Chienmortbb

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1466343999' post='3075087'] Don't do it. [/quote]You have to explain further.

Bumping this as with a third bass in build strings are becoming an issue.

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1463090110' post='3048605'] Tell that one to the Missus [/quote]I did and she did not believe me either!

You do not say which Westone you have but the preamp in the Thunder 1A is awesome. The Thunder 1 is the same bass but passive.

Numark are about to release a digital system I'm the 863/865 MHz band, I will let you know how it performs.

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1462957452' post='3047186'] If you can see the cone moving (rather than just see it go blurry) then youve probably got excessive subsonics which are wasting a lot of amp and speaker headroom without contributing much to the sound. Your eyes and ears are more or less mutually exclusive in the frequencies of movement they can resolve. Hence any movement you can see probably isnt producing useful sound. [/quote]Truer words have been spoken but not many!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1462532623' post='3043800'] Here we go then - custom OBBM 32cm angled-Speakon to angled-Speakon cable. A normal 1m cable with straight Speakons is too long and too unwieldy - and with this one I can have the rig closer to a wall on a tight stage if necessary. Kudos to Dave (obbm), who was just on his way out the door for a 2-week holiday when I enquired about it yesterday. He made the cable and posted it before leaving. I got it this morning. That's what you call customer service... [/quote]Nice cable but with that short distance it need not be that thick,

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1462998189' post='3047753'] Should also mention their mics - I have the XM8500. Bought as a backup to my Shure SM58. SM58 sold on, the Behringer suits my voice better, being a tad scooped, as my voice is a bit middy. [/quote]XM8500 is a better mic than the SM58. However there are many mics better than the SM58.

[quote name='rmorris' timestamp='1462740028' post='3045404'] Yes - you're right. Without a Q control it is really a semi (or is that a two thirds :-?) parametric or what might be called a 'swept mids' EQ. As a complication Q might be offered as switched between discrete settings (usually just two - Wide or Narrow) or variable on a pot'. Then you have the issue over whether constant Q is preferred and the definition of Q itself. It can get complicated. I guess we could always rely on our ears :-) [/quote]Trying to get a constant Q adds circuit complexity and in some way can restrict the sound. However a variable Q is a must for a PEQ. As for shelving controls, they are OK but to my mind the Bass control should have a tail off ( or HPF function) at the lower end and likewise the Treble should tail off before it gets too high. The reason is that so called shelving controls keep going up in level, way past the useful frequencies.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1460655547' post='3027677'] Yes you'll get get a humbucking combination with both coils on (provided that you wire them up the right way around) but only with the coils in parallel and not the more useful, and tonally different series configuration. You can get quite different sounds out of two pickups close together but only if they are wound differently which the two coils of a single humbucking pickup will not be. I'd consider replacing the pickup selector toggle switch with one that is capable of giving you the more useful single/series/parallel combination. [/quote]The way I understand Humbuckers, series or parallel operation can both be humbucking as long as the RWRP configuration is maintained. Is that wrong?

Great thread. I have been thinking of a U bass and the has not helped alleviate GAS.

They look great I have to say that Gotoh are the most underrated parts manufacturer out there. The last for years and to my mind last better than some US makes. I have some of the GB350, modern style that I am going to fit to my Aerodyne (or maybe my Peavey) got them after a sale fell through on fleabay. Aerodyne machine heads are almost 140gm, or nearly 560gm for 4 (thats 1 1/4 lbs for you luddites out there). Fitting the Gotohs at 60 gram halves the weight but due to the lever effect, the reduction in weight is much more than that. I wonder how much of the perceived weight of a bass is due to the lever magnified weight of the tuners.

passinwind has been using Cobalts for a while. he liked them when he first put them on but I don't know how well they have lasted. Cheap as chips in the States, Dears as funk over here though.

[quote name='Grahambythesea' timestamp='1462010184' post='3039535'] Believe it or not but you can buy a product called"sticky stuff remover" by a company called De-Solve-It. It works really well. [/quote]Yes I use this as well and it s great.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1461753083' post='3037295'] But if you have 2 basses made by the same CNC machine, finished with the same pups, pots bridge and other fittings, but they sound different, what do you have left that's making the difference? Setup does account for a lot of course. But if there are no intangible differences other than a tweek of the bridge, why do folk bother owning more than 1 precision bass with the same strings? But back on the subject. I've worked in the wood industry. Different planks of the same timber don't all weigh the same. [/quote] You have it in the last sentence. The variation in density is what affects tone. So if two identical bodies weighed the same, but were from different species, the would sound the same (with the same neck).

I am sure the PJB Bighead is great but as a simple headphone amp is is expensive. Granted you have the USB interface but if you only want a headphone amp.... Surely there is a cheaper one? Oh go on then I'll design one.

As an electronics engineer, the Cafe Walter HA-1A always appealed http://cafewalter.com/ha-1a/ha-1a/ but it has been discontinued to be replaced by the HA-2 sometime soon . However the technical info on the HA-1A on the site gives an insight into what a good headphone amp should be. As for the Amplug, it is what is is. Not perfect but if you lay off the "effects" it does a job. It also seeme to pick up less noise that either my Zoom B3 or Korg AX3000B when used on headphones.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1406398893' post='2511238'] The problem is that real wood is a natural material. The density of the specific piece of wood, the closeness of the grain and sizes of knots etc all affect the weight. If only... [/quote]Careful Granger, you are close to straying into "Tonewood Debate" territory. I will pile in full force though. It is the density of the wood, not the species that affects the tone. However with magnetic pickups it is only a small part of the tone.

Firstly, what are these lbs things? Secondly, even if the scales are not really accurate, the comparisons between basses are valid.

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1461690050' post='3036834'] Yes and of course the Mosfets weren't susceptible to thermal secondary breakdown so reliability improved. About that time there was the introduction of integrated circuits as well which made a further huge difference in mass produced amps. I suppose I was answering the OP's question about why early SS amps were so poor. They were under powered due to the cost of high voltage components and unreliable/unstable due to the technology available. We went a long way in the ten years following the early attempts at high powered ss amps. I guess underneath the OP's question is the thought that we are in the first few years of commercial Class D amps and the problems of these will be sorted as more reliable and better engineered solutions are worked out. [/quote]Except that I worked on a Sony switching amp (they did not call them Class D then) in the 1970s and there were others around. I think the reality is that Class D has been victim of outrageous marketing claims. There are many low cost modules that are not very good and even the good ones need to be used correctly. For my 'Work In Progress' home brew amp, I studied most of the commercially available modules and most of them will perform well if properly used. ICEPower, Pascal, Hypex and Anaview/Abletech as well as some of the Chinese Manufacturers, Connex and BoHoYo make really good modules. Reading the Connex application notes really gives a good insight into the issues associated with Class D.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1461572503' post='3035660'] I was under the impression that a typical SMPS does use a transformer for isolation purposes, but that they can be very much smaller due to the high frequency they operate at. [/quote]Some do, some don't but the main point is that in SMPS any transformer is post rectification whereas on a linear supply the TX is the thing connected to the mains, with rectification coming after. However you are correct about the size and frequency. As frequency goes up, size goes down. This also applies to US equipment running on 60Hz. A 60 Hz transformer will be less efficient when run at 50Hz.

They did the same thing with the Superbly I seem to remember.

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1461619104' post='3036253'] Most of the first generation SS amps used the 2N3055 transistors as output devices. These were cheap and handled quite a lot of power but were limited to 70volts and only developed just over 60W into 8ohms. Like all bipolar output transistors they were liable to breaking down very quickly when hot and many did. Protection circuits were developed but many of these sounded awful or even shut the amp down when triggered. A lot of the early amps also oscillated at high frequencies which didn't help either. A lot of early class AB designs also suffered from a lot of artefacts (distortion) at the point where the output transistors crossed over. More consistent component manufacture and the adoption of split rail power supplies helped. When the HH amps came along they used the superior 2N3773 which ran at 100V and better protection circuitry was developed. The price of components also fell rapidly and for bass and PA a load of output transistors were run in parallel increasing the power handling. Is that geeky enough? [/quote]Phil the first solid state amps like the Vox T60 were not even using 2N3055 transistors. Of course the real boost in power came with MOSFET. They could be paralleled up to get more current as in the latter HH professional power amps, Trace, Ashdown and Ampeg among others used this technique.

There are two companies called Alpha, Taiwan Alpha, the original and The US/Korean company. The best posts to use are Cermet but they cost a lot. The second best is conductive plastic. The last more than twice as long as the carbon pots fitted to most guitars. I use Omegs in all my guitars although the metal backed ones are hard to get. The green ECO ones are great. No you cannot solder to plastic but if it ain't metal it won't act like an aerial.