Bass Culture

[quote name='largo' post='682458' date='Dec 12 2009, 07:13 PM']Wow! Thanks Mark, that's a pretty detailed review. So have you done away with the Compact for the PC's then? I'm presuming a 4 ohm PC 212T would be more than adequate as a one cab solution, and save me 5kg on the Schroeder 410L that I have at the moment?[/quote] Yes, I've changed the Compact for the two PC's and am really happy with this set up. I know Mike did extensive listening tests before he decided on the Celestion green label drivers rather than the oranges and all I can say is - they work for me! I think Mike's cabs are significantly lighter than anythng else out there, excepting maybe Alex's midget. I would imagine though, judging by considerably smaller cabinet proportions of the midget, it has a completely different sound to the PC cabs. To put it into perspective I bought my two PC cabs for a bit more than one Bergantino AE112 and I've got a rig that will cover me for all the gigs I'm likely to be playing for the foreseeable future. And I prefer the sound to the Bergs too! So, all I'm saying is that - as with any other cab out there - although they may not be to everyones taste (I thought the Berg's too clinical, for example, but my 'clinical might be other peoples' 'neutral') they've got to be worth an audition! I don't think they are sonically neutral, but for me that's fine - I don't chase tonal neutrality and don't see it as the Holy Grail myself; I like stuff to have character. I don't care if the sound is neutral or not, all I care is whether I like it!

I have two Purple Chili 112's and have just returned from a rehearsal where I've put them through their paces together for the first time. I've had them for only a couple of weeks so I too should declare an interest in that I obviously [i]want [/i]them to sound good! I'm glad to see that others have had problems with the BGM review too, as I made the same point in another thread that to criticize a lightweight cab for not feeling robust is to criticize it for being lightweight pretty much! The way I'd look at it is to say that Mike had met his design brief admirably - and then some! The cabinet material though is thicker than the Compact and, of the two cabs, the PC [i]looks[/i] sturdier to me. I think it's something to do with the thickness of the cabinet material and its squat and sqaure-ish dimensions. And lightweight they most certainly are - 28lbs, 12.7kg, noticeably lighter than the Barefaced Compact I had too. I used mine with my Roscoe LG3000 through a Shuttle 3.0 today, though I'm changing to a TC RH450 soon and hope that's going to be the rig I stay with for some time. I've used a single cab for a rehearsal with my second band in a smaller rehearsal room a couple of days ago and it was plenty loud enough. Today's rehearsal was in a lecture theatre at work, a much bigger space with a high roof. I thought my bass sound was great today and sat really nicely in the mix too. I think the Purple Chilis have more weight in the bass than the Compact I had, and it's solid too, not wooly. I don't know where the BGM reviewer got 'muffled' from - I didn't hear that at all. But as a previous poster has pointed out, the reviewer made no reference to the bass, amp or strings he used, how he played it or in what circumstances - gig, rehearsal, his bedroom. Twiddle enough knobs on your bass or amp and most of us could get 'muffled' out of any cab out there. I remember making a comment to Alex about the Compact, that there was a distinct change of tone the further you got away from it, compared to standing right in front of it (no great surprise as we were rehearsing in an old gymnasium at the time!). The same could be said of the PC's - as it could of pretty much all cabs out there, especially in venues with higher ceilings too. But today, even standing a good few feet away from my rig the tone was nice and clean and full. I think the fundamental sound of the cab is more 'old school' than, say, either the Barefaced or something like an Aguilar GS112 (both of which I've used), and they can do growly too, with some judicious EQ twiddling. For me, they are (for the time being!), the ideal set up - light as hell but also punchy and bassy enough to get by with one for rehearsals and smaller gigs, adding the second where you need a bit more volume. With a lightweight amp and my Roscoe slung over my shoulder it's one trip from the car to the rehearsal room - fantastic! They're not a one cab solution (for all but the smallest/quietest of gigs anyway) but, there again, they don't claim to be. I think a Barefaced Compact might go louder but I don't think they've got as much bass extension myself. Some may disagree. And even the Compact isn't a comprehensive one cab solution as a few users are adding second cabs so they can handle larger gigs. The same applies to the Aggies - one's great on its own for small/medum-sized gigs but you'll definitely need a second in larger venues. So what the PC's are is a realistic alternative to some established players. And, what's more, they look better and they're more portable. If you are in the market for a small, lightweight cab, I definitely recommend you consider them. If anyone wants to pop over to try mine you're welcome to PM me. Mark

I'd recommend one of Mike Walsh's Purple Chili PCB112's, which is loaded with a Celestion 'Green label' neo driver as standard, rates at 300w and can be ordered in a 4ohn version. Treat the lukewarm-ish review in this month's BGM lightly. The cab weighs in at 12.7kg - 28lbs in old money - and is criticised for not feeling rock solid. That amounts to critcising a lightweight cab for being, er, lightweight! FWIW, it [i]looks [/i]rock solid and - as far as I am concerned - is about the nicest looking cab out there. I know this shouldn't be a consideration but - let's face it - are there any of us who really don't care what our gear looks like as well as sounds like? Sounds-wise, I've only had it at home practice levels so far but it sounds clean, tight and punchy and has more bass than the Barefaced Compact I also had. The cabinet construction also looks more robust than the Compact and is made from thicker material, which gives it a bulkier appearance - which is not to criticize the BfC so much as point out there are are more ways to skin a cat... It's almost unbelievable the difference between what it looks like and what it weighs - in a good way! These are retailing at about £340 I think. [url="http://www.purple-chili.com/"]http://www.purple-chili.com/[/url] I'm waiting for a second one as I wouldn't expect any single cab to really handle louder gigs effectively - there's several people already running two Barefaced Compacts in a rig, for example, for this very reason. The Purple Chili doesn't claim to be a total single cab solution but I can't imagine you needing more than the one for rehearsals and anything up to medium-sized gigs. Definitley worth an audition. There's not that many about so you're welcome to try mine out if you want - I'm not on commission, btw, I just think that the BGM review might put some people off what is an excellent cab on the basis of them appearing to apply unfair criteria to it in their assessment. It's light, it's loud (enough), it's sounds great, it looks great and - it's British! Pip pip!

Pete Tullet - that's the man! I exchanged a few e-mails with him about my combo some years back and he was unfailingly helpful and still very enthusuastic about the amps. Even then I think thery were unlike anything else on the market. And yeah, by todays standards, there's a plentiful supply of kit that will out perform them by any objective measure. But they did have one thing that a lot of the new stuff lacks (imho) - character!

Yeah, I had the 150w 1 x 10" combo too. I loved it. Mine was loaded with an EV speaker; sounded brilliant. I exchanged a few e-mails with the guy who made them and he was kind enough to send me some publicity material and copies of reviews from back in the day. I think he was the guy behind (was it?) Alligator amps but someone will correct if I'm wrong. It was a company that made very well regarded amps for a while back in the 80's anyway. I wish I could remember the bloke's name but it was a few years back! I don't have the publicity material and other stuff anymore as I gave them to the person who bought the amp off me a few years back. I managed to pick up a 15" extension speaker from a shop in East Anglia somewhere (same neck of the woods as the company were based in) but someone had swapped out the original driver for a crappy Fane one. I put a Black Widow in it and this was a killer rig with the combo! I also had the head separated from the combo and covered the whole lot in grey vinyl as the wood was starting to scratch. By modern standards it wasn't high powered but it used to deliver every one of those 150 watts! The cabs were tiny too. I often wished I'd kept them. I'd love to have heard what they sounded like with a couple of newer neo drivers in now. Anyway - Peterson: great amps.

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='670785' date='Dec 1 2009, 09:37 AM']Hiya Mark If you run two cabs in 'apparent series' i.e. one cable to the amp, 2nd cable from 1st cab to 2nd it is actually a parallel connection i.e. two 8 ohm cabs give 4 ohms. The 1st lead will take all the load too so needs to be decent and OBBM cables do it with ease I'm sure. Peter[/quote] Ah, thanks for that, Peter. That's deals with that then! I'm still on a mission to find one of the current breed of lightweight/Class D's that cab give me the same oomph, weight and warmth of sound as the Trace head I've been using recently. I've tried a Little Mark II but it sounds a bit clinical and thin by comparison. I've picked up a Genz Benz Shuttle 3.0 which I'll try too. Any thoughts on how the RH450 might compare and stack up against the Trace?

I have a horrible suspicion that this is going to be a stupid question, but why have these amps only got one speaker output? If you have to run two (for example) 8 ohms cabs in series doesn't that keep the ohmage above 4 ohms and therefore mean you can't draw maximum power from the amp?

That Roscoe's lovely. I've been the happy owner of a fretted LG3000 I got from Mark at Bass Direct for a couple of months now. They're simply fantastic basses. Your fretless looks no different. What's the top wood btw?

John, Any gigs over the Christmas period? I live in Chester now but all my family are still down in Colchester and we're staying with them for a few days over the holiday period. We've only otherwise got the 'traditional' (and all too predictable) holiday gig at St Mary's Art Centre top look forward to otherwise. Pip pip! Mark

The album gets a 4 star review in this month's 'Mojo'.

[quote name='Count Bassy' post='662285' date='Nov 23 2009, 12:03 AM']Wot? No single string basses at all?[/quote] He shoots, he scores!