Oxblood

Here is a download link to an mp3 of sound samples, recorded into the soundcard of my laptop. The bass was played via an Ashdown ABM pre-amp with everything set flat. During recording, I was monitoring myself on the ABM's own speakers. At the end of the second sample, you can hear a bit of gradual feedback which I deliberately let ride. This was recorded with the nickel roundwounds. The steels I have on now sound brighter.
[url="http://www.frozencloudmusic.com/~chrishiscocks/Bass%20guitar%20samples/Dean%20stylist+%20John%20Birch%20magnum2%20pickups.mp3"]http://www.frozencloudmusic.com/~chrishisc...2%20pickups.mp3[/url]

Any member who is either in reach of London or who is visiting the city is welcome to come over to my gaff and give her a try. Just PM me to arrange things.

I think you've answered the question for yourself. You already know and like the Peavey, which is hardly surprising: the quality and value for money you get with their gear is hard to beat. The other cabs may be marvellous, but they'll be an unknown quantity, and you probably haven't the time to mess about auditioning them all. Get the Peavey and be happy!

You're quite right: adding growl shouldn't be the role of the speaker - at least not if you want it to have a long and useful life. The growl you're getting from the Behringer is probably the drivers getting a tad overstretched.

Peavey gear is SO under-appreciated, especially in the States. Superb value for money: in terms of quality it's in a whole different league from Behringer. Every piece of Peavey I've ever used has been built like a tank and has nailed me to the wall - especially the 18" Black Widow. Holy sh*t, what a beast!

PRODUCT: [b]Dean 'Stylist' Archtop Bass[/b].



PRICE PAID: £450 from Macari's on Charing X Rd., but you can often see them for around £370 online. Even though I paid over the odds, I still think it was value for money.

Bought in October 2006. I'd been on the lookout for an archtop or semi-acoustic for a while, but nearly all of the popular ones seem to be short scale, and with my long arms and big hands, that's a no-no. I walked into Macari's and, to quote the song, [i]saw her standing there[/i]. "That's a pretty looking thing," I thought, and after 20 minutes of noodling around, I knew we were meant for each other!

FEATURE LIST:
SCALE LENGTH: 32" but feels longer!
PICKUPS: Two Gibson PAF-style humbuckers (see description below)
BRIDGE: Floating Tune-O-Matic type
Tailpiece: Open Trapeze
Offset M.O.P. Fret-Markers
BODY DIMENSIONS: 17" at widest point, 3" deep.


ACTION, FIT & FINISH: 8/10
These basses come in a variety of colours, including a blinding yellow and checkerboard version called the New York Cabbie. Mine is much more subtle. I LOVE it: a smoky blue, so dark it could almost be black, misted with a million microscopic gold spangles. Off-white binding all round the body and up the neck. Nice! The general surface finish is very impressive: hard, clear and solid throughout, with no visible flaws. Very easy to maintain, too. Being hollow, of course, she doesn't weigh a lot, and yet there is a reassuring solidity of build that's very pleasing to hold. Nicely balanced, too: no neck-dive.

Playing attributes:
She was reasonably well set up to begin with (possibly done by the retailer? I didn't ask), although there was some fret buzz. Since then I've adjusted the truss rod, which has cured all problems. What really impressed me from the outset was finding that her intonation and tuning were PERFECT: tuning is dead on the nail, across all the strings and every fret on the board. Tone is very even across the fretboard, too - no obvious hot or dead spots.


SOUND: 9/10
Even un-amplified, the hollow body gives out a surprising amount of sound: certainly enough for quiet practice at home. Acoustic tone is woody and warm, and it's great to feel the notes vibrating against your chest. Amplified, there's plenty of midrange bloom and twang to play with: great for country blues stuff. Being a proper deep-bodied archtop, she can be a bit of a feedback monster, especially with the stock pickups. With my replacement pickups (see below), feedback became a controllable creative tool rather than a wild, untamable beast.

Strings as supplied were nickel roundwounds, gauges 45 - 100. Since then she's been re-strung with steels (nothing fancy), to add a bit more bite.


PICKUPS: 5/10
These, in my opinion, are the only real let-down of this product. They are generic no-name Chinese humbuckers. I opened them up to see how they were constructed, and found to my disgust that, far from being dedicated bass units, they had SIX pole pieces. To give them their due, they had quite a sweet tone, and switching between them gave a really noticable choice of usable voices, but they were [b][i]terribly quiet[/i][/b]. I had to crank up my amp considerably to compensate ...and then remember to turn the amp DOWN again when I plugged in my Ric 4003!

Consequently I went for seriously good quality replacements - a pair of [b]John Birch Magnum 2[/b]s. With the crappy pickups, she made a very nice noise. With the Magnums onboard, she really sings!




RELIABILITY: 10/10
Never had a problem since I bought her. She's as solid as a rock and always stays in tune.


CUSTOMER SUPPORT: 8/10
Bizarrely, this bass comes from the factory with only one strap button! I contacted Dean by email to ask what would be the best place for the other one, and got a swift reply (you drill/screw it into the base of the neck heel).

So, if you want to experience a real fat-bodied archtop that is rewarding to play and has oodles of tone, but you can't afford the luxury price tag of a Gretsch, give this baby a whirl. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[b]OVERALL SCORE: 8/10[/b]

[quote name='tonyf' post='12406' date='Jun 5 2007, 11:57 AM']Tonally, I love it. I've been lucky enough to have owned an Ampeg SVT PROII and to be honest, I think I've always preferred the tone of the V8 to my old Ampeg (IMHO of course). It's a little more refined and whilst it doesn't quite "do" the Ampeg sound, it's such a massive sound with an incredibly articulate top end and such "grunt". I've found the EQ very easy to deal with (simple chap me) and the compressor is so natural sounding.
T[/quote]
As I understand it, the thing with the SVT is that it sounds just like an SVT regardless of what you plug into it, whereas the V8 (if it's anything like my VA350 - and in circuitry terms it is) is capable of a more varied tonal palette.

Hmmmmm.... (if you'll pardon the pun).

The fact that the bass is hum-free when in passive mode shows that these Lace Sensor pickups are indeed doing a good job of hum rejection. Therefore the hum pickup/amplification problem must lie somewhere in the active circuitry of the bass. Are you able to actually get inside the active ciruitry to examine it, or is it all encapsulated?

Hamster's post says it. What you're describing is very common in any electric instrument with single coil/non-humbucking pickups, regardless of whether the instrument is internally shielded. Your body is acting as a big antenna, picking up the hum field from all the electrical appliances and mains wiring around you. It's YOU that is humming, not the bass! The bass pickups...er...pick this up. When you touch something that is earthed, like the metalwork of the bass or the amp, you're earthed, so you're no longer a source of hum. That's why bass/guitar bridges are earthed: the idea is that as long as you're touching/playing the strings (unless they're coated ones), you'll be earthed and the hum will be gone.

Here's a brilliant, foolproof solution: wear a grounding bracelet, attached to the metalwork of the bass! Not inconvenient/messy at all, honest. In no way will it cramp your playing style, get in the way or lead to accidental strangulation when you take the bass off. Oh no.

[u]STOP PRESS[/u]

It is my pleasant duty to report that, having undergone an afternoon of intensive counselling, aromatherapy and emotional re-programming in the small back room at his Brighton home yesterday, the prodigal is returned to the fold. Search the member list and you will find that Mr Claber is once more among the ranks of the chosen.

Group hug.

That round 3-pin affair is known as a Bulgin socket, after the company that used to make them. I realise you want to get started ASAP, and it might seem a shame to alter a piece of vintage gear, but seeing as you haven't got the matching Bulgin plug yet, I would seriously advise you to replace the existing chassis socket with a modern Euro type (kettle plug). These old Bulgin things are no longer regarded as safe or legal, and with good reason: they're sh*t. The plugs don't have any proper strain relief system and were/are made of a brittle bakelite-type plastic which can get broken very easily, exposing live contacts. I know - I've seen it happen!

Also, given that the amp is an oldie and you've not seen it working, before you hook it up to the mains it would be wise to get it checked over by a valve tech anyway. Better safe than sorry. A stitch in time saves nine. Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. Act in haste, repent at leisure. It's a wise fool who.... oh, shut up. You get the gist.

Proper old spoilsport, aren't I?

Spoke to him on the phone for the first time today, to finalise arrangements for my visit tomorrow. He sounded hale and hearty. As to his absence hereabouts, we can only guess. Maybe he's just too darn busy right now.

[quote name='pete.young' post='10138' date='May 31 2007, 08:09 PM']Um. My Burman guitar combo has exactly the same transformers as my Burman bass head, and they both
definitly cut it when it comes to 5 string basses. Generalise at your own risk.[/quote]
Ah now let's be fair, I did say [i]many[/i] vintage amps, not all. No flies on Greg Burman. He was a no-compromise merchant all the way: top quality gear with a price tag to match.

My partner [url="http://www.ellajkidd.co.uk"][b]Ella J Kidd[/b][/url] is a Theatrical Milliner. She gets all my old strings to use in constructing head-dresses and suchlike.

Before you go anywhere else, try [b]Annette Kunisch[/b]. She's a dealer who lists on German eBay as "[b]Classic Components[/b]". I used her to get a matched hex of Sovtek 6550WE for my Trace VA350. She's a very nice person to deal with, she can correspond with you in English (as long as you keep it simple), and her prices are sooooo much lower than anything you'll find in the UK.

Here's a link to her eBay shop:
[url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/classic-components"]http://stores.ebay.co.uk/classic-components[/url]

Remember, too, that if you don't see exactly what you need listed in her shop, you can just email her and ask. She's great.

[quote name='Cantdosleepy' post='9287' date='May 30 2007, 03:52 PM']Hey kids,

There's a Harley Benton 2x10 on Thomann.de for less than ninety quid. Has anyone used one of these before? It's super super cheap.[/quote]
No such thing as a free lunch, I'm afraid. Thomann's own-brand Harley Benton cabs are sold cheap 'cos they're made cheap. For that kind of dosh you can get a 2nd-hand Peavey 2x10 that'll be a zillion times better. In fact, if memory serves, one of our very own Basschat bredren has a nice one for sale right now:
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=62"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=62[/url]

[quote name='King of Loss' post='9126' date='May 30 2007, 01:00 PM']Where do you get blank rack strips? I just bought a 4 unit rack (it's bloody massive, a big warwick heavy duty one....probably should have bought the ecoline one, oh well, at least the stuff will be protected) and I only have 2 units' worth of stuff atm......I am planning on adding a tuner in a few months but I need to fill the gaps until then.[/quote]
You'll find several dealers on eBay who sell all sorts of useful rack fittings, including blanks and vent panels in all sizes. Have a butchers through this list:
[url="http://musical-instruments.listings.ebay.co.uk/Pro-Audio-Equipment_Rack-Gear_W0QQfclZ3QQfromZR11QQsacatZ23791QQsocmdZListingItemList"]http://musical-instruments.listings.ebay.c...ListingItemList[/url]

Beware, though. We all know what happens when you type "Russian Big Muff" in to Google......

Carrion of Vigrid?

Can't say I remember that one. Was it before "Camping", or the one just after "Up The Khyber"?

I'd add that to work well for Bass, a modern valve amp needs to have a seriously hefty, well-wound output transformer, capable of faithfully transferring all that LF power. On most guitar amps (and - as Dave pointed out - many so-called "bass" amps from the vintage years), the OPTs simply aren't designed to do this.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='8145' date='May 28 2007, 04:12 PM']Good call with that German company Oxblood. I haven't looked at it in any detail yet, but would it require the user to map out the control layout before the labelling could be completed? The mixer is essentially complete, apart from the lettering.[/quote]
Yes, that's right. You design the panel using the software, and they manufacture the whole thing. Rather more than you're looking for, but worth exploring for future projects maybe.

Just an idea: I wonder if the driver in question has somehow been mounted unevenly - i.e. that the screws round the outer rim of the basket haven't all been tightened to the same degree, causing a slight twisting/bending of the frame? Might it be worth slackening them all off and then gently re-tightening them to see if it cures the problem?

[quote name='pete.young' post='8155' date='May 28 2007, 04:34 PM']Do people still check their PMs on basstalk?[/quote]
I hope so - I'm hoping to visit Alex next weekend, and so far the BT PM system is our only means of contact to make arrangements!

Why not just contact Alex and ask him? There's still time to PM him via Basstalk before it disappears.

I know this is a rather big departure from your basic desire to put professional looking labels on an existing panel, but I've recently come across these guys in Germany:

[b]Schaeffer AG[/b]
Hohentwielsteig 6a,
D-14163 Berlin
Tel. +49 30/805 86 950

Website: [url="http://www.schaeffer-ag.de"]www.schaeffer-ag.de[/url]

Go to their website and download the free "Front Panel Designer" software (Windows only, alas). Design your ideal panel, send the resulting design to Schaeffer and they will manufacture it for you, with all the decals etc.

I haven't really got to grips with it myself yet - still noodling around with the software at present - nor do I know how it works out cost-wise, but it looks like it could be a useful service for any of us who do DIY electronics projects.

Look what just popped up on eBay:
[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Marshall-JMP-Super-Bass-MkII-valve-head_W0QQitemZ110130451295QQihZ001QQcategoryZ58719QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-Marshall-JMP...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url]

[quote name='lukeward2004' post='5006' date='May 23 2007, 11:24 AM']I have to say, ive never liked Marshall bass amps - Ive tried a few in the past and they have always seemed to lack definition, hardly any Midrange and sounded very honky through my cab.

Ive not tried some of the newer stuff, but the older ones I have tried have left me cold in the past. Im open minded though so ill happily try some newer ones if the chance comes up![/quote]
I think a lot of it stems from the fact that Marshall have never properly addressed themselves to our end of the market. They just don't seem to take it seriously, compared with all the effort they put into their core guitar market. Not enough thought, not enough R+D effort, not enough interest in what bass players want. It's a real shame.