Chienmortbb

I think you know the answer. The difference between 175 Watts and 250 Watts is negligible to your ears assuming you are using the same speaker. I suspect you would be happy with the Ashdown Original but I would probably suggest something with a bit more power. After all Volume controls go down as well as up. If I started were in your position (and this is only my opinion) I would try the Ashdown RM500 EVO II.

Stevie and I had our cabs cut to size from 15mm Italian Poplar Ply although we did change the bracing as Stevie found resonances in testing. There is no reason why there could not be a flat pack version. I cut the holes for the woofer with a router and Stevie had a circular hole saw for the port.. The horn is a slightly odd shape but not too hard to do. We used Timbmet for the wood/cutting and they do have branches all over the country. They also offer a CNC service which may, or may not be worth using but would give accurate hole cutting. However as Stevie says, lets wait for the final design first then we can research the options.

You need to check the output at 8 ohms. The output of SS amps is usually stated at 4 Ohms and it may well be that a 500Watts amp can output 300 watt and more in to 8ohms. However That would be unusual as generally the 8 ohm output is half the 4 ohm output. Boring techie stuff. The power output of an amplifier is usually constrained by both the amplifier design and the power supply design. If we look atb the power supply it will have both current and voltage limitations. Given that you are likely to be driving 4 or 8 ohms, the maths are simple. The power output into 4 Ohms is double that into 8 ohms. However IF for some reason the power supply cannot supply enough current into 4 ohms, then the power output will be restricted and the 8 ohm power would be greater than half the 4 ohm power. Most manufacturers would not design this way as it adds cost to the amp without improving the headline power output. An example of this is the Ampeg PF350. It outputs 350W into 4 ohms and 250 into 8 ohms.

I hate you Stevie. Just when I am close to cabinet Nirvana you tell me there IS an Eight Heaven. Just off to get my Ruler calibrated to that plot.

The DIY build is almost complete but I blew the power amp when testing it. If I cannot get it fixed, I will have to redesign mechanically to take a new power module. My own stupid fault. I bought the Bugera on a whim and I am glad I did so far.

Under 12Kgs is light. Our Basschat 1x12s come in at about 13 Kg with a crossover and compression driver using a neo. It is also rivalling the ultralight Barefaceds

Don't trust leter codes for the pot law (taper) The UK standard was A linear B Log. The US standard was A Log (or audio) B Linear. Different manufacturers use different codes though.

Not the finest soldering I have seen.

There is a separate thread on that one

Excellent advice. I recently made up a box for a 100V line transformer and put the input on an NLF2/2way socket and the output (100V Line) on an NLF4/4way socket wired 2+2- as recommended by Neutrik).

Best string I ever played were the original Picato Halfwounds. (i think that was the name). They were a good no-compromise compromise between flats and roundwounds. sadly since the Welsh factory closed down, they are no longer available. The current Picato Flats are pretty good too but not as bright.

Being the one of the guilty ones here that pushed the 12" Cab Diary project forward I can say we are still working on it and may publish some updates at some point.

Phil, I have bought spares for Behringer quickly and at a reasonable price form Electronic Music Services https://www.electronicmusicservices.co.uk/

I am getting used to the clip light now. Here are some pictures of the inside. It is well built and the power module is physically bigger and more substantial than many OEM designs. The Heatsink goes from the top to the bottom, also acting as a Faraday cage and a channel for the airflow from the inlet (a grille under the handle) to the fan. As the inlet is under that handle, it almost ensures that the inlet can never be blocked or covered.

I was surmising that once prices fall. stock is low and the expected date does out to months rather than weeks, a product has ceased manufacture. However I have no proof.

Great Stuff. Let us know how it performs in a live situation when you can.

I think you will find they are discontinued.

If you want one made let me know.

I have one of the Palmer ones and I felt is was better made amnd thought out than the usual suspects. I ahve no affiliation with the shop but https://www.absolutemusic.co.uk/guitar-department/effects-pedals/guitar-fx-accessories?filterbrand_ams_f=Palmer&filtercondition_ams_f=New&followSearch=9870

Same with the Veyron. Maybe there is some new stuff coming out?

You can have valve amps that are Class A, Class B. Class AB and Class D (they can also be Class C but that would be a radio transmitter). As for Ashdown, never had a problem with either their amps or the company ,and they do make fine amps. ( I did own a Mag 300 15" combo for many years and have used other amps at various times). Any switching device (Valves,Transistors and FETS) can be used for all classes o]power amplifiers but some work better in some classes than others.

One of the big bugbears with discussing audio of any sort is the use of subjective words. Sterile is one such word. You could also add warm, heft, creamy and a thousand more. Of course a well designed valve bass amp will incorporate some of the inherent characteristics of thermionic valves/tubes. One of the drawbacks is that the "Tone" people love from a valve amp comes from it being driven hard. You cannot get that from either a valve amp being used well under its rated power or from any solid state amp that does not have some form of signal processing applied to it. That is why many prefer to use an SS amp of some type with some sort of preamp (Sansamp etc) to mimic the valve sound.

I think a lot of what you write makes sense but received wisdom is that it is the power section of a valve amp that gives it the character. In that case a hybrid with solid state preamp and valve power amp is the sensible compromise. But of course all the weight is in the power section so they do it the "wrong" way round and sell it on its valve preamp. Of course the preamp valves do alter to the sound. Matrix a,ps have a switch mode power supply (like most Class D amps) and a MOSFET Class A/B power amp.

I finally gigged the amp at open mic night on Thursday. We are the house band and do do half hour stints at the beginning of the night. Firstly someone told me that they could hear my bass clearly for the first time. This may have been that we had a really good overall sound but although I was no louder that normal (to me anyway) it just seemed effort less. I think therextra headroom I had seemed to help me punch through better that I had before. Of course their is always a honeymoon period with a new piece of kit, and time will tell. but so far I am happy with the purchase. A few other things. The line level output from the DI is very hot. Luckily it can be switched to line level and the sound person was happy with that. The master volume control has multiple clicks as you turn it. Very helpful but at one point there is a noticeable jump. Not a big deal but one to be aware of when doing quiet acoustic work. Al;though the position of the volume control is no indication of power, it was on the t8 o'clock position all night once I found my level. As . with nearly all user manuals these days, there was almost no information and the operation of the Clip light is strange. It seems to be independent of the Gain control. I am starting to think that the pickups on my Aerodyne* are very hot as the peak as high as my active Greg Bennet when the Pad is not engaged. I am still nut sure about the onboard compressor. It seems more of a limiter to me and I did use my Marshall ED1 (modified for bass) in front of it. I don't no if there is an HPF in the amp but the low end was tight and controlled all night and I really enjoyed playing a lot. I was using a borrowed 1x12 with tweeter cab, kindly loaned to me by Stevie of this Parish while miy1x12 is having some work done to it. There is more low end on my cab so I will report back once I have tried the amp and cab together. Nest week I will try a few more things and report back. *A set of Di Marzio's DP126 (DP122 and DP123) recently purchased from DOOD will soon be going in there.

First impressions at home using a borrowed cab. My Basschat 1x12 Mk2 is having an upgrade at the moment and Stevie has lent me his heavily modified Roland in the meantime. The Roland does not go quite as low as my cab so I am losing a little bottom end at the moment, I will post again about this once I have my cab back. Cosmetically this is a great looking amp. The chassis is solid feeling and everything fits well together. The enclosure seems to be a mixture of steel and aluminium. The debate over the power output of this and TC amps have been had on othe threads but thereseems to be plenty of power on tap. 2000 watts it is not but it is much louder than I can stand in my front room and seems effortless. The fan can just be heard at low volume and is on all the time( I thought that it was temperature dependant, I will check that later). The gain control does not seem to affect the clipping level and whatever level I use the clip light comes on when I dig in, however I cannot hear any distortion. The compressor seems to work well but can squash dynamics if turned up too high. I will probably continue to use my Modified Marshall ED1 instead. The EQ/Tone section is fairly standard with, Bass, Treble and Semi-Parametric Mids. I said earlier that I would prefer the lowest frequency to be lower (220hz is the lowest and I like something in the 100-150Hz region). Saying that the 220 setting does give some punch and I might use a tad at some point. Pictures later but I do love the illuminated Master Volume control. I should also say that all the controls seem positive. I like controls to give some resistance to turning and these do. The Master Volume has little clicks as it turns but they are not defined enough to feel, unless you concentrate. I doubt you would feel them if adjusting live. Finally there is a Ultra Low and Ultra High switch. I was quite impressed with the Ultra Low as it added some low end authority without wooliness. I suspect there is an inbuilt HPF on the amp but I will check that later. The Ultra High switch seemed to add some noise along with the highs and I suspect that one of the higher frequencies of the Mid control would give better results. I usually like to be able to switch off the EQ and this is not an option with this amp. However I fed the output of my Marshall ED1 compressor into the EFX return and it worked very well. I could hear very little difference between that and using the preamp/EQ with all controls at 12 o'clock and all switches off. The main drawback of using the EFX return as an input is that it is after the Mute circuit. I use the Tuner on the Pedal Board as a mute so that is not a problem for me. I have not had a chance to use it in anger ( hopefully next Thursday) so I have not tried the DI. Of course I have used the speakons to connect to the speaker cab and they are 45 degrees clockwise compared to real Neutriks. Not a problem but if you are used to real Speakons, just a bit strange. There is no mention of theses being Combo connectors, again I will check soon but I suspect not. This is not an issue for me as I always use Speakons The handle is excellent. The pictures do not show it but the inside is moulded to be comfortable in the hand and it feels really light. It weighs in at 3Kg or 6.6lbs. Not ultralight but by no means heavy. I will have a look inside soon.