Bill Fitzmaurice

2 hours ago, parker_knoll said:

i disagree. I have a lot of guitar pres (and full amps) that deliver a very nice bit of clipping with preamp tubes alone.

If that's with guitar amps the speakers are contributing to that clipping, by virtue of the short xmax and break up modes of guitar drivers.

https://www.midbass.com/how-to-understand-ts-parameters/

Upgrading is possible, if you have a basis for comparison. At a minimum that requires testing your speakers for frequency response, and knowing their T/S specs. 

At least we're not using cubits, though they did manage to build the pyramids with them.

1 hour ago, Chienmortbb said:

 You would not want to buy something fitted with UNC or UNF threads on the screws, why live your life in the past? 

In the US metric hardware, as in nuts and bolts, have pretty much replaced Imperial entirely. It started with cars, when the best selling cars in the US were all Japanese, and the US manufacturers were forced to follow suit. It became complete when almost every product made was of Chinese origin. But as for going full metric about the only product that has done so is alcohol. 

On 22/01/2026 at 19:32, tauzero said:

Why don't they give the weights in proper instead of groats and furlongs, or at least as well of them? .

So when I watch British TV programs (which is almost every day) why do they keep referring to feet, pounds and miles per hour? 🤔 It reminds me of the story of the man who was confused while visiting Quebec. The faucets in his bathroom were both marked C. When he asked the front desk why they both said 'C' the clerk replied 'the one C stands for Cold. The other stands for Chaud. We are bi-lingual.' 

Burying a post at the end of an unrelated zombie thread tends to be unproductive. You should start a new thread.

3 hours ago, Sandypjb said:

I've been using a Markbass LMII 2 x 10 combo with an 8 Ohm Markbass 2 x 12 Ninja Cab with tweeter for ages in pubs - sounds great to my ears. 

Pretty much any two cabs together will sound better than either alone. The only way to know if Cab A plus Cab B is better than 2xCab A or 2xCab B is to try all three combinations side by side. That's not an option for most. 

Cheap connectors are the likely problem. Are your cables equipped with Neutrik? If not replace them- the connectors, that is, not the cables. 

It only delivers 180w into 8 ohms, so you won't have a lot of headroom. The i Pro 600 V2 is a better match. 

4 hours ago, Danuman said:

Do I apply it royally, or just a few squirts here and there?

Everywhere. It can't damage anything, and will displace any residual moisture 

True, so I'd spray the inside with contact cleaner, including in the pots. 

Hoffman's Iron Law .2 : Goes loud, goes low, is inexpensive. Pick any two, but you can't have all three. 

You left out the pedals. That makes it eleven, and not in the good way. 😒

Mechanical coupling, yes, as I noted to keep the speaker from dancing. Acoustical coupling, or decoupling, no. Many of those seen on silly expensive speakers look like they must do something significant, and it's mainly audiophiles who fall for the scam. It's quite odd that so many of those claiming to have 'golden ears' listen with their eyes. 🤔

24 hours is more than enough. For many years my valve amps took the ride to the gig in the back of a van, where there was little to no heat, while being stored during the week in an unheated shed. Mind you the over night temperatures in my area during winter are -5C and lower, often dipping to -20C. The time between when my amp got into the heated club and when I fired it up was about an hour. I never had a problem. 

They were very good friends with Ox, Squire and Lemmie. 😉

Cutting mids will lose you in the mix, but using a pick restores them compared to fingers. I use a pick most of the time, as I like a strong mid presence, but when I want a mellow tone I switch to my fingers. 

Thicker foam of lower density can be beneficial on particularly soft stages. But too thick can result in the cab rocking. 

Spikes don't do anything useful from a sound standpoint. Where they can be beneficial is on a carpeted floor, gripping through the carpet to prevent speaker 'dancing' at high power levels, especially long-excursion subs. The quasi-magical properties attributed to them by some are just more audiophile piffle. 

Mechanical decoupling is an audiophile myth. What vibrates the stage is the acoustical output of the speaker, not mechanical coupling from the cabinet, which would be the tail wagging the dog. What can occur is that the vibrating stage will cause the cabinet to vibrate. The best way to prevent that is with a piece of yoga mat. More on the subject:  https://ethanwiner.com/speaker_isolation.htm

5 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

I contacted Phill to ask a similar question. To paraphrase he said 'we don't quote sensitivity as we don't feel it's useful'.

Translation: It has low sensitivity. To put that into context a 3dB sensitivity difference requires twice the power for the same output. 6dB requires four times the power. IMO knowing sensitivity is very useful, as are frequency response and displacement. Without knowing these one cannot make an objective comparison with other products, and that's the point. 😒

There's no replacement for displacement. Well, there is, horn loading, but then you're talking about a much larger cabinet. The displacement of a premium 4" driver is around 30cc. A middle of the road 8" is around 75cc, a middle of the road 10" is around 150cc. 

5 hours ago, Bolo said:

I'd say much of your problem is here. Mids is the last thing kicks need.  .

+1. Kick is big bottom, not much low bass or mids, but with an upper midrange for the 'click'. Mids on the kick not only compete with the full mix, yourself included, they compete with the toms and snare. 

Keyboard players who lean heavily on the lower keys are the worst. It turns everything to mud. They're supremely guilty of playing what sounds best when they're alone. 

1 hour ago, TimR said:

Educating guitarists that 'their tone' which sounds great at home is banjaxing the whole mix. 

That applies to bass players as well. Full lows and moderate mids sounds great, be it at home or when playing alone on stage. But it's not always that way when the full band kicks in, nor when you go out into the room.