Phil Starr

I have dehumidifiers for drying plaster having done that for years they are now drying clothes so I have data. When we put the washing out the humidity in the room quickly climbs to 80% the washing is dry when the air in the room reaches 43%. That's quite a range and I wouldn't want my basses going through that cycle too often. I don't think you'd get sudden catastrophic failure but I can only suspect the neck would distort in the end. One of the luthiers might ha ve a better idea. Remember this is with forced dehumidification (wasn't that a RHCP song) natural drying will take longer and the humidity won't go so low, which is good, but the bass will be damp for longer. Could you leave it in a case or compromise in another room with some wall hangers

Good point, sweeping statements are almost always nonsense. I should have said don't choose on the basis of the magnet material alone. The whole process of choosing ends up with a compromise of budget, convenience, taste and practicality. My own go to cabs are tiny, simply because most of the venues I play are pubs and stage space is almost always a problem. Sound still comes first but only just and the point about neo speakers is you can get a great sound in a lightweight package.

you've probably asked the wrong crowd We are all bass players you know, the ones who hang around with musicians. People sing because they like music, like performing or just like singing. Some people don't have the skill or the charisma or even the desire to be up at the front. The bassist is rarely the star of the show even if they are the best musician in the band. I love the sound of bass and the role it fills in the music, and I love working with people to make something greater than the sum of it's parts. I also love vocal harmony but I can't do it, even the little bit of backing vocals I do to thicken the melody line I really enjoy and if the song sounds better with it I'll give it a go. It's great to work with a really good musician, everyone sounds better, even me. Why wouldn't anyone want that, and if you don't have the confidence to lead a band or you just have the second best voice why let your ego get in the way of the music or the fun. One of the great joys of music apart from the music itself is working as part of a team.

There is definitely a premium to pay for neo speakers but there is also a lot of profiteering on the exotic for early adopters too. There was a big price hike for neo when the Chinese cornered the market for Neodymium pushing up world prices. Now the prices have come down as other countries started to produce Neodymium the difference is less than it was. Just checking on the retail prices equivalent B&C drivers the neo driver is slightly cheaper (but has a pressed steel frame) against the much heavier ceramic magnet equivalent. For Eminence Delta Pro v's Deltalite £113 plays £142, that's roughly a 30% increase. Ironically a pressed steel chassis makes more sense when you have lighter magnets and don't need a fancy supporting structure but neo speakers tend to be higher standard all round. Neo magnets size for size are much more powerful than cheap ceramic magnets and even small neo magnets often outgun the traditional ones. It really is that much better at being a magnet. Elecctric cars would be milk floats without neo magnets and wind turbines would be massive too. So given that the cab cost and labour should be the same and in a combo you have the same amp a neo cab should have maybe a 20% mark up and a combo less in percentage terms, maybe 10-15%. but the neo speakers are seen as the luxury model, they may have better finishes or other tweaks or the speakers may just not be identical to the traditional ones. I couldn't find any information on the gorm but on EBS's the neo combo's were showing an extra 3dB of output so better (louder anyway) speakers are being used in the neo line. People pay silly money for all sorts of extras on their cars, or their basses to be honest so if super lightweight is important expect to pay silly money until the early adopters have all bought them and the prices start to flag. In the end I'd buy mainly on sound rather than anything else. If the specs are different then the sound is going to be too.

+1 more on the Zoom in my case the B1ON much more practical and satisfying than a metronome.

Yeah there are definitely songs that would benefit from pick playing and that precision in the timing is something I don't always achieve with fingers. The trouble with playing covers is there's pretty much always the next song to learn and the easy route of using the tricks you already have to hand instead of learning new techniques. The lack of gigs means I have time to do something but motivation has always come from the things I did wrong at the last gig I've got back to playing an hour a day again though and cleared the backlog of songs to learn so now looks a good time to do some work on the basics. How are you getting along with the online courses? (thread derail)

Thanks for sharing that, coincidentally I'm another whose pick playing is non existent and last night I was idly playing through a few songs with a pick thinking I should really use this time to work on using one. Seeing this first thing this morning it looks like an ideal song make a start with. A nice get back to basics moment for me. I wasn't a huge fan of Duran Duran, too over-produced and over-hyped for me at the time, but I always loved the rhythm section and the bass in particular. I wish he hadn't mentioned the Aria Pro though, I don't need another bass.

This too will pass This disease won't last forever. Eventually the govt. will sort out testing and new infections will fall to single or maybe double figures per day. Medical treatments will improve and almost certainly a vaccine will be found. The only question is how quickly they will get the infection rate down and how many people will be killed by government inaction and social irresponsibility. I really feel for those who depend upon music for their living. Two of my band mates are in that position. In a couple of years this is going to look very different. China, New Zealand and South Korea have shown what can be done. It should be easier in an island state with a well educated population but we don't have much competence at the top with our populist leaders. Most of the pubs will reopen, and the other venues. People will want to party for a while and for a few they will have a new interest in live music and a social life. The new normal will be very much like the old normal, for a while we might even value each other a little more but day to day it will only be medical practices that change. All we can really do is wait, hone our music and support measures to bring down the infection rate. The quicker the better so the more action the better for me.

I pretty much agree with all of that but particularly with the last bit. Changes occur in speakers over time. Paper cones are made from wood fibre (plant fibre strictly, as some fibres from other plants are sometimes mixed in) Paper holds together because of chemical bonds which form mainly in the lignin which forms the bulk of plant fibres, these bonds will increase slowly across time increasing the bonding. The cone will also absorb some moisture from the air and the physical movement and flexing of the cone will break some of the bonds and also over time the fibres themselves. There are loads of other factors too and other materials in the speaker will change over time too. This process doesn't stop either the speaker will go on changing over it's whole lifetime. Even so Eminence is just one voice, there is a lot of conflicting evidence in the literature about this and it was a hot topic amongst hi-fi enthusiasts in the 80's, and probably since then too. Some of the changes are self cancelling and listening tests proved inconclusive, even with some pretty expensive hi fi speakers people couldn't reliably hear the difference. You don't need many watts of 20Hz to push these speakers beyond their limits so to leave an inaudible signal running through possibly a 300W bass amp overnight untended fills me with dread. Especially since it is to no long term advantage. For me the fun bit is to play bass through the speaker, particularly one you've just finished building. The changes are going to happen whatever you do and as Eminence themselves imply they are going to happen over time anyway.

It's like looking at an old friend Well done, it's great to see a successful build. I really hope you get as much fun out of it as I have as soon as the restrictions are lifted and you can get out with your band. FWIW I never worry about 'breaking in' a cab. The first few hours are best spent playing bass IMO and with a new cab I'm going to spend at least an hour playing bass, trying all my amps and basses in turn and fiddling with eq, but then I need all the practice I can get. The changes in sound from breaking in aren't dramatic and a few people have questioned whether you can hear them at all.

It's true about the weight. If I'm doing a jam session rather than a well paid gig I tend to take my Wharfedale Titans that weigh nothing and sound great so long as you don't put anything bassy into them. If I need bass I've got a couple of old JBL subs I stick underneath. An easy lift versus more trips to the van is a perfectly sensible thing to think about. Our band use QSC 12's for gigs but someone else brings those

I'd not worry about wattage, here's why. Most people will go for a PA which is 12" bass driver + horn. 12" drivers can usually only handle about 3-400W. (a bit more for a 15" and a bit less for a 10 usually) at the most. Less at lower frequencies. If you go active then the amps will usually be class D but computer controlled (called DSP) The amp may well be a 1000W amp but is controlled by the DSP to prevent the speaker ever getting more power than it can handle. If you buy an active system it may well claim 1000W based on the amp but it won't usually be louder than a 400W speaker. Ideally look at the maximum output in decibels, though this itself will be exaggerated and not always by the same amount. The reality is that most 12's from the top manufacturers put out very similar sound levels and all will be enough for the average pub gig or even slightly more. RCF, QSC and Yamaha are my current value for money favourites in that order but there is a lot of good stuff to choose from. The next question is are you going to put bass and kick drums through the PA, and how loud do you want to go? If the answer is yes and deafening then you might want to look at a bigger speaker with a 15" bass unit or buying a sub or two. (you'll generally only need one but that's another issue. Not only will the sub give you more and deeper bass but by reducing the power going through the tops it will clean up your sound. Finally I'd go for active speakers, unless I was running a hire company. It's years since I had a failure at any gig so with sensible use of your own gear you can expect good levels of reliability. Having active speakers and up to date lightweight gear means setting up and knocking down time is considerably reduced and the leads are what go wrong so having fewer boxes means fewer leads. Also the DSP will look after your stuff if somebody does try something stupid. What is your budget?

Wow, listening to it now. Lovely tone too.

If you use this method with the battens you can leave the screws in, they aren't anywhere near the edge of the panels.

My feelings are pretty much the same, I'd say start with a four string and look at P basses and J's. Or a PJ of course. There are plenty of other fine basses out there that you might like and which are lovely to play and sound great but I started off thinking 'don't buy Fender you are paying for the name, in any case surely design has moved on since then' I'm now the proud owner of a P and a J and have stopped looking anywhere else. Fender/Squier are reasonably good value for money at most of the price points. Some come off the production lines better than others though so even if you buy new try them out and see how they feel in your hands. The big difference between the P and J for a beginner is that the P bass traditionally has a thicker neck, most of us find a J more comfortable to play especially if you have small hands or come from playing a guitar. Confusingly nowadays a lot of P's have a jazz neck or something in between. They sound different too but until you have spent a little time with them how they play is really the thing, the nicer they feel the more you'll play and the quicker you'll get there. I'd buy used, though difficult at the moment of course. In a couple of years you'll be as opinionated about basses as the rest of us and probably upgrading every few months so being able to trade in and get most of your money back is good. The market place here is good, and policed by all of us so reliable. the only problem is not a big selection of beginner basses. Good luck, it's getting hard to find a really poor bass nowadays so go out buy a bass and enjoy

Did you use a furniture polish? they usually contain silicones which 'disagree' with wax or oil finishes and make them go pale and cloudy. I would avoid waxes too to be honest. If you want to do anything I might use a bit of meth's on a cloth to just raise dissolve and remove any surface dirt and wax, but really gently and start in a small area you cannot see. If it's something you guard with your life though maybe take it to a qualified practitioner when times ease, or just leave it alone

I'm a woodworker not a luthier so take this with a large pinch of salt. Anything you do is going to change the tome of your bass, so proceed with caution. Your post got me thinking and I did a little research too. My initial thoughts were what would I do and my solution was shellac and very light natural oils, I'd also keep water away from the wood as any increase in the water content of the wood is probably not going to help. That seems to be what the on-line advice is, there are lots of violin varnishes based upon seedlac and plant oils it seems https://www.internationalviolin.com/Shop/varnish-supplies for example. Lot's of advice out there just search violin refinishing https://ourpastimes.com/how-to-revarnish-an-old-violin-12556279.html

coming along nicely It is such a simple construction technique isn't it?

Steve @skidder652003 band is soo loud so if he says it is enough it will be.

There's also almost enough for a couple of 1x12's. Easily enough to build one of Stevie's Basschat mk 3 super FRFR speaker. A 2x10 would be good too. @Marvin Given the lock down the gang here would be happy to design you something and talk you through the build, so long as you did a build diary we could all share. How much do you want to spend on drivers? Do you have a budget in mind? What sort of sound do you go for/ music do you play?

yep 18mm is good for a cab, better if you don't mind the weight, you have more than enough for one of these

Hope you like them The Beta's have a really prominent peak between 1kHz and 4k. they are also slightly underdamped so will give you a prominent peak around 100hz in most practical sized boxes, so will end up with a bit of a smiley faced eq baked in. the Beymas are similar but it won't be so exaggerated and you'll get a little more deep bass at power with the extra excursion. It's the kind of response I like in both cases but £15 per speaker makes it a no brainer.

I've made up all sorts of cabs with off-cuts, they all work and are a great basis for tweaking later on. This is an 8" cab too so the forces on it won't be excessive. At this stage I'd stick with what you have and see what it sounds like. If you turn up the cab really loud you can feel the panels vibrating with your fingers. Find the worst spots and put a length of dowel across the cab to damp the vibrations at that spot, by the time you have a couple of dowels in place you'll be pleasantly surprised at the damping you've achieved. You can go on doing this forever and there are other panel damping techniques too. The more wood you add the better it should get but you are adding weight all the time so there's a compromise. For the record MDF is a great material acoustically but heavy and doesn't cope with damp, chipboard (particle board in the States) is pretty good, medium weight, but has to be the right grade and is difficult to finish well and isn't very tough. Hardwood plywood is pretty tough and lightweight so great for portable cabs. Softwood ply is, well soft, so you don't get the toughness you want. Your cab is looking fine to me so get it finished and see what it sounds like, we can talk you through damping when you get to having a working cab

The type of ply you have chosen isn't the best choice for a cab, It's really made to be a cheap material for shuttering on a building site for forming poured concrete. You won't get significant stiffening by treating the surface, so why do it? I'd imagine the Tuffcab would take to the PVA with no problems but try it on a piece of scrap first. The Tuffcab would be better just applied straight to the wood though. If you want to stiffen the panels then you'd be better of bracing the cab, the simplest way of doing that is to run pieces of timber across the cab gluing them in place so that the opposite faces are joined somewhere near the middle of the panels, slightly off centre is best and make sure the braces don't get in the way of the speaker or reflex port.

they all take the same terminals