VTypeV4

When I bought mine new back in early 2001 there was only the German made series and it cost the grand sum of £1065. They're mega mega bucks now, I think last time I checked a German Streamer LX5 was just shy of £2400! And it didn't have gold hardware either (mine does) which is a 'down grade' IMO. I appreciate 2001 was a long time ago now but surely they've gone just a bit too far with their pricing as well as a complex line-up? I think its real shame that they're 'not cool' at the minute as they're a brilliant instrument with great build quality and a sound that works perfectly for me.

Never really had any issues with Eminence as a bass guitar speaker, the Peavey 4x10 was pretty good but the 4808, the 1084 and now the T/V are the sweetest speakers / cabs I've owned.. My Ashton rig is loaded with TF / Tru-vox series Celestions and they're spot on too.. I had a number of failures of Eminence in some PA cabs a number of years ago, Omega Pro 18s to be specific. A change to PD and later Celestion saw the situation rectified. The T/V Celestion is pretty much a standard issue K series with nothing spectacular about it's spec but there really is something special about its sound. According to Dr Decibel at Celestion it's spec falls half way between the current TF1520 and TF1525 (as found in my Ashton 1x15) models..

Those little Celestion BG8 were a great little driver, I'm sure SWR used them in their early versions of the Henry 8x8 too.

I'd love to try the T/V with a 4808 extension cab.. Now that would be a beastly (and back breaking!) but compact rig..

They are pretty unpleasant weight wise, the 4808 weighs about the same as a T/V although the unit is a little more compact. Neither are good for those with bad backs, sadly..

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1418131291' post='2627131'] I had a 4x8 V Type combo once. Nice preamp. [/quote] Me too (wonder if it was my old one?) but IMO, I have to say I prefer the T/V..

Hey Tom, thanks!

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1418116708' post='2626896'] actually, I was in a bad mood myself so I probably over-reacted too... Glad that you are possibly one of the "good ones" who really care about sound. I really do believe that some guys (at the smaller venues) just end up at the desk because it's a way to get a few extra quid and don't really understand, or care to understand, what makes for a good sound in a room. We need more passionate people! [/quote] Hey man, it's all good.. I agree, I've seen plenty behind (or not!) a console and they don't even know what instrument is plugged into what channel let alone how to put it together. Sad but true, my missus went to see a group I often mix and occasionally dep bass for accross town and simply left as the young man attempting to mix was so far out of his depth that all was lost.. And if cheddatom is who I suspect he is, I'd like to think he'd vouch for my integrity as an engineer..

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1418031366' post='2626045'] ... maybe you could start by acknowledging that there MAY be something wrong for many, after all. Or do you think they complain because they really like complaining? when someone starts quoting their experience/credentials as a way to "impress" and attempt to negate other people's experiences, that's a major turn off. You may be a great sound engineer, but I hope I don't have to work with you, by the way you talk (and I get along famously with 99.9% of them - mutual respect is the key and you sound jaded and lacking in respect... but maybe it was just a bad day ). [/quote] I think was having a particular rough day and having seen a number of 'soundmen bashing' threads on here lately it pushed me over the edge so I bit. Please understand that I'm not jaded, I love my job and if it ever gets to the point where I'm not able to do it because of a shift in attitude then I'll call it a day. I wasn't attempting to impress with my experiences nor was I attempting to throw my weight around, I was trying to suggest that maybe some of the ideas suggested were sometimes more of a perception thing rather than being based in fact. I hope we do cross paths so you can see, I really was having a bad day..

Let us know how you get on.. Mine has a collection of Sovteks in at the mo. I think they're a lovely sounding amplifier for guitar, they do that lovely glassy thing very nicely..

Those amplifiers look great, I'd love to compare them with with my valve setups. I have to admit that I've found those KT120 and KT150 valves fascinating, I'm surprised there's not been more designs for musical instrument amplifiers using these tubes. Surerly a bass guitar amp is the perfect platform for such a bottle? Big, loud, clear and glassy with just a touch of compression? Yes please.. I wonder if these will physically fit in the Ashton. I also wondered if current draw for the heaters was an issue but it doesn't seem any much greater than for '88s.. Not sure I can afford 6 of those big bottles tho! Especially when there's nothing wrong with the EHX set thats currently in there. Not sure they'd fit in the Trace either, the bottles sit fairly close to each other and it they're also in good health so that'd be a waste. Where I'd love a pair would be in my 60 watter but thats a no-go on all counts. They wouldn't fit as one valve nearly touches the O/T as is and secondly, I'm already pushing the O/T 20-30% beyond it's original design power. I'm not sure whether the power supply would be capable of delivering anymore current either so it's probably all moot. It puts around 530v on the plates so it doesn't run the 6550s up to their limit let alone those giant bottles.. Anyone else used them in anything?

AFAIK these are Cathode biased amps (I have one too, the 2x10) so all power (and pre) valves should simply be plug and play..

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1417802455' post='2624205'] Posting on your iphone again? Stupid auto-correct... let me fix it for you [/quote] Brilliant!

An old 600 Trace is a mono in but has a stereo / hi-pass fx loop with two 300w power stages.. Possibly a bit heavy if you're used to Mark-Bass but still powerful with plenty of configuration options.. Pro audio gear as described above may well work very well too..

From what I've seen, some of the R!"£$%^&*(=r owners are much more militant than MM types. As we all know, some basses suit some and thats how it is, no-one builds a perfect bass guitar (except Warwick, of course!) but surely same as everything else, we all find something that fits.. Whatever brand sits on the headstock..

I've no issue with their bass gear whether it be new or old. Sometimes I wonder if it'd be easier to sack all my current gear, buy an old JMP and a pair of old 15" Celestion loaded W-bins and an old Fender J. Maybe as an alternative rig when I win the lottery then I wouldn't have to sack any of it.. !

I too thought it was great. Hats off to the boys and girls in the factory and RIP, Jim. I have a signed poster from the guitar show in brum years back. Nice to see Charlie Watkins and Ken Bran interviwed too..

Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of tone deaf and incapable fools out there and that coupled with a poor attitude, you're onto a loser. I too have been on the recieving end of this and fully appreciate the frustrations associated with it. Personally, I'll take a DI most of the time because I can make it work with everything else. Occasionally a mic will work (as well or instead), especially with sounds like Alan Davey but what it comes down to is appropriate use of EQ and compression -where needed- making the bass sit where it should (and it's not the same in every group / mix) irrespective of whether the source is a flat DI, an affected post-eq DI, a dynamicmic or a combination of all three. And never have I refused to plug someones bass in for fear of it 'blowing my system up' as it is appropriatley setup. I choose a DI nearly every time because it's what works best most of the time on my stage with my system in my room. Nothing to do with laziness, prejudice or whatever, I always do my best to achive the best result possible for everyone equally including the bass player. I would like to think 99% of the people that I've mixed would be happy with the result I helped them achieve and if they're not, I'm happy for them to speak up as I take my work and professional pride very seriously. Using a POD, Sansamp or whatever isn't a problem on my watch, we did Clawfinger about ten years ago and they used POD's exclusively for both bass and guitar and it was truly monsterous.

I hate threads like this and as such don't normally contribute but there's been some utter nonsense posted with regards to bass guitar, it's sonic space and the capability of modern sound systems... Modern sound systems (line-array setups) are designed for the best dispersion accross a large area. There's no 'gaps' in their frequency response (causing a lack of punch(!)) or indeed any 'fashion' issues going on, certainly not in my experience at least. They are the pinnacle of design and when correctly setup, work beautifully. Sound in smaller venues (such as the place I mainly work) can be an issue but thats more likely caused by an issue on stage or an inherrant problem with the room itself. The system I use has horn-loaded 18" subs and bi-amped tops with a 15" direct radiator and a 2" compression driver on a horn. 98 times out of 100, the bass sounds just like it should, the other few times are made up with incompatible and/or un-useable sounds. The old 'I couldn't hear the bass' thing usually stems from 'the bass doesn't sound like or isn't as loud as I percieve it should be' or by young johnny's dad saying he couldn't hear his lad. Never mind the rest of the group, eh.. We're all bass players on this forum covering all styles, shapes and sizes but so many complain about this subject, it really gets my goat. I've been a pro engineer for nearly 15 years and a bass player for 18 and I've both played and mixed up and down the country for all sorts. I've met and dealt with a number of jackasses from both sides but with decent communication a decent result is achievable as long as whoever you're dealing with has a clue.. Some engineers are poor at their job, can't listen or simply don't understand but we're not all like that. A comment on previous page about 'you're sticking a mic on this' would go down like lead balloon with me (and most engineers -good and bad- that I know) because it's not always the best option. Does the musicain know and understand the room? Do they know what the system is capable of? Do they know how to mix their own group? Probably a 'no' on all counts so being so arrogant as to assume they know best simply shows the short sightedness of some and the root of many problem. I shouldn't comment on threads such as this because all it does is make me mad at some of the bad / wrong knowledge out there but the 'bash the engineer' thing feels like it becomes personal as so many think we're all clueless muppets with a stinking attitude not even capable of mixing a bag of concrete. I'll gladly help anyone who wants to learn how to mix a group (or indeed a bass guitar) but I won't be told by a musicain how to do my job. If they know better, I'll zero the desk and system then they can mix the whole thing their way. Thankfully it's never got that far. I'm signing off at that as I could go on and on but its 3am and my feathers are ruffled.. Indeed.

Sweet rig, very sweet indeed..

[URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/IMG_0048_zps67358dad.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/IMG_0048_zps67358dad.jpg[/IMG][/URL] All the gear roughly in place, you can just see the green screen of the MOTU in the top rack and the savvy may notice the use of the Soundcraft rather than the 02R. I had some teething trouble with the 02R that I've now resolved but it was just easier to use the XD as I was running out of time on Wednesday evening.

Post a pic if you can, it'd be nice to see how you have things set-up. Nothing wrong with most Soundcraft models, even the old Spirit range of Folio and Live4 series were good consoles. The first live job I ever did back in 2000 was on a Folio SX. I'm not sure where all my gear is gonna fit as my sound booth at the Rigger isn't particularly big. There's just enough space for the Allen & Heath GL and the two racks so where the hell a computer, a monitor, a 328XD and/or the 02R, I have no idea! Ha! Its gonna be a trial run tomorrow so I'll see how it plays out.

As described in your post Flyfisher, it's how I'm approaching it.. Direct outs should be pre everything if poss so what goes to tape (or indeed a modern digtal medium!) is entirely unaffected by your live mix as what soundsd good FOH may not work on the recording. Also consider that you don't want to be chasing fader movements whilst trying to mix the recording, that'd be a nightmare! A healthy level in and to tape is important as it's often diffiicult or impractical to sort something thats either way too quiet or heavily clipped after the fact. What setup are you using? I used to use a Soundcraft GB8 when they were new about ten years ago..

Afte rmany years as a live engineer I considered that recording some of the events I mix might be good a experience as well as spinning a few extra pennies to boot. 1: I bought a decent computer (dual core intel) built by my friend. Mayber later I'll go to a Mac.. 2: I have a MOTU 828x MK3.. 3: I have a few digital desks knocking about and most recently I purchased a Yamaha 02R.. As software I'm using Pro Tools which seems to interface well with the MOTU and runs smoothly on the computer. It's simple to route inputs and outputs so I can mix either in the program or send back to the console and mix externally / return LR if needed which gives me plenty of options. All ins to the MOTU will be sent on ADAT (bank A 1-8 then bank B 9-16) although it has an extra 10 analogue inputs too. Outs can also be routed on the two ADAT banks so once the signal goes into the console, it stays digital so no noise etc. Both the Yamaha and Soundcraft desks work at a maximum of 48kHz / 24-bit so I'm using this as my standard although the MOTU will do more, up to 192kHz. Connection to the computer is done by USB 3.0 as I don't have Thunderbolt ports and apparently firewire may soon be a thing of the past. [URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/DSC_0026_zpsnrrrcau6.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/DSC_0026_zpsnrrrcau6.jpg[/IMG][/URL] I'll probably have to iron out some of the yet unknown gremlins in the setup and workout a 'system' which works best for me and yeilds the best results too. As it'll be largely a live recording setup, I expect my 328XD will be best for the 'in' as it's direct outs can set pre / post fade, pre / post EQ and pre / post dynamics. Short of an appropriately set input gain, the sends to the MOTU will be unaffected by my live mix. Gonna try it all on Wed!

Cheers gents.. Well I've got myself some recording kit too so the 02R will probably tie into that, less so for the FOH mix but I'm gonna learn my chops on it anyways. The 328XD is such a good desk for FOH, I'm loathe to change it anyways. I've too much gear and a lot of learning to do iin the near future so i'll keep this thread posted.. [URL=http://s778.photobucket.com/user/VTypeV4/media/DSC_0026_zpsnrrrcau6.jpg.html][IMG]http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/VTypeV4/DSC_0026_zpsnrrrcau6.jpg[/IMG][/URL]