andrewrx7

I remember reading about sound limits a while ago on this forum, but we had our first experience of it on Sat night. Just getting set up, when the manager comes along and says you have to move one of the PA speaker as it is pointing towards the bar. Apparently, new regs last year state that noise behind the bar cannot exceed 80dB. Health & Safety at work and all that…..apparently he has been checked up on a few times to! On top of that, the police were hanging around all night, and gave him a couple of nods to keep the noise down. (Just to say we are not an overly loud band, by the way!). What a ridiculous situation. I can understand the point about the barstaff – that makes sense and personally I would not argue against it – but live music venues should really put a bit more thought into how to position a band, and not just “shove in the corner” attitude. What was pretty stupid on Sat night as we were loading back up at 12.30am, was that opposite us was a students residence apparently – clearly a party (or parties) were going on – loud music, shouting etc….and next to that, was a night club – pounding bass etc……so why pick on the pub? Bet the police and environmental health weren’t hounding the students and the night club “to turn it down”, were they! I would guess that if the 80dB level behind the bar is actively enforced, then there will be a fair few places simply giving up live music.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='420966' date='Feb 27 2009, 02:53 PM']So do the same experiment with a the 15" on top and report back.[/quote] May well try that at the next rehearsal! Will be interesting to hear what the differenc is in light of BF's comments in the above post.

Unusually, I had both my cabs set up for band rehearsal: the good ol' 4x10 and 1x15 combination. If it is of any use, it is a TE 300w head and both cabs are TE to. Both cabs clearly produce a different sound. At one point I was playing and would take one of the leads out to each cab in turn to hear what, if any difference in sound each cab makes. Indeed, after reading other threads recently, I was actually questioning the validity of even using the 1x15 and whether I could get rid. BUT - all I comment on is what my ears (and those of the others in the band) could hear. With both cabs together - thunderous bass, loads of bottom end with what I can only really describe as (!) a really clear "twang" when I hit the strings hard. Pull the plug from the 15incher, and the bottom thump noticable drops. Pull the plug from the 4x10, and that higher end definition clearly drops. Combined - best of both worlds. Just my observations - and with my specific cabs. Other cabs will no doubt sound different etc, but thought I'd just post what we could clearly hear on the night.

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='415893' date='Feb 20 2009, 11:52 PM']I would not expect to hear a difference between 300w and 450w to be honest. Having said that the trace was audiably louder with the preset on - something that robs the mids and usually affects audiability. Perhaps there is more to amp/cab synergy than I thought.[/quote] In what way "affects audiability"? I agree about the pre-shape - take it off and the sound noticable drops. When I first got the TE head, I never used the pre-shape, just tried to dial in a good sound with the eq as best I could. Then I thought "whats this actually do", gave it a press, and hey-presto, a corking sound! Personally I love the pre-shape (with eq off). Also, I found having a decent bass helps no end! I used to use a Hohner Jack - then finally decided to buy something different. Went for a Schecter with EMG-HZs with active electronics - wow! The difference was immense! Now, I find using the pre-shape gives a great basic sound, and subtle adjustments are made with the onboard eq on the bass.

[quote name='Boneless' post='415030' date='Feb 20 2009, 09:37 AM']There are some aspects to consider: - the TE head might have an underestimated power rating, as you said; - the Peavey Tour head might have a basic tone that cuts the mix less than the TE; - the power amp in the Peavey may be of lesser quality, so less able to cope with high loads; - there isn't a [b]big[/b] increase in volume between 300 and 450W, really, due to the logarithmic nature of sound and the way our ears perceive soundwaves; - don't judge by the taper of the pots, keep in mind that in many heads the pots are designed to yield perceivable results only in a portion of the taper (ie. the LMII). There is also the amp-cab coupling aspect to consider, some amps are able to drive certain cabs better than others (due to impedance ratings through all the emitted frequencies).[/quote] I had a good old play with the various settings on the Tour - contour, shelving, eq etc etc etc.......some great sounds including very similar to the Trace pre-shape, just that it didn't seem to drive the cab to the same volume level that the Trace head did. Don't misunderstand me, it sounded great, and I'm sure if the Trace packed up mid gig, the switch to the Tour would not be an issue. I'm just feeding back the observation based on our rehearsal. I'm happy with the purchase (esp for the price!)! Point taken about the pots, just saying that it was noticeable that the last quarter of the pot in the Tour appeared to do nothing , while the Trace pot did. Overall pretty evenly matched, but to be honest I still prefer the Trace for the kind of music we play.

The effect I use from the Unibass is an octave (higher than the one played) plus a 5th to give a pseudoguitar chord. Looking at the GT2, it appears to be an amp effects unit, not a rhythm guitarist effect. Great reviews though and looks a good piece of kit, but not for what I use the Unibass for.

At band rehearsal last night, I had a go at using my Unibass through the bass cab. Now, when I first bought it, I did try this and for some reason thought it sounded rubbish, and ever since I have been using a dedicated guitar amp to run the chord effect through (i.e. keeping the effect separate from the bass rig). Last night, I re-tried running it through the 4x10cab, and low and behold, it sound great! In fact I’d go so far as to say almost sounded as good as the guitar amp! The only thing I can think of, is that I tried the Unibass with the bass cab with my old bass, which was far inferior to my current one and never bothered re-trying it when I got the new bass. So, I was really surprised with the result. The cab seems to retain its punch and low end but easily projects the phantom guitar over the top. Very impressed! Additionally, for some reason, the Unibass seemed to track better to, with less strange notes being added – can’t see why this should be the case, the only thing that is different is that the effects and the bass signal are combined in one output in this set up, rather than spilt out and run from 2 dedicated outputs if using a seperate guitar amp. So looks like one less thing to carry to a gig! Result!

Well, I bought a Tour450 (450w@4ohms) head a little while ago, and last night was the first time I’ve had a chance to use it a band volume. I ran it along with my current Trace head (300w@4ohms) to see if there was a perceivable difference between the two (chopping and changing between the two heads during songs). Now, I am not an audiophile, and the subtleties of sound may not be my forte, I freely admit, but clearly there was a distinct difference in audible volume between the two. Both me and our guitarist agreed the Trace head was clearly providing a noticeable increase in volume over the Tour 450. No matter how I adjusted the Tour450, it could not keep up with the Trace! Sound wise, great, can’t argue with that, a lot of adjustment to give any sound you want, but it just couldn’t produce the same volume from the cab (TE 4x10 (400w)). I didn’t have my dB meter so could take any specific readings unfortunately. But when the Tour450 got upto around say 7+ on the post gain knob, no further increase in volume could be heard. While the TE head seems to give an audible increase in volume almost to the end of its scale. One other thing I did notice, was the input gains on both are different. I use an active bass but I typically leave the actives off (only use them when I really need to) – well, set to 0, so not sure if they are running or not? The battery is the original one from 2 years ago! Anyway, input gain on the TE head typically ends up at 6, what ever that means, but it gives me the thumbs-up on the LEDs! On the Tour450, it was set to around 3, and still the clip indicator would flash, especially when using the low B. So, I bought the Tour450 as a backup, and it will remain that way. I’ve heard that myths that TE heads are more powerful than the ratings state – on the basis of last night, is this true? (Oh yes, I simply use the TE head with the pre-shape. No eq and some compression. Works for me!). I'm not critising the Peavey don't get me wrong, but for what I want, the TE head is the better of the two! Any comments or advice are welcome! Cheers!

I did see the AB100 from another site. Had a quick look at good ol' Harmony Central and the feedback was not favourable. So I dismissed it. BUT, I appreciate your point about the cheapness of it to prove the point.....before splashing out for a more expensive, but ultimately better, piece of kit. Thanks for the suggestion!

Thinking about it, splitting a signal is what the heads do anyway, so there isn't a need for a seperate splitter? Don't you achieve the same thing by taking a line from one of the heads? For example, an extract from the TE head manual - says the effects send can be used as a pre-master volume line out and the signal throught the pre-amp is only broken when a jack is inserted back into the return plug. So basically, you can take a signal from the head with no need for a dedicated splitter. It's a learning curve, isn't it! You don't know until you start to experiment!

Cheers fellas!

I hope this isn't too simpe a question, but when reading through my amp instruction manuals ( ) there is mention of "buffered" signals for tuner sends. 1) What is a buffered signal? 2) I would assume the signal to a tuner is pre-eq etc? Thanks Andrew

[quote name='Stickman' post='403983' date='Feb 9 2009, 02:28 AM']I've got one that I could sell, mint condition, only gigged once. Andrewrx7, drop me a PM if interested.[/quote] Will bear that in mind, thanks! Got a few options to play with this week before I think about buying the splitter/pedal. (I also found two other splitter boxes that seem to have very good reviews, one by a company called Lehle, and another by Palmer. Too many options to consider!)

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='403727' date='Feb 8 2009, 08:13 PM']Only thing with the Bad Monkey is that the amp output has a speaker sim on it that dulls your sound, even when the pedal is off.[/quote] Duly noted, thanks!

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='403538' date='Feb 8 2009, 05:01 PM']Or for a few quid and half an hour with a soldering iron you can put together your own a/b/y box: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=40389"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=40389[/url][/quote] Saw that thread earlier! Interesting......! Thanks for the info!

[quote name='dangerboy' post='403291' date='Feb 8 2009, 11:50 AM']Maybe you just need a smaller guitar amp? There are some tiny things out there with great sound and frightening volume levels.[/quote] True - I was firstly just trying to work within the equipment I already have without spending anything else. When I got the Tramp, we were all a little surprised about how much volume it pushes out! I do have a smaller 1x12 Laney VC30, but the Tramp sounds so much better (I like the sound of the twin speaker set up over the single). But it is an option, as you say!

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='403473' date='Feb 8 2009, 04:01 PM']You can also use a stereo chorus pedal set to a very slow subtle setting. This will thicken up your sound a bit as well as splitting your signal.[/quote] Was actually looking at this, this morning! I've got a Danelectro Cool Cat Chorus which has a stereo out. Was also wondering about another pedal (Bad Monkey) which has two outs, labelled amp and mixer, if I remember correctly. I was going to try them at rehearsal this week.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='403043' date='Feb 7 2009, 08:59 PM']No, it sounds like you need to stick with the rig(s) you have. BTW which band are you in, I've seen a couple with set-ups like you describe and their sound is great.[/quote] The sound is indeed very good, with the seperate guitar amp, no arguing about that! If we did more songs where we thought they needed the extra clarity that a seperate guitar amp provides then I probably wouldn't be considering this route. But it is simply alot of hassle carting the amp around (not a light fella, it's a TE Super Tramp 2x12 - and it is very loud to! Really have to run it at low gain - it is a little bit of overkill to be honest!) and setting it all up. I am just considering dropping it from the set up and see if i can achieve a similar sound with the twin bass rigs, without too much of a compromise to the overall bass sound for those particular songs. I could run the effect thorugh the PA I suppose, but I do like to hear the "backline" - we are a small band so don't have sound engineers etc! Anyway, I play in a covers band in the Northants/Beds/Herts area, but seriously doubt you would have heard (or seen) of us! Not putting ourselves down mind, but we are one of the countless many serving an ever decreasing circuit!!

Can anyone recomend a signal splitter? I wish to take the bass signal and split into two lines to go to two seperate amp heads. Thanks!

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='402904' date='Feb 7 2009, 04:38 PM']Why not split the signal (splitter box, some FX pedals do it too) and take a signal to each head? Even better, use a bass with a stereo output (Rickenbacker and many copies thereof, some Ovations, some Gibsons, various others I'm sure). Then you just need a Y-cable to split the signals. The other attraction of this route is that you can load up one signal with FX while keeping the other one clean.[/quote] A splitter box was something else to consider. Never considered these, so not sure what is good or what is not?

Hi there, Just experimenting a bit and am looking for some advice before I knacker something! I want to try and run 2 heads with dedicated cabs - a 1x15 from one head and a 4x10 from another. Looking through the manuals of both heads, I would like to ask for some clarification on how to connect them together. Head 1 = TE AH300, Head 2 = Peavey Tour450. Current plans are either: [b]Set up 1:[/b] Bass into TE head. Take a lead from Effects Send to effects pedal. Take the Out from the pedal to the Tour 450. [b]Set Up 2:[/b] Bass into TE head. Take a lead from the Line Out to effects pedal. Take the Out from the pedal to the Tour 450. [b]Set Up 3:[/b] Bass into the Tour 450. Take an lead from the Effects Send OR the Tuner Send to the effects pedal. Take the Out from the pedal to the TE head. [b]Set Up 4:[/b] Bass into the Tour 450. Take an lead from the Effects Send OR the Tuner Send to the effects pedal. Take the Out from the pedal to the Line Out (which apparently also acts like an INPUT). Also, what is a "buffered signal"? The Tour450 Tuner Send says this is a buffered signal. Any thoughts on the above as to which is the best way to run the 2 amps together? Thanks, Andrew

[quote name='chris_b' post='402744' date='Feb 7 2009, 12:23 PM']What would you be hoping to achieve by doing this? I don't know that you would hear much of a difference if you put the effect through one or both cabs.[/quote] I didn't explain the full story, just wanted to keep it short. I use a Unibass to add a "rhythm guitarist". But this is only on 3 songs in the set. I use a dedicated guitar amp for this. Was just thinking about cutting down on the gear I carry around and this is a little excessive. I have tried the Unibass applied to the whole bass sound and I don't like it - it does seem to cloud the sound somewhat (to my ears anyway). Since I got the UB, I have added the 1x15 cab to the set up. So I was just thinking, that for the 3 songs I use the UB for, rather than applying the effect to the whole bass sound, could I apply it to one cab (probably the 4x10) and still have good bass punch from the other cab with no effect applied to it. (Having it run through the 4x10 will give a mix of bass and effect, so it is not as though the 3 songs will only have just the 1x15 cab only). If this set up worked, then I could not bother with lugging the guitar amp around. Cheers Andrew

Thanks for all the suggestions. Decided the easiest thing is to use my spare head and basically run 2 rigs. Just figuring out the best way to that now!

[quote name='cheddatom' post='401831' date='Feb 6 2009, 10:20 AM']You can't put anything in line between the amp and the speaker. It would depend on the features of your amp.[/quote] Single input, single amp (300w TE head). Oh well, no harm in asking! Thanks!

[quote name='Prosebass' post='401838' date='Feb 6 2009, 10:28 AM']I think you've answered that one yourself Not advisable unless you like buying lots of pedals....[/quote] Fair enough!