. There is no hole in the music, just places where the guitar parts change. Be brave and embrace the spaces. The spaces are as important as the full bore sections. Always filling out the sound takes away from the light and shade, ie dynamics, and flattens out the arrangement. That's not a good thing.

Nice chrome finish on Miki’s bass here

I will just leave this here.... progressed the thing that shall remain nameless.

I'm playing at a sort of 'invited' jam at a local pub tomorrow. It used to be a regular open mic, but now it's resumed they're trying to control the numbers. But glad to say I've been invited to play. No idea what might come up, but have been brushing up on all the usual suspects. 'Sweet Home Alabama', anyone? Anyway, looking forward to playing live again!!

very much this. I'd conspicuously add Free and Cream to the list too and also say that live albums are the ones to listen to as there are none of the overdubs you can often hear on studio albums. ZZ Top are shockers for this but they still sound great live. Free, in particular, have so much space in their live work you can drive a bus through it - a model of restraint.

Weather has been very very good here in the toon so not alot is getting done, but I did have a go at the headstock volute thing I decided to put in, I personally think it looks ace and I'll be able to etch the bass name or my name on it, or something! Still got blending and rounding to go and the volute isn't the final shape but the idea works for now. This batch of wenge is very very dark when some white spirit is on it, it'll look lovely lacquered!

Had to do some re-organising in the basement so it was a good opportunity to show off my Acoustic 136 combo. The combo was purchased new in 1971 from Roger Jenkins Sound Centre in Cardiff. Roger was one of the importers and distributors of Acoustic products at the time and as an employee I enjoyed a small staff discount. The Combo is all original except the original Eminence 100w 8 Ohm 15 ins square magnet speaker has been replaced with an Eminence 400w 4 Ohm Kappa -C 15ins. (I still have the original speaker). Back in the early 70's I was not knowledgeable enough to calculate whether the Kappa-C had the correct specs for the folded horn reflex cab design, I just thought " well it's Eminence, it's 15 ins and it can handle 400w , so it must be right". Fortunately it has worked and lowering the impedance from 8 ohm to 4 ohm allowed the amp to output it's full potential. The castors and the H & H bar handles were added to help with handling. It works really well and sounds awesome. Isn't it strange how we used to manage our sound tailoring with 3 simple controls? Volume, Treble and Bass plus a Bright switch to and a little sparkle. These were fine amps built in California with great pride and professionalism. It's really sad how big corporations buy up innovative successful companies only to loose the key personnel and run the businesses into the ground. We are fortunate that those clever engineers and Innovators moved on to create other new enterprises that we bassists have benefited from. This combo replaced my Selmer Treble'n Bass 50 Mk2 and Selmer 100w 1x18 Goliath rig. I still have the T'nB 50 Mk2 amp and I plan ( One day) to rebuild it with all new replacement transformers, valves and caps. I'm sure it will sound fantastic thro one of my Barefaced Super Compacts.

So I now have the C4 and the SY-1. First impressions are that the C4 takes up less space than the FI (in its original case) but I'll have just as steep a learning curve with the software. FI wins with regard to having proper midi in/out, C4 wins with simplicity of 'on the fly' controls to change essential parameters live. FI wins with the ability to scroll through the patches with a footswitch as opposed to the C4 requiring fiddly finger fiddling. SY-1 beats them both for straight out of the box simplicity. Plug in and move through a host of presets with ultra responsive simple controls to dial the sound you want. Tracking, and sound quality is great on all three, but don't be put off if you've used the old Boss synth pedals, this one is the real deal. Every single sound is entirely customisable and perfectly usable. The Boss is straight onto the board and ready to be gigged, the C4 has to be on and off for programming and almost certainly won't be 'right' when used with a band (it's never the same in the mix) however unlike the FI I will be able to tweak the basic parameters. Time will tell, but the SY-1 is winning right now.

I love finding new music. One of the annoying things about getting older is I find that my horizons narrow not by choice but circumstance. This makes finding new music and experiences more difficult. I have to say that one of the joys of Spotify (there are also numerous negatives) is that it can fill this gap and introduce me to new music I would have previously found from meeting new people, going to gigs, festivals and reading the music press. All things I do far less of these days.

Precisely why I am not a fan of the so called beautiful game. Occasionally I despair at the tribal small minded mentality of our species. Slightly off topic sorry.

Just about to deliver this to @lee650 from @MoJo. It’s been a pleasure to have my hands on this 425.

There are so many 3-pieces where this doesn't happen, to use as models or inspiration. The Who..? Jimi Hendrix Experience..? Police..? Johnny Winter..? Led Zeppelin..? Tons more yet... As has been mentioned, several times, above, the dynamics, and making them work, are not only part of the fun, they're a major part of the fun..! Embrace the format, I'd say, and use its advantages as just that : advantages.

Onion of the Snake - Duran Duran

Green Unions - Booker T. (I'll get my coat)

One of the many finishes my oldest 1000ma had to face during the last 20 years .. 😛

Had to do some re-organising in the basement so it was a good opportunity to show off my Acoustic 136 combo. The combo was purchased new in 1971 from Roger Jenkins Sound Centre in Cardiff. Roger was one of the importers and distributors of Acoustic products at the time and as an employee I enjoyed a small staff discount. The Combo is all original except the original Eminence 100w 8 Ohm 15 ins square magnet speaker has been replaced with an Eminence 400w 4 Ohm Kappa -C 15ins. (I still have the original speaker). Back in the early 70's I was not knowledgeable enough to calculate whether the Kappa-C had the correct specs for the folded horn reflex cab design, I just thought " well it's Eminence, it's 15 ins and it can handle 400w , so it must be right". Fortunately it has worked and lowering the impedance from 8 ohm to 4 ohm allowed the amp to output it's full potential. The castors and the H & H bar handles were added to help with handling. It works really well and sounds awesome. Isn't it strange how we used to manage our sound tailoring with 3 simple controls? Volume, Treble and Bass plus a Bright switch to and a little sparkle. These were fine amps built in California with great pride and professionalism. It's really sad how big corporations buy up innovative successful companies only to loose the key personnel and run the businesses into the ground. We are fortunate that those clever engineers and Innovators moved on to create other new enterprises that we bassists have benefited from. This combo replaced my Selmer Treble'n Bass 50 Mk2 and Selmer 100w 1x18 Goliath rig. I still have the T'nB 50 Mk2 amp and I plan ( One day) to rebuild it with all new replacement transformers, valves and caps. I'm sure it will sound fantastic thro one of my Barefaced Super Compacts.

My BB

I specify the BGH25-8 in my Simplexx bass cabs. In part that's because it doesn't extend higher in response than what electric bass needs, reducing hiss, in part because with a 2nd order low pass/4th order high pass crossover it can run to 2kHz. That eliminates the typical upper mids hole in cabs that cross over an octave or more higher, and provides dispersion above 2kHz that no woofer can match.

The twins have arrived…just 3 new bb’s today then…

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There's some opinion on that question here, along with some music recommendations: Krautrock - General Discussion - Basschat

First gig in 15 months done yesterday, outside seated (mostly 😄) pub garden job. All tables sold out, not gig sharp, but felt so good to get out again. Good sound, good times and we got our singers daughters band to play their first ever gig as support - they did great! Looking forward, with fingers crossed!

Police and thieves by junior Murvin was covered by the clash

The delivery of the 425 to @lee650 completed in a next car park made me excited for my own delivery. What a feeling.

Too Late, Too Late - Motorhead

That's looking nice, how does it sound? Well done

I think the heat is getting to me I meant to send you this a a PM😂

We've had our first rehearsal back... oh it was wonderful ... A few more in the pipeline, and then our first gig is my son's wedding. No pressure there then.

I would be on one of the chairs, the drummer on the other, and the guitarist on the sofa playing Nintendo. Oh! not 3 piece suite then, my bad. 😀

I saw a young band once who were ok. Nothing special. Singer was ok, again not the best ever voice but boy could he put on a show. He was a great frontman. We had a rhythm guitar player who used to stand with the most miserable face staring at what he was playing. I despaired at him and gave up telling him to try to look interested. You are there not just to play music but to entertain. This boy made you look at the band and be interested.

Yup, this is me. I also love finding new music. Youtube has suggested some good ones.

Looks like I'm playing again this afternoon, local blues afternoon. My former bandmate from the Wirebirds & I will play a few numbers, always enjoy playing with Al - he's anything but predictable!

Nothing else since yesterday...

The Beat, now you're talkin' . One of the best live bands I've ever seen and can't think of any of their tunes I don't like.

This is a good one

But can she sing? It's not all about looks you know.

Looks like a bought one.

If there isn't there should be

Cruising through Barkingside listening to the roots radics