martthebass

Thanks for this Phil. We were hoping that there would be a relatively cheap fix to adding the subs, unfortunately that doesn't look like it's the case. We were advised to go down the passive route by the vendor.....I wish I'd listened to myself and gone with my original gut of adding a high power active single sub with an active stereo Xover into the tops. Thanks for the comment on the passive Xovers....I also had my doubts they could handle the current but we were assured they could. They have now been returned but we are left with 2 passive subs which are no use to us.

Sadly no documentation. These were recommended by the store on the basis of our current powered mixer and tops/subs (we acquired the subs at the same time). My concerns align with yours in that for some reason I think the load being presented is <8ohms; at 4ohms the amp gives 1000W per side. We have noted the amp running into clip when the Xover fails pushing it into protection mode which pretty much rains on our parade. When we use the tops alone (8ohm), without the Xover - no problems.

We was using a pair of these but at least one each time overheats and fails...... https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjz497I_LaBAxVFBwYAHVVDCFUYABAOGgJ3cw&ase=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8-PeyPy2gQMVRQcGAB1VQwhVEAQYASABEgKaUvD_BwE&sig=AOD64_0t6AWIU32BjrrMh3T-zG1WqVdzGg&ctype=5&q=&nis=4&ved=2ahUKEwj_pdfI_LaBAxW3U0EAHYUrAp0Qww8oAnoECAQQCw&adurl=

An update to this...... Unfortunately 2 very fraught gigs and 2 exploded crossovers later we are at an impasse. Despite the passive crossovers supposedly being rated for 1000W they seem to be being slaughtered by our Dynacord powered mixer which should only be delivering c.700W into 8 ohms. The only passive crossovers we seem to be able to find on the market are these or rebranded versions of these. I have no idea on active crossovers, could anyone advise?

We only got the Dynacord new last year….not really looking to make another investment of that size at the mo. The retailer assured us the passive crossover route was the way to go….we’ll see.

A gig in a large ballroom on the outskirts of Rotherham for us last night. Sadly underpopulated which didn’t help in a hall the size it was. It had been programmed the same day as a local end of summer outdoor shindig and unfortunately good old Kimmy Wilde was a bigger draw than us 😂 Major problems again with PA crossovers, we’ve managed to blow 2 now despite them supposedly being rated above our max wattage. A loud bang in the second spot followed by smoke can be off putting….we managed through to the end but couldn’t do an encore.

Not entirely sure. The crossover on one side died early on and it was a cascade of chaos after that. The crossovers and subs are new and on 60day return so we’ll see what the vendor has to say.

Fortunately we didn’t have one on Saturday Dave but we need to get sorted for this coming Saturday as we’ve got a big room to fill.

A couple of days have passed since our gig on Friday. We played well and had a fair crowd who were on their feet from early in the first spot. Unfortunately our new updated PA decided to fight us.... First a crossover died despite checking everything out early in the week. Second, smoke emanated from one of the new subs...😞 And lastly the Dynacord shut down a few channels to save itself. Despite this we soldiered on and pretty much got away with it. Big gig on Saturday to come and solutions to be developed to deal with it...

In the last band we had an HK Audio set up with a Allen & Heath powered mixer. We used the 12" tops with a single HK active sub. The sound was great but when we split the band I just got the tops. I remembered that using a powered mixer with active and passive components was a real faff so this time to simplify things just went down the passive route with our powered mixer. On first try out yesterday I was quite impressed with how much they have filled out the sound and the tops don't seem stressed at all even with the Roland kit.

I moved from trace to 2 NY112 cabs from MarkBass. Small, light and fit in the boot of a Mini (5dr).

In the end we went with units rated 300W RMS, 600W peak which the tech assured me would be ok with the Dynacord Powermate

I'll move this one myself BRX in case it's of use to someone else.

Thanks for this Phil. Your advice is pretty much what I got from the online shop I think. In the end we went with a couple of passive subs and crossovers. We were able to do a set up last night and all seems good. We did look at adding active subs but as you say that gets 'interesting'. The lead vox sets up the PA and it was important to make the set up as simple as possible and the fully passive route with simple unpowered crossovers does just that. Regarding the death of the previous full range speakers. These have had a hard life over the last 8 years; they were bought before I joined the band and I'm not sure about the quality....they have suffered numerous issues over the last couple of years particularly with the horns so I think they had had their day. The HK tops came with me from my previous band and had had very little use; these seem far more capable but I was insistent that the bottom end was handled by subs rather than the tops to avoid over excursion.

Totally agree. The Sadowsky Metro Express I bought used has the JE2. I just set it flattish and leave it…. On gigs I mainly use mustangs….nowt to fiddle with 😂

Couldn’t fault the build quality (apart from the JAN2 which you mentioned), it was mainly the ergonomics. The neck was thrown too far left for comfort for my liking. I had a corvette followed by a thumb, decided not to risk take 3 on the fortress as I’d lost more money than enough on the first 2.

Love the shape of these but me and Warwick’s don’t get on so we’ll 😞

Another gig in the Huddersfield locale for the glam lads last night. Great stage and boozer but the crowd was on the thin side. Fortunately the sound was great, we had a bit more time than usual to perfect the foh sound. Due to this it was a pleasure being able to nail the backing vox as the monitor feed was great. The land persons were happy despite the lowish turnout and look forward to a return. More local gigs for us over the next few weeks and trying out some new PA which should be a bonus.

We supported a 'named band' a few years back and provided backline and PA in agreement with the organiser (this was factored into the price..). No real issues but some space problems when the bassist wanted to use his own backline (guess he didn't like Markbass) which squeezed me out a touch. I had to laugh a little when his Tonehammer crapped out half way through their set....

Just coming round from a busy weekend, Saturday night playing, Sunday watching other local bands. Saturday night was a great night as the last band on at a little ‘fest’ in the village of Tideswell in the Derbyshire Peak District. All the PA, back line and drums were provided which made life easy. The crowd were up and ready for us when we came on at 9 and the weather stayed fair till the finish. It appeared that the whole of the village had turned up and boogied along until the end. These are the sort of gigs we do it for 😁

Just worried that we’d blow them, we’re normally handling clubs up to 300. We’re not exceptionally loud but we do use an electronic drum kit through the PA. Bass and guitar are back line not through PA. The tops we will use in addition are HK Pro12 which are 400W rms, 800W programme. The powered mixer is 2x1000W at 4 Ohms.

These are only 250W rms handling, not sure they’d handle it?

After a few years hard gigging our full range cabs gave up the ghost last week. In part I think due to the drummer using an electronic kit for the last couple of years. So we need to sort something quickly and as cheaply as possible for upcoming gigs. At the moment with use a Dynacord Powermate 600 and we’ve drafted into use our emergency HK pro 12s. The drummer has gone back to acoustic for the time being. Would we be best adding an active sub to the existing set up (the HK one is about £650) or would chains a couple of passive 15s or 12s be an option? The following might fit the bill in that case. https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwi04-mszvyAAxXP0u0KHVe8BWgYABAjGgJkZw&ae=2&gclid=EAIaIQobChMItOPprM78gAMVz9LtCh1XvAVoEAQYESABEgKRn_D_BwE&ohost=www.google.co.uk&cid=CAASJeRoGtEkWipUAFOhZiwLL6CfqKSPFfRtbCzB4jLOuHCj6rEQxsc&sig=AOD64_18RU65E56_70Ky_HNAvqQzcR_mEw&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwiG1eGszvyAAxXnT0EAHTemAKwQwg8oAHoECAUQbg&adurl=

Almondbury cricket club last night, compact and bijou but we adjusted the set up to make it work. I had one of those ‘sausage fingers’ nights which isn’t normal for me but managed to disguise the gaffs and we got plenty of compliments at the end and a couple of enquiries from other local venues. As there had been a match on we were treat to some great Indian food before the first set - bonus. I leave you with an artistic shot of the famous twin towers of Huddersfield!

Always a bonus!