mcnach

The TKS S112 speakers continue to impress... and they made my BB2 stack redundant. No, the BB2 can get a lot louder and with a lot more low end... but the S112s work for me pretty well and they have a great tone with my amp/bass combinations, it just suits me best. I played in a large stage last night with the two S112, MarkBass LM3 and Stingray, and it was glorious. The Genz Benz Streamliner 900 and BB2 stack, however, is not a great combination. It gets too big too boomy too easily and it's hard to control. But the Streamliner also works well with the S112s. MarkBass and BB2 was pretty good 'though.

Affordable? I got my Mike Dirnt for £115 including a small practice amp... they tend to sell for around £100 or so, but there aren't lots of them, I admit. It's a nice bass. Very light. I did replace the pickup 'though as it was a bit naff. The most un-precision-like neck of all the Precisions I've tried: very shallow and slim, without being a Jazz.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1471206479' post='3111286'] Rubbish basses them Stingrays! [/quote] Indeed. I never had a problem with any of my OLPs!

Yup. Look at me all smug... I don't remember how many threads I've participated on about the subject of batteries on preamps, always saying it's not an issue, you just replace the batteries from time to time and not risk failure, and you get a warning anyway in the form of distortion etc etc... Well, I guess I'm human after all. Last night we were booked to play at a beer festival near Aberdeen. Beautiful, and fantastic beers. I only had one early on, as I was driving, but they had a non-alcohol one that actually tasted really really good (from Brewdog brewery)... one to keep an eye on! Anyway... there we go, my trusty Stingray, the two TKS S112 speakers and the MarkBass LM3, all ready to go. Only... what's that? Is the sound fading out at times or is it my imagination? Is everything plugged in correctly? Yup. Well, my amp volume is not very high at all, so I guess there was bass coming out of various monitors and they were being faded out or something... it sounds just fine. Nothing to worry about. We start. It sounds great. I love these speakers. The stage is a reall good size and we are a 5 piece as opposed to our usual 7-piece so there's a lot of room and I enjoy the sound on stage wherever I go. Then, as I start a song... I have trouble hearing my bass... "idiot" I think... "I generally turn down between songs and I guess I didn't turn up all the way"... the first long note I get, I slowly turn up my bass volume hoping the sound guys won't hate me too much if they had corrected for my sudden low output. But... it can't be, I am turned up! So, I pull my volume knob, which bypasses the preamp (I have a John East preamp on my Stingray)... and my bass came back loud. "Doh!" I avoid making eye contact with the sound guys and carry on with the Stingray passive (which is not all the different from my usual sound anyway, mostly just a bit less full). That was only two songs before a little break. So during the break I take my bass backstage and I pull out the battery. I write the date on the batteries, you see. I change them once a year, as a rule, or before 'important' gigs if it's been longer than 6 months, just in case... I don't want to mess up for the sake of £5. What does the battery say? APRIL 2014. REALLY???????????????? More than two years? And this is the bass I play the most! How did this happen? How could I miss it??? Well, I took out a new 9V battery from my case, wrote 'August 2016' on it, replaced it... and glorious Stingray came back to life. User error, nothing to do with the technology User is an idiot. So now I have a spreadsheet with details for every bass, taking the opportunity to add a bit about what strings I use, dates, batteries etc... I'll still get caught one day because there's no cure against being absent minded... but I'll do what I can. Now, this is the first time I have a battery failure on the Stingray. I had other active basses and everytime I could tell the battery was on the way out because there were noises, or distortion, and the bass was still operational for quite some time that way, so I wasn't too worried. But with the Stingray? Nothing. I do think it sounds better with the new battery, but the degradation must have been too subtle and too gradual for me to pick on it. Kids... dont forget to check and replace your batteries!

[quote name='Burg' timestamp='1471167330' post='3110893'] Not passive option. I do mute the amp, wonder if that removes the signal to the pickups? [/quote] No.

The best tracking Octave pedal I've tried is the MarkBass one. It's pretty clean, natural and glitchless where others break down... but it's not very 'synthy' if that's what you're after.

[quote name='bigsmokebass' timestamp='1470944374' post='3109575'] Looks a while differently new bass. I quite like it but I'd have P/J confit for me BSB [/quote] That would have been the simplest option, but I already have the Jake P/JJ and the point was having a Jazz in a more comfy package than... a Jazz

[quote name='Bass_Guardian' timestamp='1470841234' post='3108866'] IVe had my battery in my bass for a good 3/4 years. Still not died, I just [b]switch it to Passive when not using it Active[/b]. I'm not playing it every day mind you... [/quote] switching it to passive does not prevent it from using up the battery, 'though. The circuit is powered up as long as you have a jack in the socket.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1470745203' post='3108070'] weird! I don't know where it says that but this is from the same manual: [/quote] It says on the manual, in the link I posted. Here's the relevant bit: The 600mA refers only to the specs of the AC adaptor they sell, not what the pedal requires. Weird would be a tuner requiring 600mA! If you want to use the 'out' of the tuner to power other pedals, then the supply would have to be larger, in order to power the pedal and whatever is linked to it. I suspect that's why you see a 600mA supply, because they illustrate you can add other pedals etc. Always go directly to the specs page, as diagrams are often misleading/incorrect.

[quote name='Dazed' timestamp='1470746419' post='3108088'] Glad it worked out. Looks really good. [/quote] It does I'm also remembering why I removed those pickups from the Jazz bass it was originally on so there will be a pickup change in the future, but it's not bad, it's not bad.

[quote name='nash' timestamp='1470743393' post='3108055'] If you can power something with a 9V battery it doesn't pull 600ma. More like 60ma [/quote] Indeed. I just checked and the manual clearly states "maximum 30mA" [url="http://www.korg.com/us/support/download/manual/0/259/1825/"]http://www.korg.com/us/support/download/manual/0/259/1825/[/url]

Depends on what you want to do with it. I have both a G-Labs Wah and several envelope filters... If your question really is about the difference between envelope filters and 'autowah' pedals... I'd say that there is so much variation among envelope filters that you could just put them all into the same category, and choosing one becomes a matter of trying several and finding the one you like best.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1470686958' post='3107705'] Seeing as it`s new only, I`d add in the Matt Freeman Sig - I`ve never played one, but have heard a lot of people use them and they sound great in the mix. [/quote] +1 It's a great bass. The stock pickup is pretty decent and the neck is fantastic. I had mine converted to 'Jazz' purely because I already had a Fender Classic 50 Precision and a Maruszczyk Jake (P/JJ) so that was a lot of 'Precisions' and I always wanted the Jazz vibe but in a smaller body with the Precision neck... so I took my Matt Freeman to a well known luthier and he had a lot of praise for this bass. He was amazed that Squier produced instruments of this quality these days. The Classic Vibe Precision is also very nice. I had one too, Fiesta Red, and I only let it go because I had to have a maple fingerboard Precision instead This is my converted Matt Freeman. The neck is simply delicious. It's a bit on the slim slide for a Precision but feels great, they didn't slim it too much:

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1470698793' post='3107826'] Hmmm... no. [/quote] good answer. You passed the test

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1470695837' post='3107806'] Funny how good a Precision with J-PUPs looks, especially when compared to a Jazz with a P-PUP, which just looks wrong. That's a very elegant looking bass. I've always been convinced that a significant part of the P-Bass tone is in the neck (having played Precision neck on Jazz bodies and vice-versa), so I'm looking forward to hearing your views on how that sounds compared to a 'proper' Jazz. Either way, lovely looking bass, good work. [/quote] I'm sceptical about the neck contributing significantly to a P-tone... but I'm also one of those infidels who don't think the difference between maple and rosewood fingerboards is significant So, what this one sound like? It's hard because those pickups are not the most traditional Jazz pickups ever. They are humbuckers and unlike other humbucking Jazz pickups I don't think they particularly tried to reproduce a traditional Jazz bass sound. I had them on a 75RI Jazz, and I'd say it sounds pretty similar to that bass with the same pickups. I'm still playing a bit with the pickup heights, which affects the sound (especially both pickups on) a lot. This bridge pickup is very meaty and it's not very much like a standard Jazz pickup. It's fatter, with less top end and less of that nasal tone. The neck pickup is a bit tamer than a standard neck pickup in a Jazz: it sounds big, but doesn't have the prominent midrange that many Jazz neck pickups have and help them resemble a Precision. Together you get the traditional scooped sound, and I've been adjusting the relative heights so that it's not quite as scooped. So... because these pickups are not the most Jazz-alike, it's not exactly a Jazz, but it does sound a lot like my old 75RI used to sound with them. I think I'll end up installing another more traditional pickup eventually.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1470695509' post='3107803'] Want! [/quote] You could try something like that on your RW Precision!

Done! Superb

It's not quite a NBD because I already owned this bass and have used it enough... but it's undergone a radical transformation. I like the Jazz bass sound, but I'm not a big fan of the large body or the thin neck. I had this Precision which was pretty sweet, great neck, but a bit 'surplus to requirements' and I thought I could put a couple of Jazz pickups on it and see what happens. I happened to have a couple of Nordstrand NJ4SE pickups, and I gave the job to Chris McIntyre. I collected it today. This was before: (the one on the left) I replaced the pickguard with a parchment colour one, but I can't find pictures of it... oh, and a sticker of the logo of my band I had the Jazz pickups installed as on a 60s spacing Jazz, and instead of VVT controls I have a master tone, master volume and a pan control. The jack socket was moved to the side. And this is what it looks like now: the 'sofa shot' It sounds... like a Jazz with these Nordstrand pickups: not exactly traditional Jazz territory, but clearly Jazz... yet with a much nicer sized body and a bigger and more comfortable (for me) neck. I don't know why I didn't do this before instead of buying so many Jazz basses over the years

[quote name='Earbrass' timestamp='1470650519' post='3107279'] The US have passed similar legislation in 2014. If they can do it, [b]so can the EU[/b] [url="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-department-transportation-issues-final-rule-regarding-air-travel-musical"]https://www.transpor...-travel-musical[/url] [/quote] ... ahem wasn't there a little vote not long ago?

[quote name='machinehead' timestamp='1470659303' post='3107380'] No mcnach I wasn't referring to anyone in particular in my post. No offence intended. But I didn't mention tone or which cab is the "best". I'm certainly not arguing in favour of Barefaced either or berating anyone who doesn't like Barefaced. I'm certain you'll not find that I've ever done that and I've been a Barefaced user since Alex built them in his garage. I posted originally in response to, I think it was JTUK, who mentioned his TKS cabs performance at an outdoor gig and I was simply pointing out that the abilities of those TKS cabs is detailed very honestly in the manufacturer's specification. So you can tell quite a lot on the cabs abilities and performance from those specifications. What is also useful is that you can compare TKS cabs performance and abilities to any other manufacturers who publish equally open and honest specifications. And tone can be changed to a significant extent by the EQ on the amp [i]provided[/i] that the cab can handle the EQ demanded and at the required loudness. Sometimes a cab can be too loud at the required tone. The fact that people prefer one cab to another is only to be expected and outtright physical ability isn't necessarily the main reason for this. And rightly so. Frank. [/quote] as suspected... we pretty much agree and we just got caught in misunderstandings I interpreted your 'performance' post as if you were saying 'pah, the BB2's superior performance makes considering the S112 irrelevant', more or less. I was clearly wrong then It's true that you can alter the tone by using EQ, of course, that's why we have those controls on the amp and/or bass. But each cab has their own particular 'flavour'. Some flavours are stronger than others. If you start with a combination bass/amp/cab that gives you a sound close to what your goal is while leaving the EQ pretty much alone, than to me that's a combination I would prefer. I used to think a more 'transparent' cab was the best approach. But then I found that I had to use EQ in ways that are not necessary when I use other not-so-transparent cab... and that not-so-transparent cab cannot handle the lows other more transparent cabs can, but then I didn't need that level of low-handling performance and when I use the not-so-transparent cabs as the sole source of bass (no bass into PA), the result is really good. Anyway, I'm going back in circles It's not that I'm trying to convince anybody my preferred choice is the best... but a reflection of my own personal dilemma: I have two S112, and I love their sound, weight, size and volume. But I also have two BB2, and I know the BB2 can sound a lot more powerful and fill up spaces the S112s could not. They're still pretty light as far as cabs go, and compact enough that I can still carry two in the boot of my not-enormous hatchback (A3). So part of me wants to say "just keep the BB2, they'll cover all the ground you'll need"... but I get a more pleasant sound out of the S112s [1] and I still haven't found the situation where the S112s run out of steam... so, here I am... stuck in the middle. [1] I'm sure you should be able to get a sound with the BB2 that will be pretty much what I like about the S112s... but *I* haven't been able to get there, and since I don't normally get a lot of opportunities to try a particular set of amp/cabs in the final locations prior to a gig, or get to experiment much during the gig itself... if something gets me there in a simple way, then I lean towards it more.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1470658865' post='3107376'] What do you mean by "performance", if it's not related to volume or tone? It's true that the driver used the the TKS S112 or S212 has much lower displacement than the one used in the Barefaced 12" cabs, but if both of them can get loud enough and low enough for a specific application then the choice between the two is purely down to personal preference. That's how I read McNach's post, anyway. Having also used the same drivers as the S112/S212 (albeit not in TKS cabs), I'd want more than one in the OP's application as the guitarists are using a lot of amp. The S212 might be worth a look, as it's probably still a fair bit lighter than his Matamp 4x10". [/quote] Yes, that's just what I meant. And I agree, a single S112 won't do it. But two, or an S212 might be enough. The S112 is so light and compact and sounds so good... that to me it's worth considering. I don't think it would be louder than a typical 410, but then you probably never push a 410 too much. If a 410 performs above the level you need then a S212 or two S112 might be good. But it may not be suitable for someone who needs a lot more bass/volume than I do.

[quote name='machinehead' timestamp='1470657543' post='3107355'] Fair enough. But I didn't mention either tone or volume in my post. [i]EDIT, I'M referring above to volume as in loudness. But reading back, I haven't argued about mcnach's preferred tone neither have I accused anyone of disputing Barefaced's claims? I simply pointed out that[b] the drivers used in TKS 112 cabs cannot compete with [/b][/i][b][i]Eminence Kappalite 3012 or Barefaced 12" drivers.[/i][/b] [i]Surely that's helpful information?[/i] Frank. [/quote] It is helpful to point out some details about their performance, for sure. I merely objected to the 'competition' angle, saying one was just better than the other. To me, the lower one is 'best' of the two, because it does what I want it to do better than the other, overall. To say the S112 cannot compete with the BB2 is like saying the Toyota Auris cannot compete with a Ferrari Testarossa, when all I need the car for is trips around town for shopping, for example. The Ferrari can go faster, but you won't take advantage of that performance in the scenario in question. I think we're going in circles and probably agree more than we disagree, but that's what you get when you're not discussing in real time face to face

[quote name='machinehead' timestamp='1470609753' post='3107137'] Look, I've no doubt that the TKS 112 are great cabs. They use the same drivers as some cabs I've owned so I know from my own experience that they must be decent cabs. But I haven't heard them, so I can't comment based on personal experience. However, compared to the Barefaced BB2, ( also the other 12" driver cabs that use, for example, the Eminence Kappalite 3012 drivers) they just cannot compete on performance. In the words of Bill Fitzmaurice: "The laws of physics aren't swayed by opinion." Frank. [/quote] You must be mistaking me for somebody else: I'm not questioning 'performance' or 'physics'. I'm saying that I *like* the tone of the S112 best, and that they *work* well for my requirements so far. I'm not interesting in arguing which is *best*, in fact I suggested that best is relative, because it depends on the situation. I have two cabs of each, so it's not like I'm a 'hater' exactly. I think I start to see what some people are facing when they don't claim inconditional love for BF cabs... and I do like them!