carlsim

Just now, Jack said:

I've been tempted by Thomann's own stuff once or twice. They do a few active pa cabinets that get there or thereabouts on specs with several forum faves and their prices are amazing. I own several Thomann own-brand products (including a speaker cabinet, the excellent Six Mix) and they tend to be really well received generally.

 

I haven't bought any yet though, because I bought a pair or QSC K12.2, which as you already know, is the real answer here.

The 12.2 would be my ideal choice, but at nearly a grand new, I can't believe how much they have gone up in price over the past couple of years. I had a 10.2 just before lockdown and paid around £600... now £200 dearer. Oh well... will see what I can get!

29 minutes ago, Ba55me15ter said:

Yamaha DXR12 (mk1) here. Works great!

The DXR12 had piqued my attention I must admit, a guitarist I know uses one with a kemper and it sounds immense!

Just now, lemmywinks said:

 

Yeah still have the original box so shouldn't be a problem. Also has the QSC carry bag and locking IEC cable etc.

Cool…. Let me know if you decide to!

42 minutes ago, jezzaboy said:

I use an RCF 715 mark 4. I have used it for monitoring on a large stage and use it in small pub gigs as my main bass amp. On these pub gigs, it keeps up with 2 Marshalls and a loud drummer.  Great bit of quality kit.

I was looking at one of these rather than it’s big 735 brother… I only intend to use it mainly as a bass monitor… so it would do a good job here??

30 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

Crikey just seen the price of used K10.2, they were going for around £350-£400 on eBay not so long ago.

 

I'll be moving mine on in the not too distant future once I can sort a loaner cab out for the odd gig where I can't use IEMs.

Does that mean you might be selling 'very' soon??

A did have a scroll through but it is a digression of opinions and lots of back and forth of why? pros / cons etc. I was hoping to try and save myself some time going through 10+ pages of comments... it's no biggie if people don't reply though. I can always have another go through...

Hi to all those using an FRFR setup... I need to go that way with the way my gigs are going. I'm constantly standing next to my amp and using IEMs so it makes monitoring very difficult. I need something floor based. Some years ago I had a QSC K10.2 and regret selling it to go back to an amp - the band leader at the time 'insisted' I had a bass amp as backline pushing sound forward (no PA support...)

Anyway... I would really like specific speaker recommendations... I noticed that the QSCs have gone up massively in price - i think i paid about £600 some years ago!

Anyway - I don't have a specific budget in my head, but something around the 5-600 mark - maybe some more if the recommendations are there... what are you using and how do you find it? Is the Headrush stuff worth looking at?

I don't want this thread to be a ton of 'I don't get this FRFR nonsense' comments - real world experience with different speakers would be appreciated!

Thanks everyone!  

I reviving this thread and I discovered a specific FRFR setup I trialed last night and fell in lust!! Will consider offers and can investigate courier / postage options… additional photos added from last nights gig…

It’s not lightweight to be sure… got to be 4.5kg/10lbs or so… to be honest I don’t have any means to weigh it (the wife got rid of our bathroom scales!! 😂😂😂)

i have a HB JB75 and it certainly isn’t as heavy as that - they are used to secure dead bodies to river floors!

1 hour ago, alyctes said:

What's the width at the nut, please?

Will come back to you with that info... Need to get it out of the cupboard!

22 minutes ago, Richard R said:

Definitely interested, I am looking at fretless 5s as a bit of an experiment.  The only problem is that Lowestoft is over three hours and about 60 quid's worth of petrol away from me. 😧

As i mentioned, I could look at costs for a neck off postage...

Putting up for sale my Harley Benton MB-5 SBK Deluxe Series - what I call my StingFake5 Fretless Bass. Currently strung with Rotosound Flats.

I wanted to have a 5 string fretless in my arsenal and I wanted a project. I had just finished reviving my Xotic which I really enjoyed and I wondered... what's next? So, I decided I wanted a fretless 5 string. I love fretless and can now play it quite well so am going to treat myself to something a bit lighter to use on gigs and something a bit more 'special'! Anyway... it is a standard Harley Benton MB-5 SBK - the stealth black one. However, as you can see, I have made a few modifications. I really enjoy playing it and originally, it was just for my studio but I want to gig with a fretless and this is just a bit too heavy for my poor back!

So... the mods...

Firstly, the defret. I'm quite an able person and quite meticulous with work I do on basses. I love to tinker. Go to the builds thread and find my Xotic renovation and although not a luthier by any means, I can do a decent job. So, i removed the frets with a soldering iron to heat the fretwire and managed to remove the frets with minimal tear out. Not a professional job by any means, but not bad. I filled the fret lines with a black 2 pack filler (not the cheap wood filler putty stuff) as my intention was to create a 'almost' unlined look (you can still see the lines but they aren't that stand out'y'), sanded until lovely and smooth and the used a spray poly finish on the fingerboard. I was going to epoxy it buy I had this poly laquer laying around so i thought, why not! It was a vintage poly so the dot have taken a yellow-ish hue but I kind of liked the look! Wet and dry sanded, a good buff and it come up with a nice sheen. It's not glossy, that wasn't what I was after but it has a nice look. I have some very minor grain which could have done with being rubbed down again and re-done, but there you go. It isn't perfect, but it has a nice mwah and plays nicely just as a fretless should!

Secondly, I added some better tuners. These came from a Sire V7 bass I upgraded a while and were a big improvement on the HB ones. I also  prefer a bit of chrome against the black. Hence the knobs as well.

Finally, I added a Warman MM5 pickup - much nicer than the stock and as I was after a original stingray EQ, and I added the Artec SE-2 active EQ. Routed a battery box in the back and it sounds a darn sight more versatile than it did when it was a passive VVT set up. For reference it does have a main volume, blend and stacked 2 band eq. The blend selects the two coils of the pup. I left it in the middle and it was always my intention to add the retrovibe stinger pre with a series / parallel switch. I just never got round to it.

You will notice the headstock and scratchplate is white - i love a black / white look and this is only a vinyl wrap which can easily be removed if you so wish. I can throw in the original pup and tuners with the same (if someone wants them). I added a cheeky Stingray5 logo for s***s and gigs.

It isn't a Shuker or even a Sire, what it is a cheap and honest bass which if you fancy a five string fretless without spending too much cash, could be worth a look. Hell, you could probably strip it for spares if you fancied! It's just the bass and doesn't come with a gig bag - I will get some more pics when I get a chance as it's busy busy at the moment. Collection welcome in Lowestoft - I'm Bury St Edmunds way next Saturday if that helps anyone and Saxmundham way this Saturday. I could post neck off for a cheaper postage option but I doubt anyone will want to splash £30 on postage for this...

Happy to answer any questions and take pics of anything specific. Could be tempted by trades in something interesting... If you have an 5 string fretless of a higher value, I could add some dosh possibly if that appeals.   

On 02/03/2023 at 07:48, Paolo85 said:

I had one. Pros: you get a 5 string with a good frettles fingerboard, tons of mwah and an interesting sound for not much money

Cons:

-Mine weighed a ton and I understand it's not an exception

-The edges of the fingerboard were sharp as a blade

-They do not put foam under the pickups so they are not adjustable. Obscene choice. Easily fixed except in my case screws were stuck so I had to sweat for it

-The sound is peculiar. I would say it lacks definition, especially noticeable when playing in isolation, but at the same time there is something inspiring about it. Not everyone's cup of tea I imagine

-Pickups are non-standard size so not a great mod platform

-I had to push saddles really to the floor to get the action I wanted. Considering I cound not shim a neck-through, I was a bit unease about it

-Tuning/neck stability I would say is ok for the standards of very cheap bass. No positively surprised on that front

-The body is made with whatever piece of wood they have at hand, so in my case it was quite visible the difference between pieces. Still, my wife thinks it was the best looking bass I have ever had

 

What I would say is watch these two videos

 

 

 

This is what this bass does best. If you like the vibe and can get over the issues it may have then I believe it's a good option

 

 

Thanks for that information and the comments guys - I keep coming back to it I must admit. 

You mention about weight - that is my one fear with HB stuff - I had/have a couple of the 4 string jazz basses and they are incredible for the money but they are serious boat anchors. Not at all usable in my view for a two hour gig. I just don't understand how their stuff is so damn heavy!

Is this one on the same par weight wise? I think making it headless would help but then, if the body is heavy, it won't balance well on a strap. I did wonder about chambering but I don't think I have the time / tools or skill for that kind of modification. 

this link here:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbz_2005fl_nt_deluxe_series.htm
 

anyone got one?? Considering pulling the trigger on one but wanted to know a bit more - weight, feel, quality… any contributions welcome!

I have other HB stuff which I think is great for the dosh - I’m not expecting it to stack up against +£1k basses… I have been after an unlined 5 fretless for a while now… I don’t expect to gig it a lot… just wondered what the general impression was. 
 

also… I would be looking to make it headless… possibly…

22 hours ago, Acebassmusic said:

I often use the attached Bartolini wiring PDF as a guide to wiring switches. Hope it helps 😁

 

Bartolini 4cnd_sw1 Wiring.pdf 37.16 kB · 2 downloads

This is what I am trying to achieve - I'm just getting a bit confused with the start / stop / +/- labelling and colours...

On that page, Bartolini list the wiring as follows:

Warman list the MM5 pup as: 

Black = start / negative of coil 1

White = finish / positive of coil 1

Red = start / negative of coil 2

Green = finish / positive of coil 2

So... does that mean that the wiring would be as below for the Warman pup?:

If the listing on the Warman site is correct - start being negative and finish being positive - this should be correct??

Any help is most welcome!!

Is that right that start is the negative and finish is the positive??

I found these diagrams online… are these saying the same kinda thing??

Hi all... I need some wiring advice from you gurus out there! 

I have a cheap HarleyB musicman copy which is an ongoing project for me. I recently added a Warman pup which I really like and an Antec 2 band EQ which I'm not keen on. It's OK but has a blend pot which I have wired to select either or both coils. I really want a series parallel switch and I think I am going to plump for a Retrovibe Stinger circuit and add a switch (am taking advice from David at Retrovibe about which one to use).

How do I wire a DPDT 2 way switch (I only want series or parallel - not bothered about split) to the warman pup to then get an output to the preamp?

The Warman is wired as:

Black = start / negative of coil 1

White = finish / positive of coil 1

Red = start / negative of coil 2

Green = finish / positive of coil 2 

The red and white are combined for series - i got that from their website. I understand what series and parallel is - i just don't know how to wire this to a DPDT switch to get it right.

There are 6 pins on the DPDT switch - could someone give me a layman's version of what I would need to do to make this work? Literally an idiots diagram?

The Stinger has only a black wire for ground and a red wire for the hot pickup connection. Can anyone help me here??

Thanks 

Carl.

On 23/12/2022 at 17:44, Skybone said:

Too far away, but so, so tempting... GLWTS

Thank you… I used this for a small jazz gig over Christmas and am now reconsidering to be honest… can’t seem to make my mind up!

2 hours ago, kodiakblair said:

"and the lazy bugger still hasn't sent me any photos how the back of the chopped headstock looks !!"

😝😝😝 I didn’t want to mention it but now you have brought it up!! 😜

20 minutes ago, thisisswanbon said:

The headless mod sounds like it would be incredible! I always thought a headless stingray would be a glorious thing.  Where did you put the battery for the active pre-amp?  I'm tempted by the Warman mod, but think I'll see what it's like stock first.

to be honest, it was @kodiakblair who did it first, I'm following his lead!

I added a battery box to the rear of the bass, routed a small compartment out and drilled an access hole for the cables. Pretty straightforward but the paint marks very easily. The stock pup isn’t bad, I think a preamp upgrade is a much more worthy process in my back. Single tone controls in my mind are a bit restricting and I prefer specific eq. I was trying to mimic a 2 band original stingray function.

I added the Warman pup to my 5 string one and that made a significant different to the tonal capabilities. I also added an Artec SE2a preamp (this has a stacked treble and bass 2 band eq and a balance and volume).

This made a huge difference to me in terms of tonal shaping. it was a tight squeeze and needed a bit of fettling to get in but for about £40/£50 this has made a massive difference to this bass. Admittedly the balance doesn't really need to be there but i just leave it central to select both coils. I wanted to add a series parallel switch at some point but adapting this is outside my capabilities!

I also defretted mine as I wanted a cheap fretless 5 and changed some of the hardware for chrome to remove that matt blackness of it! See below...

I also have further plans to completely reshape it into a headless bass and chamber out the body to reduce weight. Basically, mill off 5-10mm off the top, chamber out sections of the body and then glue on a new top and refinish. This would also mean refinishing the neck as well unless i can hide where i chop the headstock off! A white body with the matt black neck would look quite cool!

Hi all, I'm just putting a feeler out on this at the moment as I'm looking into an FRFR / wedge monitoring setup rather than bass rig setup.

I have spotted something I really want to get hold of - anyone interested at £300?? A great combo for this price! I cannot include a courier at this price, that would be extra if you cannot collect.

Trades wise - I am after a unlined fretless 5 string bass - thin on the ground I know but you never know. Otherwise, I could be tempted by a 5 string bass which I would be looking to convert to an unlined fretless - fingerboard removal, new fingerboard... If you have some ideas - start a conversation! 

Anyway, EBS Magni 500 2x10 combo in excellent condition. I bought this used for £600 just before lockdown and consequently, it hasn't been used very much at all. It has seen maybe 6 to 10 gigs in it's time with me and I bought it from a 'ickle shop up nooorth who had it in their back room for so long they couldn't remember where it came from! They listed it on ebay and i jumped on it. I love EBS stuff - i used to have a HD350 with 2 Neo cabs and it was killer, just too much for me to lug around for the gigs I do now. Anyway, I'm considering a FRFR setup for the gigs I do now.

This is a great little amp, features a Reidmar head in a combo format. It's VERY loud and I rarely run it anymore than 1/3rd volume. It will run at the full 500watts with an extension cab, is in immaculate condition and comes with the dust cover. These seem to be quite rare on here (I had a look back and couldn't find any!) but there is always plenty of love for the Reidmar heads and EBS gear in general.

This is not to be confused with the new Magni 502 combo which has just been released and priced at over a grand!

It is a one handed lift, about 20kg so not a big and heavy lump. I rest it on a wheely trolley when it needs to be walked anywhere.

Collection preferred as I just don't fancy organising a courier if I can help it - open to discussion though! Can meet up if necessary.

A couple of stock images to guage any interest - it will be coming out for a little jazz gig on Friday so will take some pictures and post them then.  

I have seen a VL5 for sale and am interested… anyone played one? Can offer any advice on this ‘LightWave’ technology??

just wondered if anyone had any experience…