LukeFRC

Is this even a clear cut fight? A lot of the newer micro amps will have some kind of processing to make them sound louder, a certain Eq here, a bit of compression here, a low end roll off there, or even full on DSP to squeeze as much power out of it as you can (TC RH I'm looking at you!) Not to say that that isn't a good thing in an amp but it does mean you're not comparing like for like. StingrayPete1977 mentioned his Shuttle 3.0 - which is a nice little amp - but the EBS will be putting out low end that the Shuttle is filtering out.... loudness alone is not a fair comparison

this weeks fashion... Genz Benz while they are cheap!

a very drool worthy bass. How does it sound?

specific enough you will probably need to go custom. If I were you I would get the parts made by USCG and then find a willing luthier to fettle the things together.

surely (and there are more who know more than me) but the benefit of bi-amping is splitting the signal to drivers that are best able to deal with that portion of the signal. The low end to a bass driver and the mids to a midrange driver etc. The crossover(s) you use will need to be right. I don't see much benefit of sending each pickup to a different amp if you're trying to get the "best and cleanest" sound.

Ply is a kind of lamination but not all lamination is ply.... Just throwing that out there!

Looks great!

that's rubbish, 'aint it?

[quote name='funkle' timestamp='1384099906' post='2272730'] Thanks man. A shorter review could have been: An excellent cabinet whose only contender is another extremely specialised cabinet with fancy DSP, compression, and limiting built in. As for other passive cabinets... Of course not everyone wants a 'flattish' cab. If Alex starts doing powered cabinets or PA equipment, I think there's some incredible possibilities there. [/quote] My tecamp Puma 1000 has the same powersoft amp module as your Berg IP - if I knew how to programme DSP hacking into the Puma to add the DSP board to pair it with a BB2 would be the plan!

thanks for the review funkle!

i can see it

good question

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1383778388' post='2269156'] I think this is where owning a 'vintage' bass becomes really interesting. For people looking for a certain sound or vibe then owning an original '64P and a similar era B15 represents the absolute pinnacle of tonal nirvana. Whether most people can hear any difference between these and modern equivalents is a, very, moot point. However, for many people, there is so much more to the enjoyment of playing than the simple sound that others can hear. For these people there's some sort of mystique to flipping the power switches on a B15, waiting for it to warm up and smiling as the Ampeg logo comes to life with a warm glow and then going to full power whilst caressing a silky smooth worn in neck from 50 years of gigging and with perfect fretting and a gorgeous feel. For a lot of people that genuinely is the definition of 'magical' This experience is pretty damn tough to replicate with modern kit and I'm absolutely sure that's why lots of people think nothing of dropping thousands on vintage gear. It makes them feel great and inspires them to play in a way that modern equipment never will. I'm not judging these people or saying that they are crazy to spend this sort of money on a couple of planks of wood, a few bits of rusty metal and some out of date electronics plus an amplification system that has its roots in a bygone era but I can completely understand their passion. If, simply by owning these ancient artefacts, they play longer and derive greater pleasure playing then that's only a good thing as far as I'm concerned. The difficult part is justifying cost. If you could remove cost from the equation would you have kept the '64 and B15 because of the amount of pleasure you got for them. If the replacements are not definitively 'better', however you might define that, then maybe the older models might have been more fun to play. The thing I always, without fail, find odd about discussions over expensive objects is that people so often deride others just because they've lashed out on something that may not have an intrinsically greater value than a far cheaper item. If it makes them happier then where's the harm? [/quote] Molan - I am interested - how do you find your modern vintage styled wes steed compare to your real '63 Jazz? how would you describe them tonally?

I think there's a article on barefaceds website saying why they make 8ohm cabs onthe mobile so can't link to it...

RE: sounds changing…. Given that if the body was carved by hand or made by CNC - as long as it is within the same tolerances it will make little to no effect on sound (but may on how the thing feels) … I think there are two things here that we can say (reasonably and logically) could change the sound of an instrument over time…. Pickups - different pickup winding techniques, different magnets (?) and the magnetic deterioration… and the wood…. now I'm not enough of an expert to know if a bass played over time changes the wood as it resonates (in that case a pristine 60's fender that's hardly been played wouldn't have this effect) - I think it's more likely to be the effect of being under tension for x number of years myself rather than vibrations… but hey ho - I don't know enough to argue that (and haven't been on a magazine cover either, been in the fine art section of the Skinny before…) But I think it's true to say that the wood stocks that would have been available for building guitars in 1957 at the scale Fender were will not look much like the wood stocks available for building guitars now in the scale that Fender/Gibson/Cort et al knock them out. I doubt they are from as old or natural growth, or have been naturally dried for as long and so on. Warwick in the early 90's had the selling point of "the sound of wood" and proudly showed off wood stacks that they kept to dry for years. It's interesting that when they increased production, and the quality was perceived to have dropped - they also stopped showing off their wood piles. I think recently they've scaled back production and started talking about how long they keep the wood to dry before they use it. But I dunno - Molan, your wes steed bass is a blend of old bits and new wood is't it? how does that sound?