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Beer of the Bass

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Everything posted by Beer of the Bass

  1. I'm not too familar with the Mesa, but there is a known issue with some cathode follower circuits (not specifically in Mesa amps) where the voltage between the heater and cathode is higher than some 12ax7/ecc83 types can tolerate. The Tung Sol has a reputation for failing in cathode followers in other amps, as do most of the other current production Russian valves. It may be that if you can check the data sheets to find a 12ax7 with a higher maximum heater-cathode voltage than the Tung Sol you'll be OK, though buying from Mesa does at least save you the hassle of searching those out. The JJ ECC83s is one that has worked OK for me in the cathode follower position of another amp, FWIW.
  2. I have a bitsa guitar with a strat shaped headstock which is blank. I've got so used to seeing headstock logos that it looks oddly incomplete with nothing there, but I think those jokey decals (Fecker et.al) are a bit naff and I don't want to stick my name on there since I only assembled it. I can see how that thought process could lead some people to stick a Fender decal on. It's often more about a familiar aesthetic than any attempt to deceive.
  3. I like Fender type preamps too, they just have a different character going on from what I hear with a B15-esque 6sl7 preamp. Subjectively, my 6sl7 preamp has a nice thick, flattering quality (though not muddy) and isn't so edgy when pushed. I don't know if that's down to the difference between 12ax7 and 6sl7 valves, the Fender vs the James tone stack or whether it's the different approach to biasing - without taking the time to experiment, it could be any or all of those factors. It's a character that I liked immediately and don't hear in a lot of modern bass amps, though admittedly I haven't tried a lot outside of the mainstream stuff that you see everywhere. I do wonder whether some of the small-maker preamps and hybrid amps that get such enthusiastic reviews here and on Talkbass might also be going for that kind of sound.
  4. I guess I'm suggesting that there are varieties of pleasing and recognisably "valvey" colouration that come from particular preamp topologies (in addition to the effects observed from the power amp) that could make them well worth using even without a valve power amp. The preamp I put into the Dynacord is a simple 6sl7 circuit based on the front end of an Ampeg B15n, and when pushed a little it produces a kind of distortion that barely even sounds dirty, but has a flattering thickening/sweetening effect along with some compression. It's a sound I'm particularly enjoying, and quite different to what I hear from Fender-ish valve preamps. And since I can directly compare it with a clean solid state preamp into the same power amp, I can be fairly sure that that colour is coming from the preamp in this case.
  5. I'm struggling at the moment - the guitar player wants to do this, and it would sound a lot better if I sang the responses (the "Hey Pocky way" bit); [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEtXT9w9AYU[/media] It's not a hard bassline, and not a hard part to sing, but attempting to do the two together is doing my head in! I'm trying to figure out a methodical way of practicing it...
  6. I'm not always as certain about the relative contribution of the preamp and power amp in valve amps. I have an old Dynacord Eminent II which has a transistor preamp and valve power stage, and to be quite honest it didn't sound all that special until I modified it by adding a valve preamp. That may be because the original preamp was made for vocal and keyboard use and wasn't very well voiced for bass, or it may be because the Dynacord power amp is designed to run clean (high plate voltage and lots of negative feedback) but it's a lot more musical and fun to play with the valve preamp. So while I agree that a valve power stage does contribute some unique and pleasing qualities, I wouldn't dismiss what a good valve preamp can do either. At some point I will try building the same preamp stage as a standalone box I can plug into other things, which might make for an interesting comparison.
  7. Ooh, nice. I didn't know Carl Martin made amps - I'd only seen their pedals.
  8. What value are the pots? If they're 500k or 1M, changing them to 250k will mellow things a little. A larger value tone capacitor could help too. This should be cheaper than changing pickups.
  9. Did they not share UK distribution with Tokai for a while, or something like that? If shops were ordering them from a distributor with "Tokai" in the name, I can see how the name might become associated with them even if it tells us nothing about the manufacturer.
  10. [quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1491818773' post='3275528'] Not often someone makes me laugh in here but that tickles me. [/quote] Well, Dusty Hill did once describe his bass sound as "a rhino farting into a trash can"!
  11. I picked up one of these recently. [url="http://www.rapidonline.com/uni-t-standard-digital-multimeter-tester-ut39c-85-4077"]http://www.rapidonline.com/uni-t-standard-digital-multimeter-tester-ut39c-85-4077[/url] It probably has more features than you need unless you're into pedal and amp DIY, but for guitar electronics it's useful to be able to measure capacitance, and the hold button is handy too. It's quite chunky feeling and seems sturdy enough.
  12. [quote name='stevie' timestamp='1491339689' post='3272320'] We're a bit nerdy on here, but I don't think we're *that* nerdy. [/quote] Co-incidentally, I was reading about winding DIY inductors for the midrange EQ in an Ampeg style preamp earlier, so I'm not entirely sure about that...
  13. 14Kg seems very good for the two-way cab. The cabs I built last year came out at 14Kg each, and that was with the lighter Beta 12s, no tweeter and 12mm birch ply. [quote name='Gottastopbuyinggear' timestamp='1491309555' post='3272002'] I'm still relatively inexperienced with all this (from a user point of view) so I'm quite keen to do a bit of experimentation to see how a different speaker would sound in the real world. I need to revisit the modelling to check but I did look at putting a Beta 12 in the Mk1 cab (partly to free up a Beyma for a Mk 2 build, and partly just for curiosity) which I think predicted a similar bump of 2 or 3dB around 110 Hz or so. Of course the Beta 12 does have a pretty big hump in the high mids, so overall I guess the sound would be substantially different. [/quote] After using them for a while, I like what the voicing of the Beta 12 does for my bass guitar sound, though they are almost certainly less versatile than the cab developed in this thread. What they are very good at is getting an instantly pleasing tone and and a satisfying amount of volume from my 80-watt valve amp that has only bass and treble EQ (an application which may be a bit of a niche interest). If I take one out with the double bass where I'm aiming for a more natural tone I find that I'm fighting that upper mid response a bit, and I suspect the Beyma two-way design would fare a lot better there.
  14. Since you've already got the MB200, why not keep that and pick up a small, light cab? I have done this with a GK MB200 and a 1x10" cab (I had an EA Wizzy 10 for a few years, and currently have a home built 1x10" for that job). It sounds a lot better than most cheap small combos and the head and cab together fit in a padded cajon bag with a shoulder strap.
  15. [quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1491250436' post='3271625'] Does anyone know where to get it? [/quote] I've had it from Solsound on eBay - I think they refer to it as Marshall piping. You might find your grille frame is a tight fit with piping though - I made mine a few mm undersized to leave some clearance for it. The other thing that might look good is a thin metal angle trim around the edge of the grille. HH used to do that with a very similar grille material to yours.
  16. [quote name='stevie' timestamp='1491231499' post='3271392'] I think carpet is easier to fit and also more forgiving than tolex, BoB. The lesson here is that you really have to finish off your screw holes properly or else they show through the paint. It looks like they managed to do without the inductor. [/quote] I think the hair and dirt attracting properties of carpet have always put me off. Too many memories of the drummer using my old Peavey as a rolling mat, or picking off hairs and thinking "Well, I [i]hope[/i] that's just a beard hair"!
  17. [quote name='stevie' timestamp='1491228308' post='3271352'] The grille works well but I think it needs some piping to finish it off. Perhaps carpet would be an easier finish than paint for the occasional builder. I wonder. [/quote] Speaking as an occasional builder, I did a pair of bass cabs in Tuff Cab and a guitar combo in tolex last year and found the Tuff Cab to be a lot less work. Though my bass cabs were in birch ply which should be harder and denser than the poplar used here - maybe that makes it easier to achieve a good surface? [quote name='stevie' timestamp='1491228824' post='3271359'] That's interesting, Shrek, thanks. I have to agree with Bill Fitz on this: manufacturers tend to be more interested in how a cab looks than how it performs. Love the crossover! [/quote] I can see a cap and resistor but no inductor - what's going on with that? Is that a piezo tweeter?
  18. [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1490951829' post='3269289'] I'd say Flats are good for a Blues/Rock trio.That's what I use on my PJ5. I have 4 Jazz basses, 2 are strung with DR's and the other 2 are strung with Dunlop Super Brights. IME DR's are the best for tone and longevity. The initial outlay might be more but they sound better for longer so, in use, they aren't as expensive as at first glance. I used to make a set last for about 10 months. [/quote] I'd been using flatwounds (first Sadowsky and then Fender) - it's a good sound but since we started playing with a new drummer and the guitarist has been leaning in a more rockish direction, I've been thinking about changing things up a bit. An old bandmate (in the other band that I play guitar with) used to use DR Black Beauties and I quite liked the sound of those. Chris Wood from Medeski, Martin & Wood has a sound I like too, and he's also using Black Beauties. If they weren't so expensive, they'd be high up my list to check out. I guess that does mean that other coated nickel wounds could be worth checking out too. [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1490949993' post='3269258'] For me Rotosound Steel Rounds are king, I just can`t get the sound they have from any other make. That said the most comfortable rounds I`ve played have been D`Addario Pro Steels. They have a nice even tone tone to them as well. As you`ve mentioned Nickel the Roto Nickel Rounds are nice, and have a good balance between warm and punchy. [/quote] When I used to use roundwounds a few years ago they were usually steel Rotosounds - I was playing in a noisy band and I liked the clank I could get from them. I wouldn't mind something a touch less raspy feeling and clangy though, hence the desire to try some nickel wounds. I've got a pub gig tomorrow which I'll do with the steel Red Labels, and that should help me figure out whether I can get on with steels or not.
  19. I enjoy him when I've heard him on 6 music, though does anyone else find there is quite a retro feel about his stuff? The performance above almost reminds me of something from one of the solo Stanley Clarke records like [i]Journey to Love, [/i]perhaps with a touch of Return to Forever about the keyboard solo. This is no bad thing of course, and he's taking that aesthetic to new places, it's just interesting to hear something new which draws on those particular sources.
  20. Whether it's worthwhile depends on how cheap your bow is, since the cost of a rehair is about the same as the price of some of the cheaper bows out there.
  21. Another Michael Henderson moment that gets me every time; at about 10:35 when things drop down after the guitar solo, it seems like time for a bass solo. But instead of noodling around in a flashy manner, Henderson plays with the groove in a taut, almost methodical way. Having a bassist from a soul and funk background rather than from the jazz scene really made an interesting change to how the band worked. Though being a sprawling jam with a somewhat dated narration tacked on, this is one that you have to be in the mood for! [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzM4_Lf_dSc"]http://youtu.be/GzM4_Lf_dSc[/url]
  22. I have more or less settled on D'Addario XL nickels on my guitar; they keep their brightness well and seem pretty consistent and dependable. So the bass version might well be worth a look.
  23. I've used various flats for the last few years, but in the band I'm playing with at the moment I feel like rounds might be the thing. It's a kind of blues/rockish trio and I just want a bit more grunt and more upfront tone, though not all that "hi-fi" modern sounding. I'm about 80/20 fingerstyle/pick, no slap in our set. The last time I regularly used rounds must be a bit over ten years ago, when I used to just buy whatever stainless steel rounds were cheapest in a local music shop (sometimes Rotos, sometimes Elites or various other brands), so I haven't given a lot of thought to the differences between brands and types. I've got a set of .045" to .130" Warwick Red Label stainless steel on at the moment. They're not bad, I like the B, E and A but the G is maybe a bit thinner and zingier than I want and they're kind of abrasive feeling. I'm thinking perhaps nickel could be worth a look. Any particular recommendations? Premium brands like DR are a bit more expensive than I'm up for, especially since I'm looking at 5-string sets...
  24. I like it. There's a slightly wider palette of sounds going on compared to "One Did", but still very recognisably yourselves.
  25. A lot of the weight of those old cabs is in the wood (I think at least some of them were MDF), so it may be only a little lighter with neodymium drivers.
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