Beer of the Bass

Oh dear, I'm pretty sure I've done some free improv gigs that sounded like that!

If the amp in question is a simple valve amp with a passive tone control (as most of the examples I can think of are), it can be quite a complex task. Most passive single tone controls have relatively low insertion loss compared to a Fender/Marshall three band or James (B15 style) two band circuit, so the amp may require an additional gain stage or other mods to work correctly.

D'Addario Chromes and TI Jazz Flatwounds both have an untapered B.

A while ago I had a try at modelling the driver used in the Crazy 8 in a similar sized cab, thinking it might be useful with double bass. Getting a port big enough not to be noisy into a box that size is quite a design challenge. I presume this is why they've used the flared port, but it'd be fair to say that getting a similar cab optimised wouldn't be the easiest place to start in cab design.

Aww, I bet we could get another 14 pages out of why they call it 150W when it appears to be quite closely based on a 100W Marshall circuit! More seriously, it has a bit of a following over on Talkbass, and does seem to make a viable bass amp, if that particular character is what you like.

Only once that I can recall, though I've also had a couple of run-ins with knackered, barely working supplied backline where I wished I'd brought my own.

Usually, yes. But regardless of how the quoted power outputs are derived, if the Bugera really is putting out a similar amount of power to competing products that quote an output of less than half of what Bugera does, then it'd be fair to say that the 2000W figure is intended to mislead.

I got the Vong up and running this morning. It's a straightforward build, not noisy and everything functions as expected. Hard to say more than that before I have the chance to use it in a gig situation really. My main use for it will be with double bass to control the low end and maybe use the switchable LPF to take the harsh edge off my amplified bow sound. Though it could also be useful to tame my DI fuzz sound with electric bass with the LPF, and maximise headroom on my little Ampeg pf-50t with the HPF. I've also got to try splitting a heavily highpassed signal into a dirty guitar combo some time, for a pseudo Ric-O-Sound setup - might be interesting to record with...

I did one freehand with a craft knife, and it's pretty scruffy looking up close. So the jig looks like a good idea!

Not sure if this has come up already in the 12 pages, but the quoted power consumption of 880 watts is the same as the GK MB800 Fusion. Since both amps have similar topology (Class D power amp, SMPS, preamp using 3 x 12AX7) and the power consumption has to be rated consistently for regulatory reasons, it would seem a reasonable guees that the output might be roughly in line with other manufacturers compact 800W bass heads.

I'd agree, the Ruby valves on mine had a higher mortality rate than I'd hope for, with the power tubes first refusing to bias properly and being replaced under warranty, and the phase inverter valve going microphonic (which I sorted myself). However, the amp sounds good and now that the valves in there have survived a good few hours use at band volume I'm happy enough to stick with the ones that are in there now. And I presumed the Kenny's deal might be related to the change of ownership - perhaps Polar were sitting on a bigger stock of them than they intended to, given that Yamaha likely have their own distribution arrangements.

I owned and played a Bassix EUB for a number of years, and I can see where Neil is coming from, TBH.

Finger funk and Thumb BO sound like natural companions, somehow!

It does look like the Kenny's deal was a one-off, unfortunately. They were really good value at that price.

It's probably best to think of them as modern small valve heads, with elements of various older Ampegs informing the design. The midrange EQ circuit is closer to some of their larger amps, and the power amps are designed quite differently to the B15n. So while they sound recognisably "Ampeg", they're not recreating any specific vintage model.

I have recently bought the kit for the Vong, though haven't got around to assembling it yet. It looks well thought out though.

I was going to say that I had you down as a bit of a Viz fan, but then I realised you were using the word and not talking about the magazine!

Tubetown in Germany have a good choice of grille cloths, and the cost of postage wasn't too bad last time I used them.

That's not so far from where I set the EQ on mine, though my mid frequency is generally on setting 4. Boosting mids does something cool when the preamp is running just a little gritty!

With a Marshall type circuit, the channel volumes will affect the tone of one channel when plugged into the other, but not the volume so much.

Interesting, I wonder if that little perfboard by the inputs with the two transistors is a mod?

I mean, I'm not attributing the failures I've had to velcro, but simple FET circuits do seem to be sort of sensitive. Come to think of it, I've seen FET circuits that use zener diodes as protection at the input stage. I wonder if that might be worth looking into.

Looks nice, but I'm mostly enjoying the word "microtubules".

I've also had home built FET preamps do this. I guess there must be some way to protect against it, though I'm not sure what.

Aww, that's a shame! Though I'm toying with going without pedals in my current band - the convenience is nice...