Beer of the Bass

[quote name='stingraybassman' timestamp='1424775286' post='2700224'] I feel like someone should stick up for the OP a little bit here...... I'm guessing the design and prototyping of the Amp will be accompanied with a report/dissertation, half of the experience is finding the issues. This isn't a highly polished concept with sleek marketing and a huge R&D budget, this is someone trying to think outside the box (no pun intended), and do a project with some substance for university. A bit of open mindedness would help from everyone, he isn't going to harm anyone! (insert back related joke) [/quote] Possibly, but a bit of realism as to the practicality and cost wouldn't go amiss, and may even improve the mark he gets. Otherwise the design project will be like that ridiculous solar powered window-mounted mains socket which did the rounds a couple of years ago - an attractive concept but with absolutely no regard to the feasibility. Drawing a box and labelling it "500 watt valve amplifier" seems rather meaningless if you can't reasonably demonstrate that a 500 watt valve amplifier could be built in the proposed box at the proposed cost.

I have a short-scale tenor too, mine is an old Concertone open-back. Apparently these were made by Slingerland. I have mine in GDAE tuning, mostly because I already played mandolin and octave mandola and it makes everything more transferrable. Actually it's been a while since I've played mine and I keep thinking about selling it, but my wife won't let me because she likes it!

[quote name='Jenny_Innie' timestamp='1424729237' post='2699863'] It's the H&H I'm referring to. His like a snake they do - all of 'em. [/quote] The HH combos might (a lot of 70s transistor amps do), but the hiss comes from the amp rather than the speakers. Hiwatt amps are at the less noisy end of big valve amps as the design and build were scarily well done. I've dabbled with building my own valve amps and I kind of wish I could get mine as neat as Hiwatt did - they set a pretty high standard!

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1424718742' post='2699620'] Where dat? I can no BFM see. [/quote] The OP double-posted this on the amps & cabs forum (where Bill F commented) and a mod appears to have deleted the thread. Hopefully a kindly mod could merge the deleted thread with this one. If you were to guess that he was somewhat sceptical of the concept, you'd be barking up the right tree.

Do you mean that you're intending to make the speaker cab from perspex? I'm not sure how good an idea that is, since it would have to be thick and heavy to achieve the necessary stiffness, and speaker cabs should really be lined with wadding or acoustic foam which would spoil the visual impact of using a clear material. It does seem rather like design for design's sake. I'd be surprised if you can get a valve amp and cabinet to market at that price too (especially as a small startup company) unless it's a small single-ended design of limited utility to bassists. Or have I misunderstood you and the £600 is for the cab alone? It might be worth checking out the pricing structure of small UK amp builders like Flynn or Matamp to figure out what is feasible. A 200 watt valve amp is inevitably a large and expensive thing, and 500 watt valve amps don't really exist in the market. This is not intended to be overly negative, I'm just questioning whether your targets are realistic.

Listening to it a bit more I'm curious about the drums. There are one or two tracks where I'm not certain if they're live or programmed. Not that it makes any difference to my enjoyment of the music, but this sort of process stuff is interesting to know.

It'll work and it shouldn't break anything as long as the impedance isn't grossly mismatched, though some guitar amps will sound better for bass than others. Some guitar amps use small output transformers which limit the headroom at bass frequencies, and higher gain preamps often have a lot of low-end roll-off built in to stop the overdrive from sounding mushy. I'd say give it a go, and you'll either like it or not.

I'd say that antique looking instruments are definitely appreciated in the DB world. A lot of the finer instruments are over 100 years old, and typically an original finish is considered to be preferable to a new looking refinish. It's quite common for new instruments to be made to look old too, though usually in a more subtle way than in relic'ed bass guitars, as oil varnish doesn't tend to craze or flake off like nitrocellulose lacquer does. My own double bass is pretty weathered looking, though it's a combination of age, careless handling and a crudely brushed-on finish that didn't adhere very well to the original varnish underneath rather than anything deliberate.

There is a downside to that. If he cracks and accepts the offer, one of you will end up owning it!

I'm having a listen at the moment and enjoying it. There are some elements which are familiar from the Prescott album, but the feel is quite different overall. I shall be downloading this!

Perhaps I have cloth ears, but I've tried swapping modern EH and Sovtek 12AX7s with old Mullard and Brimar ECC83s in a couple of different amps, and any difference was so subtle that I couldn't be sure I wasn't imagining it. Both amps had fairly low-gain, clean sounding preamps, so it could be that the differences are in their behaviour when overdriven.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1424507934' post='2696987'] Nor is mine stamped there. Having thought about it, it probably wouldn't weaken the bass. But, I'm very pleased that they are stamping the heel now, not the actual wood. [/quote] Mine has two stamps, one on the heel and one on the body like in the photo. The stamp on the body is over where the neck block is, so I wouldn't worry about it weakening anything.

Is anyone brave/daft (delete as applicable) enough to offer him a mere £8.5 million and see how he reacts?

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1424465069' post='2696730'] Sorry If I am missing something, but on what grounds could you return it anyway? I would have thought these would be strictly no returns given they are sold as defect items? [/quote] You can't return it as a faulty item, but under the distance seller's regulations, any item bought online can be returned within 14 days without having to give a reason. Some retailers charge a restocking fee for this which will be buried in their terms and conditions somewhere.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1424456326' post='2696584'] If he wants to shift it he should offer it for less than nine million pounds, imho. [/quote] I reckon you could have got away without the "imho" on that statement! He'd have a better chance of a sale if he just parted it out for the EMGs and hardware.

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1424392038' post='2695977'] Interesting... How does that work acoustically? I don't get it. [/quote] I'm not great at explaining the physics, but it helps to look up Helmholtz Resonance. A cavity with an opening or port in it, like an acoustic guitar body, has a resonant frequency which is affected by the volume of the cavity and the area and length of the port. This resonance provides some reinforcement to the the bass, not just at this frequency but in a band around it - if you've ever tried using one of those feedback-buster soundhole plugs you can hear that the instrument sounds thin and quiet without this effect. You can hear this resonance by damping the strings and humming low notes into the soundhole until you find the one where you can hear the body boom. On this bass, this was around the lowest G I can hum, which is the pitch of the open G string on a bass (around 100Hz). Lengthening the opening lowers this frequency. I'm not certain where it is with the tube in place, as G is near the bottom of my vocal range and I can't hum as low as the new resonance! The bass reinforcement which comes from the soundhole now happens slightly lower, making the instrument a little deeper sounding. It might not do something useful on every instrument, but it's an interesting thing to try.

Like quite a few people on here, I bought one of the Harley Benton acoustic basses from Thomann which were being sold as unplayable "deko" models due to some minor flaws. I've been enjoying playing mine and it's a fun instrument to noodle on in the front room. I'd found that while the acoustic volume was not terrible, the tone is a little thin, without much bass underpinning the low notes. I'd seen the Planet Waves O-Port mentioned as something which could help the low end of ABGs - it's a funnel shaped plastic ring which fits inside the soundhole. I did a little reading about the concept and found out that the idea had been used by classical guitar luthiers as well as on the Selmer Macaferri guitars - it was originally called a Tornavoz. It is essentially a tube in the soundhole which lowers the resonant frequency of the box, similar to adjusting the port tuning in a speaker cab. I came across this link about trying a makeshift Tornavoz on a guitar orchestra Contrabass guitar, and decided to give it a go. [url="http://www.hago.org.uk/faqs/contrabass/theory.php"]http://www.hago.org....bass/theory.php[/url] I used a sheet of craft cardboard, formed a cylinder to fit the soundhole and taped it in place. Surprisingly, it does seem to have the desired effect. The volume of the instrument is not much affected but the low notes now have a bit more depth to them. I tried a couple of different depths of tube, a longer 70mm tube helped the low notes but thinned things out a little higher up. A shorter 55mm tube was a better compromise. I may try and find a sturdier, better looking way to do it, but it would appear that the idea is one that works for these basses. The effect is fairly subtle but does make a satisfying difference in my opinion. I thought I would mention it here in case anyone else wanted to try it...

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1424344547' post='2695307'] 'Very playable', but 'unable to adjust truss rod'. Would you? I wouldn't. [/quote] If it was very, very cheap and the neck relief was already where I like it I would consider it, otherwise no. I've already replaced one neck due to an ineffective truss rod, and I'd rather not be in that position again.

In some ways it's a shame he hasn't moved on from the Underwood live (or at least hadn't the last time I heard him). It's a good sound and it works, but I feel like it's not getting his whole sound across as you would hear recorded. Still, the fact that he's focussed on his performance rather than getting sidetracked with gear geekery perhaps says something I could learn from!

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1424290905' post='2694883'] I do miss him [/quote] He's still very much in business. I'm waiting for someone to set up a fan page for the man on facebook!

Spirocores would be a good start, but I'd agree that technique is a big part too. Setup also helps with getting that growl, (fingerboard dressing in particular) as I found I could get much closer to that sound on a bass which had been set up by a luthier who played jazz bass rather than a strictly classical-strings luthier. There's a bit of a balance to be found though, as Thompson's sound has a solid and woody attack as well as the growl, and it's easy to focus on the growl and miss the attack...

Rickenbacker basses are similarly thin bodied. Some thought might be required about how to do the neck joint, but that suggests it could be workable.

Was the other one not a Squier body? I'm waiting for the Kay bass bodies with strat necks on them! Will he be "improving" a series of these as a hobby/business like a certain other eBayer who we shall not mention?

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1424091268' post='2692433'] I'm sure multi million selling, multi millionaire, wrote a couple of classic songs Noel Gallagher would be sad if he read your comments! [/quote] That would be why I said "I'm sure Oasis fans hear something in it that I'm missing". I'm well aware that he's done very well for himself and lots of people love Oasis, even if I'm not quite feeling that myself. Anyway, I've a feeling the man wouldn't be bothered and would probably rip the p*ss out of my music in a most colourful manner. He does give an entertaining interview!

I'm not a huge fan of either, but I'd rate the Kaiser Chiefs much more highly than Oasis. They've just got a bit more wit about their lyrics, some decent tunes and they don't appear to take themselves overly seriously. I'm sure Oasis fans hear something in it that I'm missing, but I've never been able to associate Oasis with anything other than lowest common demoninator plodding mediocrity.