6v6

Interesting update!

FWIW in my build I made the fixed shelf tuned to ~50Hz, and later I added a removable extension which moves it down to ~42Hz tuning.

It's fair to say the difference is subtle, but audible, and since I fitted the shelf extension I'm getting occasional ugly sounds on hitting the low notes (only a 4 string but I'm running a 300w LM3 into one speaker) - it's interesting that you note port noise, I've not checked my plots but perhaps that explains it.

[size=4]I'll be going back to the original 50Hz tuning when I can be bothered to take the box apart to remove the shelf extension. [/size]

Not quite the same as the Squier, but I've played the Modern Player Jazz (not the 5er though), and it was good, although fairly heavy. If you want tonal variety that one has it (more so than a typical jazz) due to the humbuckers and switchable coil tap.

[quote name='bumnote' timestamp='1411710526' post='2562062']
the guy at pjs has done some good set ups in the past
[/quote]

+1

I've used the guy from PJ's to do three setups and a refret, and all have been very good (pretty cheap too compared to some other luthiers)

I guess you may be set on a project, but if cost is the main motivation, have you considered just getting a new or used Squier complete, then getting a good setup and modding it over time when funds allow?

Or getting jazz-ish something which is good but unpopular used (e.g something like an Ibanez SR)?

FWIW I've done the parts-build thing, and unless you're very lucky and/or patient you're unlikely to beat the price of even a new Squier let alone a used one.

If you don't mind something old, you could consider one of the 70s Traynor amps - I have a 50w bassmaster which is much narrower than e.g a Marshall superbass.

I'm not certain if the more powerful models of this era came in the same width, but could be worth checking out

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1410869650' post='2554045']
IME most industrial panel saws are lucky to give 4mm dimensional accuracy, with only plus/minus 1 degree tolerance with respect to square.
[/quote]

Maybe we're talking about different things then, as that's not been my experience at all.

I live near the OP in the UK and I've got perfectly acceptable accuracy from all of them (Covers, Totton Timber and Travis Perkins). Covers have a big table saw not a panel saw.

Totton timber were the most accurate - the operator was clearly very experienced, paid close attention to my cut list, and the resulting panels were perfect (within 1mm max) and absolutely square.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1410817655' post='2553626']
Not if you make one of these, which will give accuracy of 1mm over a 120cm cut:
[/quote]

Yeah, fair point, but I guess that's what I meant by "mess about clamping battens to everything" [size=4] [/size]

[size=4]I've made a jig like that before, and it does work well provided you happen to have perfectly square leftovers of the right dimensions around, I was just trying to point out that with the tools available to them, the OP is unlikely to do better than a trained operator on an industrial panel saw.[/size]

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1410795296' post='2553217']
Quite. Probably make a better job of it using a good handsaw.
[/quote]

OTOH if you go to a decent timber merchant they'll be able to cut *far* more accurately than you can with a hand saw (unless you go get one of those fancy saw guides or mess about clamping guide battens to everything)

The OP only has a cordless jigsaw anyway, which will make getting decent straight cuts for the joints very hard indeed IME.

Yes this will work fine, provided the speaker impedance matches the requirements of your new amp.

As you note you'll need to be a bit careful if the new amp is a lot more powerful than the amp in the combo or you'll blow the speaker.

[quote name='Magic Matt' timestamp='1410539620' post='2550590']
I can't afford to buy a router and a table saw... how would I radius the edges without a router!?
Everything is going to be done with hand tools, bar some stuff with a cordless jigsaw and a cordless drill/driver.
[/quote]

You can radius the edges with hand tools (plane, rasp, sandpaper) quite easily, it'll just take longer than with a router.

FWIW I bought a router from Aldi recently for £25 and it's perfectly serviceable.

Time to go IMO - anyone who doesn't understand that family comes first and gives the sort of unsympathetic attitude you describe is not worth wasting time with.

Edit: also my sympathies, and I hope you get it worked out in a way that's acceptable to you

[quote name='Magic Matt' timestamp='1410272477' post='2547699']
I've seen everyone recommending "void free Baltic Birch" plywood, but this seems to be hard to get hold of, and very expensive. This is my first build, and I've never done a cabinet before, so I expect to make a mistake or 10 along the way... hence I'm a little concerned about spending a fortune on wood.
[/quote]

I think it'll be fine provided you avoid the really cheap stuff which will probably just fall to bits and/or be hard to joint strongly, particularly if you go 12mm vs 15 or 18.

If you're using something with voids in you probably want to use something like reinforced butt joints with a batten in every corner, as then the joint doesn't rely so much on the integrity of the ply core vs something like biscuit joints or glue/screw butt joints where you screw into the core of the ply.

I see you're in Portsmouth - I imagine you can get birch ply there (try Covers at Hilsea), but FWIW I got some excellent quality 15mm birch ply from Totton timber, it wasn't all that much more expensive than the cheap Wickes stuff and IMO it was easier to work with, particularly as they have a fairly accurate panel saw there and cut it all to size for me.

I played both and bought the US standard - both are nice, but IMO the quality (tone, feel, weight) on the US standard is better and worth the extra money, its all very subjective though so really you need to play both then make up your mind.

Is there a list of where the various fablab locations are? The fablab uk site has a lot of information on it, but I couldn't find a location list anywhere (I'm probably missing something obvious...)

[quote name='Bradwell' timestamp='1409578063' post='2541055']
That's why I was looking at 410s and not 810s. Our rehearsal space is in a pub basement and the first gig will be there (they let us practice for free but we owe them a gigs in return). Although there's plenty of space there, the other bars & pubs around town are much more space limited.
[/quote]

If pub gigs are your plan, I'd definitely concur [size=4]with the small modular rig approach - no landlord is going to thank you for turning up with a monster stack and deafening all the punters - even one 4x10 is overkill for most pub gigs IMO.[/size]

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1409208069' post='2537380']
Someone ( 6V6) has already built a close 'version' of this [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/200152-1x12-diy-cab-build/page__hl__1x12"]http://basschat.co.u.../page__hl__1x12[/url] which will give you an independant view of how it might sound.
[/quote]

FWIW I've now gigged that cab a lot, and I'm still very happy with it. Started finding the limits of a single cab (driven by a 300w MB LM3) on some bigger gigs lately, but I've just been filling in with a bit of DI through the PA until I can find time to build another matching cab (the original build was fun, but it took a *lot* longer than I anticipated, although I'm an admittedly some what slow/methodical worker

The cost was definitely well under £200, helped by the reasonable price of the Beyma driver. Not sure of the exact weight but it must be around 15kg, it's an easy carry for a hundred metres or so from the car park with my bass/amp in a gigbag on my back, and I used the heavier birch ply aiming for sturdy rather than light.

Here are two that I'm aware of:

http://www.zillacabs.com/

http://www.ampmaker.com/infocentre/thread-56.html

Get yourself a subscription to spotify for a few months - it provides themed "radio" which are playlists based on stuff you've listened to, or a genre, or artists etc. I've discovered more new music via that recently than I have in years of buying CD's.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1409063605' post='2535933']
I watched a buddy of mine in a Pro Band do their 90 minute show.

I got jealous because I feel trapped in this local 4 hour bar band level of play.
[/quote]

You're not alone, I've been through a series of bands over the last 15 years or so and it always ends up the same, playing the same circuit of mostly quite empty pubs to mostly quite indifferent crowds. It's soul-destroying, which is why most pub covers bands fold after a while (other than the obvious "musical differences" aka someone in the band is an egoist)

The most recent band is somewhat better because we have a bit of a local following, but you're still stuck because any gigs out of the local area will have nobody there, and getting the "step up" to small festivals etc is difficult/impossible unless you have the right contacts.

Mostly, the play-for-hours in pubs thing is a mugs game, but I still do it because it's a chance to play regularly, which if I'm honest I probably wouldn't do if I wasn't gigging, and on the odd occasion there's a pub full of folks having a good time and the band is cooking, it's still a pretty good buzz. Just don't fool yourself that it's likely to lead anywhere, IMO.

If you want to capture the sound of the amp but aren't too worried about micing, you could consider a passive DI box like a [url="http://www.palmer-germany.com/mi/en/PDI-09-Passive-DI-Box-for-Guitars-PDI09.htm"]palmer PDI-09[/url] - these don't contain a dummy load (although other models do) so you'll need to run with the speaker connected, but it would provide you something close to the mic'd sound without the hassle (feedback, positioning, spill etc) and inconsistency of actually micing the cab (you could do both of course).

My preference would be DI, optionally supplemented with a SM57 or SM58 on the cab for recording. I have a beta52 which is good on kick, but it personally wouldn't be my choice for bass cabs, due to the eq curve built in as previously mentioned.

Awesome, thanks all - all that info should point be in the right direction.

Hi all,

I'm a fairly straight-ahead rock/blues electric bass player, and can fake my way through most things calling for relatively simple groove/pocket type playing, but the other night I tried playing along to this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSZuwTZaTjk

BB King's "Every Day I Have the Blues" - there's a lot of versions out there, but that one from "Live at the Regal" has a DB walking bassline, and try as I might I just couldn't follow it at all!

Can anyone help point me to a dummies guide to walking bass which would help me figure out how the patterns work, and how I can emulate such a feel on electric bass?

Thanks for any help, the apparent randomness of these DB/jazz style basslines is baking my noodle! [size=4] [/size]

I've got a 2012 model US Standard, bought last year for under £1000 new - it's great, and FWIW I tried it back to back with lots of other P basses, including some which were much more expensive, and I preferred the standard.

I think the nicest part is the neck, it's really playable, well finished, and the width at the nut is the ideal compromise between skinny jazz and really wide vintage style P necks.

[quote name='skidder652003' timestamp='1405451859' post='2502062']
Next thing mics...SM58 betas anyone?...
[/quote]

The beta58's are nice but expensive - I've had good results with EV ND767a's which are half the price, or thereabouts.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1405351192' post='2501094']
Dave...

That's fair enough, you've passed the test. I'm not up to speed with British pricing; in France I'd expect something between the equivalent of £30-60. It's a pretty simple operation for a competent luthier. Pics of the operation, if you go ahead with it..?
[/quote]

Wow luthiers must be cheap in France, that's how much I'd expect to pay for a setup!

Planing off the old 'board without ruining the neck, and accurately installing and finishing the new one is a fair bit of work IMO, I'd be surprised if you got much change from £200 in the UK. Pulling the frets and installing some wood strips to match the fretboard would be most likely a fair bit cheaper.