stewblack

Lost My Treble is rather appropriately the teaser track on BC

https://vulfpeck.bandcamp.com/

I used to be such a snob when writing and performing my own songs, such a sense of ludicrous superiority over musicians and their audience for daring to enjoy what they enjoy.

I'm so glad I grew out of it 

Finally. We had an audience. Began to wonder if this band I joined ever played anywhere other than empty pubs! Blue Lagoon in Bristol. Great venue, people dancing from the first song, mixed crowd of all ages, happy and up for fun. 

Great thing about having a crowd up and dancing is it gives you chance to assess your set. It's a fairly new set and nice to know what works and what doesn't. 

Played my trusty Trace through two MB 1 X 15 cabs and got a compliment on my sound. Which is always a bonus.

1 hour ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Ok let's have another crack at this in a less flippant manner.

I was engaged at the age of 18, and had a mortgage at 19. By the age of 20, while most of my friends were out partying, going on holiday, buying flash cars etc, I was working upwards of 80 hours a week just to try and survive. My family had moved away from our home town so I had no support network. I was exhausted, severely depressed and just trying to survive. I didn't have time for playing, or even listening to music, and had long since sold all my equipment to pay bills and keep my car on the road just to get to work. Three years later this really came to a head when I split with my fiance, lost my house, and came very close to suicide, all at the ripe old age of 23. 

Now I'm 43. Extremely happily married for the last 10 years (actually been together for 17) and we've worked extremely hard to get where we are now against all the odds. Including a back injury which put me out of action for 2 years just when I was getting back on my feet, the loss of my second home as a knock on effect from that, more financial problems than I could list, and hardly surprisingly, given the situation, my own ongoing battle with depression. 

I finally got out of the rat race 3 years ago and moved to Bulgaria. We've just moved into our very own home after spending the past 3 years working our fingers to the bone renovating it. It's hard to explain how much this means as most people take a home for granted. But I've spent most of my life working 60+ hours a week just to pay someone else rent, and for a few years had to live in caravans and motor homes because I couldn't even afford to do that. Now we have a beautiful home that's all ours, no mortgage, no rent, and more importantly no one can take it away. 

I've just started playing bass again because it's the first time I've had the time to do it since I was 17. I'm not a great (or probably even good) player. I still don't have the money for flashy equipment, but to have the time and freedom to play again is just amazing. I've just started playing in a band for the first time since I left school. 

So while some people yearn after their youth. You can keep it, because for me everything after about 18 was a living hell. 

I'm happy to be in my 40's. In fact, I've literally never been happier. 

Knowing how utterly debilitating depression can be I have nothing but respect for your determination and dedication. To get yourself where you are is tough enough, to do it in the teeth of such a viscous illness is unimaginably difficult.

That's a seriously gorgeous bass.

I was an ambitious drunken insecure lecherous 20 year old convinced that one day I'd be, if not famous, then at least in a famous band.

I loved my Lambretta, my drinking and music buddies and had just converted from guitar to bass.

Now, 35 years on I am enjoying a renaissance. I have a greater love for music than ever before, play in multiple bands, am actually taking lessons, and learning to read music.

Never became famous, did become a hopeless alcoholic. Since losing everything last year from my mental health to my income, home, and marriage, I was given the gift of desperation. I found AA and a new path to happiness, serenity and acceptance. 

For the first time ever in the years since I was 20 I wake up and look forward to my day which starts and usually ends with me picking up a bass guitar.

Well this is feckin' awesome https://vulf.bandcamp.com/album/the-fearless-flyers

Where are you based?

2 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

No one's going to do you for it.

I understand completely because we've all binged on JD clips.  This is JoeDartChat Basschat after all.

Spare a thought for those of us who literally had never heard of Joe Dart until this morning! He does seem an extremely capable bass player I look forward to discovering more about him. Favourite recordings, clips, transcriptions anyone?

Never heard of Vulfpeck until reading this thread. Wonderful stuff, thank you.

 Wonderful article from a genuine artist explaining his personal experience eloquently and articulately. There doesn't really appear to be anything to agree with or disagree with. He is describing what has happened to him on his own musical journey. He isn't saying it should happen to me too.

Pm'd. Thank you.

Not dual impedance, but I shall take the ply order off hold! Thanks for all your help Phil, I'll keep you posted.

@Phil Starr

If my maths work the interior of the cab the two 10s came from is just shy of 64 litres.

21 minutes ago, bonzodog said:

I'm interested to see what TE fans here think of Little Creatures. This was my first experience of them as a young teenager after hearing Road to Nowhere. I've since realised this was a bit of commercial change for them but I still think it has some very well written songs on. And she was and Perfect World are both great songs.

It's the album which got me into them and is still a favourite. I then went back to 77 and filled in with all those amazing albums. 

23 hours ago, MGB said:

Yes Stop Making Sense was an amazing experience for me too but this  is the concert I would like to invent a time machine for.

At 49.05 they play the best version of Born Under Punches ever, I can listen to that for days.

Thanks for sharing this. TW is mesmerising. The embodiment of understated elegance in bass form.

6 hours ago, fleabag said:

A faultless sale of a cab to Stew. A gent and a scholar. Always great to see a face attached to a fourm name

Wonder what the drive back home was like, considering what i laced his tea with ....   🤐

I'll tell her it was your fault then shall I? 😂

Just returned after a pleasant drive through the Cotswolds to conduct a deal with our very own @fleabag. Pete is  an extremely decent  chap, a pleasure to deal with, and an excellent host. Had a cuppa, a noodle on an absolute stunner of a bass and returned with a Trace Elliot cab which I purchased for a very reasonable price.  Oh and he's a pretty bloody good photographer too. How I escaped without a TE 4X10 combo I have literally no idea. My back thanks you for not encouraging me.

Buy and sell from and to Pete with absolute confidence.

Don't do it Chris! Is it because I've been ill? You missing the cash from the lessons? I'll be back soon I promise.

On 07/09/2018 at 13:27, Phil Starr said:

Is that an old Peavey? Yeah if you measure the internal volume of the cab then  divide by the number of speakers that should give you the volume you are aiming at. If the original designers knew their stuff. If it's an old 4x10 you can even afford to blow a speaker, and cut up the grille for your new cabs

 

Remember this was a deliberately undersized (for the Beymas) cab to trim the bass response for difficult rooms, it may well be a decent match for your 10's and the 50Hz tuning may be OK too.

Thanks Phil. The 2 10s came from an Epifani cab which I still have. I'll get the tape measure to it shortly, and let you know the results. 

That would be great.

We still on for Sunday Mr Fleabag?

56 minutes ago, Balcro said:

Hi stewblack,

Phil Starr or Stevie can probably verify if this idea is acoustically practicable, but I think there may be an alternative to putting bricks inside the cabinet to reduce the volume. You could get hold of or scavenge some rigid polystyrene blocks ( packing pieces) such as these.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Small-White-Polystyrene-Sheets-Boards/dp/B0164QUZN0/ref=sr_1_6/258-6901820-1773340?ie=UTF8&qid=1536417827&sr=8-6&keywords=polystyrene+blocks

If my maths are correct, each sheet takes up 6 litres. The average brick occupies about 1.75 litres so there's plenty of
scope to save weight.

Balcro.

That is a great idea, thank you.

11 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

It depends upon the speakers entirely. I'm not sure if you are building the big 50l box or the smaller 30l one which is more likely to suit a random 10" speaker. Are they bass speakers or just some generic 10's?

The thing is that they will work, in that they will make a noise, you may even quite like the noise. Without getting too technical if the cab is too big to match the speaker you have you might get some nice deep bass but with a gradual roll off and reduced power handling, it's not uncommon to see power handling reduced to 25% of the rating at certain frequencies. If it is too small then you may not get a lot of deep bass but a boom boom upper bass with not a lot of definition. If you just want to have some fun then if you just play at home levels then power handling should be fine and you'll be able to play. I probably wouldn't want to gig with them in a rock band without knowing more about the speakers. Where in between those extremes they'll operate, well that's a gamble.

To be fair if it is a bass speaker or a PA speaker they tend to have broadly similar enough characteristics that a moderately sized cab tuned to 50Hz will kinda work, with the reservations on power handling.

A rolled up sweater wouldn't work anyway, you'd need something solid like a brick.

Thanks Phil. I was planning on building the cab demonstrated at the SW Bash. The speakers are from a bass cab which was too darned awkward and heavy to lift comfortably so I thought I'd take it to bits it and use the parts. 

Maybe not such a great idea. Would the dimensions of the original cab tell me anything useful regarding what size two small cabs ought to be?

3 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

Sounds like a plan but go easy  on them drivers as they may well exceed their Xmax at medium to low volumes. litsen  for farting nopise and if there is no nasty smell it may be you driver exceeding its mechanical limits.

Ah - thank you for this, exactly the kind of advice I was hoping I'd receive. Would you say the idea was inherently flawed then? Is there a temporary solution? Reduce the volume of air in the box with a rolled up sweater or something?