alexclaber

Yes, I've experienced this first hand. Only with slapping and only with cabs with a tweeter. It was an old Markbass head. I think it's caused by a faulty short circuit / over-current protection circuit on the amp causing a false positive and shutting the amp down to 'protect' it.

Incidentally some Eminence BP102 speakers would be a much better sonic fit for the Acme.

It's not something we've discussed, but in terms of the mindset regarding gear and the search for tone I see Tim Commerford as the next generation's John Entwistle, and if you read interviews with either you'll see the parallels. My Dad grew up listening to The Who, I grew up listening to Rage Against The Machine. I got into The Who later on, sadly after my Dad had died. Live At Leeds is one of the albums most often found in my car, along with Evil Empire (RATM), Sinatra At The Sands and Donny Hathaway Live. If I had to keep just two albums in the car forever it would be the Rage and Sinatra ones.

And by the way, if you think that the rest of the band can't hear Tim's rig onstage, or that the audience can't hear it in a venue as small as the Whisky A Go Go, you clearly have no idea quite how loud a rig this powerful and large is!

I'm delighted that Tim has chosen to use our cabs for many reasons, not least of which being that I've been a huge fan of Rage Against The Machine since I was in school.

Regarding the 'expertise/opinions' from some people:

1. Tim C rarely uses in-ears.

2. Tim used to use two 4x10"s and one 8x10", or two 8x10"s, depending on whether he was running two or three heads and the related pedalboard.

3. The sound of a speaker and the sound of a cab are inextricably intertwined - the cab determines how the speaker sounds and vice versa. If you mic a speaker you hear the sound of the cab, just like if you look at a person in a hall of mirrors you see what they look like from that angle and many other angles too.

4. I've never had a problem with 10" speakers, I just had a problem with speakers that couldn't do what I needed them to do and the assumption that a certain diameter of speaker is ideal for bass guitar with no logic or engineering sense behind it.

5. There are a lot more differences between our 10CR range and every other 10" bass guitar cab on the market than simply the addition of a low pass filter on half the drivers in the larger cabs. If you doubt that, ask why people are liking the One10 so much, when previously 1x10" bass cabs have been rarely usable for bass without accepting massively compromised tone.

It's a shame when opinion masquerades as fact.

I did. Avalon U5 as a preamp into a QSC PLX3002 power amp. That was into two Acme Low-B2s but they were then replaced by a DIY cab of my own design which became the Barefaced Big One. The Barefaced Big Twin 2 is the direct descendant of that first cab and I still use that same rack. Until you get into [b]very[/b] expensive (and usually very bulky and heavy) active PA speakers I don't think it's possible to achieve better high accuracy reproduction of your DI'd tone.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1464713191' post='3061739']
I bet that's a bit loud.

Surely he can afford some good monitors?
[/quote]

That's what's behind him. He has three 15" JBL wedges in front of him.

Apparently Brad keeps complaining that he's too loud...

This is a spectacularly illogical poll. If you honestly think that no class D amps can do heft then why on earth would some £200 9V powered effect pedal be able to add that heft? What I call 'heft' is the ability of a rig to produce unencumbered weighty sonic output below 80Hz. Others may consider it something else...

[quote name='sunburstjazz1967' timestamp='1464359057' post='3058841']
If a player has a specific tone they want then that's great, that's why Alex requires all your info up front but for me I'd rather have a cab that does lots of things fairly well than one designed and supplied for a specific setup. I don't know If I'll be rocking out with a pick or playing some blues finger style from one gig to the next, I use a variety of heads too, I haven't got time to adjust my pickup height between songs to suit the cab!
[/quote]

It's quite amazing how you can say one thing on the internet and it can be misinterpreted in so many fascinating ways! Our cabs have huge tonal range but as we have a one month trial period I'd rather stop someone buying our Four10 if they want to sound like Mark King - because it won't do that, it doesn't have a tweeter. Pickup height is set and forget but is a common source of bassists' tone problems - the pickup height/balance is set wrong and then the EQ etc on bass/amp/cab is used to try to correct the balance.

For me the whole premise behind our designs has always been about getting great and consistent tone with minimum effort.

I look forward to this post being misinterpreted too!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1463394175' post='3050915']That looks interesting.[/quote]

I race mountain bikes (very amateurishly) and as I lack awesome skillz I'm trying to make up that deficit by getting stronger and fitter, hence the deadlifts. But I'm amazed how it sorts out my posture and stops me having those mornings where I wake up with my neck/shoulders all out of whack. Can manage four Eight10s now!

I don't think it's age, it's excessive use of cars, computers, smartphones (all terrible for posture), TVs with remote controls, and a generally sedentary lifestyle (bad for core strength). No wonder injuries occur when the only exercise some people get is moving their gear. And if you're about to play some music you'd be better off saving the physical energy for the gig rather than moving the rig.

Backs are very complex structures and most people don't 'listen' to their bodies, so small problems become big problems over time. I've had upper back/neck issues in the past (though never related to moving gear). Flexibility and core strength are critical if you don't want to end up broken. I've become quite a fan of both yoga and deadlifting (this is like a magic exercise for sorting out posture and core strength).

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1463351935' post='3050744']Well just a qucik update. After taking the advice in this thread i have been getting on with the BB2 a bit better, but its still not for me. Its the unevenness of the output im struggling with. While the low notes/E sting have loads of heft to them sometimes its too over powering, yet at the same time the upper strings are getting lost.[/quote]

That's a bass set-up issue - the pickups need balancing. I might have put this in one of our older manuals but I see it isn't in the current one. If you're having that problem through the cab you'll have the same problem when DI'd through the FOH or when recording.

A lot of bassists will adjust their pickup balance through a little practice amp or at home practice volume. If you do that you're likely to end up with the low strings too loud and the high strings too quiet once you're at gig loudness - I do the main adjustment at home and then take a screwdriver to rehearsal/gig for fine tuning. You may need to do this whenever you change the brand/type/gauge of your strings and you'll always need to do this with a new bass or if you've adjusted your action or set-up significantly.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1463097854' post='3048661']Custom designed speakers must be a very small part of Eminence's business. They will be selling many thousands of their own speakers so why would they want to tread on their customer's toes?[/quote]

The vast majority of Eminence's business is as an OEM specialising in drivers (woofers/mids/tweeters) for other manufacturers. They were established as a business in 1966 (50th anniversary this year), initially making three 18" woofers per week for Ampeg. Their production rate expanded to 10,000 speakers per day but they only started selling their own 'Eminence' branded products in 1999 - before then you could only buy an Eminence speaker if it came in a finished product from another manufacturer.

The OEM agreement means that the manufacturers they supply will only use the items in completed products and will not sell the bare OEM parts on their own AND that the OEM will not sell these products to anyone else or disclose data about them.

Where you turn your gain/volume knobs to on different amps is completely irrelevant. Some amps run out of power at 3/10, some amps keep getting louder to 9/10. Just depends on how the gain stages are configured.

And as soon as you change the player and the instrument, the point that an amp will run out of power changes - you're not just plugging in a CD player where everything is mastered to 0dB peaks.

Thanks for the comprehensive review! I just have one thing to say, regarding this:

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1462794544' post='3045653'][b]Are there ANY disadvantages..?[/b]
Yes. If you're in a metal band or other rock band where attitude is a big part of the deal, then you are going to be laughed out of the building if you turn up with a tiny little rig like this. My advice would be to get a couple of empty 4X12 cabs and place a One10 in each... However, if you're confident with yourself and are not, er... compensating for anything then you'll have no issue.[/quote]

There is no way in hell a One10 would have been loud enough in my last band, not even in rehearsals. Two One10s might have coped but wouldn't have been clean enough with the amount of lows at high SPL I demand. If you get used to playing in quieter bands you quickly forget quite how [b]LOUD[/b] louder bands can be and how the rig you need has to exponentially increase in power to cope.

This is the first I've heard of tolex peeling since we changed adhesive last spring/summer. Very disappointed to hear it's occurred and that we haven't been directly told about it, especially as it happened after such a short time. Hopefully it's a rare case because since we launched the One10 we've sold a lot of cabs from the 10CR range which are all tolexed.

The way the tolex is wrapped is the standard way of doing it, one piece around the sides, top, base and into the baffle, with a separate piece for the back - inspect 95% of tolexed bass cabs and you'll see the same seam arrangement. Guitar cabs are different because the rear panel is usually removable or missing.

The adhesive we use is specifically made for tolex so this problem surprises and worries me!

The way to understand ports is that they're just like a mass bouncing on a spring. The bigger the port volume, the greater the mass. The bigger the cab volume, the softer the spring. The bigger the port area, the harder the spring. A heavier mass lowers the tuning frequency. A softer spring lowers the tuning frequency.

If your port is too small in area then the port develops turbulence and instead of having a neat and tidy lump of air vibrating back and forth (like having a subwoofer whose cone is made of air), you get air blowing/chuffing/whistling back and forth. If you increase the port area that stiffens the spring and raises the tuning frequency, so you then need to lengthen the port to increase the mass and bring the tuning frequency back down. Making the port volume bigger makes the cab volume smaller (assuming the port is within the cab) so that raises the tuning frequency again. And round and round you go until you get where you want to be!

A port should be tuned to help out where the speakers start rolling off. Below the port tuning frequency it starts to cancel out the output from the woofers, so you have to be careful not to tune too high or you lose more than you gain.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1461756926' post='3037337']
Alex. . . . . please bring a couple of One10's.
[/quote]

I'll be amazed if there aren't a couple already coming!

I'll bring a Four10 because that'll be the least offensively loud if you want to hear your amp cranked up!

[quote name='JPJ' timestamp='1461361324' post='3034122']
I own an Aguilar AG500SC and I can assure you that when coupled with a suitable speaker cabinet(s) it is not found lacking in the 'heft' department.

We have had this debate on here several times and the conclusion always seems to be that the perceived lack of heft in a class D amp is not down to the amp topography, but down to the switch mode power supply they are often coupled with to achieve these ultra small form factor amps. Irrespective of the amplifier, the Aguilar has a proper iron transformer power supply which most accredit as being the source of the heft.
[/quote]

It isn't, it's down to current delivery. A powerful SMPS will far outperform a less potent transformer+smoothing caps supply. Big bass notes need high current and sustained high voltage without sag for much longer than most Class D modules are designed for.

[quote name='barneyg42' timestamp='1461321732' post='3033627']Hmm, tough one,I don't tend to use any grit with my sound so the F500 sounded ideal but if it has trouble pushing a power hungry cab (ie Barefaced)[/quote]

The only 'power hungry' cabs we ever made were possibly the original Big One and the original Big Baby. Even then its debatable whether they were. The rest are all very efficient for their size and that amp will be plenty for most players.

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1461253810' post='3032953']
Kind of weird that the shipping and cost to the USA is cheaper than it would be to other EU countries! (bar the UK)?
[/quote]

VAT. Switzerland and Norway etc would be cheaper too. But everywhere outside the EU will have import duties to pay at their end.

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1461252970' post='3032939']
Urgh why did they have to make them with no 1/4 speaker output. My dodgy cab is hard wired. Slightly annoying I will have some soldering to do or get an adaptor. If I get one.
[/quote]

If you use a speakon plug then there won't be any soldering - chop the old jack off, strip the leads to the right lengths and they'll screw into the speakon.

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1461173869' post='3032199']Will the 300 version be loud enough for gigs in general? While not getting into a cab debate.[/quote]

Unfortunately you can't say if any cab is loud enough for any gig without getting into a cab debate - amps don't make any sound on their own!

300W into a 4x10" will be as loud as 600W into an equivalent 2x10" (if the 2x10" could handle all 600W, which is unlikely). And 300W into an 8x10" will be as loud as 600W into an equivalent 4x10". Etc etc.

I haven't tried one of these yet but I like the preamp design!

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]01. Hamster -[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]02. Silverfoxnik - BC Rich Eagle, Hayman 4040, Schecter Diamond P5, Ampeg V4BH amp & 115 Classic cab[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]03. TheGreek - not sure what I'm bringing yet...[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]04. Happy Jack - I'll be there with a love that will see you through[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]05. JapanAxe - probably everything in my signature. HERBIE FLOWERS - woot woot![/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]06. Macdaddy.[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]07. obbm[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]08. Billy Apple. Spectors, Marshall valves and EAD[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]09. Nancy Johnson; Thunderbirds/Whatever amps I'm running.[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]10. TrevorR - Wal MK 1 Custom, Wal Pro IIE (well, I had to...!), Ariapro2 SB700, Markbass LM2 and Traveler 2x10 and 1x15[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]11. Bluejay - cameras, video equipment; no basses, unless someone asks to see a specific model. I will also be there as BGM's reporter[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]12. NickD - Maruszczyck Elwood L5A, TE Series 6 1x15 Combo, Zoom B3.[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]13. Rumblefish - Rumblefish Bass,Fender Roadworn Jazz, Acoustic 370 amp,Acoustic 1x15 cab.Copy of Herbie Flowers single. [/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]14. Bottle - the usual: Ibanez bass, 1x12 Cab, 1x10 Combo, Pedals[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]15. alexclaber - Barefaced things and a RIM Custom 5 and maybe an old Warwick Streamer[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]16.[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]17.[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]18.[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]19.[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]20. [/font][/color]

I can make this!

Does anyone want me to do a talk about speakers or audio or Barefaced or bass or any of my Mastermind specialist subjects?

My car isn't that huge so I'm not sure how much of the Barefaced range I can bring - if I know what won't be here then I'll bring those bits. I'll bring my RIM Custom 5 because it's awesome.