JTUK

Unfortunately image can matter a lot... I can certainly envisage a gtr rig or drum kit or bass rig not getting the gig. I certainly think the use of Ampeg SVT's on a lot of stages has quite a bit less to do with the way it sounds, tbh... than it probably should have. Having said that... I could use one if provided but I think my rig is better anyway. The business is image driven as much as anything else.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1380467876' post='2225696'] Steve Rabe, Dave Nordschow, Jeff Genzler, Stuart Spector, Michael Tobias and many others sold their thriving businesses to larger companies so they could get access to more funds. Sadly, that need to expand and the resultant loss of control eventually killed their companies. Dan Lakin saved Lakland in the hard times by borrowing from his dad! Looks like MTD, Aguilar, Lull, Sadowsky, Roscoe, Bergantino etc are doing the right thing for their brands by staying clear of corporate big business. [/quote] I like the smaller hands-on thing going on in companies like Aguilar..but they have come a LOOONNGG way from being a specialist studio pre amp .. Still glad they have remained a smallish operation... and hope it continues

I have a sound in mind that can cope with what I play... and thats it. I try a combo and it works...or it doesn't.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1380660014' post='2228700'] Let me guess. Sei and Sims? [/quote]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1380650048' post='2228505'] So you took away the very thing that makes a MM a MM? [/quote] Yep... I had Kent Armstrong knock up a few pickups as he was custom winding for all sorts at the time so I couldn't turn that offer down.. I had tired of the MM sound but loved the way the bass felt...rock solid neck and great to play. So yes..exactly that. It was the end of the MM for me in that I was de-tuning and needed a 5st... thought about a MM 5 but as I said, the sound was tired from my perspective so I then got the 5...and never wanted a 4 again. That MM remains a fondly remembered bass, but things moved on...

Ha ha .... but I know who does the paint job...just down the road from me

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1380649669' post='2228496'] Seafoam green! [/quote] well, thanks very much... you've just sewn a seed of doubt into my cast-in-stone colour scheme for my next commision arrrhhhhhhhhh !!!!!

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1380640318' post='2228302'] Pavel single cut Jazz - lovely isn't it? [/quote] yep... the colour kills.

Both my current basses are custom made and I am thinking hard about another. I know exactly what I am gettting and what I want and I still expect the guy to surprise me a little.... in positive way. The only decision is which bass I sell to accomodate..as 3 basses is too much for me. Of course, I might just say, what the hell and go ahead anyway. I am expecting a year to build it

Not always.... I think a MM with it humbucker isn't always a precise sound. The pickup is very powerful as is the EQ... so it can be a sloppy sound before you even get to who ever is playing it. I actually replaced the pickup and EQ with a passive pickup on my MM for that very reason... and still today, practice mostly in passive mode for that reason on my jazzes. But then that is all harking back to the day when a studio engr scared the crap out of me by soloing the bass in a track... it wasn't clean ... and it was a real wake-up call to how my playing was heard. With today's advances, you don't need to be that clean... as the mix time can hide a lot of that...but that is time consuming in getting the sound down. Again..it depends which way you want to go.... but you can always dirty up something... it is a lot harder to clean it up.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1380641293' post='2228319'] well, that depends if it is missing feet... [/quote] Not helping

Sims in Kent... not the cheapest but they are right up there.

Can't say I have had many.... but they weren't very good which is why I sold them. And out of all the basses I've sold, I'd only half consider having one back..and even then I wouldn't go through with it I've tried a few sub £500 ( new ) recently and one or two weren't truly offensive, but I don't see the point of having something like this because it is cheap... if that is all there is to them.

Play with a very decent piano player who can really walk you through the changes would be my choice...but finding that guy isn't easy. Hearing a fith is a start but you have to be hearing 2 tones down and the like. Put yourself in a positiont where the gtr isn't the lead instrument ..maybe a horn should be..and then write out the standards in chart form so you can hear the interval and relate to it.... or the Nshville method Another reason for getting away from gtr bands is that you might get a few more keys to move around in.

hmmmm lots of bass in a cab and you think that doesn't mask technique.... that is laughable, It certainly doesn't expose it... it is probably the reason why a lot of people would want exactly that.. This is a general pov and not aimed at any one cab maker ..as was my first comment. I would have been quite happy to post that POV..maybe should have done.. in another thread.

I am far from an Ampeg fan, but these I liked. Of all the gear that I have demo'd recently, ...apart from what I brought, I liked the Ag TH500 and CN112x2 best followed by a PF500 and PF cab

A product either stands up or it doesn't... You pay your money and you take your choice. I don't think any product should be beyond criticism or praise. If the forum is worth anything, it will deal with each and every product as when the pluses and minuses arise. I don't see what the problem is...

I think the CN112 series is a step up on the AE series... but what Berg tend to do well is put overall tone above things like SPL. I tend to think SPL the least important thing in a cab/chassis spec. Want more volume, turn up, add another cab.... but there is no way out of too much bass...and you can certainly have too much bass, IMO.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1380530924' post='2226502'] To be fair, its not fair comparing the small independent luthier with the likes of cnc based sandberg... [/quote] yep..... a 2-3 team that have to do everything... understandable how times slip.

It's an all valve classic so providing it works well or just needs a service or re-valve, then it will be sought after. In the grand scheme of things, there are better amps out there now and more suited to today's gig but that is hardly the point, people could want it because it has a cool niche.

I ould say..with that budget, you need to spend a day A/B'ing them all in a dedicated store. Andertons in Guildford had a very good stock on the cabs we wanted to hear...and you should find the same..with all the relevant models to be demo'd.. You might have to travel, but there is no way round this dirty work..

Assuming the budget is just for 4 boxes then I think you can do well with this. We tried K10's and they need to always run with subs unless a very small gig....but I think they are better that the K12's with subs for vox. I think you'd also get the whole band through that rig well enough... We use KW12's as they are better for Keys on their own..and that was the only reason we went for the 12's as we run the P.A with keys and gtr plus 4 vox through them at loud Pub gigs. We've added RCF 905 subs as we werent convinced the QSC subs were worth the price over what we go the RCF's for. I believe that lot came in at a lot less that £3500 new. The QSC tops work well at very good volumes..and it is only when we start to outplay the kit..and he is very loud or rather the snare is... that we carry the subs. I will not add RCF and other stuff to the review as we feel the QSC stuff is probably the best at that price point.and weight. Subs are subs in that they will all be heavy and the cabs need to be wooden..IMV...but you still need to by decent ones as the likes of Thumps are too flabby. You could probably go all QSC for your budget. I am not that knocked out with HK these days ..altho I think they do decent wooden box versions but I've come across a few horn failures in the later versions. Ditto JBL, but we might be talking a few years ago.. but not 1st gen kit. If active wasn't an option, then I'd go for Martin SH.... as this outclasses QSC, I think... but then you are in an other priceleague. SH is very attractive, tho. QSC for your needs is a pretty decent league to be in though for 200 ppl venues. The best P.A's I've heard from typical pub bands have been QSC.... but if your gigs are a more discerning and bigger, you'd be hiring in anyway. Don't know your Turbosounds, but you may be into their budget line pricepoint..??

Don't think much of any of those tbh................. but yes, I do the time if I feel things waver....... We tend not to use drummers who don't have good time, so I am the 'check'... I'll just drop to really pumping lines to make it clear that the song has drift in a place or two. I guess it is easier for me to mark playing 4's or 8's if he is going for it..

Heard some new 12" Yamaha's a few months back when we were looking to upgrade the keyboard rig. Forget the exact model but they were being pushed as an alternative to QSC K's....which they weren't but then they were almost half the price IIRC... As with all these things, we might have liked them better if we hadn't have been able to A/B them with QSC who have lately become a bit of a benchmark. My recollection was that the QSC was the lead, then RCF, the K10's and then Yamaha which we put ahead of Makie. I was quite shocked about the Mackie as you see them about a lot, but I think the Mackie of old would have stood up in their crowd better..??? today, not so much. Not so keen on HK these days either... Surprisingly, we liked K10's over K12's IF you run them with subs, but not without... and that is why we went for the KW's instead as we run them just as tops sometimes. We can be a very loud band at times and we never run our of juice with the QSC vocal-wise... but we never did with Martin either but those buggers were heavier. Sorry to see them go, for sure, but they were in effect a 410 P.A cab... !!!!!!!!! Starting point for good P.A tops atm...would probably be Yam DSR112 or maybe RCF, for me, from my relatively recent scout trips.

Good spot.... not a fan of the lower end of vox P.A cabs as the horn tends to be even weaker than the driver. Maybe weaker is the word word, but the balance can be harsh and the actual unit fragile. This is the minus side of PV, Yamaha and the price point comparables, even some Mackie and JBL, and a compromise too far. Throw in an average amp set-up and you have a P,A that strains the ears and gets wearing very quickly and one that is not so robust either. My current rant is sh*t shot P.A's that don't help the vocalist who may struggle in the first place. Lead vox seems such an afterthought....