JohnDaBass

7 hours ago, Paul S said:

 

At the moment I have a 2021 SG Standard and a 70s Eros EB-3 I'd say the same, I usually don't go anywhere near a bridge pickup, except I like to dial in a bit of the neck pickup to round it off a bit.  But maybe that is because of the pickups - what would any of you shorty Gibson aficionados say was the difference between the early EB-3s and SG in terms of tone? 

I have a 1969 slot head,walnut EB-3 (bought from new); 2017 SG; 2 x Les Paul Jr DC cherry with round wound and worn walnut with Chrome flats.

The EB-3 has a sidewinder Pup while the SG has a stand humbucker design( correctly explained by @Cosmo Valdemar) and the Les Pauls have TB humbucker design Pups.

The EB-3 & SG  has their neck Pups right up close to the fingerboard while the Les Pauls have the Pup 10 ins from the 12th fret( so-called the short scale sweet spot)

The EB-3 has VVTT with 4 postion switch which engages an inductor to produce a very deep tone for the solo'd neck Pup.

The SG has VVT and does not achieve the same low end as the early EB-3. The SG is a very flexible bass with a wide range of tones on offer.

The Les Paul has VT with a coil tap switch on the volume control. When the coil tap is engaged it achieves the same range of tones as the SG but does offer a very deep option not availbe on the SG.

The closest I have got to the tone of the 1969 EB-3 is by installing an Artec Mudbucker sidewinder design PUP in the neck position of a new Epiphone Newport reissue. The Newport is VBT and the balance control really offers a huge range of tones (after modifying the phase of the TB bridge PUP). 

I tend to use the neck PUP solo'd mostly but adding an amount of bridge PUP adds a broad pallette of tones. I only use the neck PUP solo'd on some specific songs ( Bruce, Free,Slade).  

Hope this helps?

9 hours ago, BassTractor said:

Only played live twice, but my takes are:
- main bass
- cricket bat (Hohner B2B, which is not only tiny but also very stable and trustworthy).

Peace of mind.

+1

1 hour ago, Burns-bass said:

If I’m being paid (which is why I gig most of the time) I’ll have two of everything. Two basses, amps, a selection of leads, spare strings, power cables, and a load of spares that may be needed.

 

Having had some spectacular gear fails, it’s not something I enjoyed and don’t want to happen again.

+1

Hofner shorty ( LaBella DeepTalking flats), stays in its gig bag and backup TC BAM 200  6ins combo stays in the boot of the car.

Just-in-case , Peace of mind.

A very fine instrument at a very reasonable price.

GLWTS

Great Cab, well built, well designed and handles low end very well. As said they are quite heavy, but worth it.

The ports that were on the cab suggested on WinISD that it was tuned to about 80Hz ( blue). I replaced the ports  with 2 x 75mm Dia X 110 long to achieve somewhere between 48 & 50 Hz (Red)

The roll off at 60Hz sugests that the PAS Or Eden speakers did not go that low and seemed to focus on a strong mids profile.

The crossover is apparently 4,000Hz which is way too high and using @Bill Fitzmaurice, @stevie guidance it should be more like 2,500Hz.

The photo shows the components used and I have used a Sharpie to draw on the topside of the PCB the copper track circuit from the underside.

X-over SWR-1.pdf

There are two 3.3 microfarad caps in series and a 0.17mH inductor across the positive and negative speaker lines.

Can anyone suggest a simple way to modify the crossover circuit from 4,000Hz to 2,500Hz?

Or will it be necessary to build a new PCB following @Bill Fitzmaurice circuit?

The ports seemed to be very short and the speaker wiring had been changed to series, 16 ohms, from the original parallel 4 ohms. The horn was not working because one side of the fuse holder had broken and the fuse was loose in the bottom of the cab. The horn worked fine after soldering a link wire between the fuse holders. The horn was a Japanese Fostex  75w, 025H27 which had a range of 4,000 to 15,000 Hz and a recommended crossover at 4,000Hz.

So I purchased an Eminence BGH 25-8 as recommended by @Bill Fitzmaurice and plan to run the two BN10-X300s full range as suggested by @stevie on this thread.

The cabinet itself was very well made and constructed from 15mm 7 layer plywood with excellent bracing side to side and front to back. But it weighed the same as Saturn some 30 kgs with the original ceramic magnet speakers. There was a great deal of attention to detail in the construction, staples used to secure the back of the “T” nuts to the baffle, sound dampening fabric tacked on all the internal walls and properly omitted around the ports.

Great spring loaded handles with their inner metal faces also dampened with stick-on acoustic foam.

Ever since I built my Easy build lockdown BC110 combo

I have been minded to build a second BC110 to stack under the combo. Last year I picked up a couple of Celestion BN-10-300X speakers in a sale and planned to build two identical BC110 1x10 cabs with sizes changed slightly to suit stacking one under the BC110 combo or two sitting under the Fender Rumble 800 combo.

 Fortunately up popped on here a SWR Goliath Jr 2x10 cab at price that was way lower than the cost of the materials and labour for building the two BC110 cabs.

The SWR cab was in surprisingly good condition for a cab that was built in the early 80’s.

I started the refurb topic to seek advice on the carpet covering before receiving the cab, When it landed all it needed was a thorough clean up with carpet cleaner replaced the corner protectors with metal chrome ones, and good vacuum inside to remove years of dust & fluff.

It appears that this may have been one of the very early SWR Goliath Jr 2x10 cabs which were apparently built by Eden for SWR. The cab had rear ports with either Eden speakers or PAS 10’s.( the later SWR cabs had a front facing shelf port and used Eminence speakers and the Go-Light versions had Neo Eminence 10’s)

3 hours ago, Corsair said:

Thanks for that much appreciated, I didn't realize the output would be significantly lower.

 

I think I'll go with a Kent Armstrong MM pickup instead, its cheaper and the website lists it as having enough output to use as a passive. 

36 minutes ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

If you want to make the bass sound more like a stingray, you might be better off keeping the original pickup in the bass and adding an active preamp such as the retrovibe stinger.

Check out the Warman MM Pickup. I have used them successfully in a couple of projects they really are good.

Coupled to a Retrovibe Stinger will get you very close to that traditional MM Stingray sound.

I have a SWR Goliath Jr 2 2 x 10 incoming and if the carpet covering is secured tightly I am considering giving the carpet fabric a coat or two of Tuff-Cab.

I am hoping that the acrylic will soak into the carpet fabric and create a really tough finish. ( all most like Tolex)

Anyone on here used Tuff-Cab on carpet or is it wiser to remove the carpet fabric?

On 25/11/2023 at 10:07, PaulThePlug said:

Vanish Carpet Cleaner and a washing up brush...

Looked like something had been nesting... took out the wadding along with a plastic spoon, Ikea type pencil and a Minions toy - possibly McD's Happy Meal.

 Great Job it looks fantastic.

Did you consider removing the carpet covering?

I have a SWR Goliath Jr 2 2 x 10 incoming and if the carpet covering is secured tightly I am considering giving the carpet fabric a coat or two of Tuff-Cab.

I am hoping that the acrylic will soak into the carpet fabric and create a really tough finish. ( all most like Tolex)

Anyone on here used Tuff-Cab on carpet or is it wiser to remove the carpet fabric?

PM'd

On 02/11/2023 at 09:06, JohnDaBass said:

If anyone wishes to  have a go at building one of @stevie and @Phil Starr  excellent cabs designs on an entry level budget I have a couple of used ( but in great condition) Beyma SM212 drives FOC.

Well, I have been really surprised by the number of "wood-Be" ( see what I did there 😂) DIY, novice Basschat cab builders wishing to have-a-go at building their own bass cab.

After due consideration, (closed eyes and used a pin) two successful builders have now safely recieved their Beyma SM212s.

I look forward to seeing a story of their builds in the Build Diary section.

Apologies to those who missed out on this ocassion.

Happy building and take care not loose any fingers playing with those power tools 😮

Mesa Subway D800

Fender Rumble 800HD

Both simple to use with either a rotary (Mesa) or push button tone shapes to dial in your vintage tone of choice. 

Like all the above far too many amps!!

Acoustic 126 100w 1 x 15 combo

Fender Rumble 500 V2 head

Mesa Subway D800 head

Fender Rumble 800HD head

Fender Rumble 800 combo

Fender Rumble 1 x 12 V2 cab

Peavey MiniMax 500 built into a BC 1 X 10 combo ( Celestion BN10  300X) [story in Build Diaries]

TC BAM 200 built into a BC 1 x 6 combo ( Faital 6RS140 200w 6ins) [story in Build Diaries]

BC Mk3 (Faital Pro12 PR320 + Celestion CDX1-1425 1ins compresion driver with new style @stevie  X-over) cab

BC Mk1ish (shelf port Faital Pro12 PR320) cab [Barefaced Super Compact Lookalike]

Probably enough to cover most venues 🤣

10 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

 

The other complication is that some of the original drivers are no longer being made .

 

If you need some help then start a build diary and i'll give you all the help I can on there. PM me when you start in case i don't pick it up

If anyone wishes to  have a go at building one of @stevie and @Phil Starr  excellent cabs designs on an entry level budget I have a couple of used ( but in great condition) Bayma SM212 drives FOC. These were used in the Mk1 & Mk2 cabs and are very fine drivers, pay the shipping and they are yours. PM me.

I have enjoyed great fun following and building cabs that @stevie and @Phil Starr have freely shared to Basschaters.

12 minutes ago, EssexBuccaneer said:

What do you guys do with the cash? Do you split it for pocket money? 
 

We stick it in the band kitty, currently saving for the PA, but broken strings and stuff all comes from the ‘band money’

Equal share out at each gig.

My  60s/70s covers 5 piece band achieve £300 for pub gigs locally. 

So £60 per man. That's up from £40 per man before Covid.

NY EVE we target  £750 to £850. (double time + extra for travel)

Really can't see any increase in the coming 12 months. 

1 hour ago, Phil Starr said:

I've never played a Precision, not a proper one.

 

Let me explain, I decided when I first played bass that Fender just meant you were paying for a name on the headstock. Started off with a Cort, then on an idle day long ago when guitar shops existed I wandered into Mansons in Exeter and tried just about everything in the shop. I have small hands and thought the P's were awful but fell in love with one bass in particular a Highway One with Fender written plainly on the neck with MIA in little letters. I had to admit Leo knew more about guitars than I did. Full disclosure I later bought an American Deluxe P Bass and I'm in love with both basses and we are very happy together, me and the two genuine Fenders I swore I would never buy. 

 

However, there are so many people out there playing those simple straightforward P basses who sound so good. Could it be that a real one would be different from my fancy Deluxe??? Well like many of us I saw the big discounts on the Squier 40th Anniversary basses and for £250 I scratched the itch. I've had it a few weeks and 'oh my giddy Aunt, it's good'. I've been running through the set this morning for our gig and oh the sounds it's making. I swear it's not me playing it sounds too perfect. Tone controls all flat and straight into the mixing desk. Of course I play covers and I guess most of the covers I'm playing along with were originally played with P's so there is an element of 'rightness' but it also sounds so right when i'm playing with the band; the damned thing just sits there sounding spot on tucking in behind the kick but sitting nicely in the gaps the rest of the time. Playing it is gorgeous too, the neck is much wider than I'm used to rather than maybe the full on block of wood that some P's have but it's wide and flat and has a piano like feel about it, if that makes sense. I feel like I'm playing notes rather than fretting. It also plays fast and has terrific sustain, mainly though it is that gorgeous sound.

 

OK it's a Squier and it has a C neck but to me it's a proper P and I'm in love again. Why did I leave it so long. Have I left my  poor Highway One Jazz forever? Will I get distracted by the next flashy American I see? Oh the joy of P!

Any pictures of all three?

13 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

I too like the look of the short scale.  More colour options would be nice.

Agreed,  I can imagine that a short scale Saint Soap would probably sound a bit fatter than the long scale in the video. It also appears (to be confirmed) that the Soap bar pickup is in the 10ins from the 12th fret sweet spot for short scale basses. 

At those prices it would make a great platform to try a range of different pickups. 

Definitely on my radar. 

I did notice that in the OPs link the short scale is called Capri.

Great amps, very loud for a 100w solid state power amp.

I own the earlier model version without the graphic equaliser, had it new in early 70's. 

GLWTS. 

Oh dear, does that mean I need to purchase a B2 Four to join my 2 X B1Fours  and my B6.🙄.

I'm pleased to hear you're getting some use of my earlier patch.

In all honesty do you agree that the sounds from the B2Four have an edge on the B1Four?

Do you happen to have a link to the website

OMG that is fabulous.

Does he produce any short scale basses ?

Like many above I have always tinkered with basses to make them just that little more personal and different.

One very satisfying upgrade was to add an Artec Mudbucker and a G&L MFD to a DeArmond Jet Star.

Controls V/Blend/ T.

Lots of other examples , maybe I will post a few?