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stevie

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Everything posted by stevie

  1. stevie
    It will be interesting to see how the manufacturer justifies that price.
  2. stevie
    I have to agree: that is a great P-Bass tone - and yes, no slap is a bonus. It's difficult to tell how much of it is coming out of the amp though and how much is DI'd.
  3. stevie
    I'm having a clear-out of cabinets, speakers, bass bits, etc. and dug out the Dr Bass 1260 that I've had for a while but didn't rate very highly. The last thing I did before storing it was to measure its frequency response and set the mid and HF attenuators accordingly. Having taking the photos and written the blurb, I decided to plug it in and have a quick listen. Bloody hell - it sounds as good as cabs I have with drivers that cost as much as this whole cab! To cut a long story short, if you have one of these (I know there aren't many in the UK), the flat setting is mid at quarter past and HF at quarter to. Hardly intuitive, and chances are you will not have reached this flat setting by ear. Mine is the ceramic driver version, by the way - I can't really speak for the neos. I still have too many cabs, but I'm going to give this one a try at the next band rehearsal before deciding whether to move it on. Personally, I think cab manufacturers should provide a useable response without resorting to mid and HF L-pads, as it is really easy to screw the sound up if you get the settings wrong.
  4. stevie
    I'm in Dorchester, Adrian.
  5. stevie
    [u][b]JBL 4646a 12” speaker cabinets - £20 each[/b][/u] This is a pair of JBL bass cabinets originally designed to take the JBL 2206 600W driver but will take other drivers as well. Most of them were used in installs as far as I know. I fitted a leather handle to one of this pair and have used it occasionally at rehearsals, but my wife insists that I have too many cabinets (she's right) and I need to have a clear-out. These can, of course, be used for PA but would also make a nice single 12 or 2 x 12 bass system for someone prepared to fit handles, feet and grilles and screw in a driver. Not a difficult job. They’re fitted with banana inputs and Speakons. These are compact and fairly lightweight cabs (about 10kg). Dimensions etc. in the manufacturer’s spec sheet: <http://www.jblpro.com/pub/obsolete/4646a.pdf> The Eminence Beta 12 I have for sale works fine in these. See below. [s]For the moment, these are collect only, sorry.[/s] [attachment=144068:IMG_2749 (Large).jpg][attachment=144069:IMG_2752 (Large).jpg] [u][b]Eminence Beta 12 250watts - £25[/b][/u] I have one good condition Eminence Beta 12 for sale in 4 ohms. Works well for bass guitar (and is recommended for bass guitar by Eminence), as the frequency response extends smoothly to 4kHz. Information and reviews here: [url="http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=290-408."]http://www.parts-exp...number=290-408[/url] If you’re picking up, I have a second one with a slightly bashed dome you can have for free. It seems to work all right, but no guarantees. [attachment=144070:IMG_2737 (Large).jpg][attachment=144071:IMG_2741 (Large).jpg]
  6. stevie
    [u][b]YAMAHA mg124cx[/b][/u] The Yamaha MG124CX 12-channel mixer is one of the best compact mixers you can buy for live or recording use. Excellent sonic qualities, particularly from the mic channels. There are tons of reviews of this mixer all over the web. Try this one from Prosound News: [url="http://www.prosoundnetwork.com/article/yamaha-mg124cx-small-format-mixer/7905"]http://www.prosoundn...rmat-mixer/7905[/url] which concludes – “Yamaha has been a market leader for some time. Now it appears that the MG124cx will extend Yamaha’s reach into the low-end of the live sound console market as well. The MG124cx has redefined my expectations for sonic quality in an inexpensive console." The manufacturer’s product info and brochures are here: <http://uk.yamaha.com/en/products/music-production/mixers/mg_series_cx_models/mg124cx/> Our drummer also has one of these and there is no point in the band having two. This one is pristine - I would say it looks like a brand new one. Price £120 (Thomann’s current best price £250). Delivery at cost. [attachment=144046:IMG_2732 (Large).jpg] [u][b]BEHRINGER Feedback Destroyer Pro DSP1124P[/b][/u] (now SOLD) The Behringer Feedback Destroyer Pro is a 2 x 12-band parametric equalizer as well as an automatic feedback eliminator. These units are also commonly used in home theatre installations to equalize the subwoofers and I expect it would work wonders on many bass rigs. For a full manufacturer’s description, see here: [url="http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/DSP1124P.aspx"]http://www.behringer...s/DSP1124P.aspx[/url] This is not new but has never been used - it even has the plastic film on the front display. I bought it from someone who had kept it in a cupboard for several years, but I happened upon a Behringer Ultracurve Pro DEQ just after I bought it and have been using that instead. I've checked and everything works perfectly. £40 in original box with manual. Delivery at cost. [attachment=144047:IMG_2733 (Large).jpg] [attachment=144048:IMG_2734 (Large).jpg][attachment=144049:IMG_2735 (Large).jpg] [u][b]QSC USA 850 - 850 watt power amplifier[/b][/u] This is the series of amplifiers that originally made QSC's worldwide reputation. Beautifully built (in the USA), they were made to go on forever, are ultra-reliable but fixable should the need arise. This one is 3u high and very compact (fits in a shallow 19" case), which makes it much easier to pick up and carry than an amp of standard depth. Brief specs as follows: Output 4 ohms 425 watts per channel 8 ohms 255 watts per channel Bridgeable into 8 ohms Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20kHz, +0/-1dB, 1 watt Damping Factor: Greater than 200 Noise: 104dB below rated output (A weighted) Cooling: Two-speed fan, rear-to-front air flow. Load Protection: On/off muting. DC-fault protection Weight: 15.4kg Dimensions: Standard 19" rack mounting faceplate Height: 5.25"(13.3cm). Chassis Depth: 9.5" (24.1cm) These are being used quite a bit for home hi-fi and theatre (thanks to a very quiet fan), especially in the US, where used prices seem to be higher than here. The last one sold on eBay UK (last week) went for £140 delivered. I’d like £90 for mine. Pickup welcome, or delivery at cost. [attachment=144061:IMG_2757 (Large).jpg][attachment=144062:IMG_2755 (Large).jpg] Also selling: [s]OLP MM2 bass[/s] (now sold) [s]Dr Bass 1260 3-way cabinet [/s](now sold) 2 x JBL 12" bass speaker cabs unloaded Eminence Beta 12" - 4 ohms
  7. stevie
    Both sold - thanks guys!
  8. stevie
    Another thumbs-up from another satisfied owner of a Protection Racket bass bag - not exactly the same as this one, but excellent nevertheless. And made in the UK no less!
  9. stevie
    You know you’d love a Sandberg California J4, but at £1500, that’s a very expensive bass. Here’s a pair of Delano pickups which I believe are the ones used on that particular instrument (although I can’t guarantee it). First, we have a PMVC4FE/M2 P-Bass replacement, which is boxed and in perfect condition. Review here: [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f38/delano-pmvc-fe-m2-review-863048/"]http://www.talkbass....-review-863048/[/url] The Musicman replacement, the MC4AL has seen more use and part of the logo has worn off but it works perfectly. These retail for around £100 each. Yours for £45 each – and yes, of course I’ll sell them separately. [attachment=144039:IMG_2723 (Large).jpg] Also for sale: OLP MM2 bass Dr Bass 1260 3-way cabinet 2 x JBL 12" bass speaker cabs unloaded Eminence Beta 12" - 4 ohms
  10. stevie
    Stingray copy officially licenced by Musicman. Passive. Maple neck. Basswood body. Humbucking pickup. Properly set up, nice action, no fret wear, nearly new strings, but with a few very minor scratches (which are invisible from a few feet away). There are plenty of reviews for this popular bass on the web. Here's one: <http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/bass_guitars/olp/mm2/index.html> I’ve fitted a Musicman pickup to my Yamaha – so don't need a separate bass. I can throw in a case suitable for shipping but would prefer a local sale if possible so that you can try it out first. £120 [attachment=144033:IMG_2730 (Medium).jpg] [attachment=144034:IMG_2728 (Medium).jpg] [attachment=144035:Headstock (Medium).JPG] Also for sale: Dr Bass 1260 3-way cabinet 2 x JBL 12" bass speaker cabs unloaded Eminence Beta 12" - 4 ohms Yamaha 12-channel mixer Behringer Feedback Destroyer QSC power amp
  11. stevie
    Paul bought a bridge from me and the transaction was as smooth as a baby's bottom.
  12. stevie
    [quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1377861910' post='2192870'] That's a sketch-up of a pre-production model, we use it to check all the panel & brace dimensions are correct before cutting the first example. [/quote] Well it's a good job I asked. I thought you said "Here's an example of how we do bracing". [quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1377861910' post='2192870'] But increasing panel stiffness through added thickness still leaves you with a single vibrating membrane with a fundamental frequency and a series of overtones - adding braces breaks that panel up into multiple segments. Spacing the bracing cleverly can make all the fundamentals occur at different frequencies. That makes a big difference. Now in an ideal world we don't want any panel resonances but I've yet to come across any PA or bass cab which has panels so rigid they have absolutely zero vibration at high SPL. [/quote] Yes, agreed. Bracing is good and should be a feature of all properly built cabinets - but bracing is not unique to lightweight cabinets. Offet bracing is something every amateur speaker builder knows about and hardly worth mentioning. [quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1377861910' post='2192870'] Something that's been missed in this discussion, which makes a huge and under-appreciated difference to tone, is that complex internal bracing like this gives the backwave lots of different surfaces to to reflect off, of varying sizes, spacings and angles from the source - not a million miles dissimilar to how a Stealth F117 reduces its radar signature. The bracing also makes it easy to suspend the damping material away from the walls of the cab, which makes it much more effective at damping mids by catching the wave where the velocity is higher and pressure lower (like how you damp the right harmonics in a transmission line). The reflected backwaves that do return to the cone are thus much lower in amplitude and much more widely distributed in frequency so you don't suffer unwanted peaks and notches in the mids. [/quote] Firstly, you can suspend damping material away from the walls of any cab that has a front-to-back brace. There's nothing unusual in that. Secondly, I find it very difficult to believe that a few extra braces will have any affect on the backwave, never mind make a "huge and under-appreciated difference in tone". While we're discussing the backwave, the biggest problem with a thinwall/lightweight cabinet is transmission through the cabinet walls because the mass law equation says that 6dB more of the backwave will escape through a cabinet with 9mm walls than one with 18mm walls - even more with a lightweight panel. So, if the goal is to contain the backwave, reducing wall thickness is exactly the wrong thing to do.
  13. stevie
    I love these strings. I'd buy them myself but my set is only 4 years old - they're not run in yet.
  14. stevie
    My Yamaha BB has a very slim neck and does a perfect imitation of a P-Bass (P-Bass pickup). There's a thread on them in this section that shouldn't be too hard to find.
  15. stevie
    [quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1377775016' post='2191573'] For someone with such strong opinions on this you're remarkably good at getting the facts wrong! [/quote] Always glad to back up my views with an explanation or evidence and always happy to take advice when I post incorrect information. [quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1377775016' post='2191573'] Some points to consider: 1. Panel stiffness is proportional to the square of the thickness, not the cube. [/quote] Here are some links: [url="http://www.netcomposites.com/guide/core-materials/44"]http://www.netcompos...re-materials/44[/url] "Engineering theory shows that the flexural stiffness of any panel is proportional to the cube of its thickness." [url="http://www.plastemart.com/upload/literature/Core_Materials.asp"]http://www.plastemar...e_Materials.asp[/url] "But because a plate's bending stiffness scales as its thickness cubed...." From Experimental and Applied Mechanics by Proulx "Stiffness of a plate or beam is proportional to the cube of thickness." From Handbook of Troubleshooting Plastics Processes by Wagner "Since stiffness is proportional to the cube of thickness..." From Specialized Molding Techniques by Heim "The overall stiffness of a box can be quantified by its "EI" product. The higher this product the stiffer the housing. Thinning the housing wall dramatically decreases its moment of inertia which is proportional to the cube of wall thickness." [quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1377775016' post='2191573'] 2. The resonant frequency of a panel is proportional to its stiffness divided by its mass - halve the mass and you double the resonant frequency [/quote] Well, physics really isn't my thing but I always thought the ratio wasn't direct and that there was a square root ratio involved here. You know, if you halve the mass, the resonant frequency doesn't double - it increases by 1.4 times. I checked this one out in the literature too. In the Handbook of Adhesion Technology (da Silva) I read: "In vibrating systems, the resonant frequency is proportional to the square root of the ratio of the stiffness to the mass" Mechanics of Poroelastic Media by Selvadurai "The shifting is due to the fact that the frequency is in general proportional to the square root of the stiffness to mass ratio..." Electromechanical Design "The resonant frequency of a vibrating member is proportional to the square root of the quotient of the spring constant (stiffness) divided by the mass." [quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1377775016' post='2191573'] Here's an example of how we do bracing: [/quote] Credit where credit's due, that's very good - certainly far ahead of anything your competition has done. You should have a word with Mr Foxen - he thinks a cross brace is all you need. Nevertheless, if you're using 9mm ply for that cab, elegant though it is, it will not be as inert as a cab made of 18mm birch with a circular brace and a back brace. I am assuming, as is everyone else, that this is a Sketchup of a production cab.
  16. stevie
    [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1377721073' post='2190953'] We looked into this very carefully when buying P.A ...and there was no doubt that a wooden cab beat the composite cab hands down on sound. Try the QSC K12 and K12W. for example. [/quote] Indeed. If you actually use your ears rather than swallowing every marketing claim on the web, the benefits of a stiff, non-resonant cabinet are plain to hear. Given the amount of engineering expertise available at QSC, you'd expect them to have maximised the performance of their plastic cab. (Bracing is a doddle with moulded cabs - you can build in as much stiffening as you like.) They don't say so, but it looks like they have even used the DSP to correct a cabinet resonance. Even so, there is a broad consensus that the wooden K12 sounds better than the plastic one. Whether they are worth the difference in price and in weight is, of course, purely subjective. I'm currently finishing off the design of a pair of passive PA speakers using the same drive units as the K12. They're working out very well indeed.
  17. stevie
    [quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1377720598' post='2190937'] additionally all the stiffness stuff doesn't work, half the panel thickness and brace across two opposing panels will happily give most of the stiffness of an unbraced full thickness one, along with massively reduced resonance/raised resonant frequency. [/quote] That's wishful thinking, as anyone who has ever braced a speaker cabinet will tell you. If it were as simple as this, nobody would make cabinets with thick walls. They would simply use material that is half as thick and stick in a cross brace. Job done! A cross brace adds stiffness at the point of contact but that stiffness quickly declines as you move away from that point. There is a formula for maintaining stiffness by bracing as you reduce panel thickness but, as I have tried to explain, you cannot keep making materials thinner ad infinitum. With a 12mm panel (birch) there is some weight saving to be made compared with a thicker unbraced panel, but if you try to make a 9mm panel as stiff as an 18mm one, you are likely to end up with something that is as heavy as an 18mm one. Quite where the point of diminishing returns lies is up to the designer, I suppose. Personally, I wouldn't want to go below 18mm to start with, not for bass anyway. But that is my opinion and I use a trolly. Comparing a braced thinwall cabinet with an unbraced cabinet made of 18mm material is all well and good. But this assumes that companies using 18mm ply for their boxes never brace them - which is not the case. [quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1377723525' post='2191037'] Changing ply composition is how you achieve the desired properties, there are a wide variety of different woods you can make ply form, as well as other materials that can be laminated into it. Kind of figured that was common knowledge. [/quote] If it's common knowledge, then do tell us what this material is and who is using it.
  18. stevie
    Wharefdale in its original incarnation made some hi-fi cabinets with foam cores in the 1970s using formica, I think, as the outer panels. They worked really well but were difficult to make because they had to be epoxied, which was problematic at the time. That is the only reason they discontinued them.
  19. stevie
    [quote name='redstriper' timestamp='1377720809' post='2190944'] I'm sure they shouldn't sound so good on paper, but they work for me and all those who have used them - that's not to say they would suit everyone. [/quote] If they are a plywood sandwich with foam in the middle, that does sound good on paper.
  20. stevie
    [quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1377720598' post='2190937'] All of this doesn't ring true. You absolutely can compensate for the reduced self damping of thinner materials, changing the ply composition can do that. additionally all the stiffness stuff doesn't work, half the panel thickness and brace across two opposing panels will happily give most of the stiffness of an unbraced full thickness one, along with massively reduced resonance/raised resonant frequency. Observing any engineered structure shows specific reinforcement is employed over plain mass, any large concrete structure isn't just made of masses of concrete, it is made of reinforced concrete, with an interior framework giving strength with concrete over it. Bridges are not made of a solid mass, but a framework of supports. [/quote] You know what doesn't ring true? The idea that you can keep making material thinner and thinner and by adding bracing maintain the same properties as thicker material. It's b*llocks. Otherwise, we'd all be using cabs made out of 3mm MDF. What does changing the ply composition mean? And yes, bridges are designed for rigidity. But they are made from strong materials to begin with, i.e. reinforced concrete or steel. You don't design a bridge by making a structure that is as light as possible and then reinforcing it with bracing, now do you? By the way, have you any idea how stiff a church bell is?
  21. stevie
    [quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1377403675' post='2187129']Like Stevie says there are two ways to save weight. Mass is one of the things that affects panel resonances, stiffness another and there are more, there is nothing new in making thinner speaker panels and bracing and damping them or even looking at alternate materials with different mass/flexibility/internal damping. Bracing any panel will reduce it's resonance and shift the frequencies involved. The lightweight cabs may use 12mm panels rather than 18mm saving 1/3 of the mass. Then use some of this saving to create the bracing, they may even then be more rigid and less resonant than a conventional cab.[/quote] Whilst theoretically possible in an ideal world, getting a 12mm panel as stiff as an 18mm panel requires some serious bracing – enough to make the box nearly as heavy as making it out of 18mm in the first place. The way I remember it, if you reduce the thickness of plywood by 3mm you reduce its stiffness by 50%. So a 15mm panel is half as stiff as an 18mm panel and a 12mm panel is half as stiff again. An 18mm panel is actually 8 times as stiff as a 9mm panel – and it's a lot worse if you're also using lighter materials like softwood ply. I don't think any of the companies making lightweight bass cabs are using a really sophisticated bracing system like the B&W Matrix because that would add too much weight. These companies are building lightweight cabs – so they use as much or as little bracing as they need to get the job done. The only company that provides any information on their cabinet bracing is Trace Elliot and they seem to be using a single circular brace. Good, but not belt and braces, although to be fair they don't make any special claims for their poplar ply cabinet anyway – except that it's light. Although in theory you can brace the bejaysus out of a thin panel to make it stiff, what you can't do is compensate for the reduced self-damping of thinner materials. Damping is what stops a material from ringing - and ringing is what makes cabinets sound bad. There's also the problem that the thinner material is less acoustically transparent and will allow sound to escape through the cabinet more easily at certain frequencies. So while I'm all in favour of neo drivers, I am not a fan of thinwall cabinets for bass. You can easily check the inertness of your cabinet (and thus how much spurious noise it is producing) by playing a low E on your bass whilst placing your (other) hand against the back panel.
  22. stevie
    As long as it fits in the hole, there is very little that could go wrong. Use some foam gasket round the Celestion when you fit it. Be VERY careful with the screwdriver - they have a tendency to slip off the screws and through the cone.
  23. stevie
    [quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1377344307' post='2186485'] I wonder if BF are available on the NHS? [/quote] We should all lobby our MPs!
  24. stevie
    You can buy an Ashdown 1 x 15 for about £150 on here. Even brand new they're ony £350. What's a Compact - £700?
  25. stevie
    [quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1377267953' post='2185624'] Yes you are! [/quote] Well I was only guessing but you certainly appear to have a lot of customers with bad backs.
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