Obrienp

@itu Thank you. I think I’ve got there now.

I’m almost there. Isn’t the range of a 4 string bass something like 41 - 4,000 hz in standard tuning? Don’t you need to be able to reproduce the 41 hz, or are you saying we don’t really hear anything below 60 hz? What about 5 strings with a low B?

@nekomatic Thank you for the response. That is reassuring, although confusing for the uninitiated like me. The cabinet in question was a 2 x 12 but I dithered long enough for somebody else to snap it up anyway. I was more concerned about the possible ramifications of the driver specifications that I turned up during my research, which is why I asked the question. I still don’t understand how a driver that the manufacturer has rated at eg 45 hz - 14,000, can deliver 35 hz - 20,000 hz, if put in the right enclosure. I’ll just have to take it on trust. I’ve decided that I am going to stick to ready made cabs, rather than going down the DIY route.

I suspect this topic may have been covered in one way or another but I was unable to find the topic in a search. Please point me to the previous thread if the subject has been covered. I have recently been looking at the claimed usable frequency ranges of bass drivers from various manufacturers: Eminence, Celestion, Lavoce, Faital, etc. Very few claim to have a useable range below 45 hz but these same drivers are used in many cabinets that claim frequency ranges of 40 hz or below. BF claims 30 hz from their Emminence based cabs but I know their drivers are a proprietary design. What is going on? Are some cabinet manufacturers telling porkies about the cabilities of their cabinets, or is there something in the internal design of the cabinets that increases the useable frequency range beyond that of the drivers? Alternatively, are the manufacturers making drivers for the OEM market that have a better frequency range than the units they sell to consumers? P.S. I was looking at the market because I heard of an empty cabinet that was going cheap. Having looked at what was available and the price of drivers, I decided it was not the bargain it appeared. Why would you want a driver that couldn’t reproduce a low E, let alone an open B?

Unfortunately, now discontinued by the looks of it: the specs have gone from the Ibanez website as far as I can see. From memory and It depends what you mean by thinnest: it had a 38mm nut like the SR series but also widened quite a bit by the 12th fret upwards (like other Ibbies). Neck depth was very much like the SR series, so shallow. MTD do a medium scale that just looks like an expensive version of the Mezzo (just under £1K) but I guess it’s got more than that going for it: active electrics, etc and it is available still (at Bass Direct anyway). Might be worth checking out. The Squier Jaguar Bass with the single MM style humbucker has a nice Jazz style neck. Again from memory I remember it being a bit deeper than the Mezzo but not quite as wide at the dusty end. I might be mis-remembering though. Others might be able to help. An addendum to the above: that’s all about the 4 string versions. I don’t know how the Mezzo and MTD fives pan out but they are bound to be wider than the above. You might also want to check out the Warwick Rockbass Star Bass semi that has a 38.5mm nut. I’m not sure what the depth and width are like further up the neck but it looks Jazz like in the pics. I had serious GAS for one but opted for the Guild Starfire 1 shortie in the end. It was about £500 versus about £900. I would have preferred the medium scale of the Warwick though.

There is a recent thread discussing the effect of doubling the number of drivers and loudness. I can’t now find it but you may have better luck searching. Various BC members who know what they are talking about have chimed in. A lot of it went over my head but what i took out of it was: doubling the number of drivers, ie, 2 x 12, instead of 1 x 12, will give you a 3 Db increase, everything else being equal. In terms of watts, 10 times is twice as loud (all else being equal) ie, 100 watts is twice as loud as 10 watts, so to be twice as loud as 100 watts, you need to go to 1,000! However, there are a lot of variables involved and our perception of loudness depends a lot on the frequencies involved. The long and short of it seemed to be, as previously stated, your amp running at 4 ohms instead of 8 ohms won’t in itself sound that much louder (even though it normally roughly doubles the wattage). However, if you got your amp to run at 4 ohms by doubling the drivers (of the same size, excursion, etc) that will sound appreciably louder because of the extra displacement. I am talking rules of thumb here, not absolutes. If any knowledgeable people are reading this, please correct me if what I have said above is wrong, or misleading. Anyway, where I was leading to, is that I agree with what @Chienmortbb about a single good 8 ohm cab versus a single 4 ohm. The beauty of the single 8 ohm cab is that, when you can afford it, getting another will give your 3 db boost and still be within the capabilities of your amp (4 ohms). The next trick is getting the right cab, which leads us back to LFSys, Barefaced, etc. All cabs are not equal. There are others related discussions like headroom and perceived increases in depth of tone when you double the drivers. There seems to be quite a lot of folklore involved in these discussions, like the perceived difference in loudness between valve watts and solid state. I haven’t seen any convincing arguments either way on that. I am guessing, if you get a 3 db boost from doubling your drivers, that boosts the lower frequencies to a level where we notice them more. Our hearing being biased in favour of mids and highs. Sorry gone off beam a bit 🥴.

It’s actually a bit smaller than a standard Fender headstock IMO but that sort of size, which possibly makes it look disproportionate on an SS.

There is a Barefaced Big Twin for sale for £800 in the listings. I have no connection with the seller but that seems like a fantastic deal, if you want something that is not going to fart out on the lows at volume. If you don’t need the highs, you can turn the compression driver down. I suggest it is all the cabinet anyone is going to need but might be eclipsed by my next suggestion. On the modular front, LFSys has been mentioned and I can second that, being the owner of a Monza (10”). The Monaco (12”) must be even more bullet proof. Rated at 600 watts AES @ 8 ohms it’s going to cope with all but the highest output amps at full chat. Don’t take my word for it though, search for the threads about LFSys on here and/or drop @stevie a DM to discuss your needs.

The OP doesn’t surprise me, unfortunately. One of the staff at PMT Norwich told me that the max they can offer on a PX is a third of what they sell the item for. I’m not sure how that works for items that have been out of production for a long time but it is what PMT managers work to. The same staff member told me to always go for a private sale to get close to what the item is really worth.

I love my fretless version. Great bass for the money. The neck is particularly nice.

Looks great. What model is that with a P/J config? I’m guessing something from Fender Japan?

Agreed but for me they suffer from the Ibanez neck design. Typically great down round the first 5 frets but by the time you get up to the 12th fret they are far too wide. I have had 5 Ibanez basses of different scales and series and they all seem to suffer from this design approach. If you have short digits like me, it’s a killer, especially on 5 strings. There is something about wide and flat that is really hard to manage. It’s probably fine if you have proper sized hands.

That’s good. You don’t say how many you are but standard pub pay local to me is £50 a head; even for a 3 hour gig. One of my bands has just grown from 4 to 6. It’s yet to be seen if we can get £300 locally, especially when we have our regular sound guy; inclination is to go for £350 but we often end up having to tax ourselves to pay him. I got £100 for depping in a 6 piece on New Year’s Eve but that was a special occasion premium. The sadness in all of this is that two of the guys were playing in bands in the 80s that used to regularly get £1k a gig locally but live music has been so devalued, that you are pretty well expected to play for free. There are so few venues left and people just don’t turn out. Takings for pubs are pretty poor and they can’t afford to pay proper money. It’s kind of come down to: do you want to price yourself out of the market, or do you want to play? There are some local bands that do better but they have spent decades building a reputation and following.

I thought it was forbidden to smile as a bassist, let alone laugh. I’m told I look like I just heard my Mum died when I am playing but I feel quite the opposite inside. I think I need to work on my bass face!

I have to declare myself thoroughly confused by the conflicting arguments here. If in doubt (and after reading this thread I have plenty of it) I stick to an old adage that was imparted to me when I bought my first decent gear as a teenager (early 1970s): to avoid blow outs, unwanted distortion, etc, the speaker cab(s) needs to have an RMS rating twice that of the amp. Now this may have been a shifty salesman getting a callow youth to spend more than was necessary but there may be a grain of truth in it? I am sure that speaker technology has moved on leaps and bounds since my youth but I still wouldn’t feel safe running an amp that had a higher rating than the cab, even though I would never have the master anywhere near max. I feel nervous enough running my BF Two10 with amps that have the same RMS rating. The LFSys Monza gives me a comfortable feeling because, at 600 watts AES, it has twice the rating of any of my amps @ 8 ohms. Tell me why I am wrong.

They also seem to have withdrawn the Mezzo medium scale. I’m hoping that they are working on a new finish for the EHB 4 and that something will be announced soon. I agree the lack of headstock is part of the problem, plus on the EHB the neck seems to be set very far into the body, probably caused by the exaggerated top horn and the body being the same size as the full scale, with the bridge as far back as it can go. It makes for a very short bass tip to toe. I kind of wish a manufacturer would adopt the string clamping and bridge tuning but with a decent sized headstock. I guess there would be no point as far as most people are concerned but it gives me an idea for a self build/custom. The ability to chose any string on the market is a distinct plus and cost saver over short scale strings.

The short scale basses thread drew my attention to the Ibanez website: they have a new 5 string EHB that is a 30” and a very nice looking new take on the fan fret 32-30” multi-scale. While I was there I had a look around and the Mezzo models seem to have been dropped. Even a search of the site turned up a blank. There goes one affordable take on the 32” theme! Shame for me because medium scales with a Jazz neck seem to be the sweet spot for me.

I don’t see a short scale 4 string EHB on the Ibanez website. Has it been discontinued? If they released one in the new finishes on those 5s I would be interested. I kind of regret selling my Sea Foam 4 but I was always missing my notes on it. I kept hitting a tone too low. I had to look at the neck all the time to make sure I didn’t make a mistake. I could have done with the neck being a bit narrower too but it was manageable as is.

Thanks. Better than I feared!

I think the Cort Action Junior is channeling this. Single soap bar pickup quite far back, exaggerated horns, sort scale. All for less than £170 (if you shop around). Anybody tried one?

Good to hear. Would you mind sharing how much a replacement driver costs? Just for future reference.