4000

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='393934' date='Jan 28 2009, 06:53 PM']I've got room in my car - where are you?[/quote] Cleveleys near Blackpool....

I really, really like what I've seen of W&T basses. If the pound hadn't recently collapsed against the euro, I'd be seriously considering one for my next bass.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='393505' date='Jan 28 2009, 10:44 AM']Boominess is not found in the true lows but resides in the mid-high bass region around 150Hz. The reason that most bass players think that adding too much bottom makes the sound boomy is not because there is too much bottom happening (i.e. too much in the sub 100Hz region) but because when you ask any speaker to provide more bottom you increase its excursion. As most bass cabs don't have much clean cone excursion ability you quickly run into the region of higher distortion. When you distort a sound you effectively synthesise additional harmonic content, so if you distort a 55Hz note you'll get a whole load of extra 110Hz and 165Hz and 220Hz etc output. So by cranking up the bass knob you end up adding more midbass than anything, and that's why things start getting boomy. Now if you were using a rig with much greater Vd (volume displacement, which equals cone area x undistorted cone excursion) then you'd be able to boost the lows more and get more bottom without it turning into boom. And that has been one of my main focuses with my cab designs - even if they're not naturally big bassy soundings beasts they have sufficient Vd to accept LF boost at high SPL so if you want big bottom you can get it without boom. Now you know! Alex[/quote] You know, I wish someone had sat me down 20 years ago and explained all this stuff...

As it looks like my Alembic is going, I'm considering a new custom bass. Various things are running through my head, but I was wondering about pickups; particularly the Q-Tuners, which I think look amazing if nothing else. What do they bring to the table compared to something like Nordys (which I'm considering) or Barts (which I've pretty much written off due to past experience)?. Any other suggestions while we're at it?

BTW, I'd bring something if I could get down but I can't drive! You'll have to post some good reports....

[quote name='david_l_perry' post='393528' date='Jan 28 2009, 11:24 AM']that would be me....I bought them off Stuarts other pal Shaun (4000) I think Stu only has three friends.... (Well that makes no sense now you deleted your thread....)[/quote] Dave, Stu pays me! (only joking Stu!)

[quote name='Delberthot' post='393135' date='Jan 27 2009, 08:26 PM']Being absolutely honest I do miss the bottom end grunt. I like the sound but its not very manly. A bit light on the bass but then that's due to the design and the size of the cab. It was a welcome change from my wooly Ashdown ABM15 cabs but I seem to have gone from one extreme to the other. A few years ago, I had a bit of a mish mash setup consisting of a GK 800RB, Trace 1153 and Peavey 410 TX. It sounded fine but looked silly so I gave it the spanish archer and got the Ashdown Evo II rack mount shiny amp thingy and the 2 15" cabs and hated them from day 1 of playing live. They sounded fine on their own but in a gig situation I just couldn;t get a decent sound. Thing was that the GK & 1153 on their own sounded great with the wedding band but I stupidly sold the lot and bought the wooly behemoth. I don't want to sell this cab and then regret it so have to choose wisely what the replacement would be - do I go for another lightweight cab with a lightweight sound or what i would call a more traditional, heavier, less efficient cab that produces a good amount of low end? I suppose I'm drawn to the Trace gear as that's what I used to have. My original setup was a 7210H combo with a 1048H cab which I sold and bought the GK & 1153 in its place as my band had a full PA so I didn;t need the extra grunt. I've been playing in the rock band for a few years now and more and more I am finding that the lack of bottom end is annoying. I think that this was just the push I needed to go out and look for something more suited to me. It is a fantastic cab and can be driven so loudly. I've never got anywhere near making it distort. Its just not what I am looking for in a cab anymore. I think I got caught up in the whole lightweight thing. I like my Shuttle as its a nice change from using GK for a long time. I generally keep amps for about 3-4 years.[/quote] I think the Trace 1153 is about as underrated a compact rock cab as there is. It's a little lacking in tightness at the bottom, but I used one for years and found it far more useful live than any number of more expensive (flash!) cabs. Mine was far better than my 2 Aggie GS112s in the setting I was using it, much punchier and more aggressive.

[quote name='Huggy and the Bears' post='391669' date='Jan 26 2009, 12:59 PM']I use Aguilar GS212 and a couple of guys I know play with a pair of GS112. I wouldnt change for anything else.[/quote] I couldn't wait to change mine!

[quote name='Merton' post='392827' date='Jan 27 2009, 03:34 PM']Without accurate measuring facilities I couldn't say, but it seems to be pretty loud vs my 4x8 V-Type cab, which I have always found a very pokey little beast. I'm tempted by another 1518 or a 1518c to sit atop this. Or maybe a 1028H. I really like the look of the 1015H too [/quote] My old 300SMX through my old 1153 blew my V-type 4x8 combo to bits volume-wise. In fact everything-wise really, although the 4x8 was nice with my old Dolphin.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='391592' date='Jan 26 2009, 12:00 PM']From everything I know I'd consider the 1210/1212L and the UL310 pretty far removed. The latter is known for fat bottom, subdued mids, smooth highs. The former are known for big low midrange, little deep bottom but quite a lof of midbass oomph, rather coloured sound, damned loud. The Compact is loud and punchy but no big humps or dips in response - probably sounds about as loud as the UL310 despite being a higher impedance load, not as loud as the Schroeders. If you have a decent amp it'll certainly play as loud as any of those cabs. Tonally it's about halfway between the two companies, the Schroeders being all about midrange punch and grrrr, the Epifani being about smooth sweet fatness, whilst The Compact is pretty even, you can EQ it either way. Obviously no tweeter so no shiny highs but still bright enough for many players. Alex[/quote] Thanks Alex; very informative. Sounds like the Schroeders or the Compact out of those then. Having said that, I'll hopefully try some more gear in the Gallery at the end of the week which will give me a better idea. As many may have gathered I'm not really big on tweeters anyway, I usually turn them off. In terms of bottom, I was using a friend's Ashdown Klystron (original series) 1x15 combo tonight and had the bass at 9 o'clock; any more I found too boomy, so that probably says a lot about me and bottom too! Strange, as I normally like a big bottom....

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='363662' date='Dec 26 2008, 01:27 PM']I'd like to see the Compact vs the Trace Elliot 1153 and Orange OBC-115![/quote] I'd love to see that!

[quote name='wrinkleygit' post='391198' date='Jan 25 2009, 08:33 PM']Can't think of anything bad to say,had my 4000 for years,apart from a crackly master vol pot that a squirt of switch cleaner cures for about 6 months,beyond me why every bass player in the land doesn't use a headless,takes up less space & almost never needs tuning also status necks are a joy to hold,the whole thing is effortless to play,best advice is to get your hands on one, mike b.[/quote] What is it with the crackly pots? Every Status I've owned (4) has suffered with this problem. I know it's not a biggee, but I've never owned anything else that suffers as badly. FWIW, I love the idea of Status. The idea of a bulletproof, headless, reasonably light (at least in some cases) bass with a virtually movement-free neck fills me with joy. Unfortunately I've yet to find one I really get on with. The classic Status shape is agony for me to play. The tone I've found a bit too, well, synthetic, although maybe the rigs I've been playing through haven't helped. I've always thought they sounded pretty reasonable fingerstyled but I use a pick most of the time and without an amp with parametrics I can never get rid of the sound of the pick (something I generally find fairly straightforward). So I'd say try before you buy. The Status I've actually got on best with (well, apart from the weight) is actually the Barracuda. I've played 2, a 4 & a 5, and thought they sounded awesome. I do quite fancy a Stealth 2 though, but I need to play one first. I played a couple of Stealth 1s and at least got on with the body shape, but I still wasn't convinced about the tone.

My back hurts just looking at that...

Just out of interest, how would an Epifani UL310 compare to a Schroeder 1210L or 1212L? Also, Alex, how would one of your cabs compare (not whether better/worse, just how would it differ)? What about an EBS 1x15 neo (my Sei sounded blinding through the EBS 1x15 in the Gallery, although my CS didn't sound so good)? Under 50lbs is absolutely essential and these are all on my likely shortlist.

[quote name='mr_russ' post='388406' date='Jan 22 2009, 12:14 PM']I've played through a few of the combos, does anyone else hate the tweeter in them as much as I do?[/quote] So far, yes........

[quote name='Russ' post='389936' date='Jan 23 2009, 07:32 PM']I've played a couple. Comfortable, very light, slick neck, well balanced. I found the sound a bit lacking though, very mid-shy. All boom and click, but no oomph, if you know what I mean. Some people like that type of sound though, so give one a try if you can.[/quote] Absolutely +1. To me it sounded very similar to the various Statii I've owned & played, which in my hands suffer from the same (to me at least) problem. Of course that may be exactly what you're after. Oh, and +1 on Steve Swallow's version.