machinehead

A sad loss. I loved his attitude to life. Frank.

Merry Christmas everyone. Time I was in bed... Frank.

Lovely. And you don't see too many in that finish. Happy Christmas. Frank.

For some reason the "quote" function won't work for me? I wanted to say that was a good balanced post Dad3353. Also some people seem to assume that I am suggesting buying cabs on specs alone, without hearing them at all. I most certainly am not advocating that at all. The proof of the pudding is always in the eating isn't it? I just can't grasp why some posters seem to be so strongly against gaining a little knowledge of engineering and physics to complement their auditory skills. Frank.

And a perfect example of why you are far better off with some technical knowledge - at least you have a fighting chance of spotting the marketing BS. One subject that makes me smile is how often people talk about the published wattage ratings of amps and cabs and clearly don't understand the subject. And with a (very) few exceptions it appears that the manufacturers like to maintain this situation. And those kind of myths are perpetuated by well-meaning but quite misleading advice, given almost daily on this very forum. I've even seen quite a few instances where given advice has been simply wrong and has been corrected by another poster and the corrections and advice has been ignored. That is beyond my understanding. Happy Christmas to everyone who happens to read this Frank.

True chris_b, very true. It really is (mostly) in the fingers. Frank.

Haha. The short version and the long version are both good. Some specs are easy to see through if you know what to look for. We all know what is said about statistics - lies and damned lies. Frank

The AER amp one is hard to beat for what you seem to want. I had one briefly and really liked the performance for the size and weight. Unmatched by any other combo given the same parameters. My main thought is that you're tying up a lot of money in a complex combo and if the amp goes it's likely only AER can fix it, and probably by replacing an expensive part. My own experience of their customer service has been about as bad as I've ever experienced so think very carefully. What I've done is bought a BF Super Midget and small head. It's almost as convenient as a combo. A BF One10 might be capable of sounding simiIar to an amp one with the right amp. That's what I'd do if I could wind the clock back. (The BF One10 wasn't released when I bought the AER. ) Sorry, that was a bit rambling and didn't really answer your question fully. Frank.

I agree JTUK and [email="M@23"]M@23[/email], you can only read specs usefully if you know what you're reading and yes, the world is "full of it" aiming to fool the unwary and/or the unknowing. I try to be neither of those but don't always succeed 100%, nobody could in reality. Still, your ears can trick you as well when choosing a cab, in all sorts of ways, so why would anyone deliberately ignore the engineering specifications? It honestly is a mystery to me. Frank.

But.... if you understand the specs you can save yourself a lot of wasted time trying crap gear. Plus, hearing in a shop, as we all know very well, is no real test at all. No, for me anyway, after 42 years working in engineering, including 21 years in electrical engineering design, the specs are of prime importance to me. (That applies to almost everything I buy, not just musical gear.) On the other hand, if someone is happy with their gear, that's really all that matters surely? Frank.

Mmmm...Specs on paper or tone? Well firstly for me, the specs on paper. That would easily rule out the majority of cabs, especially when you see the price being asked for some cabs using cheaper, lower performing drivers and less than adequate construction. Some of them look nice though. Then, those that have survived the spec-cull would be judged on real world performance on a gig. Frank.

Chris_b's post is better than mine. Frank.

I'm of the opposite view. The technical advances in bass guitar cabinets over the past 10 years or so has been stunning. The issue of the material used for the loudspeaker magnet being heard by the human ear amazes me. In the words of Victor Meldrew, "I don't believe it." Other issues are at play here in my opinion. The performance of the new bass cabinets exceeds 40 year old designs in every way - except bragging rights. Frank.

That rig must sound fantastic!! Having owned a G1 Compact and currently a G3 BB2 (A bit like a G3 Compact but with a horn) I know how they sound individually but two Compacts together? Frank.

Only Fender make the REAL Precision. Everything else is a copy. Frank.

I've just received a cab I bought from Ville - my first international basschat deal. Ville is a totally trustworthy basschatter. He posted promptly, the packaging was perfect and Ville kept in touch throughout. A top guy. Deal with confidence. Frank.

It's often overlooked that the supply frequency (Hz) is different - USA is 60Hz, Europe is 50HZ. So you need to be sure that the lower frequency in Europe won't damage the amp if you're using an external transformer. Frank.

Here are my thoughts... buy a Barefaced Compact G1 or G2. Save yourself some cash and get one of the best performing and most lightweight 1 x 15" cabs on the market. I think there's nothing out there to beat these cabs at the moment for the money they change hands for. Frank.

Assuming you have a G1 or G2 Compact, I'd go for a used G1 or G2 Midget. That way you have 3 rigs, small,medium and using both cabs - massive. A G1/2 Midget can be bought now for £350, maybe a little cheaper if you wait for the right one. EDIT. Plus your OBT combo speaker will run out of steam way before the Compact, thus being the limiting factor of the rig. Frank.

I use the EXL220BT on all by basses at the moment. I love how they feel. The lighter gauge makes it easier to play vibrato and bend notes a little. They don't lose anything sound-wise compared to a heavier gauge. Frank.

Beautiful. That's a really tasty colour combo. Frank.

Thanks for the kind words Nik and I really appreciate how you handled the whole transaction. You're a true gentleman. And the amp is wonderful. Frank.

I bought a Thunderfunk TFB550 from Nik. It arrived in a very solid aluminium case inside a well padded cardboard box - very well packed. The first thing I noticed was that the fan switch was broken. Anyway, I just thought I' d fix that myself. I took the amp to rehearsal that night but a few seconds after switching it on and playing a few notes I smelled burning and switched it off immediately. When I contacted Nik he was very understanding and offered a refund right away or to pay for having the amp repaired. I decided that I really wanted the amp so found a highly recommended amp technician who repaired the amp at reasonable cost, giving the amp high praise for quality and build. He reckoned the courier had dropped the amp roughly as all the problems were caused by impact. Throughout all this Nik was more than helpful, even calling me to have a chat that naturally ended up with us chatting about bass playing and bass gear in general. Anyway, Nik paid for the repairs and even added a bit extra for a mains cable which was totally unnecessary but speaks volumes about Nik's integrity. So thanks Nik for a smooth transaction and for removing all the stress from a potentially very stressful situation. Deal with Nik with 100% confidence folks. Frank