dan670844

If you really want to do this, which these days if you have a good transformer based DI on your amp it really isnt that necessary unless you have an old school amp that has a nice cab. I assume you do, then it is best need to use a side address mic with a large diaphragm like a KSM32 or PGA 27 as unlike guitar amps you need the mic away from the speaker a bit. You will have to control your dynamics aswell as most speakers sound sh*t when pushed close up......

I hate to be controversial....... but the London music scene is f@@cked, its mostly a bring your own fan base, in shoddy venues with poor sound, that are usually empty, apart from the other bands and their mates. There are some exceptions to the rule, but in the main that is it... don't be fooled into anything different. You would be better off doing some research and find venues that have people in them that really want to see new live music. That you didn't bring along yourself. There are a couple of places in London but not many, better off looking elsewhere like Bristol, Newcastle, Brum, Cambridge, Cardiff, Oxford. There are much better venues in towns and cities elsewhere, where you stand more of a chance of building up a genuine new fanbase. The London scene needs to reinvent itself. In order to do that a lot of these sh*tty venues need to die..... it is happening but it is a long and protracted painful death!!!! Better off to find a promotor who likes your stuff before you venture down here, then you will get into the better venues and stand a chance of collecting a few new faces.... in fact without promoter support you are really wasting your time and will end up broke and annoyed. Arrgh everything needs to change, music is a credible career and in order for it to thrive everybody needs to make money, bands, venues and promoters. No one does.... most especially in London. You will shell out a lot of beans for no gain I think...

I think here is reflective of the rest of the UK at the moment. There seems to be a great malaise over everything, particularly in the music industry, a lot of people have just given up or have had to go further afield to make ends meet. At the moment it is hard to make a decent living from it. At every level, things are very wrong. I know particularly in London, venues are struggling to find bands and punters. But all this nonsense about bands having to bring people to the venue is nonsense, they need to be full in the first place. It all needs looking at I guess the lack of interest in it all of it is reflected on here. We need a strong counter-culture to come along before we all turn into pipe and slippers nay sayers.... And don't criticise any of the sponsored gear on here however valid professional and articulate that comment was....

Way I went, class D just cannot deliver the transients that lead to a thick meaty bass tone and to me Neo speakers just sound weird and not forgot the amazing tone you get with a valve amp.... And who said you have to carry this stuff, those little foldable sack barrows do the job nicely......

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1426549442' post='2719322'] Is it maybe a technique issue ? Lighter gauge strings ? Lower action ? [/quote] +1 on this might be worth having a look at the technique, Your fretting hand should be relaxed, wrist should be straight, if your fretting in the right place then the pressure on the fret board should be very low almost zero. You could be aggravating an injury by practicing scales every day, have a break for 5 days. Having said all that nothing wrong with slotting a jazz neck onto one of your 'cisions its a common thing to do and is reversible should you want to sell. Those warmouth necks fit like a glove.

Nothing will sound like a valve amp.... To keep valve purity you could go Ampeg V4B or Ashdown CTM100 through something from Barefaced as their cabs a very sensitive and light so you will get the same volume out of the 100watts they both put out. Both these heads .aren't that heavy. The new Mesa tube bass stuff will deliver and its lightweight, but not on price. Ashdown 550spyder (UK one) with some low end compression is the closest I have heard to a clean tube amp, but they are quite heavy as they have a huge transformer. I would say even heavier than the above but not as heavy as the AD200 There is the Markbass TT500 and TTE800 I have not tried but they are supposed to emulate a big tube amp from the 70's, streamliner or veyron might be worth a look also. As someone else said you will not get the dynamics and the weight behind the note with class D stuff, because a switch mode power supply just wont deliver the high transient current and that valve tone is coming from a physical thing, the valves and the output transformer.... Another poster said go and try them before buying, totally agree on this point. I am not sure you will find what you are looking for without having an all valve rig. I have been through this and come out the other side I have a CTM300 and if you think your AD200 heavy try one of them!! I the tone of this amp to me just cannot be bested. I wish I would have bought a CTM100 as in the real world this is plenty loud enough. All of this for me was solved by buying a lightweight old school sounding cab and a foldable sack barrow.................. I don't carry anything the amp stays in its flight case for transit, and its amazing when you use a stack barrow everyone seems to help to lift it up stairs. When I carried the amp myself no one did!!! and mine weighs 40Kgs....

Hear hear, I haven't been on here for ages as I was getting pretty tired of the equipment manufacturer bashing, everybody has the right to like their own particular brand of stuff; everybody's taste is different. On here however, Ashdown receives a particularly hard time. I love their stuff, most of it, only things I didn't like was the early Mag cabs as they seemed to lack in the midrange department. But they where a worthy attempt at try to get some low end in the lower end of the bass amp market. I think for the money Mag heads brill, they are very dynamic and have a great adjustable tone and power. The new mag cabs for the money are good and have lost that woollyness that everybody complained about. Ashdown have something for everyone, the Uk made is proper high end stuff and up there with the best, particulary, the GP12 style, the UK ABM and the Valve stuff. I use their valve gear and love it, nothing sounds like it for the money, its ultra reliable but more important has been designed so that even numpty like me can look after it, change valves and bias etc. So no expensive trips to the amp doctors. I also have to say their customer service is second to none...... I commend them also for trying to being innovative, they do not follow they lead in innovation. Which is great, for a relatively small company, they do not always get it right but when they do, they get it very right. Everybody else seems to be offering more of less the same things with varying degrees of success. I don't think we should be bashing any amplifier maker, lets just say we don't like it and find what we do like. How all these manufacturers make money and more importantly develop their products, with the amount of money that most are prepared to pay for an amp is pretty outstanding work from everybody. Back in the day I remember when I bought my first High end amp a Trace GP12SMX and RM300, It was series money topping £2K. Inflatation dictates that high end stuff should be more expensive it isn't...... For the record this device looks very interesting, if you bother to look at the specs of it and what it can actually do, it is actually good value for money.....

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1400962967' post='2458701'] I could be wrong but I think the DD are alnico and the Fender pups are ceramic magnet which I've read is what contributes to the brittleness... [/quote] sd's are defo alinco, they are great and wouldnt swap em out, my fender designed have a harsh top end and have an attentuated low end, they sound like a mexi jazz pup. Which i hate. i am just going to get the guts ripped changed to alinco v and the bobbins rewound with formar.

Well things move on and they essentially have not. They were the in thing in the early 90's, but they are old hat now. I have used the latest offerings. The essential characteristics on the old SMX and series 6. Was their big dynamic range and punch. Which has not been carried over to the new stuff. IMAO its wimpy compared to the older stuff. People that were using their stuff have moved on. SWR, Eden, GK took the idea and took it forward. Ashdown have taken a lot of the established users as well. I think their stuff, with celestian drivers. Which is probably what artists get. Is pretty decent. Its sad, but not the only good amp brand that has gone to the wall recently, names like Genz for example. Its a small industry with a small budget........... Room has to be made.

I bought A VM J V Maple / maple for £220 off Ebay. Not a mark on it. It had a bit of a wonky set up and some high frets. But after a set up it plays great and the quality fit and finish is really very good. The body is supposed to be a two piece, down the middle, but I cant see a join at all. Mine is the lastest version with Fender designed pickups. I think the duncan designed ones were better. They have a brittle top end. So they will go. Only problem with the maple/maple V is it heavy. But its as tough as old boots, would be great in a bar brawl....

[quote name='plunkrock' timestamp='1399656478' post='2446437'] My Squier Jazz is BEAD, sometimes AEAD. Had to widen the nut and fiddle around a bit but works fine, my low B is .145 [/quote] This is exactly what I need to do. I tried a Squier VM jazz V the other day though that had been luthiered and I was mightly impressed. But I dont need another bass!

Cheers all thanks for the help! Dan

Hello Dudes, Has anyone attempted this? I am doing some work which requires a low B. Just wondered if the Jazz can take the strain of this. Will obviously get the nut recut and set up properly. Probably go 130 on the B but hard wound flats to keep it taught. I have quite a few 4 string jazzers and would rather do this than hit a 5 string. I need it to sound Fender Jazzy. I have a 2010 Fender Mexi Jazz which I intend to do this too it has a Gotoh 201 and Bare knuckles PUPS. I just cant get on with 5 string jazzers. Yes I could go out and buy any number of great 5 stringers that sound like a J. But I dont want to sink any hard earned on this project as its just to get something done.

Dont sweat dude if you like it and everyone says it sounds good do it, you need to factor in what colouration your cab is having on your sound as well, I use a 2x12 and a 610 both have plenty of low. Both boxes contain celestion green labels 12 and 10s respectively, they are very punchy speakers but lack a bit of low mid and also bite around 1-2khz so I add around those regions. This makes a very punchy solid tone and the speakers are very quick which I love. Maybe actually you are just evening things out, by Qing up like this you are taking some of the low mids, or boxiness out, that I find some 15s have. Simliey face Eq isnt new it mimics the Q profile of a Fender Dual Showman, tone stack. Playing bass through one of them is tonal heaven. This is basically what a Alembic FX1 rack mount is and what trace elliot where trying to sound like with transistors back in the day. The q will cut through nicely with a bit of horsepower and with a bit of warmth (drive) in the preamp. Not a problem with this type of Ampeg, they dont tread lightly and a preamp isnt hifi clean. They are great enjoy! but if you tried your head with a sealed ampeg cab, it would sound the b@@@@ks

Depends what you mean by value..... Cheap or value or for money? I like the Aguilar DB112 its expensive, but a great 12 tone and records amazing, it also quite loud but with linerarity. I think for what it is it's excellent value for money. Downside its very heavy! wizzer 12 is also a great cab, good value for money! I havnt tried barefaced cabs the specs speak for themselves for the money great stuff..!

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1390841623' post='2350176'] I loved Dan's review, but this is what I think he really meant (no offense, Dan)... "I just got a Mi12 it joins a LB212 and a CL610. For less than £300 quid its a cracking cab." [i]I paid 300 smackers for it – so admitting that it’s rubbish would make me look like a pratt.[/i] "It has good smooth highs and its very punchy." [i]The highs are a bit rolled off.[/i] "It also has great tight low end." [i]Not much bottom end either.[/i] "It has a natural very smooth low mid hump which makes it cut through the mix very well." [i]It has an annoying honk in the lower mids.[/i] "Also testament to a decent designed crossover / tweeter it doesnt sound harsh with the valve Amp." [i]The tweeter's not very loud either.[/i] "Very pleased with it." [i]300 smackers pleased.[/i] "Two downsides its big, its is defo the biggest 1x12 I have seen." [i]What was I thinking? I should have bought a 15.[/i] "Its an easy one hand lift though." [i]Made of some cheap thin material I'll bet.[/i] "Other problem is the tolex on some of the cabs is a bit wonky. Not really an issue soundwise" [i]At least the wonky covering doesn't affect the sound. That's something, I suppose. [/i] [/quote] For the record I am happy with this cab. It is far from crap ......It is less than £300 hahaha! It is not as good a an Aguilar DB112 but they are £725.... It does have a a credible low end, better than The EBS Neo 112 better than an Aguilar GS112 again not as good as a DB112 but they are £725..... It does have a low mid presence like a GS112, it is far from honky. Again it is not as smooth as a DB112 but they are £725.... I need a small light box for doing little gigs in London. I have tried the above and had a DB112 for a while they are the best 112 on the market but they are £725 and they are 28kg on the tube that is a no, although I did hump it for a while. It wont last as long as a DB but the sonic performance is quite ok and if it gets monkeyed by the suited chuffers on the tube. I Will just buy another one. It depends what you want in life...... i have expensive gear, boutique gear made by Ashdown and other manufacturers, but it dont get carted on the tube.... But it has to sound great... I bought mine early on so the tolex issue must just be the ones I looked at. A lot of people have bought them on here and no one has said anything about this... The mood seems to be positive with this cab.. But even though its less than £300, £300 is actually still quite a lot of money, I try all my stuff before I buy it, which makes me a weirdo, as seeing as everyone else on here seems to roll their gear every week, they clearly aren't..... If you want the best wide frequency 10 then you should look at a EA wizzer 10, but they are £625 I am happy to pay this type of money for a cab if It does what I want, most arent.

Whats the neck profile on the Jazz? I find with a jazz neck if it has a 7.25 radius it can make your palm sore as opposed to a 9.5. It just requires a different technique. I have learned to adjust my technique accordingly. I have found that on a jazz with a 7.25 i can play things more quickly and cleanly than any other bass. There are some l lines like 'hit me with your rhythm stick' i can only play at the right tempo on a jazz bass with a 7.25. radius, as techniques like a pressure roll and pinching are that much easier. Try looking at you left hand a bit more closely. Playing with your finger pads flatter and centred on the board is a great help, as is working just how little pressure you have to exert on the string on a jazz neck to fret it, if your fingers are in the right position. Its next to nothing!

[quote name='jgmh315' timestamp='1390768650' post='2349327'] Sounds almost certain to be an earth problem. Normally a wire which finishes under the bridge, on the ones I've looked at anyway. [/quote] 100% agree I have a MIM jazz great bass, with better pickups. On mine the earth wire under bridge was squashed into the paint so was not making contact, so I re attached and it improved greatly. Also improved by putting some self adhesive shielding tape neath the pick guard

[quote name='eude' timestamp='1390579262' post='2347192'] Hey there, I'm going to get myself a little rig very soon. Based on the Ashdown Mibass 2.0, but I'm swithering between having a single Mi12 1x12" cab and 2 Mi10 1x10"ers. For the last little while I've been using a Promethean P5110 10" combo and have really enjoyed the compact design and portability. Does anyone have any experience of the Mi10 cabs, and if so have you tried two of them at once? Just wondering if it would provide enough bottom end and power to do the output of the MiBass 2.0 head justice. Failing that, I guess I'll need to go for the bigger Mi12 cab, and maybe add another one of them further down the line. Thanks guys! Eude [/quote] I just got a Mi12 it joins a LB212 and a CL610. For less than £300 quid its a cracking cab. It has good smooth highs and its very punchy. It also has great tight low end. It has a natural very smooth low mid hump which makes it cut through the mix very well. I normally put 150 -200 watts or so into it thumbwise. I normally use a spyder 550 or a LB30 with it and its got a great level of volume but obviously not as loud as the CL610.... . Also testament to a decent designed crossover / tweeter it doesnt sound harsh with the valve Amp. Very pleased with it. Two downsides its big, its is defo the biggest 1x12 I have seen. Its an easy one hand lift though. Other problem is the tolex on some of the cabs is a bit wonky. Not really an issue soundwise. I bought mine from a well known, large dealer so was able to sift a bit. Its a great looking cab and looks a quality job. I bought mine so I dont have to use my LB212 on small gigs. I love the LB212 its the best small cab I have ever had and it records amazingly well. So I want to look after it....

Dont know never tried, my CTM300 seems to upset most speakers that cant go very low, isnt the compact powered by an Eminence 3015HO? I which case the extended low end of a big valver would upset it. I guess the dubster would be a better bet has a LF driver inside, But then it would not be the most versatile cab. I guess the 69er is the best bet as its got LF / HF drivers and a crossover and its designed for this purpose. I think rest of the barefaced range is probably more suited to SS amps. with more power to get the speakers moving.

[quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1390488896' post='2345958'] hi guys as the title says im looking to go up to an 810, wondering on any views you people might have on these cabs im thinking of. the classic 810e/av ampeg ashdown abm 810 ashdown mag 810t swr megolith peavey 810 laney nexus 810 i get the ampeg is mid heavy and have used this cab before but wondering if theres something more suited to me, needs to be able push the deep lows i need, but still have nice highs. so hit me with your views andy [/quote] I would seriously have a look at a 610 with a modern 6x10 you can unload a lot of watts into them. They have enough dispersion and volume to do pretty much anything. If you get onto a big stage, its normal to have the amp at a lowish volume nowadays anyway to get a good stage mix. An ABM 610 is a nice cab its got great lows and its punchy. £600 but they appear on ebay for a lot less than that. Ampeg 610HLF is also a great cab, plenty of bass punch and very tight solid tone. I havnt used any of the other so couldnt comment on there tone/performance

[quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1390488896' post='2345958'] hi guys as the title says im looking to go up to an 810, wondering on any views you people might have on these cabs im thinking of. the classic 810e/av ampeg ashdown abm 810 ashdown mag 810t swr megolith peavey 810 laney nexus 810 i get the ampeg is mid heavy and have used this cab before but wondering if theres something more suited to me, needs to be able push the deep lows i need, but still have nice highs. so hit me with your views andy [/quote] I would seriously have a look at a 610 with a modern 6x10 you can unload a lot of watts into them. They have enough dispersion and volume to do pretty much anything. If you get onto a big stage, its normal to have the amp at a lowish volume nowadays anyway to get a good stage mix. An ABM 610 is a nice cab its got great lows and its punchy. £600 but they appear on ebay for a lot less than that. Ampeg 610HLF is also a great cab, plenty of bass punch and very tight solid tone. I havnt used any of the other so couldnt comment on there tone/performance

[quote name='Notoriousm' timestamp='1390505059' post='2346217'] I've been looking all over the internet as well as the tube for reviews of Mexican built Fender P's and J's and I'm surprised that whoever does the review is quite happy with the bass they have. Being told and some might say brought up on the fact that American is top standard MIJ middle and Mexican Low. I don't know if anyone else has the same mentality as me or has been proved wrong with this theory and actually rate some Mexican basses over the American ones. So heres the question, Are Mexican basses really underrated and not considered 'worthy' in the professional world of music and does it 'knock down' your musicianship if someone finds out it's a Mex ? Have you been proved wrong with this theory and have found a Mex bass better than say an American standard or Japanese bass ? Or is it just luck and not knowing which end of the spectrum your bass will be from ? Don't get me wrong I'm not putting them down as I've always used an American bass but recently looking at their price brackets if you can get a beautiful instrument for half the price of an American then why not ? [/quote] What I have found is that some of the Mexi jazzes are amazing, but some of them some are dogs dinners. Try all you can, you will find one and you will go wow that sounds great. Change the pickups they are not authentic, the low end is pretty shallow, change to some proper take like bare knuckle, cremery, wizards etc and job done they are the working mans jazz, With the characteristic sound. I am not a fan of the modern american jazz they dont really have that sound, they are great basses don't get me wrong, and sound great, but they have a different tone. I have two early sixties jazzes the closest to them are the Fugigen era jap jazzes. Put it this way necks scratchplate, seem to be interchangable. Not so with American or mexi jazzers. fit is not so close

If its a 130SM GP7 no worries at 4 ohms you will get full beans they are very loud, they will easy keep up with a modern amp with more than twice the power and through a 4x10 great. They will output actually from 150-260 watts. the 130SM is really the same as a 150SM. I still use mine for rehearsals. It was made in 1987 my first proper bass amp. F@@@ing thing wont die. It lives in the boot of my car, heavily neglected, the tone is nice! not even a stratchy slider......... In fact I am going to treat it to a new amp sleeve. The old one is moldy and looks like its been chewed by a wookie...

[quote name='NJE' timestamp='1390402558' post='2345008'] There is some really positive feedback here, I am seriously considering letting the Aguilar go to give one a try. Its probably going to be the ABM III 500 or 900 I think, that combined with my EBS 410 should give a fair bit of power. An EBS amp would be ideal but they are seriously expensive, apart from the HD350 secondhand. I still have my concerns with the HD350 that it will be loud enough at 4ohm for my band. Lots to think about.... [/quote] ABM is a very polarizing head, most love it some dont. It has a big low end, and some like to give the mids a push, to tighten her up, but its a very versatile head. Consider who uses one, Pino, Norman Watt Roy, james johnstone, guy pratt, jack daley, Macca. Nick Fyffe. Pretty big list there from Rock to Funk. You can squeeze a massive range of tones out of it. Some people have suggested they dont like the tone. You can't argue with above list.... diverse and speaks for itself. I have an early ABM, but I am using the CTM300, its quite possibly the best Bass Amp ever made! the tone and versatility and dynamics are just game changing. I also have a red top (uk) spyder 550 it is also a great amp, great tone, high voltage preamp, punchy loud and dynamic. But what I dont understand about Ashdown Is they tend to kill off stuff before people discover just how good it is. The Uk spyder 550 and the lb212 are such products.