Bill Fitzmaurice

[quote name='NJW' post='103569' date='Dec 12 2007, 04:13 PM']Everytime he hit the distortion, lots of light. Hmm...[/quote]Distortion boosts the high frequency power content, and that would cause the tweeter protect lamp to light up brighter than otherwise. Low frequencies won't light it up. To test this, turn the high EQ all the way off, the light will dim. BTW, the increased HF content caused by distortion can fry a tweeter in a heartbeat, so if you use distortion turn the tweeter down.

[quote name='Peaty' post='103241' date='Dec 12 2007, 09:02 AM']Hello folks, Does any one know who actually makes the speakers in EBS Evolution NeoLine Pro cabinets. Is it EBS or do they source them from another manufacturer? cheers Peter[/quote] You tell us. Take the driver out and look at it. AFAIK only Eden makes their own drivers, and even then only the older ceramic magnets.

[quote name='RIM Basses' post='102939' date='Dec 11 2007, 04:54 PM']When I had my mesa 400+ at full power, I was told that to get the same power out of a solid state rig you would need around 1600w So basicly tube amps are four times louder? Ive been playing a Thunderfunk 550B and I dont really miss the Mesa anymore. Cheers, Robbie[/quote] Tube amps have natural soft-knee compression. 6dB of compression can make the amp seem to be four times as powerful. You don't actually need four times as much SS power, but you do need a properly set high quality compressor.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='102451' date='Dec 10 2007, 05:48 PM']Failing that, buy a big amp and an even bigger cab, cabs! Cheers Steve.[/quote] Threaten them with this possiblility, they will fall in line.

[quote name='DrGonzo' post='101821' date='Dec 9 2007, 01:20 PM']At least, from where I'm standing that seems to be the reason. Either that or I'm talking sh*t, and I'm sure someone will point that out![/quote] Pointed. Distorted signals have excess high frequency power content that can toast tweeters, so hi-fi and PA systems need plenty of amp headroom to minimize the possiblility of distortion. Instrument speakers are designed to handle distorted signals so amp headroom is not a requirement; where guitar is concerned it can be detrimental to tone. Bass cab tweeters can have problems with distorted signals if they aren't robust enough to handle distorted signals, but most are designed to do so.

Make sure that the compression you're getting is within the amp and not the speakers. The average ten in an average cab will only take about 50 watts before it reaches xmax in the 60-100 Hz power bandwidth, so getting an amp that will give them even more may not make any difference.

[quote name='steve' post='101475' date='Dec 8 2007, 02:10 PM']@ gypsymoth and bill so are you saying in your respective (and respected) opinions,that I haven't got enough headroom with the Hartkes?[/quote] The average cab won't take more than 1/2 its rated power before exceeding xmax, and many won't even take that much. Having more is not going to make things any louder. It won't hurt, but it isn't a necessity. There's a very simple way to know if your amp/speakers have adequate power. Are they loud enough? If so, they do.

[quote name='gypsymoth' post='101445' date='Dec 8 2007, 12:34 PM']I think that article is quite misleading on a number of levels -[/quote] +1. It verges on a retelling of the Myth of Underpowering. Some valid points are raised as far as hi-fi and PA are concerned, but pretty irrelevent with regard to instrument amps.

[quote name='nottswarwick' post='97160' date='Dec 1 2007, 06:42 AM']Interesting. Why do so many off the shelf cabs have them horizontally aligned?[/quote] They look better that way.

Two tens vertically aligned offer wider horizontal and narrower vertical dispersion than one twelve. BTW, since the obverse is also the case drivers should never be horizontally aligned.

[quote name='BeLow' post='96550' date='Nov 30 2007, 05:57 AM']I think they link in series rather than parallel whihc theoreticaly might reduce your power output. Maybe some knowlegdeable Nemesis fans will correct me on this?[/quote]The net sensitivity would remain the same, and the increased power handing would potentially allow for more output. However, with series wiring you can't use just any cab. The extension cab would alter the loading of the internal drivers, so anything other than drivers identical to those in the combo would seriously alter tone as well. Series wiring unlike drivers is just a bad idea all around, and should be avoided.

[quote name='AdamWoodBass' post='92951' date='Nov 22 2007, 02:32 PM']Hey guys, like the title says what are the pros and cons of using a small PA for a rig? Does anyone out there just not bother with an amp and go direct? Does anyone use literally a small PA and send a feed to the band PA? Just curious to know what everyone thinks about this?[/quote] The main disadvantage to small PAs is that they won't handle bass. They're tuned to the vocal range and that's all they'll do well.

[quote name='ashevans09' post='91914' date='Nov 20 2007, 06:34 PM']Hmm, I'd disagree with you on that - my guitarist uses a Kustom 4x12 with his NYC Tech 21 head and it sounds absolutely awesome. However he did pay fair whack for it. Maybe there's a large difference in quality between lower end and higher end kustom cabs?[/quote] One advantage to being a guitar player is that what we generally abhorr, high levels of speaker distortion, sounds very good with guitar. The most desired amp in the world by guitar players, the '59 Fender Bassman 4x10 combo, is also one of the worst bass rigs ever made. How any companies speakers or amps sound with guitar can't be used as a indicator for how they may work with bass.

[quote name='Jez' post='91756' date='Nov 20 2007, 02:47 PM']Kustom are an american brand, who make guitar and bass amps, and guitars and basses.[/quote] The only relation between today's Kustom and that which came out of Chanute, Kansas three decades ago is the spelling of the name. It's all Asian now, mostly at the lower midrange of the quality scale. Roughly equivalent to lower end Peavey, for example.

[quote name='crumpet_tramp' post='88874' date='Nov 15 2007, 06:49 AM']Cheers guys hust wanted a quick answer. I'm gona research into a new cab![/quote] Before going to extraordinary effort, consider that if your cab was 4 ohms the potential additional output would be only 3dB. In lay terms, that's about the difference between having your volume knob at seven rather than six. If your rig isn't loud enough adding a second identical cab will give you 6dB. If your rig is loud enough it ain't broke, so it don't need fixing.

[quote name='gilmour' post='87891' date='Nov 13 2007, 09:52 AM'] am I right in thinking the Speakon output is for 2 ohms?[/quote] When a SS amp output is impedance labeled that usually refers to the minimum total load that may be used. As a method of last resort you could consult the manual.

[quote name='bassbloke' post='86953' date='Nov 11 2007, 12:45 PM']You can happily run a transistor amp without a speaker load.[/quote]As you can any direct coupled SS output. No load= no currrent flow. Transformer coupled output stages, tube or SS, must always have a load.

Most line drivers provide sufficient voltage to drive phones, but they won't handle a low impedance load. If you can find phones or buds of at least 600 ohms impedance it would be worth a try,

[quote name='mcgraham' post='84471' date='Nov 6 2007, 10:45 AM']I got the impression he was a violinist based on all his in class examples and in discussion examples, so perhaps a bit of classical prejudice there. I am personally of the opinion that it does make a difference, but that the impact of construction/craftsmanship, pickup location and type along with amplification is greater. I'm not sure to what extent this is true (sometimes I'm not even sure it is!) but I'd perhaps venture out to say to a greater extent rather than a lesser extent. What are your thoughts Bill? Feel free to tear me a new one if you think otherwise. Mark[/quote] They all factor in. Your lecturer probably based his bias on the concept that solid bodies don't have vibrating tops. The problem with that concept is that it's incorrect, solid bodies do vibrate and do have resonance signatures that contribute to tone. Those resonances aren't as potent in the final result as amp EQ or speaker coloration, but OTOH put mic'ed violin through an effects board and guitar amp and you wouldn't be able to tell a Strad from a Strat.

[quote name='mcgraham' post='84334' date='Nov 6 2007, 04:06 AM']I studied physics at uni but never got to discuss much about such things there, although I had a great chat with a lecturer about sound waves and resonances specifically pertaining to electric instruments and how (in his rather authoritative and professional opinion) there should be little to no effect on the sound of a solid body electric instrument as a result of the woods it is made from... Mark[/quote] Obviously not a player he, and IMO not much of an acoustician either. The mass and density of not only the body but all else as well makes as much difference with an electric as it does with an acoustic. One of Les Paul's early goals was to remove the body as a factor in tone, but early on he realized that short of using solid granite that goal was unacheivable. He didn't settle on a maple top over mahogany back just because of how it looked.

Continuous Power = Real World Rating (volts x amps= watts) Program Power = Inflated Rating for Advertising Purposes Peak Power = The Engineering dept has been sacked, only Advertising dept remains. Peak Program Music Power = If You Buy This You'll Buy Anything.

[quote name='OldGit' post='84206' date='Nov 5 2007, 03:43 PM']So could the effect be achieved by any cab with the right eq settings? It seems to be "more different" than that ...[/quote] Here's what happens when you load a 4 cu ft cab with either one (yellow trace) or two Eminence (blue trace) 2512 twelves. With two twelves sensitivity jumps above 80 Hz, but dies below that. Above 80 Hz the ear is literally twice as sensitive as it is below 80 Hz, so there is a major difference in the relative 'loudness' of the two cabs, despite their being the same size. The trade off is that it will take four times the amplifier power to get the same output below 80 Hz from the 2x should you wish to do so.

[quote name='OldGit' post='84189' date='Nov 5 2007, 03:18 PM']Bill can you explain how the Schroeder cabs allow us to be heard clearly all over the stage and venue at a relatively low volume? It's intriguing Thanks[/quote] Search 'Fletcher-Munson' curves. The ear is more sensitive to midbass than low bass frequencies, and Schroeder cabs accentuate the midbass.

[quote name='fusionbassist1' post='84147' date='Nov 5 2007, 02:02 PM']I'm sure that more sound is usually thrown out of a cabinet (or set of cabinets) with a large speaker area than one with small area. as in a 8x10" cab on it's own has 80" speaker area and a 2x10 paired with a 1x15 has 35" speaker area, unless I'm missing some very basic math here.[/quote] You're only thinking in two dimensions, whereas the maximum output of a driver is determined by the product of cone area (Sd) and maximum excursion (Xmax), the result being the three dimensional parameter of displacement (Vd). You can find explanations of driver parameters and how they affect performance here: [url="http://www.eminence.com/resources_data.asp"]http://www.eminence.com/resources_data.asp[/url]

[quote name='gypsymoth' post='84016' date='Nov 5 2007, 10:29 AM']it doesn't hurt to have a high rated speaker,[/quote]Sometimes it does. Output is limited primarily by driver xmax. Where that's concerned a 150 watt Eminence Basslite S2010 will put out more than a 350 watt Kappa Pro 10. There are other pertinent factors as well, for instance the driver Qts. In the case of the S2010 versus the Kappa Pro 10 the very low Qts of the Kappa Pro chokes off its response over an octave higher than the S2010. In most cases drivers with very high power ratings are accompanied with low Qts values, so if you buy a cab with a very high power rating in the quest for more bass output the opposite may be the result.