Beer of the Bass

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1430520639' post='2762368'] I tend to agree... I've just strung my P with La Bella 760FS and I love 'em. Perhaps I'm mad, but they don't seem particularly 'high tension' to me... not compared with Fender 9050ML for example. I seem to be able to bend them with ease when necessary... I did tighten up the truss rod slightly, but that was largely to lower the action as I find it possible to get the action lower with flats than with the rounds I had fitted previously. Conversely the flats I found most alarming tension-wise were Chromes, which seemed like solid steel bars and pulled the neck into relief... obviously my experience doesn't correlate with those here! [/quote] Yes, I found Chromes to be on the stiff side too. I've got Sadowsky flats at the moment which are much softer feeling than Chromes in the same gauge, though I haven't had a set of standard LaBellas to compare to.

The aesthetics are nice, it reminds me of the old Linear Concord and L45 amps. So it's basically a B15n preamp with a cathode follower to buffer the output? I'm sure that'll sound good.

I've seen this company who advertise on eBay and are happy to do cutting to order too: [url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/farmwoodproducts?_trksid=p2047675.l2563"]http://stores.ebay.co.uk/farmwoodproducts?_trksid=p2047675.l2563[/url] I haven't used them, but there seem to be relatively few timber merchants who do online sales. Otherwise it's a case of finding a decent local supplier - I'm sure there must be one or two round your way.

I'd say Jack Bruce too. As big an impact as Jaco had, it's going to be hard not to fall into "troubled genius" cliché when writing an essay about him. Bruce seems like an interesting character, especially since he was making music like this on the side while he was in Cream; [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCDNdLx9LnM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCDNdLx9LnM[/url]

[quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1430149722' post='2758396'] I was expecting to see a thread about gear made of clear perspex. [/quote] We had that thread a few weeks ago. Whatever happened to that chap?

I've just remembered, Talkbass regular Francis Deck documented his design for a small bass cab using the Deltalite a few years ago. It was a small box design, tuned low to get the same gentle bass roll-off associated with sealed designs, and he has dimensioned drawings so it wouldn't be difficult to recreate. I haven't tried this design myself, but it might not be a bad starting point if you don't want to get more deeply into design stuff. [url="http://personalpages.tds.net/~fdeck/bass/#projects"]http://personalpages.../bass/#projects[/url] Edit; It's the same link Subsonic Simpleton just posted!

I've read that the EBP value is a rough indicator of suitability for a sealed cab (if it's not quoted in the datasheet, it's Fs divided by Qes). For sealed cabs you want an EBP value of not more than 100, ideally less. That rules out the 3012HO, though the Deltalite or Basslite might be OK depending on cab size. You'd only add around an extra kilo of weight by going for a ceramic driver like the Beta, which might not be enough to be a deal-breaker in a 1x12".

That's some impeccably neat wiring - I wish my DIY jobs looked like that inside! The price does seem high though, I don't know what the collector market is like on these but the fact that nobody has bought it yet might be indicative.

I like the bevelled edge around the grille. That'll look great with the tolex on - very Matamp-esque.

It looks like the Betas should work in that volume (I guess it's around 45l per driver, depending on how far the baffle is recessed and how thick the wood is). It won't be a low-end monster, but I've had cabs with a similar shaped low-end response and been perfectly happy with them. I don't know how good the cab construction is - you may find you need to add a brace or two to make a decent bass cab. I've been looking at the specs of a few inexpensive 12" drivers, as I've been thinking about making a couple of 1x12" cabs later in the year. There are a couple of other drivers which have comparable specs, like the Celestion BL12-200x or the Fane Sovereign 12-200, so those might be worth a look too. Both of those should be a little less upper-mid forward than the Betas going by the frequency response graphs - it depends what you're after really. You could also add tubular ports to the back of the cab but make plugs for them, as it might be interesting to try it both ways. With that cab I'd be inclined to buy the version with the Celestion Vintage 30s in it for £156, as you should have no problem moving on a pair of unused Vintage 30s on for more than the difference between the two cabs.

There have been a few BC threads on the bass version, and it seems the consensus seems to be that the latency is a little too much for it to be useful to most players. But I'm wondering whether the guitar version might be worth a try. There are a couple of songs in the band I play guitar with where I'd like to drop in some sounds which I can't make with a guitar alone. It occurs to me that using the MIDI synth module I already have (a Mutable Instruments Shruthi) could really open up some interesting avenues. I could use a small MIDI keyboard, but the idea of stomping on an A/B switch and triggering it from the guitar is kind of appealing. Since the Shruthi is a mono synth, the monophonic nature of the Sonuus might not be a limitation. I'm thinking of ambient/spacey noises, or slow filter-swept pad type sounds rather than trying to play riffs or basslines, so perhaps the latency would be less of an issue than it is for people trying to play funk bass with it. Has anyone on here tried the G2M, and do you reckon I could use it for this without too much frustration?

It looks like one of these: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Double-bass-pick-up-/190451348663?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c57c8f4b7"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Double-bass-pick-up-/190451348663?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c57c8f4b7[/url]

The big bridges do look a bit weird. I'd be inclined to stick one of these on the five string version: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bass-Guitar-Bridge-5-String-Chrome-With-Mounting-Pegs-Screws-allen-key-/281265741124?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item417cbe9d44"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bass-Guitar-Bridge-5-String-Chrome-With-Mounting-Pegs-Screws-allen-key-/281265741124?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item417cbe9d44[/url]

I built a little valve overdrive/preamp box a while ago which was loosely based on the Real McTube design. I added a simple tone control in between the two stages (of the kind used in some 50s Fender amps) and changed some component values to make it more amp-y sounding than the stock circuit. Any more complex passive tone stack would be more lossy and you might not have enough signal to overdrive the second triode. Sweepable mids would need an active tone stack and increase the parts count greatly, to the point where you'd essentially be designing something from the ground up. I'm quite happy with mine, it doesn't get into high gain distortion but is excellent for a bit of grit and it works well as a slightly dirty boost too. My one reservation is that it's quite picky about what the output is plugged into - it's fine into any high impedance input like you would use with a passive bass, but it doesn't work well if it's plugged into a lower impedance input. In my usual setup it's not an issue, but I thought I'd mention it. There are some photos and my modified schematic in this thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/182457-valve-preamp-overdrive-pedal/page__view__findpost__p__1744666"]http://basschat.co.u...ost__p__1744666[/url]

[quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1429623447' post='2753321'] How 'super light weight' are we talking? [/quote] I think CamdenRob is another EA Wizzy 10 user, so I guess it would have to be no heavier than the Wizzy (17lbs) to be a desirable alternative, though I presume that one of your 10" drivers would probably get louder than the Wizzy 10 does. Something to compete with the Greenboy designed Crazy-8 cab.

If these have metal cores and winding inside, I wonder if someone could build a bass uke with ordinary magnetic pickups? It might solve some of the string-to-string balance problems that crop up with the piezo bridges.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1429604486' post='2752990'] Acoustic bass deko. 5 string. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_b_35nt_acoustic_bass_s_deko.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...bass_s_deko.htm[/url] [/quote] I wonder how many they've got? The last batch of these must have been quite big as they stayed around for a while.

I got a couple of sets of the old formula Elixirs about 15 years ago from a guitar show stand, along with assorted freebies like a plastic mug and t-shirt. I found that the coating on the old style Elixirs used to peel in a most offputting manner after a couple of months, as though my bass had dandruff. I don't know if they did this for everyone or if my playing style or body chemistry at the time did them in. The mug is still going strong though, I take it camping in the summer!

I think they're likely to be the same drivers, as all the other Faital 6" drivers have much higher Fs and don't look suitable for bass at all. I'm sure I could get something viable out of them, but on balance the 1x8" looks like a more sensible choice for me.

I did a little more reading on Xmax calculations. It looks like P-Audio use (voice coil height - gap depth) / 2. If I do the same calculation for the Faital 6FE100 for a like-for-like comparison between the two, it comes out at a rather less impressive 3.25mm. Thinking about it some more, I've decided to go with the P-Audio! It weighs hardly anything at 1.5Kg and should be able to move a little more air, so should make for a useful little cab. I'll do a simple plywood box with a tube port, which will probably look quite similar to Jecklin's cab when I'm done. Stevie, I'm wondering what port tuning you went with for yours. I've been looking at this driver in WinISD, and it seems to be a bit of a balancing act between keeping decent power handling down low and keeping port length reasonable for a small box.

Is it really a bass uke, or is it some sort of error in the title? The strings and tuners look an awful lot like a standard uke.

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1429359628' post='2750769'] Good thinking. If you're not happy you could always fit an 8" driver in the same cab as long you make the baffle removable. By the way, make sure you're comparing xmax figures measured the same way - Faital are more optimistic than P.Audio. [/quote] The removable baffle may be a good call anyway, as I don't fancy trying to work on the inside (for bracing and lining) through little 6" openings. The cab shape and size I'm looking at would certainly fit a single 8" with a port underneath as a plan B, though the volume then would be closer to 15 litres due to the space occupied by the port. X-max between different manufacturers is a subject I don't really have a handle on yet. For example, I've read that Faital's method of measuring it comes out optimistic while Celestion's figures are conservative, but I haven't read enough yet to figure out how different manufacturers compare on this.

I can sort of see where both Bootsy and Bill F. are coming from here. I guess some adjustment of expectation is required for a musical genre where speakers with wildly uneven frequency response, running past their Xmax and distorting, over a background of port-chuffing noise would be considered a desirable sound and it's going to seem downright ridiculous to someone who has spent decades designing these properties out of their speakers. But on the other hand, walking into a dimly lit room with a band making that kind of sound through a huge array of weirdly cobbled together equipment can have its own particular impact. Though if you put it together and find it's not quite doing what you wanted, Alex's advice on porting would probably be a good avenue to investigate.

I had a bit more of a play around with WinISD, comparing the Faitals I already have at hand with the P-Audio driver. I think the Faital 2x6" might still be worth a shot, considering that they're sat here waiting to be used. In a 16l sealed box they get as loud as the P-Audio (which I modelled in a 16l box tuned to 45Hz) from 80Hz upwards, both in terms of efficiency and maximum SPL. A bit more low end is available if the box is a couple of litres larger and ported, but since I'm going for small rather than loud here I think I'll try them sealed first. It's not going to push much fundamental, but it looks like it should be quite even sounding from the first harmonic upwards and would make for a nice slim box to tuck under my arm and get the bus with, or to squeeze into tiny spaces.

[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1429261739' post='2749713'] I can see that the psychedelic paint job might might appeal to disco and funk players. Which is slightly ironic, because you'd never be able to play octaves on that thing... [/quote] I dunno, I'm sure you could string it with two E strings an octave apart. Instant disco machine!