Matt P

i'm not going to get int a northerners vs southerners debate except to say that i'm a southerner who moved up here against my will when my family relocated for my Dad's work, i originally planned to move away as soon as i was old enough, but that was 15 years ago and it would take a pretty big crowbar to get me to leave the north-east now! i was actually thinking the other day that it would be great to have some kind of BassChat approved/reccomended retailer scheme, a sticker or notice that could be awarded to those shops that go above and beyond the regular customer service, like the good pub guide but for music shops. if you see the latest sticker in the window then you know that you're going to get good service. it would probably be too much work to implement but it seemed like a good idea at the time. matt

i can't really help you with shops local to you but in Newcastle i'd say that they're all pretty good with the exception of GuitarGuitar! Sounds live are always helpful and patient wth me, Windows have got a lot better in recent years and my last proper visit was actually a real joy, and The Guitar Shop (small place that dosn't really have any bass gear but has some wonderful skinny stringed 6's) is excellent and has accounted for quite alot of my hard earned over the years. But i've yet to have any joy in Guitar Guitar, i get ignored most of the time and when i do ask questions it feels like i'm only being spoken to in the hope that i'll go away! i've been in there with cash in my pocket ready to buy and then just walked out because of the service, it's as if they don't actually want to sell you any of their precious instruments! Matt

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1354119459' post='1882322'] [sub]ON topic - a Single Midget is more than plenty, I've had 'compliments' of the bass being too loud t some events with that thing and at a bass bash long ago everyone felt that another wasn't needed or a tweeter wouldn't be necessary. [/sub] [sub]Wants vs Needs with a lot of realism. if you get a single 8 ohm cab that is plenty loud for most stuff at least you have the option of adding another. [/sub] [sub]By the way how does the SWR headlite sound?[/sub] [/quote] ok well now the midget is top of the wishlist (this might change tomorrow!) i think i really need to try out the midget and compact and make my choice then (i've got till the end of the year before the prices go up) the tweeter debate is still raging in my head though, if Jacks one sounds "right" then i'll go tweeterless (and vintage clothed) i can easily add another midget or a compact if i want more. I really like the headlite, but i don't have much to compare it to, it was an impulse purchase from the classifieds (at a bargain price) the only other amps i have really used are a very early trace head and an Ashdown Superfly, it's very tweakable and sounds great to my ears, the controls are very hard to read at a glance though and i sometimes wonder if something simpler would be better as i rarely touch the eq. the compressor does exactly what i want though (i've stopped carring my mxr super comp) and the aural enhancer does get switched in occasionally. if you were closer i'd be happy to let you have a go with it. matt

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1354095425' post='1881896'] Hey Matt Unless you regularly play at the O2 without a PA I cannot see a situation where you would need TWO Super12s! (thats 2400W worth of power handling!!) In fact with your amp, and anything up to 600W I reckon a Midget T will be great for most applications. I have the S12 and its way overkill for any of the gigs I do (the sort where everyone needs good quality earplugs), on most occasions its a struggle to keep the volume down to be honest. The only thing I'd suggest with a midget is a stand, or wedge to point the speaker at your head. [/quote] the midget is still under consideration, i think i'm going to try and have a go with jack's cabs and see how it sounds, if the midget lives up to the reviews then it would probably be the best option (and i could always pick up a second one if i ever need more volume) Matt

[quote name='Jack' timestamp='1354043564' post='1881384'] Sure. [/quote] PM'd!

just had a quick discussion with my wife and the net result is that i've got permission to buy! the super 12t is the one that sounds best in my mind, but the weight and the ohm-age are niggling, i'll only be saving a kilo over my current cab and it'll be a bit bigger to shift (it will live upstairs and i don't have the strongest back) and being 4 ohms adding another cab for really big gigs will be a problem, i'd either need to swap the head for a more powerful one or one that can go down to 2 ohms or get another super12t and the amplite power amp (which would be awesome but not cheap) i'm not totally wedded to the amp so swapping it out might happen anyway. hmm this is the nicest/most difficult decision ever! Matt

Thanks for the input guys, the main reason for thinking of a compact is that they seem to be the ones that pop up secondhand fairly regularly (mostly from people upgrading to the super12 which should tell me something!) a secondhand cab will save me a few quid and would be quicker as there's a compact in the classifieds at the moment. then i can save for a bit to buy a new midget t (unless one popped up in the classifieds) the other thing is that having the compact/midget combo would allow me to tailor my rig to the event a bit, the kid's worship event would only need the midget and there are some times that i could see the compact being perfect. the super 12 is also only a kilo or 2 lighter than my current cab whilst the compact/midget is significantly lighter (i'd prefer two lightly loaded trips rather than one heavier trip) if there are any north east based BC'rs with barefaced cabs who wouldn't mind me playing amateurishly through then that would be great (i can bring beer/biscuits!) Matt

[quote name='Ultima2876' timestamp='1354024166' post='1880947'] Hm, I think it's unlikely that they will sell out that fast - people were thinking they might sell out back in July, so I think you'll be good to order on friday If you can wait until I get mine I can run it in and drop you a PM with what I think about stability etc when I get it? I'll definitely report back here anyway! [/quote] thanks, a report would be great, i've posed another thread asking my questions better (i hope) but those gk cabs are half the price of a secondhand barefaced compact. so wouldn't require me to save up quite so long, GAS is a terrible thing! Matt

right, i've asked a few questions here and there about this and i've done a few searches but i've just managed to get myself into a huge knot! my current rig is an SWR Headlite into an Ashdown 4x8 with neo speakers and i'm looking at getting a different cab mainly to get something lighter and louder. my first thought was a Barefaced compact but i'm worried that i haven't got the power to get the most out of it, i've seen Alex mention that he has virtually no experience of the Headlite and when i've used other cabs i get very varied results; - Ashdown 4x10 (in the practice room) - have to run it almost flat out to be heard (set to the point where the clip light briefly lights when i really dig in) - old Peavey 4x10 + re-speakered Behringer 1x15 (church rig) - barely have to push it at all and i can drown everyone in lovely bass. (not that i would) - Ashdown 4x8 (playing for a kids worship event) - easily heard with very little effort. - Ashdown 4x8 + Trace Elliot 1x15 (wedding gig in a good sized room to 300 ish people) - i've no idea! everyone said it sounded good but it was for a friend and they might have been being polite as it was our first gig! i know that two of those rigs are 8 ohms and the other 2 are 4 ohms so i'm putting different amounts of power into them but i've just got this niggling doubt that i've got the power to run a single compact and make myself heard. Has anyone tried a compact (or any Barefaced cab as i'm also thinking of a midget (T)/compact stack or a super12(T)) with a Headlite? did it work well? loud? punchy? can anyone reccomend some light/smallish cabs that would work well with the Headlite for a pub blues-rock covers band playing to maybe 200 people max? Space is my main restriction as i have loads other stuff and everything needs to be easily hidden so 4x10 cabs are totally out, the 4x8 fits easily in a cupboard at the top of the stirs and i think i could move some stuff round and fit one or maybe 2 compacts into the same cupboard instead, 2 smaller cabs would be easier to accomadate than one bigger one. Thanks in advance and sorry for the slightly rambling post. Matt

grr wish i hadn't read through this topic, i came in to put some good words for the 4x8 as i use one (albeit with replaced neo speakers which makes it 20kg) i quite like mine and was only thinking of upgrading when i had the cash for some barefaced goodies but now i'm looking at the gk 2x12 and thinking that do the job pretty well (pub blues/rock band with no pa reinforcement) how do people think it would pair with an abm 4x8? or should i buy 2? (this might all be moot as i don't have any money till friday and the gk cabs might have sold out by then (or i might just give into the Barefaced Compact GAS) Matt

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1352931354' post='1869609'] Drilling the hole is easy, can you get me a set at amazing price from same shop? [/quote] i think the price was a one off, the owner of the shop used to work at D'addario and is in a band with a guy who still works there (their distribution centre is very close to us) i've spend quite a bit of money in there over the years and have built up a friendship with the guy. i've seen good prices online though, i think i got a few quid off the the best online price, which i then spent on my bus fare into town and a fresh cream donut! stringbusters have them for 38 quid for the 5 string set. [url="http://www.stringbusters.com/Ko-Bespoke/productlist.asp?cat=1/BASS+STRINGS/BASS+STRINGS+DADDARIO"]http://www.stringbusters.com/Ko-Bespoke/productlist.asp?cat=1/BASS+STRINGS/BASS+STRINGS+DADDARIO[/url] [b]Matt[/b] Matt

i was i bit worried for a moment there, i've just bought a st of chromes for my project rockbass 5, it's got the one piece bridge so it looks like i might have to get my drill out to widen the hole. luckily i got the strings at an amazing price from my favorite guitar shop so if i can't get them to fit i won't lose anything selling them on. matt

can't help you with a Fender unless you find a modified one that someone has striped the finish off (like my one which i'm afraid isn't for sale) Have you thought about a Sandberg? the California vs is available in natural gloss or matt and the general opinion is that they're incredible basses. http://www.sandberg-guitars.com/basscat-overview/calv-series/calvs the configurator will allow you to see the combination you desire, i tried to link the image but if you paste 14.2.1.0.2.1.3.1.1.1.1.1.0 into the box it should take you to the right spec. matt

No trouble with mine that wasn't abuse related, i'd give them a call, from what I've heard they're pretty good when.it comes to customer service. Matt

I''m a huge fan of Hiscox, my 77 lives in one and i have them for most of my guitars, for a precision bass you want the EBS case not the EPB which is for oversized basses. [url="http://www.hiscoxcases.com/standardguitar_hiscox.htm"]http://www.hiscoxcases.com/standardguitar_hiscox.htm[/url] when i bought my first Hiscox the guy in the shop demonstrated the strength by putting my beloved acoustic in the case and then standing on it! they're not cheap but my acoustic would be firewood if it hadn't been in a Hiscox, (incident involving a caravan tyre blowout and a Large gas bottle) i'm currently on the hunt for more hiscox bass cases for the rest of my collection, trying to get them secondhand to save some money. Matt

Does anyone know if Howard has managed to reclaim his workshop from the builders? having just sold a bass i'm yearning to get my jazz up and running, i've got his number but don't want to disturb him if he's trying to get the backlog cleared. Matt

sir i owe you a beer! the use of bicycle chain links as pedal mounts is inspired, i have looked at the ones that jonnyshreadfreak sells and thought about buying some many times, i never made the connection to bike chains, 5 minutes work with a bit of spare chain and my chaintool and i now have all the mounting parts i need to start my pedal board project. matt

I'll leave off calling about getting my jazz sorted as well then, i'd sort it myself but Howard seems to have the magic touch when it comes to anything designed by Leo. Matt

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1351794047' post='1855546'] hey thanks guys, I too suspected the speakers, they are big for the room I have them in now, I'll try repostioning and a port plug, any sugestions for smaller speakers that will enable me to hear the bass nice and clearly? Like the OP here I'd like something 2nd hand, say up to £100 [/quote] i swapped from a pair of budget KEF floorstanders to a pair of Castle Durham 2's sitting on Atacama stands, the speakers were 60 quid from a guy up the road and the stands were a local ebay find for about 20 (including the atabites filler) the difference was huge, the floorstanders sounded fine in my old rented house but in our current living room they sounded useless, i tried positioning and port plugs but nothing helped, sold them to a friend and they sound pretty good in his living room. the only problem with the castles is the lack of spare parts, when i bought mine the seller had another identical pair that my friend bought, they turned out to have dead tweeters, he had a chat with the seller and was given all his money back and told to keep the speakers, he then manage to get hold of a guy in york with the last pair of correct tweeters, £90 latert he had a pair of speakers that sounded as good as my pair if not a little better, i live in fear of the day that mine develop a fault as i know that repair might not be possible and i love the sound. the mission 727's in the classifieds might suit your needs.

secondhand would be my reccomendation, yamaha or aria, if you can find one with a solid top then even better, mind you i just picked up an ariana (budget Aria) from the 70's (i think) and it's all plywood but sounds amazing! the previous owner bought it in a junk shop. i'd be searching the secondhand stores and the like. butthe deal that Ian is offering would be my first choice, especially with the hard case for an extra 15 quid! (a bit of gaffa tape and should make it useable enough) get some new strings for it and you're still under budget! (i'm a huge fan of Newtone heritage 12's, the finest strings i've tried and i've tried plenty over the years from most of the big and not so big names) Matt

check out [url="http://www.tnt-audio.com/int.html"]http://www.tnt-audio.com/int.html[/url] they have a diy section with stands etc, i've been using a flexy rack for years now and it's fantastic, i'm currently building a modified uprated version using thicker shelves and bigger threaded rod (and more space) they've got 2 different speaker satnd options but these look pretty good and should be dirt cheap to build [url="http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/stubby_e.html"]http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/stubby_e.html[/url] matt