chris_b

I don't like having to search for a good sound. I just want to plug in and it's there. IME it's easier to do that with good, well matched, gear. Getting a good bass sound isn't about obsessing about the "sound in your head". Depending on how good your imagination is "the sound in your head" has an equal chance of making you sound completely crap as it has of making you sound good. Self delusion is a dangerous thing. I've seen players who think they're getting the best sound ever, who actually sound terrible. It's important that we sound good to others, which means we have to listen to the sound we are actually making in conjunction with the sound they are making. If you want an "extreme" bass sound then you have made a very small target for yourself. For a more traditional bass sound just focus on not sounding bad and you'll sound great in a band. You'll get more gigs by being a good player. So what you play is always more important than how you sound.

"Unique gain structures" doesn't really mean much to me. With boost and cut controls I just start with everything at 12 o'clock and find a good sound from there. If I can't find the sound I want between 11 and 1 o'clock then I know that amp isn't for me. So unsurprisingly all the controls on my TH500 are at 12 o'clock. . . . except. . . . I turn the Drive off (fully anti-clockwise) and the Master is where ever I need it. So far I have never cut and only occasionally boosted the Bass or Treble but never beyond 1 o'clock. I realise it is limited and doesn't have the broad range of a D800+ or even my AG700, but the TH500 makes a sound I like and seems to work particularly well with my Precision. I have heard the effect of the Drive control called subtle. Well it's too subtle for me. I have tried it a few times but don't really hear much of interest from that control.

They will probably have done a lot of work on designing and building a crossover so that the right frequencies are delivered to the correct drivers. If a "punter" puts 2 cabs together they will both be working with the whole signal so if there are mismatches in the drivers that might be apparent in the sound. With a good crossover the different drivers should fit together like a jigsaw, because they will be handling different frequencies. snap!

An amp rated at 150 watts @ 4 ohms will be putting out about 75 watts at 8 ohms. Sorry, IMO your problem is not enough watts. I'd get a 500 watt amp so that you'll have 250 watts available for your 210. Then you can add another 210 if you need more volume. A second 210 will improve your tone as well.

Does the Last Waltz by the Band count?

1) You can pair 8 ohm and 4 ohm cabs. I do with my BF 110 and 210 and in the past with a Berg 112 and 212. If you do that they work very well. 2) Stop generalising. As others have said. . . depends on the cabs in question. 3) Call Vanderkley and ask them. They know their cabs better than anyone.

Again, not true. There are all sizes of drivers and multiples of them. These are all designed and used in conjunction with the aims of the designer. If you think a 15" driver is the way to get low end, you're thinking is out by 30 years.

I would imagine more and smaller ports maintain the integrity, the rigidity, of the panel.

Yes, the SPL is the thing to balance out. People get confused when a Barefaced cab can have the same SPL as an SVT810. One's bigger with more drivers so it must be louder?! Right?!! The sound of a cab is determined by the design of the driver and the design of the cab, not the size of the driver. There are a lot of parameters that beat driver size before you arrive at the sound of a particular cab.

What do you think the 15 will give you that another 210 won't? I replaced a Mesa Boogie 210 and 115 with EV's with an Epifani 410 and got a sound with twice the amount of low end. Because that was the way those cabs were designed. I then replaced the 410 with 2 Berg 112's and reduced the low end but got a much better and balanced sound across the whole range. So size really doesn't matter. It really doesn't. The sound of the cab is the only thing that matters and ears are much better than spreadsheets for working that one out.

I would have thought he solution was obvious. If you really don't like the volume drop off, back off one of the volumes until the "drop off" goes away. But. . . you need to take a step back and understand what the volume controls on the bass are for. They are not there to get you the maximum volume. They are there to balance the pickups in a way that makes the sound you want. After that you use the volume on the amp to make your sound as loud as it needs to be.

As OBBM says, if you are running an 8 ohm cab and a 4 ohm cab together you will want an amp that can deliver 2.67 ohms. The 4 ohm cab will receive 66% of the volume and the 8 ohm cab will receive 33% of the volume from the amp.

I found her and a lot other great bands on youtube. Look down the videos on the right hand side and you'll find a few gems.

Sad news.

He plays in those old lead diving boots.

yes and yes snap!

A great R&B bar band. Quality bass playing.

Up until now the depth of the neck has never had an effect on my playing. It seems my left hand doesn't require much consistency in the necks I play. I just adapt to a wider grip and to wider spaced strings at the nut and on the fret board. I guess we can all relearn, but the one thing my right hand needs, is for the strings to be 18mm or 19mm at the bridge or that will affect my playing. After so many years playing Fender type basses I'm locked into that one.

Lovely tone from CMcB and beautiful flowing lines.

Tony Joe, one of my favourite songwriters. The is very sad news. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDRvxe4dRfY

IME Markbass amps are good amps. While they have a puzzling marketing philosophy, they've discontinued more gear than most companies make in their lifetime, I've never heard anyone getting a bad sound out of a Markbass amp. As you're adding "a little blended tech21 Vt" to get your sound, I guess they are not exactly right for you?

Tell us what it is and we'll let you know.

Can be one or the other, but usually both. "Developing an ear" is about listening and adapting your playing to the guys around you and the music they are playing. If you do something for long enough you should start to notice more nuances. That learning process will be shorter if you have a natural ability, but with an open mind, asking the right questions and playing with the right people you should be able to easily learning this stuff. I spent 25 years thinking drummers just hit drums. Then a drummer explained the differences between different techniques, drums and tuning and a lot of what makes a good drummer started to make sense. There are successful professional musicians who know none of the technical stuff but have a good "ear" and a natural ability to play. If you are playing bass at the hobby level you really don't need to get into any of that stuff, but knowing at least some of it does make being a musician more interesting and fun.

Don't put it in your gig bag. When I use it, I carry mine separately. After a couple of very near misses, these days I just put the bass in the gig bag when it's not being played. Safer that way.

Nooooooooo. . . . . I've had other guys tell me that, but it's not true. What you've got left is better than nothing, which is what you'll end up with if you don't protect your hearing. Even at this late stage protecting your ears is an important thing to do.