Alemboid

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='19047' date='Jun 17 2007, 07:11 AM']he would demonstrate its resiliance by literally tossing it into a corner of the room[/quote] It's funny you should say that. Many moons ago, when the Steinbergers first appeared, I went to try one at whichever big music shop was in Camden (London Rock Shop?). I don't know whether Steinberger had made it a requirement of any demo that the bass be rigourously abused, but after putting new strings on it to demonstrate how quick and easy that was, the guy there started using it as a sledge hammer on what I'm fairly sure was a bare concrete floor. I think the idea was to show that it didn't go out of tune very easily. Having ritually attempted its sacrifice, I was handed the bass to play. I didn't buy it. I did get one a few years later though. It makes one wonder just how many XL2s out there are demo basses which may have gone through the same treatment. B

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='18740' date='Jun 16 2007, 11:02 AM']Ben, sounds to me like we're in agreement! [/quote] What, are you saying I didn't read your post properly?! You might be right

[quote name='tempo' post='18064' date='Jun 15 2007, 10:07 AM']Cheers Alex & Alemboid! informative as always. I was thinking of a 700-1000w power amp to drive it, as i am well aware that deep bass needs real power. Most of the pa amps (mackie etc) have sub (30hertz) filters, so would employ that. Another question(s) though, I already have a Hartke 2.5XL cab, would this work ok with the B2, or is its higher efficiency going to nullify the benefits of the Acme? Can the B2 handle small/med gigs w/o pa support (my band has just vox & guitar in the pa). Cheers Pete.[/quote] Tonally I've got no idea what the Hartke would would sound like in combination with the Acme. If you're ever down in the general direction of Oxford you'd be welcome to try it out with an Acme or two. If you were using a stereo PA amp, much as I do, you could easily drive one cab with each channel and adjust the gain to compensate for the efficiency difference. Two B2s will cope very well with medium sized gigs and no PA reinforcement. Whether one will very much depends on drummer volume. The drummer I currently play with has a monster kit which he thrashes as if it's some sort of catharsis for him. One B2 is marginal with him, but if your drummer is more 'sensitive' (possible oxymoron) you'd probably get away with it. B

I think the problem with hickory, or any other wood exhibiting fast and slow growth patterns (including ash, oak) when used in the 'precise' bits of an instrument, is the relatively poor dimensional stabilty. While the alternating open and closed grain provides great resilience, hence the use of hickory or ash in things like drum sticks and hammers, it also tends to flexibility and dimensional change in relation to temperature and humidity. Not ideal for a neck really. It's not by accident that maple, for instance, with its close grain and consistent density, is a safer choice. Graphite's pretty wonderful too. CK: not sure about the graphite neck/low density wood thing. My ancient Modulus/Alembic Bassstar (the one in my avatar) has the most absurdly heavy walnut (or possibly koa) body and has the thickest tone imaginable. It's too heavy to play for very long without a team of support staff though. B

Not much to add to Alex's response. I was very lucky to get both my B2s in the UK so can't really comment on any import issues you might have but the delivery cost to the UK is surprisingly reasonable ($20US over the US delivery charge). Even with a worst case duty+VAT+handling charge a B2 should be about £350-ish, which is very fair indeed for what you're getting. Huge power amps are ubiquitous and fairly cheap these days (usual plug for the Yam P7000s here) so the sensitivity question is not terribly relevant any more. A recent gig had the sound guy scratching his head as the venue's half-decent PA with large-ish subs was incapable of approaching the sound of my two B2s. Bass extension & mid/high quality were obviously better from the Acmes and volume/SPL comparable. B.

[quote name='thumbo' post='15094' date='Jun 10 2007, 02:55 PM']Oh my! He's got more bass gear than the average bass shop.[/quote] He seems to be a one man support system for the entire amp/cab/custom bass industry. It's fair to assume he's scraping by in his day job as a lawyer. B

I was sitting in the garage thinking "god, there's far too much stuff in here", when I found this link: [url="http://www.bowlusblog.blogspot.com/"]http://www.bowlusblog.blogspot.com/[/url] Rather puts things into perspective, don't you think? B

Yes, I think I'm just on the "ordinary mortal" level of Farnell account. Amazing how many of my orders are only just over £20. They must have a hell of a deal with UPS... Couldn't live without Farnell, but I hate to think what that says about me! B.

OBBM: much better to deal with you of course! But, I placed an order for stuff today and can confirm that for credit card orders at least, anything over £20+VAT is indeed FREE delivery and has been for as long as I can remember. I've made dozens of orders with Farnell and have never paid a penny for shipping. Of course they won't give the friendly, Bass Player Aware (tm) treatment that you can, and that counts for a lot. B.

Farnell sell the Neutrik right-angle jack for £2.13+VAT. Minimum order (including whatever else you might want) is £20 though - I usually seem to think of something however and postage is free. Edit: £1.88+VAT if you buy 10. Farnell are an extremely efficient operation BTW. [url="http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/Connectors/Audio/NEUTRIK/NP2RCS/displayProduct.jsp?sku=439095"]http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/Connectors/Audio....jsp?sku=439095[/url] Personally I wouldn't use anything other than the Neutrik connectors, they've a proper cable clamp and a well put togther lead is close to indestructible. B.

Having said that, I have one if those short scale, tuned an octave up things (well a St**t) for those squealy high-pitched moments that had been Plekd (?) before I got it, and the action and feel are quite excellent. Not a controlled experiment obviously and it might have been good pre-Plek but it seems the results [i]can[/i] be very good. On the other hand, one of the flock of six string basses (a Status) looks as if it might have had the same treatment judging by the fret profiling, and that's not convincingly better than it would otherwise have been. CK, I thought the machine did put the neck under tension? Can't see that it'd be any use at all otherwise. B.

It's unlikely to go "bang" but if you were really concerned you could always make up a dummy load for the power amp with a wirewound 8 Ohm resistor connected to a jack plug/speakon/connector of choice. B

Well done everyone - again. Let's hope it really is home this time. B.