Beer of the Bass

Be warned if you're considering ordering from Banzai, their order handling and communications are awful. I tried to order from them a while back, never got an order confirmation, they ignored multiple emails and I only managed to get a refund after both opening a paypal dispute and commenting publicly on their facebook page. I'm not sure that I was just unlucky either, as their facebook page shows a number of similar posts from customers. Personally, I would buy from elsewhere if at all possible, even if the price is higher.

I've tried them; they're bright, clanky, slightly rough feeling, which is more or less what I expected from Stainless Steel rounds. They did remind me a lot of Rotosounds, but I've not had a set of those in years.

Phil's suggestions seem spot-on regarding which speakers would work in that cab volume. You would want to double check the port tuning if you did change speakers - anywhere from 40-50Hz is viable for the Beta 12 or the SM212. Another possibility; I've noticed that Full Compass in the US carry some GK spares. Is your speaker there? www.fullcompass.com/brand/GKR_Gallien-Krueger/Replacement-Service-Parts.html Shipping from the US might be costly, but you would only have to replace one speaker and the cab would retain its value better if you ever sell it.

If you can measure the internal dimensions of the cabinet and the diameter and length of any ports, people might feel better equipped to make recommendations.

In order; 1 - No, it's a classic sound that's on many great records 2 - Yes, see 1. 3 - Again, yes 4 - Sort of. You can get a tight, punchy, middy tone that's very recognisably a jazz bridge pickup, though it stops slightly short of the full Jaco "parp". I prefer the flats version, personally.

I've just ended up agreeing to play in a band which has not rehearsed yet but has a gig booked already. I thought that was an entertaining way to go about things. It's the side-project of a friend I've played with on and off for years and various others from semi-overlapping projects. The first rehearsal is arranged for a date one week before the gig, so she must have some confidence in us!

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1489767127' post='3259689'] From memory, Nexus were either Valve or class A/B. Of course they could have added Class D later [/quote] I was thinking about the Nexus SL models on their website, which have a blurb about "cutting edge class-d technology". I noticed that the R500H doesn't use that phrase, though the review above suggests class-d. Not that it matters especially (IMO), but I know there are some on here who look for class ab amps.

The feature set looks like a lot of '90s amps, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Since their Nexus amps mention being Class-D in the specs and this one doesn't say anything about it, I wonder what sort of power amp they're using? It looks like it's less than £300 too.

[quote name='Bassman Rich' timestamp='1489140625' post='3254639'] Great looking amp, you have those skills down to a T. I tried an ampmaker se5, and it worked great first time, so I didn't learn too much, just how to follow instructions to the letter!!! [/quote] [quote name='stevie' timestamp='1489521349' post='3257666'] I doff my hat to you. Really nice work! [/quote] Cheers! This one is off with the guitarist I'm playing bass with, and I've just got around to making some progress on its little brother for myself. Mine is going to be a little more compact and I have some different ideas I want to try with the reverb circuit. I'm also determined that it will be red, just because I fancy a red amp.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1489586383' post='3258170'] I can see the sense in discouraging other manufacturers from making designs where the headstock snaps if you sneeze, yes. [/quote] The silly thing is, they went a long way towards sorting that issue in the 70s with 3-piece maple necks with a volute at the headstock, and nobody liked them because they weren't exactly like the old ones. Musicians can be a fickle bunch...

[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1489522370' post='3257676'] Yeah, I'm not entirely sure how it works, but I think Vintage are owned by JHS, who the lawsuit was filed against. [/quote] I'm not up on legalese and haven't spent a long time reading about it, but it doesn't look like Gibson actually won against JHS initially, but that was still enough to prompt them to change their designs. [url="http://www.musicincmag.com/News/2016/111416/111416_Gibson.html"]http://www.musicincm...416_Gibson.html[/url] It looks like it doesn't really matter if Gibson are able to win any threatened legal actions, merely showing willingness to go to court is probably enough to deter many smaller companies from selling instruments that closely resemble their designs.

The Weltron bit isn't entirely made up; there are some pictures online of the same model with Weltron on the headstock. I presume it was one brand name among many applied by the importer or dealers.

I'd noticed that in the last couple of years a lot of SG and Les Paul copies have adopted an asymmetrical shape, and similarly some 335 copies are now going for a thinner horned variant. It does mean that anyone on a budget who is particularly attached to the original shape is going to either seek out an Epiphone or an older copy.

Are you sure you've worked out that 15kg weight saving correctly? Light weight neo 12" drivers might be around 5kg for a pair, so that would mean that the current drivers are 20kg total or 10kg each. Very few drivers used for bass guitar weigh that much.

Ceramic capacitors can also display microphonic behaviour in some circumstances, and that's what those little brown jobs in between the resistors are. If the cab seems fine with another amp or when the amp isn't on top of it, it would probably be wise to have the amp looked over.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1489394112' post='3256475'] Happened again today with Chngogobres but at least 2 mods have already visited the user profile so they must be aware. [/quote] Yeah, it looks like they're on the case. I can't see the spammy posts any more.

I'm aware of the report button for spam or anything else dodgy in ordinary forum posts, but what's the best thing to do if someone posts spam links in the Status Update section. There doesn't appear to be a report button, and there's a spam post up there at the moment, user JasonNiz.

Two amps, three cabs; Dynacord Eminent II 80 watt valve amp, modified with 6sl7 preamp Gallien Krueger MB200 1x home-built 1x10" 2x home-built 1x12" I'm toying with the idea of replacing the MB200 with an MB500 some time, but otherwise I'm happy enough for the moment.

Has anyone succeeded in killing one of those Klotz leads? I used my 1995/6 vintage green specimen at a rehearsal today, and it's still fine.

I'm just back from jamming with it, and I'm well chuffed with how it sounds. It's an easy sound to fit into the mix; plenty of mids without sounding boxy and a nice bit of grunt when pushing the front end. It held it's own with the drums and guitar using a single one of my 1x12"s, so it should be good for most of our gigs with the pair of them. I might fit a bright switch in the empy jack hole though, as a touch more edge wouldn't go amiss on a couple of songs. So I think this will be coming out on some gigs with the bluesy rock trio I'm playing with. Now I need to figure out a strategy for using it on PA-assisted gigs. I'd like to get some of the amp-y colouration into the FOH, but I need to consider the soundguy acceptance factor. Possibilities are; 1- Add a preamp line out to the back of the amp, before the master volume. This could go through my DI box (a BSS AR116) into the PA. The DI has a switchable lowpass which would serve as a simple speaker emulation. This would only capture the preamp colouration, but I think that's a lot of what I'm hearing. It also has the advantage of being unaffected by the master volume setting. 2- Use the DI box with 40dB pad engaged, running off the speaker output. This would get more of the amp sound but the level would vary depending on the amp volume. 3- Obtain and carry a suitable mic. I've heard good things about the AKG P2. I suspect the first option is the least likely to annoy venue sound guys, but the other two might also have their plus points.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1489050772' post='3253927'] I started this thread... and I have a new favourite string, but this one is MUCH MORE FAVOURITE LaBella White stainless steel nylon tapewound. 750T 50-65-85-105 They have that plasticky feel that tapewounds have but it's easy to get used to, and they're soooooo smoooooth. They're also very bright, they are more like roundwounds than flats. A lot more. They have a beautifully balanced low end and presence... the G string never sounded better. And they are very low tension. If you enjoy bending strings and adding vibrato here and there... these strings make it very easy. I put them on my Jazz and I can't stop playing it. They sound and feel fantastic... [/quote] I enjoyed the D'Addario black tapewounds for quite a while, and I too was surprised at how bright tapes can get. I kept overplaying them and making them go "splat" though - it took some real concentration not to. I tried a used set of the LaBellas very briefly, but for whatever reason the D'Addario were more up my street.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1489148489' post='3254742'] a set of gauges like those used for car spark plug gaps are useful [/quote] I use a couple of Dunlop picks stacked up as crude feeler gauges, since I seem to have loads lying around and the thickness is marked on them.

I get confused about what's considered high. I think of my bass as being set quite low at the moment, at 2mm (G) to 2.5mm (E) at the 12th fret. But reading through this thread, that might be considered high? I think double bass has messed up my perception of this stuff...

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1489060466' post='3254014'] Good eye! After Stevie's double-check and my triple-check to the drawings that missed us. I've sent a new file to Stevie with the correction. If any of you spot any other mistake please tell me or Stevie about it. A PM would be great as i get a e-mail notification instantly. Hope you're saving up for this build, this cab looks lovely in the specs, i allready have a clear idea of how i'm going to build mine, i'm just waiting for the rain season to stop Cheers [/quote] Alas, I don't have an excuse to be building more bass cabs any time soon, since the pair of 1x12" cabs I put together last year are doing a fine job, and I'm already keeping myself busy with a guitar combo project! I'm mostly following the thread out of curiosity, and was checking out the drawings to see how the proportions of the box compared to mine. This new design is looking well thought-out, and it's interesting seeing how the choices around the two-way design are made.

I still haven't figured it out. The guitarist in the trio I'm playing with is keen that we get some backing vocals in there, so I should probably start working on it.