tm486

Hi, My Ashdown Mag 300 C115 makes a fairly loud thud when I turn it on. When I turn it off, there is another, louder thud followed after about half a second, by another quieter thud. These are both affected by the volume dial, louder when it's up high and fairly quiet (but still obvious) when it's off completely. I think the thud when I turn it on has always been there, but the thuds when I turn it off are new. They sound a bit like unplugging the bass whilst the amp is still on. The sound comes through both the speaker in the combo and the speaker in the extension cab. Looking at them the speaker cone moves quite a lot. When I'm playing through it, even when very loud, the speaker cone hardly moves visually, but when switching the amp off you can see the speaker cone move a considerable amount. Is this a sign of any damage in the amp and if so does anyone know how to fix it? Is this likely to damage the speakers? Thanks, Tom

[quote name='timbass' timestamp='1355427133' post='1898388'] I think it is worth listening to other bassist's amplification set-up and, when you find one you like, ask what kit they are using. It is likely that the pickup and pre-amp are important things to look at, your amplifier is fine. [/quote] That's a good idea, I'll see what recordings I can find online and on this forum, in the mean time if anyone has recordings of a particular setup, i would very much appreciate a sample or a link. [quote name='Mr Bassman' timestamp='1355427786' post='1898396'] Be careful! If it's the wing slot / paddle type you can damage them by being over tight. If its the BP100 type that uses metal clips it could benefit from being tighter. [/quote] It is the wing slot type you are describing. In that case as they feel pretty snug as they are, I think i'll leave them alone, thanks for the heads up. Cheers, Tom

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1355403457' post='1897883'] If it's in the bass side of the bridge try putting it in the other side, and as others have said it's worth doing some experimentation with how tightly it fits in the wing, which can make a difference to the sound you get out. If none of these experiments give you a satisfactory sound then it's time to look at other products, but be warned it's an expensive business and IMHO there's not a massive difference between different piezos, they all have that sort of sound to them. [/quote] It has two pads, so one on each side. They both fit quite tightly, but i'll have a play around to see if i can make them any tighter. I can see it's an expensive business, it's going to be a lengthy process, but i enjoy playing the double bass and don't do it enough perhaps for this reason, so i think it'll be worth it eventually. Cheers, Tom

Thanks for all the input guys, I think I'm going to start by investing in a decent pickup and preamp as soon as I can afford them. I think the main thing that annoyed me was the fact that no matter what I did with the EQ, it was always really bassy, so something with a HPF or the ability to cut the bass frequencies a lot more than I currently can would be a good start. By the time I can afford that lot i'll probably be able to try it through a few different amps and see what I like the sound of. Mind you, i've just read that someone on talkbass played through an ashdown 2x15 setup and got a sound that they were happy with so I might only need a preamp and pickup. I think i'll keep an eye out on the for sale section to see if anything comes up. Cheers, Tom

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' timestamp='1355343294' post='1897272'] Try running your pickup into something like a Boss tuner pedal before you plug into the amp. There's a whole headache about input impedances awaiting you. Have a read at this: [url="http://www.gollihurmusic.com/faq/11-PREAMPS_DO_YOU_NEED_A_PREAMP_WITH_YOUR_URB_PICKUP.html"]http://www.gollihurm...URB_PICKUP.html[/url] [/quote] The amplifier has 2 inputs, one with 10kOhm impedance and one with 3.9MOhm impedance, so according to that website it input SHOULD, be ok i think? Cheers, Tom

[quote name='Mr Bassman' timestamp='1355342982' post='1897268'] Which pick-up have you got? You could try a pre-amp like the Fishman Plat Pro 8" or 10" speakers are better for upright [/quote] I don't know to be honest, I think it's just a cheap one, I was given it as a present. I've been looking at getting a pre-amp for it but wasn't sure which one would be best. I'd heard that smaller speakers were better for upright, but don't have any to try it out on. I've got a 1x10 but i won't be able to try the double bass through that for about 6 months or so. I might have to start saving for a few purchases, but where would you start? A new pickup, preamp or maybe start looking at a cab? Cheers, Tom

Hi, I've been playing double bass for quite a while, but i've never had the need to amplify it. But I've recently joined a band playing bass guitar and they have expressed an interest in using the double bass for a few songs. I've bought a piezo pickup and have tried to practice with this at home. My only available amplification at the moment is an Ashdown Mag 300 115 combo with the 115 extension cabinet. Whenever I try to play through this I can never get a sound that I'm anywhere near happy with. It's incredibly bassy especially on the E string even though I turn down the Lows and Low mids completely. I also get a lot of finger noise being amplified. What I'd like to know is there any way of making this sound any better or will I have to buy a new amp/cab to suit the DB. I'd appreciate any advice and if i need any new kit, recommendations on what might work best. Cheers, Tom

My dog does the exact same thing. Without fail, he'll always sit at my feet or right infront of the cab. I have no idea why he likes it there.

I'm interested in learning to play guitar and I'm not worried that it'll detract from my bass playing. I doubt that anything will ever take over bass as my main instrument.

Hi, Is this position now filled? Thanks Tom

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1339069183' post='1683145'] I never have to (so far), as I use angle jacks However, I had to swap the barrel socket on my current (s/h) Warwick Streamer, it was f***ed. Probably due to straight jacks being used. [/quote] Lol, fair enough. I guess I'll have to just repair it as and when then. Cheers, Tom

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1339068673' post='1683130'] And I was just going to reply to BRX that an up-angled barrel socket pretty much forces the need for straight jacks, and therefore an engineering design stupidity in most cases. [/quote] With regards to how long they last, how long do your's normally last before you have to change them?

Hey, I just logged on to ask a question about this very topic. I had one fitted probably a year and a half ago and it's already broken, is that about normal cos it seems a bit short to me. I'll give the right angled jacks a go, but I have an angled jack socket and wrap the lead around the strap so I can't see it helping much? Cheers Tom

Just bought a Line 6 Studio 110 amp this morning from Benedict, just as described. He waited almost a month until I was back at Uni from the easter holidays. Kept up good communication and even delivered it to me as I have no transport. Great bloke to deal with. Cheers Benedict, Tom

Hi, On the Ashdown website, their MAG 115 and 210 extension cabinets are rated at 250w so two 250w cabs should clearly be fine. I would also have thought that two 200w cabs should be fine but I'm sure someone will be along who can tell you this for sure. Tom

Hi, As far as I'm aware, it's possible, but the outcome would not be great. I think most subwoofers are designed to deal with frequencies up to about 120-140Hz really, so when crossed over at this frequency and put with other full range speakers, it sounds great, but if it's trying to reproduce the frequencies above this cut off it will not sounds too great. As a reference, I think most bass amplifiers produce frequencies up to around 2.5kHz and those with horns even higher. The specs for the driver you listed say that its frequency response is 25Hz-800Hz but i believe this may be limited by the box it is in. However, i'm no expert and someone with more knowledge could well prove me wrong, this is just an assumption based on the specs i can find. You could probably use the amplifier to drive a conventional bass cab, but that might be more hassle than it's worth. If you do use the amplifier, i would be interested to see how you power it. Cheers Tom

Depending on where you are based there is one on Gumtree at the moment if you are still looking. It's in Blandford Forum in Dorset. Don't know the seller, I was just looking for a small amp and that came up in the search results. http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/ashdown-bass-magnifier-c110-300-amp/98900650 Good Luck Tom Edit: Forgot the link

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1330073648' post='1552183'] Hi Tom, I hope you are going ahead with this project. If you haven't already chosen your drivers then I'd like to add a bit. For any given driver there is an optimum solution both in terms of cab size and tuning frequency. For example you really want your port output to be tuned to the speakers resonance so that you get maximally flat responses and the cabinet size needs to be adjusted to achieve the optimum damping of the speaker. Any of the speaker design programs will recommend the optimum cabs and tuning and the better ones like WinISD will allow you to see what happens with a less than optimum alignment. Generally speaking if you wanted a flat response down to bottom E then you would start with a driver with a resonance below that point. This means a heavier cone or a softer suspension and usually means lower efficiency. It also means your speaker will have to be designed with a longer excursion to cope with these low frequencies. If you want a smaller box then you look for a driver with a bigger magnet for better electromagnetic damping to compensate for less damping from your box. Also look for low Vas. I wouldn't get hung up on deep bass, speaker designers talk about cut off frequencies but the speaker doesn't just stop here, there will still be some sound but at lower levels right down below 41Hz and the bass is often reinforced by boundary reflections from floors and walls in real life situations indoors so a lot of deep bass can be difficult to manage. The character of your speaker is going to be more determined by any hump in frequency response above 100Hz and the midrange peaks which both the Eminence drivers show. I haven't modelled these speakers but it looks as if the deltalite is better than the basslite by a small amount probably proportionate to the price difference. If you decide that you are going ahead and it isn't too late I will run them through winisd and give you more detail. Cheers [/quote] Hi, Thanks for all the advice, I haven'tbought any drivers yet, haven't made any decisions at all. I'm thinking of doing it whilst I'm home from uni over the summer holidays as something interesting to pass the time which could actually give me something useful. This gives me 3-4 months to decide on drivers before I can make a start. I think I'm starting to understand what a few of the parameters mean and I can run them through winISD when at home as I have a windows computer there. With regards to deep bass, it certainly seems as though a cab tuning of over 50Hz would be better suited to what I think I'm trying to achieve. Again, thanks for the advice and i'll be sure to come back with any questions nearer the time. Tom

My personal favourite would have to be Origin of Symmetry. The others are all great, but if you are looking for somewhere to start, you could do worse than Origin of Symmetry. Enjoy, Tom

They'll all do it? Fantastic, I thought they might as it seems like a very simple thing to do, but i just wanted to make sure before i go spending money i don't really have, lol. Thanks for your help.