stevie

[quote name='Stylon Pilson' post='492114' date='May 19 2009, 09:05 AM']That seems a bit... steep.[/quote] "One of the other factors that will have an influence on sound quality is the quality of copper the cable is constructed from. Standard copper, found in household wiring and many budget audio cables, is known as tough pitch copper. This contains 500 to 750 parts per million of oxygen and this will cause the copper to oxidise." Oh dear. At least they didn't mention skin effect.

Why does (b bracket) come up as a smiley?

[quote name='farmer61' post='491901' date='May 18 2009, 09:51 PM']Anyone on here sell good quality (unused) cables, I suspect my gig cables are in need of replacement. Cheers.[/quote] OBBM seems to be the man - plenty of happy customers on here. Do a search. I make my own, but I respect the fact that a) he doesn't constantly spam the list to flog his products and doesn't slag off the competition at the drop of a hat. Because I make my own, I can tell you that he uses the best quality parts.

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='488980' date='May 15 2009, 03:27 PM']If you are handy with a router... route out that skunk stripe,[/quote] I was told once that if you tried to do that and the router bit touched the trussrod, it could shatter and have your eye out in a twinkling. Just saying.....

[quote name='Beedster' post='488674' date='May 15 2009, 11:19 AM']I wrote a thread a while back about the placebo effect and bass guitars and I think it's highly relevant to this thread also[/quote] I haven't read your comments, but I'm sure they apply to most of the discussions about gear on here. I owned a 1961 Strat. It was OK. Nothing special. A bit too 'edgy' if anything.

[quote name='redstriper' post='488425' date='May 15 2009, 12:47 AM']Take the Roland to uni for practising. Leave the GK with a band member and get him to take it to the gigs for you.[/quote] I love a bit of lateral thinking. Sounds like a great idea to me.

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='486587' date='May 13 2009, 07:52 AM']I'm going to charge a measly £2.50 per board if its a stompbox-size one plus a flat rate £1 for p&p. Send me the pcb image and I'll have a look for you.[/quote] That's an amazing deal!

[quote name='danlea' post='486627' date='May 13 2009, 09:11 AM']I have to say I have similar experience with the *hot* stack at the bridge of my Japanese Precision (see signature). The volume is not as high as the non-stack version I have in my backup bass, but this could also be due to distance from the bridge and the guitar specifics.[/quote] I have a similar issue with Duncan P-Bass and Jazz pickups on the same bass. They are both vintage model pickups but the bridge Jazz pickup is quieter than the P-bass. The pickups themselves are fine (I've measured them). I have a Quarter Pounder Jazz waiting to go in now in an attempt to balance them up. The lesson here, as you say, is that there is always less output from a pickup near the bridge.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='486323' date='May 12 2009, 08:27 PM']Shouldn't that be Bl? [/quote] I'll ask Neville next time we go for a pint.

[quote name='dood' post='486313' date='May 12 2009, 08:16 PM']Written by Neville Thiele, 1993 in the Audio Engineering Society publication. Nicely quoted. [/quote] Thanks. Neville deserves to be quoted more, don't you agree? Good googling, by the way.

[quote name='TGEvans' post='486302' date='May 12 2009, 08:09 PM']Thanks, I think........ Seriosly though I think it should be fine.[/quote] I think you're right. As Alex said, it should be loud enough for just about anything.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='486268' date='May 12 2009, 07:20 PM']A good 2x15" at full blast might produce about 130dB SPL @ 1m which is roughly 10 acoustic watts. A decent band with good dynamics might run between 100 and 120dB at the audience, which is between 0.1 and 1W.[/quote] Just to amplify that, the magnetoelectrical performance of a loudspeaker driver is often characterized by the force factor B1, in units of tesla-meters. However, the parameter B1-Rc, in units of newtons per -watts, which can be described as a force conversion Fme, allows more meaningful comparisons of magnetoelectrical structures, while a second force conversion factor Fam, with units of -watts per newton, similarly allows comparison between the acoustomechanical characteristics of different cones. The efficiency (ratio of acoustic watts out to electrical watts in) of the driver is derived by multiplying these two force conversion factors together and squaring their product. Back to you, Alex.

[quote name='rmorris' post='485444' date='May 11 2009, 11:27 PM']I would have to say that NiMH rechargeables do tend to drop their voltage / power more rapidly than alkalines and more so as they get older. It depends on lots of things though - pattern of use / temperature etc. and is a whole topic in its own right. btw they also tend to lose charge more quickly when 'in the drawer' so don't bank on those ones that you charged up the other week still being okay. Various brands tested but I can't see big differences between them. Views welcome.[/quote] Can't say I've noticed NiMH rechargeables weakening as they age, and I use quite a few. However, it is true as you say that they 'self-discharge' over a period of between 3 and 6 months. You should therefore top them up just before you use them and remember that you will need to fully recharge them in 6 months at the latest whether you use them or not. There is no point in using them in things like clocks (or basses for that matter), where an alkaline normally lasts for years. Having said that, alkalines usually last a year in some of my meters, but I have a habit of forgetting to switch them off. That's where rechargeables really come into their own.

[quote name='jake_tenfloors' post='224272' date='Jun 22 2008, 05:00 PM']Duracell rechargeable ftw.[/quote] Yes, rechargeables all the way. You can get the top brands for around £6 each or pretty good ones from Aldi for £1.99 when they are in stock. It's a no-brainer - and you'll be looking after the planet.

[quote name='machinehead' post='484385' date='May 10 2009, 04:52 PM']So, after that long-winded introduction here are my questions: 1. What speaker should I buy to best match the Markbass B&C speaker in the combo? 2. Would this be successful if I simply copied the dimensions of the combo, including the rear port? (By this I mean would the two similar sized boxes be a decent balanced match?) 3. Roughly what sort of results should I expect by adding another 12", similar sized cab to the 121 combo? More volume? Deeper sound? That is what I am hoping for. 4. Finally, would building this cab be worth the effort based on the expected returns, sound and volume wise bearing in mind I will also have a Compact cab. I'm hoping the responses to this thread will help me decide this.[/quote] 1. The best match would probably be the same one that’s already in the Markbass cab you have. You’re unlikely to be able to get hold of one though. Even if they are using a standard B&C driver, it will have a different model number because of the different colour cone. The only way of finding out for sure would be to measure the speaker parameters, something that requires specialist equipment. It might be worth looking inside the cab just in case you can deduce what speaker is in there. B&C drivers are not cheap, however. A 400-watt neodymium 12” from B&C will cost you around £150. 2. Yes, that would be a reasonable plan. Even if you can’t get the identical driver, you should be able to find something that works reasonably well in what looks like a 35-litre box. There are a few Celestion 12s that would fit the bill. The two Green label bass speakers look OK for the purpose – the BL12-200X (ferrite magnet) and the BN12-300X (neo magnet). As there is only 1kg difference in the weight, you might want to save money by opting for the ferrite magnet one. The power handling difference will not be an issue in practice. 3. You’ll get more volume and an impression of more bass. Depending on what you have at the moment (I'm not really familiar with it), the combination of the two may well go lower. 4. The driver will cost you something in the region of £70. You could always knock a cabinet up in half-inch chipboard and No More Nails glue from B&Q just to try it and get a feel for what you need to do should you decide to build a proper cab (15mm birch ply would be good). Total cost with the wood will be around £120, depending on how you finish it. Certainly worth a go, I’d say. However, it’s quite possible you won’t need another cab when you get your Compact, as you’ll have two already. It's a decision that you have to make yourself. But as a project for familiarizing yourself with speaker building, it's probably a good one. You might like to download and check out the freeware WinISD software to model what you are doing.

[quote name='redstriper' post='483274' date='May 8 2009, 08:15 PM']I would be interested in these if no one else wants them.[/quote] Can I join the queue? If anyone else would like to pass on some used flats, I'd be happy to send a stamped addressed Jiffy bag. It's a lot of money if it doesn't work out.

[quote name='Mike' post='483153' date='May 8 2009, 05:34 PM']I don't think there are any legal repercussions with midi files. Especially with something like Autumn Leaves. Post away![/quote] The system won't let me. If anyone wants it I'll have to email it.

I have a midi file with an amazing transcription of Autumn Leaves by the Bill Evans trio. Can I post it here (or maybe just ask if you'd like a copy)?

[quote name='Fitzy73' post='482380' date='May 7 2009, 08:14 PM']Hi , I fitted SD STK J1 Basslines to a jazz bass project(passive with 250k pots) as per installation guide . The problem is the volume is not as good as my other basses. have i missed something or is my pots faulty . anyone use these pick ups before or had the same problem cheers fitzy73[/quote] The volume should be around the same as a standard Jazz pickup. If it were me, I'd recheck my wiring from the pickup, then try swapping the outputs from one of the coils - just in case one is out of phase. However, it's never happened to me - so I'm not speaking from experience here.