itu

If you are really interested in an acoustic, take a look at these to increase GAS:

http://www.rigelinstruments.com/publish/abg.shtml

https://jakewildwood.blogspot.com/2011/08/c2011-rigel-acoustic-bass-guitar.html

http://www.stollguitars.de/en/instruments/acoustic-basses/

http://www.kbguitars.com/wordpress/?page_id=626

http://www.chrislarkinguitars.com/instruments-gallery/acoustic-bass-guitars.html

http://www.sonntag-guitars.com/english/Archtops/Archtop-Acoustic-Bass.php

Something smaller:

https://www.bassplayer.com/gear/journey-instruments-expands-line-of-collapsible-carbon-fiber-acoustic-travel-bass-guitars

Last, but not least is the guitarron (listen to Fairground Attraction - Perfect and Eagles - New kid in town).

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/339780-bartolini-9j1-set-3-months-old/

acoustic, AER, Aguilar, Alusonic, Ampeg, Ashdown, Barefaced, Bergantino, Carvin, Darkglass, EBS, Eden, Eich, Epifani, Euphonic Audio, Fender, GK, Genzler, Glockenklang, Hartke, Hiwatt, Kustom, Matamp, Markbass, Marshall, Mesa, Orange, Peavey, Phil Jones, Quilter labs, SWR, Tech 21, tce, TKS, Trace Elliot, Vanderkley, Warwick... please continue (although not every company exists or has a 4x10" in their program).

5 hours ago, thodrik said:

I believe that the SVT II runs on 2 ohm or 4 ohm load, so you should ideally be looking for a single 4 ohm cabinet or two compact cabinets. Since your amp can handle a 2 ohm load, it might be fun to get two lightweight 4 ohm 2x10s.

It is feasible to check the specs (yes, SVT II is able to do that). Not every amp can. There may be thermal issues. See:

P = UI and U = ZI => P = ZII => I = sqrt(P/Z)

sqrt (300 W / 1 ohm) = sqrt(300) A = 17.3 A (4 mm² cable needed, 17 V)

sqrt (300 W / 2 ohm) = sqrt(150) A = 12.2 A (2.5 mm² cable needed, 25 V)

sqrt (300 W / 4 ohm) = sqrt (75) A = 8.7 A (1.5 mm² cable needed, 34 V)

sqrt (300 W / 8 ohm) = sqrt (37.5) A = 6.1 A (1.5 mm² cable needed, 49 V)

Voltage is not a problem because you can compare it with how fast the electrons are travelling. Current on the other hand can be described as the area the electrons need for travelling (hence the cable and amp parts needs to be thicker or they melt). While the amp has limitations to push current, the output power will become less when the impedance (the load) gets harder (smaller number). Usually this is the case and harder loads are not supported. Your 500 W amp may become a 20 W amp with array of cabs in its output.

Quite interesting, that the max SPL is only 124 dB and 121 dB @ 33 Hz. Not overly loud.

This relates to pretty low sensitivity and 600 W power handling capacity. To get something like 130 dB @ 33 Hz, the power handling should be close to 5 kW. The amp should be able to produce that power, too.

30 - 50 - 70 - 90 from Rotosound. These are really light!

http://www.rotosound.com/funkmaster/

Nowadays something like 40 - 60 - 75 - 95 (- 125) from D'Addario or 40 - 58 - 80 - 102 from GHS. Always stainless.

http://daddario.com/DADProductDetail.Page?ActiveID=3769&productid=143&productname=EPS220_5_ProSteels_5_String_Bass__Super_Light__40_125__Long_Scale

https://www.ghsstrings.com/products/11286-bass-super-steelstm?category_id=1964708-super-steelstm

Those pickups were some sort of double coils, as they only worked together. Probably the magnets were reversed for the other half of the coil. I had one years back and when I tried an ordinary J pickup in the bridge, the other half (G+D or A+E) was always out of phase. So do not mix as they do not match.

The electronics were not fancy at all, I would seriously consider something else. An active two band tone capsule might be far more flexible than that simple Washburn preamp. I could not see that lame PCB in any original Status bass.

First and foremost, the sound is small. If you want some loudness, use an amp or buy a double bass.

Don't be afraid of the fixed bridge, especially if you go fretless. Intonation is not an issue at all. Action can be tweaked with a file.

Piezo reads any string that vibrates. Tuning the instrument so that the piezo/bridge parts work well may take few minutes.

I have to say that I hated my instrument, a Kramer Ferrington. Sharp corners (think about your right hand on top of that bulky box), very quiet... I even tried piccolo strings on it and then it sang a bit. But the loudness (the lack of it) was the main reason to sell it. There was nothing I couldn't do with an electric bass. Some have said that it is good at home while practicing. Not me, no more.

On 29/03/2019 at 19:35, Bigwan said:

https://shift-line.com/card.php?device=10086

Ordered it. Let''s see, what it is. Bought it via Reverb.

12 hours ago, Passinwind said:

...there is also a brief overview here: http://passinwind.com/DIY.html

Have to say, that I love your work. The idea of having a fully parametric EQ in the preamp section is top! Many times I have had issues with different places: some frequency is dead or even worse, the other way around. On the other hand P-EQ gives many possibilities to tweak the sound of the bass. My Glockenklang Soul has very functional EQ - but it lacks parametric. I have a cheap para by Artec and it can save the place related issues. Quality it is not but can be a temporary help in need.

OK, to clarify things a bit before someone wants to put words to my mouth: It is fine to get THAT sound from any preamp or signal route someone happens to love.

Me, I am after components that can offer transparent sound. I am not totally satisfied with my MG's bartolini pre, although the pickups I do like. I changed the hi-Z parts (vol & blend) to their active counterparts and the sound changed. Even the NTMB behaves better now.

My wish would be an adjustable LPF, a parametric, and a tilt EQ. In this order. My Vigier Passions (series II) have a treble and a semi-parametric that I like. I could change that treble to an Alembic type filter circuitry. But before them I want buffered pickup outputs. It means that then lo-Z vol or blend or tone do not affect each other.

1 hour ago, TJ Spicer said:

Sadowsky, Sadowsky, Sadowsky...

...only has active tone. It does not have a completely lo-Z signal route. Just tone.

2 minutes ago, TJ Spicer said:

Any other tone shaping I do is simply between pickup selection and my hands. That makes the biggest difference to me and is the biggest ‘eq’ I find. 

And that is actually the hi-Z part of the preamp. Plain blend (and vol) pot.

I was after that Noll to get a lo-Z blend. Now I have it. It is different.

Is your signal route active from the blend to tone or just tone? I am interested in the buffered mixing to prevent load issues with the pickups. Passive carbon pots are something I downright hate. I built few step attenuators with metal film resistors. I tried few different alternatives of how many dBs one step is and the total resistance. Simple maths.

Now I have a Noll Mixpot before a bartolini NTMB in my Modulus Graphite. Sound got an upgrade.

If you use a hi-Z (passive) bass, I would try compressor or od/dist/fuzz right after the bass and move the tuner further away in the signal chain.

Tuner may have a lo-Z output and its output may sound very different with those effects mentioned. So try these alternatives before attaching the units to your board.

I want to drive my effects with my bass before putting the signal to compressor IF the compressor's sound does not change too much, if it is later in the chain. This is so much trial and error - there are no absolute truths here.

3 hours ago, BigRedX said:

I can't see the point in having an on-board pre-amp that just duplicated what you should be able to do better on your amp.

This is very good point. If that bass preamp can give as good a performance as that amplifier's preamp, fine. Think about Anthony Jackson's choice in his Foderas: a pickup, a wire and a Neutrik output jack. No preamp, no lousy pots. Maybe those mixing desks have somewhat better performance...

@Passinwind: Please tell me about your setup in greater detail.

Do agree. I did not mean, that they do not exist at all.

I feel that Britons have more edge (not that Edge!) in their music. Americans tend to be a bit too happy and politically correct. They just can not say that they feel bad in minor. As was said earlier, Motown is top as there are also other acts that can not be beaten but overall I like Sex Pistols over Mariah Carey.

I suggest you grease that truss rod threads well when it arrives. It is very easy to do it before it goes inside that neck. Put some thicker good quality grease there and it will work for decades. At least the one I bought needed some greasing to work flawlessly.

I use the term lo-Z (low impedance) rather than active as it tells more about the important instrument output than "active" or "passive". Output, because it is the one seen by effects and amplifier inputs.

NOTE: The hi-Z output of the passive bass may behave differently (than a lo-Z) with certain effects (especially od/dist/fuzz and compressor) or amplifier's preamp. That sound may be hard or downright impossible to achieve with lo-Z output. Because the output of any effect is lo-Z, bass output can affect only the first unit after that instrument.

Bass signal route is usually like this:

pickups - blend - vol - tone - output

Blend - vol may be vol - vol but does not change the principle. If any part of the system is active the system output is low impedance (lo-Z). If you have an EMG fully active system (BTS + active pickups) the signal route is lo-Z all the way. Usually this is not the case.

Very often the "active bass" has only active tone sculpting electronics. Good side is that these modules are easy to bypass or replace. Bad is that the (cheap) hi-Z blend and volume pots affect the sound of pickups (except in the case of lo-Z EMGs). If you want to buy a preamp, an Artec costs around £20 and has practically the same parts in it as that £200 Aguiklangowsky. If you want to get lo-Z blend and tone to your hi-Z pickups, you need to buy something else (East) or put a puzzle together by yourself.

My choice was to include Noll's Mixpot (around £50) before a bartolini tone. Now the bass sounds different, yes. This setup was (relatively) cheap to me as the NTMB was already in the bass. Bad side was that I lost the A/P switch for the NTMB. It is of no use, as the Mixpot needs battery, too. (It might be feasible to have a simple override switch for all electronics, and be able to use the neck pickup in case of dead battery. Maybe.)

East is the most flexible system that I know at the moment, as it has both hi-Z and lo-Z signal routes. It is also cheaper than the active-only-Sadowsky tone, so I think it is the alternative to who ever thinks about high quality hi-Z and lo-Z system in one well designed set.

You should check specs. Find the max SPL if it is available. If it is not, find the sensitivity. You can calculate max SPL via sensitivity and max wattage.

If these numbers are not available, you can only trust your ears.

If you put the elements (each 16 ohm) in parallel, the total impedance is 8 ohms.

If you connect them in series, you get 32 ohms.

1 hour ago, chris_b said:

So 8 ohms might generate less heat but if an amp is designed to give its maximum power at 4 ohms then I would expect 4 ohms to be easily doable.

If the heat generated by 4 ohms is with in the design spec then why should there be a problem with running an amp within its stated range?

Once more: 

If you compare the power between 8 and 4 ohm load, there is difference, yes. Some amp may give 200 W to 8 ohms and even 400 W to 4 ohms but maybe only 500 W to 2 ohms. As the load becomes harder to the amp, the ability (or the lack of it) to drive that load may affect the amp's maximum output. Bigger number equals easier load to the amp. Naturally it is not wise to exceed specifications to any direction.

If you compare sound level between 8 and 4 ohm loads, there is practically no difference. You probably can not hear that.

Amp's wattage has very little to do with loudness. Max SPL talks another language and that is directly related to the cab.

It is not intelligent to compare loudness and wattage within a system when parts are separated. You need to take all parts to that equation. If you do not know the max SPL of the cab and its other specs, it is no reason to try to approximate the maximum loudness of the system through a simple number from the amp.

The most important thing is that it is attached well. So if you make a change, tighten the screws (to body) after a month or so.

I think that there are few different designs: some attach bridge pieces together with screws so they do not move anywhere, while some have these F-type saddles that may move under some serious funkin'. I have had that issue with one Wilkinson bridge. Took some time to find the reason for funny rattle.

It may be so that the FX loop (send/return) is corroded, so put a short cable there to connect pre and power amps.

If the vol needs to go beyond 12 o'clock, there is not too much power in the amp OR the gain is too low.

Every EQ (B, T, M, shape etc.) is actually part of the gain circuitry. If you boost with EQ, you should lessen the gain. Soundwise it is usually more effective to cut with EQ and boost with gain.

Make trial without any effects: put the amp vol to around 10 o'clock. Set your EQ. Add gain until you get audible distortion. Back up that gain just a bit to remove it. This is the gain level you should use. Do not care about the level meter reading, trust your ears. Usually those meters should reach that red area from time to time with reasonable, undistorted levels.

Tilt EQ is similar to Quad's stereo preamps (models 34 & 44) or some older Steinberger basses (with EMG electronics). There is certain center frequency, here 330 / 1k. When you boost bass, you cut treble and vice versa. You can not use that EQ as a booster (both full) so "smile" type of equalization is not possible. I like it because it gives lots of power in one single knob without overdriving the amplifier.

http://www.quadrevisie.eu/quadrevisie.html

Have to say that the Stella ("Star") is interesting...