deepbass5

I had always used Rotosound solo bass these used to be made to make up your own tail piece ball ends in the 70's-80's they latter changed to fixed ball I found these a good halfway house and used them for over ten years then couldn't get them, then they re-appeared a different length like most rotosound strings did. went on to ordinary round wounds, Elites were about all was stocked by most shops through the 90's then I chanced on Elite ground wound, and have to say they are the best most meaty heavy tone sounding I have played, I have tried Thomastik-Infeld and rotsound flats and found them just too flat. So try a pressure wound or ground wound set, they maybe just what you need

An interesting and Important Topic. But be careful to get sound electrical advice the Musicians union will help. But find a friendly local electrician I am lucky to be a qualified electrician and often wonder how any band survives without a spark in the band. Firstly playing off a generator always worries me. It’s the unknown. If it’s down to you, get one that will do twice what you need, it will be more stable, just like your bass amp you need some headroom. Small sets tend to fluctuate with load that means Voltage and current going up and down. Volts x Amps = power so if the voltage is down you will draw more power than normal. (Your gear may not be tolerant to that) Do not have anything else running off it then you know where you are. Modern Alternator sets are fairly stable. But note they are often designed for the construction industry; I got caught at a large steam rally where we were the evening band in the big Marque. They had provided a couple of sets one for the Bar and tent lights and one for the band. Looked new about 6KVA but I always test sockets for polarity and earth even in hotels etc. and it showed an earth fault. I rejected the first set so the organiser swapped it with the Bar Geny. That showed the same fault. It wasn't until after the Gig I realised that because the sets had a 240v socket and 110v socket, the 110v is centre tapped to earth so you can only get 55 volts shock to earth (construction site rules). The 240 socket came from the same source different tapping so was also centre tapped to earth. Probably would have been OK. But I had already used up all my spare set up and sound check time and was now in panic mode. One of the fairground people we were playing to offered his set from the Dodgems drove it round the back probably 50-60 KVA set perfect No faults. We were cooking on gas that night. I carry as part of my kit a blue 240v round geny socket to double RCD outlet socket. Sits under the van seat just in case. If you do nothing else use an RCD socket, so whether damp grass or no earth stake, if something leaks to earth it will protect you. Never attempt to link Alternators together, that’s for engineers with the right monitoring kit. Keep them well apart. I wouldn't even trust having two running different bits of kit in the same stage area. Buy a Martindale socket tester and use it on every gig. Write into your contract that it is the venues responsibility to provide a safe source of electricity as defined by the electrical supply regulations. And that you reserve the right not to play if you find an unsafe supply. You would not believe the times I have ended up sorting venue wiring problems when I should be sorting my sound. The Hammond organ storey above made me smile, it happened to an old band of mine. They have tone generators inside that is voltage and frequency dependant, the Stranglers comes to mind. A fairground was off the generator that night and every time a ride started up the Hammond changed key. Be safe not sorry.. Just to add, A single 13A plug will deliver 3000W (3KW) So think back to what you need indoors. If you use PAR cans you can soon get to 3kw on lights alone. Our band used to draw more than 3KW and I was always looking for two wall sockets to avoid a problem, with LED lighting we are now back under that figure which is handy. Work out what you bands current usage is, write it down so you know next time you have to share power with the Caterers or DJ.

Good choice, it was missing two of those second-hand last year that got me looking into the two small separates as a flexible approach to different gig situations. shed loads of great reviews too All the best

There are quite a few guys on here using Techamp cabs with Markbass amps. I'm in my 5th year with this combination, sounds great. Don't let the colour put you off, there are too many Pro users out there into them to be a fad, and they're passionate about them not just in it for the cheque.

My observations are that any cab will sound different with a particular amp and your own Bass. As stated we love to Praise what we have just purchased, and so I thought I would add I now have two 12" EA M-Lines. These go deep without having to dig in. and they are light and small compared to some cabs, I’m Very happy (Generalising, I believe bigger cab designs actually sound better than those compromised smaller for the sake of it designs) These two identical cabs sound great with the EA 350i Amp; I have also tried them with my Markbass LMK on the same Gigs and had to EQ it totally differently than with my usual 4X12" Techamp. With cut on both low mid and high mid. But sounded great. My Warwick SS1 5 which fills allot of space in the low mid was almost overpowering, ended up with no bass boost on bass or amp. With my Active Schack 5 which has a more natural tone was easier to control and needed some slight bass boost and no high mid cut. Basically try everything and all combinations because it will all go out the window when you hit different venues, and you need to know which sits in the middle ground so you can find your sound. So in a shop situation take your bass's along and change cabs keeping the amp bass combination, when you think you have found the best cab, slap a different amp on top or change your bass over. Of course I didn't do any of this and just believed the sales blurb so know I have the best Cabs in the World...and I'm gunna sign out now before anyone tells me different.... Worth trying the EA M-lines though, they do produce a very nice B string without the EQ required on other cabs, but you will have to scoop your own mids on your amp.

Loads of good pointers above Could be a wiring issue in one of them if they have been put together wrong, speaker output crossed over. But as stated the only way to check is a nine volt battery I usually use one that is in the yellow just to be kind to the speaker. As one is a combo's does it have external speaker cables. I usually do this after making up my own leads just to make sure. Put the live to the jack tip and swing the negative pole onto the body of the jack whilst watching the cone it should jump out, if correctly wired. All this could be just down to efficiency of the speakers involved. Again as stated above Watts don't necessarily = volume you ears are not lying to you. I bought an expensive 4x12 with a variable crossover switch that was wired wrong from the factory in one position it put the full power across the horn a blew it. They sent me a new horn and switch But it does happen.

Like others have said trust your ears if you get a chance to trial the intended cabs, but my word of caution would be that Cabs do sound different and you could end up fighting yourself. A bass and amp setting for one of the cabs may not suit the other. This could be a problem at Gig levels. You would not be able to dial out an anoying frequency from one of the Cabinets without affecting the one you did like.

Well Good Luck Its a nice bass I'm sure you'll sort it

Can't see that clearly but there does look to be some downward tension there. The fact you said you shimmed it with paper and it stopped, sounds like you have tracked it down to the nut. But I was going to say the fact you can hear it tells me this is when played acoustically, and possibly sat down with it on your knee, I thought it could have been coming from your sraplocks rattling if you had your strap on whilst sat. It has happened to me and drove me mad trying to find it until you figure out it is only when you’re sat. Other than that do you have a very high action and so only happening when releasing a fretted note and the string jumps up and rattles? ??

Just run the cabs paralleled up the two cabs will give you 4 ohms so you will be able to deliver your full amp capability into the cabs. as you say you do not play too loud you will probably not need the full 450 watts so 200 watts into each cab max should be plenty, with all 6 speakers on hand you should not get more than half way on the amp I guess. Just keep in mind the lowest rated cab but you have shared that anyhow.

That doesn't sound like a problem solved, sounds like you need to rewind them strings a little further down the machinehead, why not slap a photo on showing the nut and machine heads

LemonCello and Tonic - beats Gin any day. oh and what everyone else said.

Just contemplating running two 12"cabs with separate amps, keeping one clean Bass straight in then DI ing out of first amp into my pedal board then back into amp two second cab. Both amps have a level control on the DI out. Will this be too hot for my pedals and second amp input? Or would you just 'Y' the two with a splitter cable from the pedal board. Suggestions gratefully received.

[quote name='machinehead' post='1077236' date='Jan 4 2011, 12:59 PM']This would only be correct at low volumes. At higher volumes your speaker with less "travel" will fart and distort. And the speaker with more "travel" will be clearer and louder. Frank.[/quote] Yep I can go with that, I've been there, which is why I am saying, if you are making a purchase choice don't put yourself in the position of buying a single small speaker cab not rated to do a standalone job. It will break up and sound sh*t, when you add a guitar, keyboard, Drummer and PA and vocal monitors coming back at you in a live situation. Can any one of you imagine playing a gig in your own band and not having a PA and asking the singer to sing through one 10" or single 12" combo placed beside the drummer, would anyone risk it, mmmm. The vocal frequencies are easier to amplify than bass frequencies.

The words around the Bass Player article does basically state that of the Barefaced Cab article Machinehead posted, which is there are an awful lot of factors to take into consideration, Cab design porting etc. But one constant we can all recognise is cone surface area. Because a particular make of speaker cone can travel 5mm further than another makes no difference musically. Any one note played in any song will have a pitch which will determine the vibration frequency and our volume settings and how we attack that note will determine how far the cone will move on my rig or any other bass rig. I don't think anyone should consider that cone extension is used as a sales plus musically. It is nice to know that maybe a short on your jack socket will not destroy your speaker before you can turn it off. What this point highlights is that, is it not better to have four speakers moving a quarter of the amount than that of a cab with one speaker cone in it. I think all manufacturers should be made to choose a colour for their cones, then our women can choose which cabs we buy and would not be limited to just Blue or yellow

Marvin, sounds like you have done the right thing with your Fender. It is a mine field and we all get caught up in the manufacturers Hype. Like I said I have learned the hard way too, but also learned through owning the PA. The same physics apply there, and it was reading up on acoustics and speaker efficiencies that helped me understand my bass rigs better. There is loads of stuff on the web, but here are a few pointers. A really good book by Glenn Letsch (Stuff good bass players should know) by HAL LEONARD. Full of good gear tips and music technique. Bass Player Mag did run a comparison on speaker cone equivalents which was interesting, with reference surface area and moving air. I'll try and dig it out and edit it in here. Found it Jan 03 1x8" = 35 square inches 1x10 = 55 " " 2x8" = 70 " " 1x12"= 80 " " 2x10" = 110 " " 1x15" = 130 " " 4x8" = 140 " " 2x12" = 160 " " 3x10" = 165 " " 1x18" = 185 " " 4x10" = 220 " " 2x15" = 260 " " 4x12" = 320 " " 6x10" = 330 " " 2x18" = 370 " " 8x10 = 440 " " Also read that stacking cabs lowers the frequency of the bottom cab by about 10 Hz. i.e. (4x10 over 1x15) will try and check the source of that but sure it came from a Peavey Monitor Mag, The Grateful Dead used huge column speakers that are legendary this approach has been neglected more recently due to size, but my first band used the old WEM column cabs just like the Beatles did and most British bands well into the 70's The sort of things you need to take on board is the Watts bass players need to be comparable with a guitarist, and it’s 4 to 6 times, because bass frequencies are watt hungry. The human ear does not hear linearly. which is why we and most high- fi buffs love the old graphic EQ smiley face shape, because we are compensating for how we hear which is the opposite shape, with a peak around 1K. Also be aware of manufacturers efficiency figures as the industry standard way is measured using a 1khz tone at 1 dB at 1 metre so horns and bullet tweeters skew this somewhat. Buying high efficient cabs is a good guide but tone and a proper trial is needed. Take the Acme 1B cab for e.g. very in-efficient needs a ton of watts to power it buts sounds great. Good luck

A Big thanks to Adam, for being there with a cup of tea as promised when i dropped my Bass off. Cash was waiting honest and very trusting. This was my first sale on this site and hope all future encounters are as good as with Adleman. Many thanks Deepbass5

My Findings I did fancy these basses, but having trialed one, found it to have a slight head dive. I didn't like the neck profile which seemed to be triangular, a ridge to the centre rather than a C or D profile was more < not horrible but slightly strange. The build quality and sound were great and I genuinely wanted to love the bass but felt it was not for me. The head drop was the one thing that put me off more than the profile. I eventually found the Schack which is rare in UK but it is very much a cross between the Pedulla and a Warwick. check it out www.schack-guitars.de

Headroom and cone surface area rules OK!!!! With power comes responsibility, and it's our job to let the Guitarists know sometimes that we can hold the line when things get dirty.

Warning against single small speaker cabs that are fashionable. I have gigged in Function bands for thirty years now, and shelled out lots of money on rigs that fitted my wallet or my car. There are loads of good rigs second hand on this site and good advice to help you make the right choice that will allow you to grow with your band as venues get bigger. I made a mistake once buying my second combo. A new Ampeg B1 combo. These were great 150 watt single removable rack with a three valve preamp. Built into a nice single 12" cab. It sounded incredible in the shop, at home, at practice and on quiet gigs, but get in a civic hall or an even a pub with 100 people stood in front of you, I was embarrassed that I had nothing left to give. I even bought a Peavey 15"+2x8" cab so I could use the amp at larger venues. Eventually it had to go, I was sad because it was a lovely amp but did not suit my gigging environment. I would advocate a 2x10 or 2x12" minimum for rocky pub or Indie type bands and any of the new lightweight amps 300 - 500 watts. you may not need more that 200w but headroom is a wonderful thing. Check out my rig below, I don’t need a 4x12 cab or the 500 watts of my Markbass amp it’s there for those unexpected venues and when I get Marquee gigs. This is my main rig for weddings and dinner dances my amp is usually on 2 or 3 at 9 o'clock. My EA rig is for Jazz and big band work I intend to get another 12" cab so I can confidently take two on a functions band gig due to my past experience. Good luck hunting down a rig there have been a couple of 2x12 Techamps for sale these are awesome.

I have had a CEB-3 for years and it's just fine, so can recommend that. As you only really need effects on your top end (harmonics) the CEB-3 you can adjust how much of your lower end you expose to it. Works for me. Use it more than my flanger