RichardH

Already got the pickups on order - it will be an Aguilar MM/J set - I'm happy to have a pickup cover on the bass, so no worries there. Mike's hopefully carving the neck next week

Haha - yes indeed! Waiting for hardware and pickups to arrive at the moment, so a bit of a pause in the build.

Yes, I know that - since it is a budget and quick job, I was just expecting a one piece neck like Mike sometimes uses in his trad looking Precision and Telecaster shaped "Talisman" basses. Here's the neck released from the clamps ...that second neck is a wenge beasty that he's building for someone else at the moment - I think it's going to have LEDs in it too. I'm not having front dots on the front - less work, and in the unlikely event that I miss them, then they can always be added afterwards.

Neck blank marked up and ready to get attacked Truss rod in place At first I assumed the four parallel lines up the neck were just markings for position, but the close up here made me realise that Mike has laminated the neck and run some ebony pinstripes up between the layers. I had been expecting a one piece neck, so that was a bit of a treat. Being cynical, I reckon it was just cos he didn't have any big enough lumps of maple around, so he's bodged a few offcuts together with some 6" nails and made it look like it's supposed to be like that... Neck shape roughed out Fretboard in position One or two clamps...

I think the pickup route for the MM pickup is oversize, so it needs to be covered by a pickguard. If I were speccing from scratch then I may well have gone for no pickguard. The body will be natural - maybe a bit of a tint to the finish - it's already got a sealer coat on though so again we're limited as to what funky finishes could be applied. Natural + tort is a classic combo in my book It's tempting to start speccing "interesting" things, but I keep reminding myself that this is a bass to take out to pub gigs, and is being built to a budget and intended to be turned around quickly (though the pickups will take a bit of time to arrive from the US). I have some pics of neck progress I will dig out later and put up.

I've been having a few shoulder problems recently, and although my G&L isn't super heavy at 10lbs, it aggravates my shoulder after a 3 hour rehearsal.... So I was chatting to Mike Walsh and asked him if he happened to have any pre-made bodies knocking around that were particularly lightweight - the idea was to see if I could get him to build a lightweight "workhorse" gigging bass using stuff he had part finished already - partly to keep the cost down but also to speed the build time up. Anyway, he sent me photos of this, which he described as one of the lightest bodies he's ever made Here it is with a scratchplate on - I'm going to have one in tort though, and will be adding a J pickup - since the body's routed for it, it would be rude not to, wouldn't it. Unfortunately he didn't have any necks built, but did have a couple of pre-slotted rosewood fretboards - I've gone for the lower one ...So that's what we're going for. I am having Aguilar MM and J pickups in it, running passive - but using a Noll mixpot to allow the pickups to blend properly.

Wishbone Ash's Martin Turner is still rocking his white Thunderbird...

Looking good! What are you going to do about painting inside the port, or are you going for the bare timber look for baffle and port?

I'm getting a "content unavailable" message when clicking on the photo lists, Kipper.

Thanks Peter. We've had quite a time of it getting going with this - and Peter and the other people who've placed orders have been very understanding. We're slowly getting there, and are working through backlogs. Once we have things back on track, we're confident that we'll be able to turn cab orders round in a much more timely fashion.

I was going to say - sounds more like a hole than a port!

I can't comment on which sounds "best" - the key difference between the Alpha/Alphalite and the 18 Sound driver (apart from the price) is that the 18Sound is more efficient and is therefore louder. This is why it is needed for the 15 range as the 15" woofer kicks out more than the 12". If used in a single 12" cab, you need toi pad back the 18Sound otherwise it will be too prominent. The only reason to use the 18Sound in a 12" cab is if you intend to pair it with (say) a 12Sub - then you can have a pad switch for the mid to have it eitehr in padded "mode" when using the 12/6 by itself, or unpadded with you stack it with the 12Sub. The crossover for the 18Sound dirver is different from the Alpha crossover, and has a couple more components in it. Yes, you need a separate crossover for the tweeter too - in fact it is just a high pass filter, allowing only frequencies above 6Khz through. A lot of people find they don't need the tweeter, as the mid reaches right up to 6Khz so it's not like you won't get zip and sparkle from the mid.

Very nice. Fully agree re the comments on the photos and explanations.

Yeah - it'll cost a bleedin' fortune in drivers!!!

We have a couple of orders in the pipeline - it's taken a while to get get going with this for various reasons, but we should be starting to get them going very shortly - we have one kit cut and Mike and I are getting together tomorrow all being well to go over it and make sure it's good enough to send out.

Kind of hard to say, as it depends on what tools you have, skill/experience levels, desired finish etc. If you took it steady you should get one done in a couple of weekends from 8x4 sheet to completed cab - they're similar to a BFM Omni in complexity, but without the need to cut non 90 degree angles.

[url="http://greenboy.us/fEARful/faq.htm#What_is_the_minimum.2Fmaximum_wattage_required.3F"]This is about the only one I have come across[/url] - obviously this is a generated chart rather than a measured response, and is more intended to illustrate the differing maximum power output levels from the range.

Are these the pickups you had in the test bass at the Finnbass Ffumble, Alan? If so, then anyone a bass with getting them in will be verrrry happy.

The 3015 is quoted as handling 450W continuous, 900W peak, so a 500W head (is that at 8 or 4 ohms by the way?) should be fine. As for the kit prices, they're all on the website (see my sig). I can certainly assist with all the other aspects of building the cab, yes. Have you read up on these beasts? Remember that the 12Sub and 15Sub are not designed as stand alone bass cabs - they are an add on to another fEARful cab to add extra bottom end. The crossover specified for them is designed to roll off above (IIRC) around 6-800Hz, so that it can then let the mid driver in the other cab take over. I can't comment on what would happen if you altered or omitted the crossover to attempt to get a more full range cab out of it - and the 3015LF is an expensive driver to trash!

By a 1x15 do you mean the 15/6, the 15/6 tube or the 15Sub? As a matter of fact, the plans for the 12/6 have been updated recently to have a single top mounted recessed handle. It might be a bit more awkward with the 15s, but it could be looked at. The concern is that the balance point could really only be determined once the cab was loaded, which makes it harder to then cut. Also the mid chamber position means that any handle on the top will need to be pretty much centred - not much chance to have it forward of there, where more of the weight sits. So it might tip forward a bit - though that does give your drivers protection from the rain when carrying outside The other issue is that the 15/6 cab is 30" tall, which means it might be tricky to get much ground clearnace if carrying it from the top - a side handle might be more sensible. Price wise, we are aiming to offer fully built cabs at very similar prices to our Authorised Builder counterparts in the US - although with a slight uplift as drivers and crossovers are more expensive over here, and we are finishing in high grade Tolex as standard rather than Duratex or any other painted finish. So a 15/6 or 15/6 tube would be in the region of £740 in 12mm baltic birch, £770 in 15mm lightweight ply. A 15Sub would be around £500 in 12mm BB.

It's a matter of supply. Mike could well order some sheets of 12mm, but the way he buys ply in means it has to be in large quantity, so it will only be when he next needs stock of the usual 15 and 18mm. We can investigate other possible sources I guess, but the costs will be greater again.