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Seems like where Darkglass preamp pedals were created by passion for sound, the amps & cabs have been created with a passion for money. This is the first bit of blurb about the 4x10 on the DG website... [font=Ubuntu, helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=5]"Cabinets are probably the most underrated link on a musician’s signal chain: we players obsess relentlessly about instruments, pedals and amplifiers, not realizing that without speakers all of these elements merely generate or process electric signals."[/size][/font] Obviously whomever wrote that has never visited any bass forum, let alone BC Reading further, there's nothing to suggest that they've taken a similar approach as Barefaced have when putting drivers side by side to improve dispersion, so therefor, appears to be just another 4x10 but way overpriced.

Here's me expecting a thread about patter with the ladies.

I don't have a "Mid" on my amp, just Bass & Treble. The knobs are on guitar & vocals.

You could head up the Royal Mile. Always plenty to do there.

If you want something orange, get a Markbass.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1506158976' post='3376763'] Who was the successful million selling guitarist you are quoting? [/quote] Are you thinking he might join you?

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1506095815' post='3376475'] Ok cool. Yup for sure you won't be able to tell its 300W at 4ohm, that was just for illustrative purposes. But the 3db point is actually really helpful, thanks, and this is what I was trying to get to the bottom of. That much more "scientifically" illustrates that the benefit from swapping from an 8ohm to a 4ohm cab is going to be pretty small, which is what Chris was getting at. That says to me, no particular need for the OP to swap his Mesa 1x12 cab 8 ohm (which I understand separately from him, he really likes) for a 4 ohm version. He could consider swapping to a well designed 2x10 4ohm (or possibly 8ohm cab) which will both displace a significantly larger volume of air and, if it's a 4ohm, also have an additional small db (3db in our example) advantage, which together would start to stack up in volume / heft terms. [/quote] If he likes the sound of the cab he has, it would make sense to keep the 8ohm 1x12 & then if he has gigs that need more volume, get a 2nd identical cab. This would give a bigger perceived volume increase as there's more cone mass moving more air & it wouldn't alter the sound that he has just now.

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1506089983' post='3376423'] Gents all good points and nothing I disagree with there (and hopefully reasonably well known to folk on this forum that the relation between Watts and volume is usually considered to be 10x Watts = 2x Volume i.e. a logarithmic scale). But if we are going to properly A/B the change in ohms we need to keep all other factors constant (including e.g. speaker size). My point is a relatively simple one, let me illustrate it as follows: Amp let's say is a Markbass LM3 (max 500W at 4 ohm), with the dial set leaving plenty of headroom, so that it is outputting 300W at 4 ohm. We start with a Vanderkley 1x12 4ohm cab and listen to the volume. We then swap it for a Vanderkley 1x12 8ohm cab, [i]leaving all the settings on the amp the same [/i](the amp will now be outputting 150W) The 8ohm cab is noticeably quieter, right? Or Chris are you saying no material difference? [/quote] How do you know that it's going to be putting out 300w at 4 ohm? The volume & gain dials don't give any indication. Different basses have different outputs, so it depends on how hot an output the bass is giving. You might find with a hot bass it's clipping really early & the volume knob doesn't get to 1/2 way before reaching it's max. Then with a quiet bass you might find you can have the gain & volume right up & be lucky to get that 300w, let alone 500. Though to answer your question, it's 3db. at a really low volume, you will hear a difference, but at normal playing volumes, it's a negligible amount.

I think you guys are confusing Heft & Girth for Heffer & Garth!

I believe the difference is 3db. Now if you're playing with the amp maxed, then that 3db could make a little difference. If you're not playing with the amp maxed, then the difference is a squeeze on the volume knob.

[quote name='Osiris' timestamp='1505993541' post='3375707'] There's some interesting, and very valuable, points to be taken into consideration in the last few comments. For context, it doesn't need to carry the room as such as I only currently use the Mesa for rehearsals. (Although it has done a couple of small gigs but always with PA support). My line of reasoning, which in light of the above may not be totally sound, is that having just acquired a new back-up/rehearsal amp (350 watts at 4 ohm) I'd like to get the full power out of the amp into a single small cab. But with the new amp putting out 175 watts at 8 ohm according to the manufacturers specs, the chances are that it probably is more than capable for what I want it for anyway. It certainly won't be getting to anywhere near flat out [/quote] If you're not gonna require to be squeezing every last bit out of the amp, then why put the components on the unnecessary strain? An 8Ω cab would be kinder on your components as it's not pulling quite so much current through them.

The reason you should be getting a 5 string is for the extended low range and for the easier reach of notes when grooving (saves moving your hand about so often). It's just some extra notes, not a completely different instrument. But it is a lovely bass.

Pickup height has much more of an effect on tone than what the fretboard is made of. You can even try it for yourself. Take a note of your pickup height, then adjust the screws at the outer edges of the pickups (don't adjust the poles). You'll notice a change in tone and volume.

I'd go for 2 15s over a 4x10. I'd prefer a 2x12 or 2 2x10s. I've got a 4x10.

Why do you hate 5 string basses? Seems odd to hate an instrument that could be perfect for you.

Oooh err Rest stroke is where you play through the string & come to rest on the following string. Free stroke is where you freely go up & down like having a, erm, good ole strum (even if it's just on the one string). Most players use a free stroke, but if you're double thumbing, then you use a rest stroke. Hope that came out okay. Edit to say, that phrase about most players isn't 100% accurate. If you play with fingers, then there's a chance you may play the rest stroke.

I lowered my action a few years back. I can play a lot faster on a lower action as it requires a lighter touch. If you don't like the sound, try lowering the pickups a bit. I did & it made a huge difference to the sound. It's something to do with the air vibrations between the strings & the pickups. The distance from string to pickup changes the length of these waves. The further the string is from the pickup, the less bass & treble it will have. Though if you get too close, it can make your strings clank off the magnets. If you like your action high, you can still bring the strings closer to the pickups by simply adjusting the pickups. If you don't want to adjust the string distance but want a lower action, try putting a shim under the neck.

I'd see if you can get early into a venue with the sole purpose of playing with the pedalboard. Let your bandmates know what you want to do, after all, it's for the benefit of the songs. Failing a venue letting you set up a few hours before they open, get a rehearsal space for a few hours. It's all very well learning how to play songs, but it's also important to get the sounds too. Another option that I used to do, was to take the out from the pedalboard & into my computer, stick the headphones on, turn off all the pedals & get the volume right from there, then turn on the pedals. I often played along to some of the band's tracks (less the bass). Then when we met up, I'd only need to make some fine adjustments.

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1505465270' post='3372058'] It's in the player's hands/brain. That's why we are wasting our money buying instruments and kit trying to get 'that' sound. [/quote] I agree with the first part, but not 100% on the 2nd part. Listen to when the presenter tries slapping, it still has a good sound. If it were the case, why bother getting a Fender USA over a Squier or going for a better sounding bass rig? It's a mix of player & instrument. Yes, a great player can make just about any instrument sound good, but if the instrument's tone sounds crap to start with, then I believe they will struggle.

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1505162891' post='3369973'] More impressed with the fact that he was using one of his Sire cheapies... [/quote] Same here. & it sounded good.

Here's my entry. The melody I came up with on the bass, so I decided to keep it on bass. It was fun to play. https://soundcloud.com/gxmix/steam-fair

Oddly enough, I've not found this month's pic as easy to write for as the previous 2 months. Maybe it's because I already have songs written by other people that I associate with the pic. I'm trying to meld them all together. I've recorded some bass & laid down some organs (easy now). I've got some steam & now I'm working on the beats. Hopefully get it finished soon.

Stand it vertically against the side of the cab. Problem solved.

So far, the only ones I can agree with are Bruce Spunkstain & The Smiths. I don't get the mass appeal of either of them. Oh, & boy/girl bands. They're just there for the kids. The rest on the list have started with either a great set of songs in their early career (U2, Muse, Oasis, though I really can't stand Oasis, their first album was great back in the 90s) or went on to write some great or innovative songs. What you have to look at is what sort of music was out there before they came along & what impact they had on future songwriting. Come the 90s, I felt like a lot of the new bands wanted to sound like U2. Many of these bands went on to be quite big. Coldplay being one of them & I don't really get what the hype is with them. They're okay, but they're hardly innovative. How they ended up bigger than Keane, I'll never know. The biggest one to fit this for me is Jay-Z. I loved hiphop & rap up until about the mid 00s & I bought a double album of his which was getting hype. It was so crap that I took it back. Surely he's only famous due to his connections?