BassmanPaul

You'd definitely need an underwire Bra to hold that rack safely! 😊

Just for the fun of it: 

On 12/02/2024 at 07:02, Phil Starr said:

For me it's the sound of my bass but louder, and I practice at home with a Zoom and headphones or straight through the desk with studio monitors so that sound. I'd describe it as FRFR though (full range flat response) and it does me as a sound as it shows up all my mistakes which is what you want for a practice.

Amen to that! Exactly my thoughts too. It took me years to find the sound I was looking for and now I've found it. I sound like a bass and not a fuzzed out low strung guitar!!

I had three sixes all made by Carvin in the US. First was `a white body with a Maple neck and Ebony finger board. I still own that one. Next came a beautiful fretless in Koa with an Ebony neck. The thought of the wide expanse of black Ebony worried me so I had them install fret lines. This is my favourite bass to play. It's still here with me. After surviving my third stroke my wife bought me another bass this time in Walnut. It was incredibly heavy!! This  one I sent to my nephew who I discovered plays bass. He is studying at Oxford. He loves the instrument. Sound wise all three suffered a bit with the first and sixth strings. The pickups were standard size Jazz bass and I felt there was not enough magnet under those strings. I had them all changed out for EMG soap bars and they all now sound wonderful!!

Being booked for an appearance on Toronto's Breakfast Television I took both the white and the fretless with me. For some reason when It was our time I picked up the fretless! It was the first time I had ever played it in concert.  The show went well and later I discovered the clip of our show on YouTube! I was gobsmacked! It's the only video I have of me playing. LOL

I just watched all of the Star Wars movies, not at one sitting I should add!! LOL

When I first went to using rack gear I had a power bar, a Korg tuner, a pre-amp and a 1400W Class AB power amp. Looked great but I could hardly lift it. The system sounded great so I was prepared to accept the weight.  I should add: I was a LOT younger then too!!!

I started using Snark clip on tuners so the Korg was removed. Through many iterations rack units came and went. Crossovers, EQs, and other units got swapped in and out as time passed.  I still have a plethora of these various components hanging around my workshop. LOL

My final assembly, in a four space SKB rack case, consists of a 2KW capable Class D power amp and a Tube pre-amp I built to drive it. I can lift the whole thing with just two fingers.  It supplies around 1KW into two of my Acme Sound B2 speaker cabinets. It gives me the full 2KW when I use all four of my B2 boxes. 

As a fellow six string player what is that gorgeous bass hanging above theMesa amp??

You'll get tired of toting that rack pretty quick! LOL

@Beedster did you try the old saw of linking the Send and Return of the Effects Loop with a signal cable to see if that helps?

You may have no choice but to go to a Class D head in the future. I think you'll find that Class AB amplifiers are going to be less and less available. I really don't understand what the negativity is about Class D amps.  All my amps are now Class D from may bass amp to my PA systems. Lack of heft you say? My amp has all the heft that anyone could wish for. Pushing two or four of my Acme Sound B2 three way cabinets I can almost blow the roof off any venue I've used it in.

That will throw the impedance matching right out the window.  if you have an amplifier like this it needs to be teated properly. Besides which, why have a 400W amp just to use 200W?

If you are buying new I'd be looking at what @agedhorse has at Mesa.  You would also have a direct connection here to the designer.

I've been playing since I was sixteen in 1962. Yes I'm ancient!  I've only been through a handful.

Mind you, I have designed and built several of them. I also just didn't have the funds to spare for equipment. Especially after moving to Toronto  with a wife and two small boys. At one time, thankfully now long ago, my day job paid the mortgage and the band put food on the table. LOL

Enjoy your new amp but  don't get a hernia lifting it!

If you ever need a re-tube you'll have to take out a mortgage!!  I left all tube amps behind decades ago but I do like to have a tube somewhere  in my signal chain.

I hope it keeps you happy for a little while before you start lusting after something else. LOL

If you do go the pair of 2x10s route stack them on their ends to create a vertical 4x10. They work so much better in that configuration  out in the room and you'll be able to hear yourself better on stage.

For myself, I really don't get the fuss over fan noise. Sure I can hear it but after  short while I don't even notice it anymore. Fans have a purpose and that is to keep the electronics cool. Without fan cooling the heatsinks would have to be far, far larger adding to the size and weight of the product.

This thread got me to reminiscing about my journey with amplification.

#1 - VOX AC50 with its 18" Foundation speaker cabinet. The cabinet was not equipped with handles so I had to add them. The whole set up was very poor so

        I rebuilt the amp with two channels. it was much better but I wanted more!! LOL

#2 - Epiphone Constellation with its matching 15" speaker cabinet. The original driver had blown and was replaced with a Wharfdale 15". Was a good amplifier.

#3- Fender Bassman with its 2x12 cabinet.  It was horrible. I returned it the next day. They had sold the Epiphone but I left the Bassman anyway.

#4 - now needing an amp I owned a Leak TL50  power amp that I paid five quid for. I built a tube pre-amp to drive. it. The amp had that convenient Octal socket for a pre-amp

        so I used that for power.

#5 In Toronto - I used a Sansui 50W per channel stereo receiver. I plugged into the microphone input. I'd set it up at the gig and tuned in some music while we finished set up.

#6 - I built a 150W tube amp with parts I brought with me from the UK.

#7 -  Getting into transistors I built a 200W per channel power amp. It worked first time!! Yea!!

         I built a solid state pre-amp to drive it and the whole rig was wonderful. I still have all the units that comprised the amp.

#8 - Now I use a 2KW capable class D power amp. I designed a tube pre-amp to drive it and it sounds great. Mounted in a four space SKB rack case I can lift it with just two fingers. 

#9 - Sort of. I bought an Ampeg B15NF with its matching 15" speaker box. It needed some love so I recapped it and put new tubes into it.  I fund that the amp was not happy with modern 6L6GCs  and I traced the problem to the 270K resistors feeding the bias supply to the output tubes. Reading the RCA tube manual it specified 100K resistors maximum for this service. I installed 100K and the amp was happy. The next problem that arose was flash over in the GZ34 rectifier tube when coming off standby.  A fellow bass player on TalkBass @beans-on-toast suggested preceeding the rectifier plates with a silicon diode each. The modification worked and the amp is now happy. As am I and the B15 is my practice amp and will never leave me. LOL

Sorry for the long winded post but I just couldn't stop writing.

GK make excellent amplifiers but they are not for everyone. We all have preferences to how we sound. If the GK isn't doing it for you move on.

@Longwheelbass When you have the amp repaired please be so kind as to post the diagnosis so we can add to our knowledge base.

Turn down the bass itself to avoid clipping. Nothing needs to be cranked full on for a recording. You could also just go Direct into a mixer channel.

Time to take the unit to an amp Doctor for a check up. 

56 minutes ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

If I was going to take the time to do that I'd use biscuit joints.

You have good woodworking skills. Most of us, especially me,  don't! LOL

😁😁

On 24/12/2023 at 06:50, Dev R said:

Thank you for your input Stevie. I will try it both ways!

Wot? and risk having kids?

The OP could try mine or even plug into my B15NF at any time but I think the commute would be time consuming!

In my mind the thing you need to look at is the efficiency of the installed drivers. With only 100W of power available efficiency is a vital consideration.