bjelkeman

it isn't often it is great to be in Sweden from a bass equipment point of view, but you can get a pair of second hand TKS 112 in Sweden for £350 at the moment. I know, as I was shopping around for some. You don't get better speakers for that price Imho, albeit not the latest design/look.

Fabolous reviews, thanks guys.

Here is an SR705 http://basschat.co.uk/topic/258020-ibanez-sr705tk

That is art.

Nice!

And I the exact opposite. All depends on the sound you are looking for I think. I really didn't like the BDDI but the B7K never leaves my sound.

[quote name='mSz' timestamp='1421072833' post='2656798'] Very interested in one of the S212 models but can't decide if additional 6" speaker in S2126 is worth £140. Anyone tried both? I need it for "heavy rock" music. I use distortions/fuzzes a lot. [/quote] I have a pair of W2126 which replaced a 212. Both really nice speakers but personally I consider the 6" indispensable. They bring out the character in the bass in a way which is just lovely. I like a mid-heavy sound and if you play with a plectrum, the attack this get from the 6" is not something I have heard often from other speakers. I think it had been said before on these forums by someone else, the 6" is the TKS secret weapon. It gives a fantastic punch to the sound. It also drills through the mix in a great way.

[quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1419675345' post='2641754'] Hi tks, Where are you based? I've read the website a few times and this thread but cannot seem to see your location. If you have a stockist in the Stockholm area, please let me know as I am interested in testing a few cabs with my amp and, ideally, with other amps too. Thanks! [/quote] TKS/Tommy is based in Norrköping. I don't think there is a reseller in Stockholm. But check with us at http://www.pratabas.se There must be half a dozen bass players in Stockholm with TKS speakers. We occationally have getogethers and try each other's stuff.

[quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1418929129' post='2634999'] Just ordered myself a pair of s112s. Very excited [/quote] Nice. What colour?

Not exactly crap. I have a white one which isn't in too good shape. Ibanez Axstar bass: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ibanez-AXB-60-Axstar-Headless-Active-Bass-/231421798089?ssPageName=ADME:SS:SS:US:1120

Just unpacked them, so a limited experience. The are padded, nice fit, but not so tight they are hard to pull over the speaker. The quality feels nice. Haven't had time for a detailed look you (seams etc), but at a first look I am satisfied.

Now with covers. [url=https://flic.kr/p/qm1ia5][/url]

[quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1417590724' post='2621969'] This. As I've said before, the 6" driver in these cabs is their secret weapon [/quote] Completely agree.

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1417377375' post='2619770'] I've posted these before, will have to get some more taken! [/quote] Looks very nice that colour combo. And we know it sounds great too. What more do we need? Och yeah they are lightweight and not expensive for what one gets.

[color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]Here are some more pictures from the visit, by my friend and [url="https://www.flickr.com/photos/loicsans/sets/"]photographer Loïc Sans[/url]. His [url="https://www.flickr.com/photos/loicsans/sets/72157649044770587/"]Flickr set of the visit[/url]. [/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,][url="https://flic.kr/p/pUmJz2"][/url][/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]Doug Castro, showing the Made in Chile B3K.[/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,][url="https://flic.kr/p/q9vPi5"][/url][/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]Talking us through the compressor component prototype.[/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,][url="https://flic.kr/p/q9vMWC"][/url][/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]Pedal testing gear.[/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,][url="https://flic.kr/p/peNSVs"][/url][/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]A pedal design table with priorities. [/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,][url="https://flic.kr/p/qbBT8R"][/url][/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]Compressor in the works.[/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,][url="https://flic.kr/p/pf3b3X"][/url][/font][/color] [color=#141414][font=verdana, geneva, lucida,]Doug Castro[/font][/color]

It is by no means required to be heard, I just couldn't help myself.

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1416673825' post='2612556'] It must be time to start a TKS thread in the gear pron forum, I reckon! [/quote] Ok, here one is: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/249947-tks-speakers-thread/

Someone mentioned that it would be good with a TKS speaker porn thread, so I thought I would kick it off. Initially I owned a TKS 212, which tied me over until I got a pair of W2126 build for me. The 212 replaced an Ibanez Promethean P410C and it was a real lift in sound. Much fuller in the sound (can a speaker sound confident? Well, this one did) and the 12s just delivered more sound pressure. [url="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjelkeman/8985003253/"][/url] I had originally tried the TKS 2128 at a bass meet in Sweden, and fell in love with them. So I ordered some from Tommy at TKS. He had just decided that he was going to build them with 6s instead of the 8 inch I had tested, so I ordered the first once like that he built. I also aquired some custom cloth from the US which Tommy kindly mounted. I asked him to supply the TKS logos separately so I could put them on myself. Thereby the unortodox placement of these. Tommy also got me the grill mounting screws with the rifpght colour for me. And a special patterned vinyl. Nice. The W2126s have a killer sound. I primarily play hardrock and they are just perfect for me. The secret sauce in my view are the 6s which gives nice high mids and treble without sounding harsh or fizzly. [url="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjelkeman/11000003755/"][/url] Mounting the logo. [url="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjelkeman/11001521273/"][/url] Closeup of the custom vinyl. [url="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjelkeman/10035323405/"][/url] They are indeed the first W2126s! [url="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjelkeman/10035284214/"][/url] What they look like without protective speaker grill. [url="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjelkeman/10035337316/"][/url]

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' timestamp='1416563214' post='2611419'] What about those of us who already are Trombonists? Sounds like a great trip, very good read, thanks for this! [/quote] Maybe we can make an exception with an NDA for you.

Thanks Kev. Hmm there is supposed to be an embedded video as well. Oh well.[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9Jp-Z13qes"] Video interview can be found here[/url].

And here is the report from [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/249803-visit-to-darkglass-electronics-helsinki/"]the visit to Darkglass[/url].

[font=Helvetica][size=5]This week I and two friends had the privilege to visit Doug Castro at the Darkglass Electronics workshop in Helsinki, Finland. Doug is the founder and CEO of Darkglass. As some of you undoubtedly have figured out already, Doug is a very likeable guy, easy going and tremendously passionate about his work. That he and his team make some of the best bass distortion and preamp pedals in the business doesn't make a visit any less interesting. [/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]Doug started building pedals when he lived in Chile. A bass player himself, he obviously was interested in the sound he was producing when playing, but: "I couldn't afford a compressor pedal, so I built one myself." [/size][/font] [media]http://youtu.be/U9Jp-Z13qes[/media] [font=Helvetica][size=5][b]Video: Interview with Doug Castro, Darkglass Electronics [/b][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]He did build some “generic pedals” but quickly became bored with that. The next pedal he tried his hand on was what eventually became the Harmonic Booster. The booster was only ever built in a small series, about 50, and is somewhat of a collectors item among some Darkglass enthusiasts these days. Many people have asked for Darkglass to release another series of the Harmonic Booster, but Doug doesn't want to do that. But what most people may not realise is that the Booster eventually turned into the clean circuitry before the distortion part on the B3K distortion pedal. So if you have a B3K then you sort of have the booster too. [/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5][url="https://flic.kr/p/pbBinW"][/url][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5][b]A “Made in Chile” B3K.[/b][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]When we got to the workshop Doug invited us to have a coffee and cookies in the shared kitchen in the space where they work. But we didn't get further than packing up the cookies. We had already launched into talking about pedals, and soon Doug said "Oh, I need to show you this.", and into the workshop we went. (We did get to the coffee & tea later.)[/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]One of the for me interesting things with Doug is that, until recently I didn’t realise that I have ended up with pretty much the same tone stack as Doug has (just missing a Mayones/Spector bass, which I haven’t been able to justify for myself yet…). There are two Mayones basses in the workshop (read about [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/211012-visit-to-mayones-guitars-and-basses-gdansk-poland/"]my visit to Mayones[/url]), a Mesa Carbine amp and of course Darkglass pedals. There was also some Ampeg, Lakland and Spector equipment to be seen, and a bunch of pedals. [/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5][url="https://flic.kr/p/pbBidY"][/url][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5][b]Pic: Stack of backplates. [/b][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]These days Darkglass not only have the very successful B3K, but also the B7K with a four-band EQ and DI, the Vintage series of tube sound and preamp pedals and the Duality bass fuzz. [/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]The good news is of course that it doesn’t stop there. Doug himself said that he was maybe spreading himself too thin with new things he is working on. We did get to see and hear about some rather interesting things in the pipeline, but if I told you about it we’d have to convert you all to trombonists. We did get some nice previews we can share though. [/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]First, I had already read on Talkbass about an onboard preamp to fit in a bass. This got me rather excited, as a lot of preamps on modern basses are to bright or harsh for my taste, I was hoping that maybe Darkglass could provide something new and interesting there. [/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5][url="https://flic.kr/p/q8ehhk"][/url][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5][b]Pic: Prototype Darkglass onboard bass preamp. [/b][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]The preamp will come stock as part of a "Nolly" Getgood (Periphery) signature bass from Dingwall. [/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]The preamp has three tone controls, but unlike most bass preamps, the three controls are one bass (centred around 70Hz) and two mid controls, low-mid (700Hz) and high-mid (2800Hz). Which is a rather interesting take on it and according to Doug it was Sheldon Dingwall that came up with the idea when they were having pancakes for breakfast together at NAMM this year. Sheldon said: “Bass, mid, treble is a bit boring, everyone is doing that. Lets go with something different, bass, mid, mid.”[/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5][url="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bjelkeman/15641891468/"][/url][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5][b]Pic: Doug Castro, about to show us a cool new thing on his laptop. [/b][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]Doug says the high-mid and the low-mid are about the same as the B7K mid controls and give better definition and crispness compared to a standard bass/mid/treble setup. It also should be less noise and harshness. And if the shipped preamp is anything like the boxed prototype I got to test, I think that really can be true. I liked what I heard and I have a bass project in the cellar that needs a preamp and it is going to get a Darkglass one! Doug hoped to be able to ship the first of these in December or January. I need to go reserve some at my local pedal candy store, These Go To 11.[/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]Doug is also working on a compressor, we did actually see the component prototype for it, but Doug said it didn’t work anymore as he had had to cannibalise some components for another project. [/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5][url="https://flic.kr/p/pQYwAV"][/url][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5][b]Pic: Compressor component prototype picture. [/b][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]The first compressor prototype boards should arrive soon though, but that is no guarantee that it will be available soon. Doug said “It was months since I listened to the prototype last. Maybe when the boards arrives I don’t like how it sounds anymore and then it is back to the drawing board.”[/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]Darkglass is a very interesting international company. Some things are done by sub-contractors. Electronic printed circuit boards are done in the UK. The metal boxes are bought in standard shapes and customised locally in Finland (holes drilled etc). All assembly is now done at the workshop in Helsinki. PR and marketing is handled from Chile. The team is now seven people in Chile and Finland. [/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]I recognise this type of micro-multinational myself, as where I work is one like it too (albeit in a very different business). There is something inherently international in it. People from different cultures and backgrounds working together. You hang on Skype chat a lot. Video conferencing going. In the morning when you check in you have hundreds of chat pieces waiting for you. [/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]Two people work with assembling the pedals in the workshop, both are actually bass players, which means that the quality check right after the assembly is done by a person who really knows how the pedal is supposed to sound. Doug says he helps assemble pedals too if the order volume is high.[/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5][url="https://flic.kr/p/q8oQht"][/url][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5][b]Pic: The bits and pieces box in the workshop. [/b][/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]We did get to see some really cool new things that are coming in the future. Things that I want myself, really. But again, I can’t tell you about them. You, like me will just have to wait for them to appear. And they will only appear when they are ready, because Doug doesn’t ship something he doesn’t like or would want to play himself. Remember that the B3K took nearly two years to get right before he shipped the first one. [/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]Thanks Doug and the rest of the Darkglass team for your awesome creations. I look forward to lay my hands on the next one![/size][/font] [font=Helvetica][size=5]Edit: fixing the video link. Thanks Kev.[/size][/font]