chyc

5 minutes ago, JPJ said:

You could try the Basschat 1x10 here 

Totally agree with this suggestion here. I've made it four times, and it was super easy. If you're not bothered about the tweeter just get rid of that portion and it becomes even cheaper and easier! There's a video on YouTube which uses the same build technique albeit for a 1x12 cabinet.

If you're near me, I have an unloaded cabinet I can give to you to try, although you would need to construct a new tweeterless baffle if that's the direction you'll be going. Ashdown drivers are different to the Basschat 1x10's Celestion Pulse10, but I can't imagine they'd be miles different.

On 10/06/2025 at 06:58, Phil Starr said:

In PA active speakers it is even worse. They add the power of the tweeter amp to the amp driving the bass unit despite the fact that they don't both work together at any frequency other than at crossover where the power is reduced 3db. Then they save money by using the same amps over all the ranges but throttle them back so they can't damage the speakers. The poor old horn driver is likely to be 30W handling. The protection circuitry makes ssure there is no chance of it ever seeing more than that whatever you as an operator do.

So true. An obvious tell is when a manufacturer manufactures both active and passive PA cabinets. For some mysterious reason, their active speakers' amps are dispensing watts that their passive lines aren't rated for. 

QSC K12: 2000W

QSC E112: 400W continuous, 1600W peak.

24 minutes ago, e28m54 said:

Could it take a higher power speaker without having to change the horn?

I guess it's not dangerous or anything, but I wouldn't recommend it. The crossover is designed specifically to pair a Faital 12PR320 with a Celestion CDX1-1425. Swapping the woofer (I assume you mean rather than the tweeter) for a higher xmax will make it sound top heavy, and there will be phasing issues and potentially a dip in the mids.

FWIW the 12PR320 is a very nice speaker, and the price is insane on this thing. The cost of parts themselves alone will be approaching the asking price. I would buy it myself, except I own three of the things already

Shout out to Mark at speakergrills.co.uk, two grills arrived very quickly and at a reasonable price (£110 for the pair, with  all the trimmings like boxing and powder coating). The quality is good, as is the fit. I'm in no doubt they will protect the speakers very well.

Will take these for a gig in a week. I'm sure they'll be great.

3 minutes ago, Richard R said:

The amps rating is relevant - 200W at 20V is 10A. That would melt a 3A cable which at 250V would handle well over 500W.

The voltage drop you need to worry about is from one end of the cable to the other. Tauzero's power equation is what you need, and you need to measure the resistence of the wire but trust me 13A is plenty, the resistence of the wire will be tiny, orders of magnitude lower than the resistence of the cabinet.

26 minutes ago, Richard R said:

It's jack plugs at either end, and my question is this:   I have high quality jack plugs, and flexible 13A mains cable. Is there any reason I can't make up my own lead?

On a practical level, mains cable will not be as flexible as dedicated speaker cable but if treated right I would happily use repurposed mains cable (and I have done, albeit internal to a cabinet). It's not going to be melting the wire. For reference, a 13A mains cable will happily take multiple kW of power.

Using the cable as a guitar lead will not work out so well as the cable will be unshielded so you'll get a lot of unwanted interference added to your signal so bear that in mind if you want the cable for double duty.

Update: I have two more cabinets in the stables. These have been a few years in the making:
 

Deviations from the standard build:

1. 12mm marine ply instead of 15mm. This is very high quality wood and feels like it would withstand quite a beating, but is significantly denser than baltic birch. Compared with my original 15mm cabinet, it's roughly equivalent weight so hoping the damping is similar at gigging volumes.
2. The horn has been changed to the Celestion, but this time the crossover has accommodated it (many thanks @stevie!).

You can hear how it sounds in an untreated room but in summary this is the real deal. My go-to genre to expose imperfections is classical and this pair delivers the goods! I'm extremely pleased with how it sounds, and can happily listen to music through these for extended periods.

Things I learnt on this build:

• Routers are vicious! Maybe the blade was old, but it was ripping wood all over the place and so much patching was required. Also, I thought a 6mm radius was what was required for the edges. It isn't, it should have been closer to 3mm. That'll teach me to do a test run on scrap wood first.
• I used an adjustable hole saw for the handle at the top and the port. The ports turned out fine, but you need to be careful with getting everything screwed firmly into the drill and the adjustable section is screwed very tight. Having such high torque is scary, and for the handle things came loose and the circle diameter changed mid-cut. That black flange of the handle is covering up considerable damage. I didn't have a pillar drill and if I were to do this again I'd get a pillar drill.

All in all, I'm very happy with how these turned out. I will probably be going to speakergrills.co.uk to get some protection. My only hesitation is that it will add weight to an already meaty box.

So, how would this stack up to an LfSys? Sonically I don't know as I've never had them side by side. However, visually, mine has some real amateur parts in comparison. For example, the port isn't painted (that's a messy job), the handle isn't recessed (that's a router too far), and there is wood filler around the edging from where the router did its thing.  

Does it work economically? Wood was ~£80, Speakers ~£500, wadding ~£15, wires etc ~£30, Crossovers £80. Looking at it by parts alone the Silverstone is very competitively priced.

Would I recommend building one above buying one from LfSys? That depends on what you want. I wanted to learn about speaker design and woodworking so the experience was fantastic and I absolutely would recommend doing something like this, but if you're hoping to save money or build a more luxurious system then, particularly if you're a beginner like me, an endeavour like this will be a non-starter.

My guess is they're trying to fill the void in the market created by the sad passing of Rick Jones, the founder and owner of Acoustic Image. I own two Acoustic Image combos that have literally been around the world with me. They share a down firing 10" woofer design with the Upton. Dispersion on the AI is absolutely fantastic.

5 hours ago, Beedster said:

 

I had a similar experience, in the early 80's I assumed I was simply a crap bass player because I sounded nothing like the players I was trying to emulate. Then as the gear got better, it became obvious that yes, I was just a crap bass player after all, albeit one with better gear  

Don't do yourself down, I'm sure it's that your gear still needs upgrading

I own two Aston Elements, and they're absolutely amazing. Wouldn't say they'd replace a small condenser mic though.

If you're after bargainous, the Behringer B-5s are reasonably priced and offer multiple pickup patterns via interchangeable capsules. I own a pair of those as well. To be perfectly honest, if you put a gun to my head and forced me to make a choice between them I'd pick the Elements as their noise floor is incredibly low and the vocal sound is superb, but horses for courses and all that: the different pickup patterns on the B-5s can come in real handy.

4 hours ago, W1_Pro said:

I really like the idea of having the small box on a stick at ear height. I wish a commercial manufacurer would build something like this- actually they may do, but I'm not aware of it. Can you post pics when the build is complete?

 

Sounds like the PJB earbox https://pjbgear.com/product/ear-box/

Never tried one myself, but I saw a comment flash past on this forum that they're very good at solving the problem they're trying to solve. This is for personal monitoring, not for adding highs to your stage sound.

 

2 minutes ago, DaleASmith said:

Anyone know what frequency the MID is on the ABM range? It’s between 340hz and 1.3khz I know that. 
just curious.. 

cheers

EQUALISATION
Shape (Push Flat) +8dB @ 50Hz & 4kHz, -8dB @ 400Hz, filter slope - 6dB/octave
Bass +/-15dB @ 45Hz
Middle +/-15dB @ 660Hz
Treble +/-15dB @ 7kHz shelving
Slider1 +/-15dB @ 100Hz
Slider 2 +/-15dB @ 180Hz
Slider 3 +/-15dB @ 340Hz
Slider 4 +/-15dB @ 1.3kHz
Slider 5 +/-15dB @ 2.6kHz
Slider 6 +/-15dB @ 5kHz

Taken from https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2397/1117/files/ABM-EVO-IV-USER_MANUAL_ENG_FRE_GER_SPA_IT.pdf?v=1669639182

Hope that helps

Can't remember the name of it, but it's where you pop G, slap E, pop G, slap E using index, thumb, index, thumb respectively. Mute all the strings with your left hand and you should get the sound in the recording. Strings can be different depending on the exact tone you're after, but hopefully you get the idea.

Hope that helps.

Not everyone can do this, but I've never bought an instrument I've not played beforehand. Does that mean I've passed up the opportunity to find my ultimate bass? Maybe, but on the flipside I've never bought a bass that's anything less than great, let alone owned a bass I've hated.

Just to echo everyone else by saying it was a fabulous day, and thank you all those who helped make it happen.

I thought I saw a double bass case, but never saw a second (double?) double  bass. Whose was it? It's a shame I never got a chance trace the owner to see that.

Other than that a perfect day☺️. That BC 108 cab was delicious, as was the food. Thanks all!

Anyone with recommendations for a place to stay Sunday->Monday? Cheap is my top priority, then proximity to any post-bash pub session (if it happens).

Surely you're composing No2s on the toilet?

I've got a Zeller 3/4 from new, definitely solid spruce top. Photos attached if that helps people decide whether the bass being sold is solid or laminate

Haven't had anyone take me up on a lift, so what opinions are there on cheap places to stay? I'm looking at Travelodge, but what usually happens after the event? Is there a post-event pub session, in which case walking distance from my lodgings would be important, or does everyone scatter immediately afterwards?

Updated the list to add a requested cabinet to what I'm bringing.

@scrumpymike - everything he owns unless he sells it between now and then

@Rich- Shuker 5-string, something else (will toss a coin on the day), Genz Benz Shuttle 9.2, Barefaced Super 12T cab. 

@Kateplaysbass - Ashdown CTM-100 and LB212, Pawn Shop Mustang, medium scale ACG Finn, and maybe also ACG Recurve and Bass Collection 5 string fretless, since I'm thinking about offloading both of those

@Woodinblack -  Bongo, because its lovely and uncommon, Acrylic bass, for shits and giggles, Chapman stick, Lava Me guitar

@Richard R - Brawley 5 string, as usual, HB 5 String thing with Roland hex pickup and V-bass COSM synth.

@BreadBin- something interesting

@chyc - Double bass, Ashbory Bass, GSS 06B400MKD combo, BC 112mk3 cabinet, and on the request any of Warwick Streamer fretless, Sandberg Custom 5 with Delano XTender, Sandberg TT Marcus Miller rip-off, BC 110T cabinet, , Acoustic Image Coda

@TRBboy - Frost Custom Basses PJ5 (my first build from scratch), Sandberg California TT5 Passive, possibly my customised Yamaha BBN5, Markbass Stu Amp 1000w, GR Bass GR 410+ (1200w, 4 ohm), a fairly unexciting pedal board 😅, & converted Trace 1x15" cab, if it's in a satisfactory state by then

@Stub Mandrel - Joyo BadASS & PJB C2, American Vintage II 1960 Precision & Squier 40th Anniversary Precision for side by side comparison. Teisco/Kay Tulip for sh*ts and giggles.

@obbm - '71 Jazz, '73 Precision, Sadowsky HPJ, Genzler Magellan 350, BF One10 x2, Pedals plus TBA plus raffle donation.

@Chienmortbb - Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass, Sire Marcus Miller M2, Bugera Veyron. LFSys Monza Cabinet, Zoom B2Four.

Sign me up! I will bring:

• A very nice double bass (well, I think so anyway)
• An Ashbory Bass

• GSS 06B400MKD combo

• Anyone who lives between Oxford and the venue who needs a lift and is willing to pay a little towards petrol.

I went to last year's SE Bass Bash and brought the following, but they didn't seem to garner much interest. If you want me to bring them, let me know:

• Warwick Streamer fretless
• Sandberg Custom 5 with Delano XTender
• Sandberg TT Marcus Miller rip-off
• BC 110T cabinet
• BC 112mk3 cabinet
• Acoustic Image Coda

Thanks for that, both @tauzero and @Phil Starr. I probably should say some things for the defence of the lazy while I'm here:

1. I do have a hole saw. It cuts very nice and precise holes. Unfortunately it's horrible to work with  with a hand drill and, more importantly, drainpipes are not made to a precision that makes for a nice fit anyway. I was sanding down my hole to make it fit (pipe down Kenneth Williams).
2. Unless you're building more than a couple of boxes, or unless you have spare drainpipe, buying a dedicated port tube will be cheaper.

This looks fab. Thanks for the design. I want to make this.

One aspect of building these that I struggle with is cutting for the port. I spend ages on cutting a round hole, only to find it's not a great fit etc. How would I go about swapping out the drain pipe for something a little (IMO) nice looking and easier to work with such as this Tuff Cab Port Tube? I presume it's a trip to WinISD, but if someone has the dimensions to hand to see if it's a goer, I would be eternally grateful 🙂.

I would like to come to this. I haven't necessarily thought this through entirely, but I'd have to drive close to Oxford, Swindon and Bristol on my way to Taunton, so would anyone like a lift to Taunton, in return for some shared petrol money? I suppose the kicker is that with two bodies in a reasonably small car there'll be limited space for your gear, but I'm sure I can accommodate some stuff at least.

I'm not committed to coming yet: the diary is cloudy that far in the future and I may have missed something, but I thought I'd sound this out in good time to start a conversation. Contact me via direct message if you're interested.

On 30/04/2024 at 13:05, Ashborygirl said:

The Nordy Acinonyx is the most impressive new bass I've played in 40 years.    It's short scale.

With a name like "Ashborygirl", I think it's a given you like short scale basses

On 22/03/2024 at 14:11, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Erm, I think you might be one of a small select group 😎

Mine stay on until they fall off.

Do you not even take the strings off to clean the fingerboard?