Musky

Yeah, you add the power handling of each cab. The power from the amp will be split equally between the two (assuming both cabs have the same impedance, which they do), so each cab will be receiving 250w from your SA450. It's worth bearing in mind that the 400w of the cabs refers to their thermal power rating, or how much power they can take electrically. How much they can handle mechanically can vary greatly depending on the speakers used. If you're feeding them with heavily compressed sounds and using a lot of bass boost they could run out of excursion even though they exceed the amp's rated power. Just use your ears - if you hear them complaining turn the amp down or reduce the bass level.

I had to look up autodidactic. Yeah, I'm one of those. Welcome back to the bass playing fold and to the forum.

[quote name='holio.cornolio' post='644674' date='Nov 3 2009, 08:22 PM']If it helps, that's not my real name. Those that know me call me... Matthew. Yeah, finance is the only way I'm afraid. Shoveling away £40-50 notes a month is easy enough, but when disaster strikes (which it does with alarming regularity) the savings pot is always whittled down to next to nowt again. The take it away scheme allows me the opportunity (assuming a 10 month disaster free window) to ensure that my squirreled away cash doesn't get accidentally spent on, oh I don't know, the deposit on a holiday or some such pointless bunk! It's a crazy situation, but I'm a weak person and when the kids need new coats / shoes / ponies, and I have a bit of spare cash, I just give in ;-)[/quote] Yeah, I didn't think it was your real name. I assumed it was a reference to to this:

[quote name='alexclaber' post='644641' date='Nov 3 2009, 07:53 PM']Not if you buy used. Have a look through here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showforum=20&prune_day=100&sort_by=Z-A&sort_key=last_post&topicfilter=all&st=0"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showforum=...er=all&st=0[/url] Anything 2x10", 1x15" or bigger. Any 200W+ head. Or despite my anti-combo stance, this is a really great bargain: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=62977"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=62977[/url] Alex[/quote] If I understand holio cornolio (it feels really strange typing that ) correctly, I think this needs to be done on tick...

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='644375' date='Nov 3 2009, 01:47 PM']Very little, unless they're ordering in lots of 10,000. Eminence offers a number of OEM options, most of them built with existing parts, a frame from this pile, a cone from that pile, a voice coil from that pile and so forth. The frame and motor very much determine a useful parameter range that can only vary by roughly 20%. There are no OEM 'super drivers' with specs that can't be very nearly duplicated with an off the shelf unit. The Ampeg driver is a bit unique, because it's built with a frame and motor that hasn't been used for any of Eminence's in-line drivers for at least ten years. If it was any other manufacturer they wouldn't do enough volume to keep making it. Save impedance its specs fall into the range in between the Alpha 10 and Beta 10. Recently some 32 ohm neo replacements have appeared, which probably use the Basslite S2010 frame/motor.[/quote] Thanks for that Bill. Seems like there are more options than I'd imagined, but still kind of confirms my thoughts. Interesting about the Ampeg drivers though.

You can use your own DI with tone shaping, like the Behringer or Sansamp BDDI. Other than that it's asking to be miked up or leaving it totally in the hands of the engineer. How much of your amp's sound you're going to get is pretty much dependant on the size of the venue and where you/the audience are in relation to the amp and your levels, monitoring, etc.

I was wondering how much manufacturers can customise a speaker? Most of the major cab builders boast that they have custom Eminence/Celestion/whatever drivers in their cabs, and had imagined that this pretty much meant that they had slapped their own label on the back or maybe used a different colour cone on an otherwise standard speaker. But I've also noted that people have pointed out that the specs on Ampeg's 8x10 speakers are pretty 'similar' to Eminence's Alpha units, which kind of suggests that some slight changes have been made to aspects that actually change their performance. So how much leeway do speaker manufacturers have in customising a speaker without running into costs that would make the changes uneconomical? It seems to me that only the cone and surround might be changed without running into some major rejigging.

[quote name='deaky' post='640953' date='Oct 30 2009, 12:01 PM']Hi folks I just grabbed a Puma 112 combo. Just one question..its got a small gap to the bottom right hand side around the back. Does anyone know what this is for?? cheers deaky[/quote] Maybe where the tilt back stand goes?

I bought something that looked very much like that for a mate (he doesn't have an ebay account), branded Spider. Had a quick play of it when it arrived - the intonation wasn't right at the dusty end (to be expected with no compensation at the bridge I suppose), but the action was OK. Fret ends were a bit rough but you wouldn't notice unless you were looking for them. Nothing special at all, but I'd say the one he got was worth the money. That might be damning it with faint praise, but he still finds it ok for noodling in the living room.

I'm really not sure there's anything that can be added beyond what was in Jon's post. Although he's far too modest to mention it, he's one of the most (the most?) knowledgeable people on the planet when it comes to Rickenfakers.

I think the point about SPL is that plenty of speakers can only handle about 25% of the rated power in the lows before they run out of excursion. That means the tone you'll get at shop/bedroom volumes can be very different to the tone you'll get when you turn up the wick.

It might be worth looking at Bill Fitzmaurice's Jack series if you can handle a self build and cost is an issue. They're very efficient cabs and work out cheap enough for the drivers and materials. There's lots of threads about his older Omnis if you do a search.

Yeah, check with a different bass and leads first. I've had the output on my amp fade down on me before cutting out altogether. I found it would still work with the bass plugged into the effects return (with none of the pre amp functions, obviously). Turned out to be a dirty input socket, cured by cleaning with switch cleaner.

It looks very much like the SR700 [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/expansion.php?cat_id=248&now=18"]in the 2001 catalogue[/url], only that is listed as a walnut finish with black hardware.

I'm reliably informed that [url="http://www.linearteam.dk/default.aspx?pageid=winisd"]WinISD[/url] is quite handy for this sort of thing. I use a Mac, so I wouldn't know.

[quote name='ticker.hart' post='634452' date='Oct 23 2009, 02:11 PM']How would I do that without having to do all my own tax returns. At the moment I don't do any paperwork for my tax as it is all done by the Navy. If I started claiming my musical earnings and expenses would i have to stop doing PAYE on my normal wages? More importantly, if I was spending more than I was earning as a musician, could I claim it against my overall income, ie pay less tax on my naval wage?!!!!![/quote] You don't have to stop paying PAYE, just declare your additional income. Of course if you're not getting that much from playing you may well find that all your additional expenses that you can claim for come to more than your actual income. In which case the tax man would owe you money. They're unlikely to wear that for too long before deciding your bass playing is just a hobby though. Edit: Beaten to it by... everyone!

[quote name='bh2' post='633276' date='Oct 22 2009, 11:10 AM']I'd let it go... don't lend your basses out in future.[/quote] +1 I'm no kind of lawyer, but should you go to the effort of a claim you may find that accepting that £50 might cause you problems.

This is a good reminder to us all - VAT is applicable to all purchases outside the EU over £18 (unless it's a gift, in which case it's £36). Small and lower value items seem to get less scrutiny than more expensive stuff, but they're still not exempt from being charged. As Clarky found out, on lower priced items it's not the VAT that hurts, it's the admin charges.

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='631682' date='Oct 20 2009, 07:12 PM']He said collection preferred and acknowledged nobody would be crazy enough to pay postage![/quote] So he did. Just the cynic in me coming out. [Something about looking a gift amp in the... errr, port.]

[quote name='Hot Tub' post='631644' date='Oct 20 2009, 06:46 PM']Yup, Park GB15-10 by Marshall. Pity it's in St Albans. If it was closer.... [/quote] Considering he's charging £30 postage I doubt he's offering collection as an option.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='631225' date='Oct 20 2009, 11:39 AM']You do realise that I've gone metric don't you? Kilos not pounds and all that... Alex[/quote] Yeah, I spotted that. I still think under 20lbs for a cab with a 12" driver that handles 450w rms is ridiculously low.

Good grief, I had to do a double take there! The weights with your new composite ply are ridiculously low.

[quote name='tegguN' post='629394' date='Oct 18 2009, 12:32 PM']For scales- where should I start? Is there a set list of scales that I should learn as a beginner and work my way through? I know how to play a major and minor scale across three strings (I think).[/quote] [url="http://www.studybass.com/lessons/basics/"]This site is pretty good.[/url] Personally I'd start with the major and minor scales (as you seem to have done), but you really need to know where to find the notes all round the neck.