Gunsfreddy2003

Saw this when I was down at the shop the other week and it really is a stunner! [quote name='EBS_freak' post='618949' date='Oct 6 2009, 08:07 PM']Been neglecting this area of late... time to change things. Here's a little teaser... Think you've seen it before? Nah, this a four string![/quote]

I need to sort out passing on to the next on the list so I will PM this morning. Cheers Mark [quote name='Sibob' post='618034' date='Oct 5 2009, 10:16 PM']and the south one? Si[/quote]

Hi Alex, Think you could be right that the cab just does not suit what I am looking to achieve tone wise - will try your suggestions at the next rehearsal to see if that makes any difference to my thoughts. Thanks again Mark [quote name='alexclaber' post='611976' date='Sep 29 2009, 02:01 PM']Sounds like the cab simply doesn't suit your sound - something like T'Midget or T'Double Midget would be more up your alley. 'Sizzle' doesn't happen without a tweeter or midrange driver to get those extra highs. The D&G strings getting lost will be due to a lack of high midrange in your tone - but if that's the sound you like then you need a cab that can reproduce your higher treble to give you that cut. I'm still amazed at the number of people that comment on it having huge lows - with the proliferation of smaller lightweight rigs has everyone forgotten what real bottom end sounds like?! I boost my lows when using a Compact to get closer to the greater bass depth and weight of the Big One. Anyway, for your next rehearsal, get some more high mids into your sound and/or go towards the back pickup and you should cut through better. Note that adding more higher treble won't do much because the Compact cuts off fairly sharply at ~4kHz, plus it's quite directional in the highs. Getting the cab off the ground will make the treble more audible and reduce the lows, which sounds like a win-win for you! But regardless it's not the cab I'd recommend for you based on what you've said about your tonal leanings. Alex P.S. No carpet because lots of players don't like it - hence the ratfur nickname - with its pilling habit, and tendency to collect smells and hairs. And tolex rips too easily. And neither of those can be easily recoated when the cab is looking old and tired. P.P.S. All the new Compacts are lighter still![/quote]

Must admit I thought it was a northern thing when I first read the name! [quote name='alexclaber' post='612088' date='Sep 29 2009, 03:40 PM'] Alex[/quote]

Yes please! [quote name='alexclaber' post='612025' date='Sep 29 2009, 02:37 PM']I'll be started a T'Midget tour quite soon, if you want to go first on the list! Alex[/quote]

Apex kindly dropped off the "southern cab" at our rehearsal rooms last night and I used it for a full rehearsal with the band and my observations and opinions are as follows: Weight - incredibly light for a 15" cab easy to transport and load in and out of the car. If 15" cabs have always put you off due to dimensions and weight then this cab will definitely change your mind! Finish - I would say very practical and hardwearing but I, like others, would say that I really prefer a carpet covering - it just seems better quality. I would be interested to know why Alex does not opt for carpet covering? Sound - Last night's rehearsal was with an instrumental jazz/funk band so I am always looking for quite a punchy sound with plenty of middle and highs. I use a GB Rumour 4 string so normally no problem at all getting that really nice high end sizzle. With my Aguilar AG500 head I normally have the EQ set flat and just dial in the extra EQ that I need from the bass as the pre-amp is so powerful. This was my starting point with the Compact but I realised immediately that some adjustments would need to be made! The bottom end from this cab is nothing short of thunderous - really round and fat! However the overall sound was just a little muddy for my liking so I rolled off the bass on the head and increased the treble and high mids. By itself it sounded fine but in the context of the band anything played on the D and G strings just would not cut through and this was commented on by 2 other band members. I am not sure why this was happening and no amount of fiddling seemed to fix the problem. To sum up I would say that the Compact would probably suit players who are more into the "rock" sound as it powers out the bass and in that environment would probably sound awesome. Whether it was the 15" speaker or perhaps the lack of the tweeter I don't know but I just felt that the sound was not right for me and what I am looking for. Price - Spot on. A great value when you compare what I have paid for my Epifani cab. I am hoping to have another rehearsal on Thursday with another band which are a bit louder and if so I will give it another spin just to sense check the sounds again. If not then I will pass on to the next on the list. Thanks again for Alex for the opportunity and I admire his absolute faith in his product to allow such harsh testing to proceed! Mark [quote name='Apex' post='611197' date='Sep 28 2009, 08:09 PM']Southern Compact now with GunsFreddy, who is down in a rehearsal room setting it up as I type... .....the Sax player observed that "Bass players must be a real nice lot" [/quote]

Apex kindly dropped off the "southern cab" at our rehearsal rooms last night and I used it for a full rehearsal with the band and my observations and opinions are as follows: Weight - incredibly light for a 15" cab easy to transport and load in and out of the car. If 15" cabs have always put you off due to dimensions and weight then this cab will definitely change your mind! Finish - I would say very practical and hardwearing but I, like others, would say that I really prefer a carpet covering - it just seems better quality. I would be interested to know why Alex does not opt for carpet covering? Sound - Last night's rehearsal was with an instrumental jazz/funk band so I am always looking for quite a punchy sound with plenty of middle and highs. I use a GB Rumour 4 string so normally no problem at all getting that really nice high end sizzle. With my Aguilar AG500 head I normally have the EQ set flat and just dial in the extra EQ that I need from the bass as the pre-amp is so powerful. This was my starting point with the Compact but I realised immediately that some adjustments would need to be made! The bottom end from this cab is nothing short of thunderous - really round and fat! However the overall sound was just a little muddy for my liking so I rolled off the bass on the head and increased the treble and high mids. By itself it sounded fine but in the context of the band anything played on the D and G strings just would not cut through and this was commented on by 2 other band members. I am not sure why this was happening and no amount of fiddling seemed to fix the problem. To sum up I would say that the Compact would probably suit players who are more into the "rock" sound as it powers out the bass and in that environment would probably sound awesome. Whether it was the 15" speaker or perhaps the lack of the tweeter I don't know but I just felt that the sound was not right for me and what I am looking for. Price - Spot on. A great value when you compare what I have paid for my Epifani cab. I am hoping to have another rehearsal on Thursday with another band which are a bit louder and if so I will give it another spin just to sense check the sounds again. If not then I will pass on to the next on the list. Thanks again for Alex for the opportunity and I admire his absolute faith in his product to allow such harsh testing to proceed! Mark

PM replied to - I am between Cheltenham and Cirencester in Gloucestershire. Cheers Mark [quote name='supabock' post='602134' date='Sep 18 2009, 12:28 PM']Hi, I'll take it if you tell me where you are?? Steve[/quote]

Just clearing out some bits & peices at home and came across this gigbag which I used to carry my Warwick Thumb bass around in! I have no need for it now and thought that someone on the forum might find a use for it? The pic shows the Status branding on it but you could use it with any bass I guess like I did. The shoulder strap came apart from the stitching years ago so I just tied it on to the carrying handles and it worked fine. If someone can find a use for this then great you just need to pick up or cover the postage costs. Cheers Mark

I always avoid the clip lights coming on my Aguilar AG500 at all costs - is this wrong? Mark [quote name='alexclaber' post='582140' date='Aug 27 2009, 08:23 AM']I don't think extra power is going to make all that much difference. However I would encourage you to push the amp a little harder - the limiters on the PLX are good and should get you another 3dB of output before sounding bad. You don't want the LEDs lighting up all the time but having them come on full brightness on big notes isn't going to be a problem - clip LEDs on 25% of the time should be fine. I think you're the kind of player that would prefer the midrange output of the Big One or the Midget - the Compact may be flat through the midrange (and quite attenuated in the lows) but compared to your Schroeder which is very midrangey and has almost no true bottom I can see why you'd think it was bassy sounding. You might like to try some more aggressive EQing in the midrange to help with that. Alex[/quote]

It should have had one with it - USB to a very small connector - not sure what it is called! That is the beauty of the Tascam - getting Mp3 files taking out the bass or looping section and then slowing it down to learn fiddly bits etc. Not sure how you have used it if you have not had mp3 files on it already! [quote name='niceguyhomer' post='569718' date='Aug 15 2009, 08:20 AM']Splendids! If I find a suitable cable I'll try that. Ta muchly. [/quote]

You can put mp3 files straight on to your Tascam by just connecting it your PC/laptop and dragging them over. No need to convert any files at all - simples! [quote name='niceguyhomer' post='569715' date='Aug 15 2009, 08:07 AM']Sorry if this is in the wrong forum - feel free to move it Mr. Moderator. I've got an audition tomorrow and have been sent 4 MP3 files of songs to learn. I can hook up my MP3 player to my Tascam Bass Trainer and play along to the songs but I can't take the bass out of the recording, which is really helpful. Does anybody know if I can convert the MP3 files to a format that'll let me edit the bass in the Tascam ?[/quote]

Happy to test out a midget too (if you know what I mean!!!!)

Good points Alex and you are probably right - when I have some more cash I may invest in an Epi 1x15" that is unless I am blown away by your cab when it finally gets here on the tour! [quote name='alexclaber' post='569379' date='Aug 14 2009, 07:12 PM']Bear in mind that the loudness of the rig is much more dependant on the 'speakerage' than the wattage. So 500W into 2x15" will be far far louder than 500W into 1x12". Also there aren't many small cabs that can actually handle more than 250W so a modular rig of one or two smaller cabs could be an effective solution. That's a classic example of where the whole is not equal to the sum of the parts. Two matching cabs would sound a lot louder, about 6dB which once you figure in the human ear's oddities in the low end that's getting on for twice as loud. Likewise two non-matching but phase coherent cabs would be similarly effective. However two cabs which were 100% out of phase (not possible but it's a useful illustration) could actually cancel each other's sound out entirely! Any different cabs will have different phase response, and the more different the phase response, the less well they will combine. In this case you've obviously happened upon a particularly bad pairing. Alex[/quote]

DOH!!! You can get a footswitch you know??!! [quote name='thedontcarebear' post='569226' date='Aug 14 2009, 04:55 PM']I turned my new one on earlier and there was no sound! But after a few seconds of calm thinking, I remembered that there is a mute on it, haha. Sounds cool so far, looking forward to using it at a practice.[/quote]

Hi Rachel, I have been using my AG500SC with an Epifani UL210 for a few years now and have been really happy with it - I would say that it is quite an honest sounding amp and does not colour your sound too much at all. My Epifani cab runs at 8 ohms so effectively I have been running at 250w and I have never found it underpowered even in some big pubs. A while ago I bought a 1x15" 8 ohm cab to get the full 500w and to be fair it did not make much difference - certainly did not sound noticeably louder. I tested the amp with Aggie cabs when I bought it but for me the Epi cabs sounded much better just a deeper tone if that makes sense? Mark [quote name='fenderiko' post='568759' date='Aug 14 2009, 10:42 AM']Hi All , any Aguilar users out there ? Im thinking of purchasing an aguilar ag500 and not 100% as for what cab/s to go with it ? how did you find the aguilar on gigs ? did the 500w was enough for a big gig ? how reliable was it ? what cab did you use to get the most efficient power of the amp ( would love to hear your AG experience cheers Rachel[/quote]

Problem solved - trip to Brighton needed asap! [quote name='EBS_freak' post='565436' date='Aug 10 2009, 09:41 PM']You'll have a PM... when I've written it![/quote]

A question for all GB Rumour or Spitfire owners - has anyone suffered from a distorted tone when you crank the bass control up to full on the bass? I have noticed that if I have the bass control on 3/4 to full I get a really nasty farting/distorted tone! I have found this through my rig but also through Mark Bass and Gallien Kruger amps that have been supplied as back line at some festivals that I have played at recently. If you dig in a bit on the strings it gets even worse! I have changed the batteries too and it has not made any difference at all. Any help/advice from other GB users would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Mark

See they don't look that bad after all do they? Knew I should have gone with a maple board - my Rumour would be classed as rare too then!! [quote name='EBS_freak' post='555980' date='Jul 30 2009, 11:03 AM']A quite rare one... through neck with maple board...[/quote]

I think that we have all gone through this scenario over recent years! I had a couple of years away from music and when I came back to playing the bass again the whole amp situation had changed completely and there were suddenly loads of new manufacturers that I had never heard before and everyone was talking about neo cabs and bass rigs that you could carry around with your little finger! At that time I still had trace elliott GP12SMX pre-amp, power amp and 2x10 and 1x15 cabs so lightweight and mobile I was not. I never had an issue with my "existing sound" but did not enjoy lugging the gear around anymore so decided to go for it and change all the gear. Like you I went through everything, SWR, EBS and a few big name others but just kept coming away from rehearsals having spent more time knob twiddling and bent down in front of my cab trying to pin point exactly what is was that I hated about my sound now rather than actually enjoying the music that we were making! My solution to the problem was to go to a shop that had nearly everything that I had read or heard bass players talking about and try them out for myself. A day in London was required and after visiting the Bass Centre and then The Bass Gallery I had been able to try just about every combination of gear that I wanted to. Has to be said here that the Bass Gallery were by far the most helpful and poor Martin was dragging out cabs and heads from everywhere. All the Bass Centre wanted to do was flog me Mark Bass gear. To get to the point I opted at that point to go for an Aguilar AG500SC and an Epifani UL210 which together on the day just beat the hell out of everything that I heard and that is why I bought it. To my ear most neo cabs are a bit soul-less and empty sounding but the Epi cab has the depth that I used to get from my bigger/heavier cabs but weighs nothing. I also found that 2x12 cabs just sounded muddy and shapeless. Again these are just my opinions and experiences other have raved about EBS 2x12's but I would never use one. Having got to this point I have resisted most temptations and stuck with my lightweight set up and been really happy with it. Of course I still read reviews in BGM or comments on here and get some GAS but I think that is normal. I has been thinking a lot recently about the Mark Bass stuff again as they seem quite inventive with their product range but I played a festival on Friday night and the supplied back line was a Mark Bass combo and I just could not get "my sound" out of it. With my current set up I have the amp EQ flat and I think that honestly most of my sound is really coming from my GB bass but having tried that on Friday through the Mark Bass I now know that that is not the case! The GB, Aggie head and Epi cab all work together and give me a sound that I love and that enables me to enjoy the music that I am making! Once you get to this stage you can then start worrying about your effects pedals - anyone know a good envelope filter Hope that might help you a bit! [quote name='Mr.T' post='558231' date='Aug 2 2009, 02:26 AM']I have just got in from a gig at a venue I have played many times. My sound was absolute crap.... and I am p*ssed off.... Not something that I do very often! It dawned on me when driving home, how much money I have spent on gear since deciding to go 'lightweight' at the end of last year. When I used Trace gear, which I did for 20 years, I rarely had to do much more than a little tweak here and there. For the past 7 or 8 months, I seem to have done nothing but twist EQ controls.... trying to get a decent sound. Am I alone in this? Do I have to go back to a heavy rig to get a sound that is consistant from week to week? Has anyone else had a similar journey?[/quote]

I never knew that! Now I know why it is so good! Killer slap player, killer fretless player - what a git!! Mark [quote name='lowdown' post='556810' date='Jul 31 2009, 09:07 AM']+1...a very lyrical solo indeed. That player my friend was a very young Marcus Miller. Marcus never seems to get much of a mention for his fretless playing [F.O.R] But his fretless playing is up there for sure. Garry[/quote]