stevie

[quote name='AM1' post='468598' date='Apr 21 2009, 02:47 PM']Are you off again?! It's like the Grand National this, except usually when a horse falls, it doesn't get back up! I'm getting strange looks here because of how much I'm laughing! [/quote] He's running in the pompous stakes and winning by a length.

[quote name='mildmanofrock' post='468557' date='Apr 21 2009, 02:27 PM']Agreed - well put. Thanks for your thoughts folks - you all confirm why I think this forum is bloody fantastic.[/quote] Don't you just love a happy ending?

[quote name='ped' post='468483' date='Apr 21 2009, 01:52 PM']Sorry AM1 I thought you said you hadn't been playing for very long, so got confused. Not that having played for a long time makes ones opinions any more valid.[/quote] I agree it's irrelevant. People are entitled to their opinion if expressed sensibly. If you want to disagree, disagree. But there really is no need for some of the insults that have been flying about. If AM1 prefers to maintain some degree of anonymity, he's entitled to it without having to put up with being quizzed about his background. What's with the lynch mob mentality today?

[quote name='alexclaber' post='467315' date='Apr 20 2009, 11:21 AM']Interesting that B&C don't even mention the arithmetic method![/quote] They include the information in every datasheet. [quote name='alexclaber' post='467315' date='Apr 20 2009, 11:21 AM']Also I believe Xlim is very important (though Xvar is probably even more useful though rarely quoted) - when you push a bass rig hard you are guaranteed to be frequently running past Xmax (maybe not with the Big One but with just about every other cab at least!) and so you want Xlim to be much higher than Xmax so you can get plenty of output without risk of damage.[/quote] I'd be happy if there were one single definition of xmax that everyone could agree on and stick to - preferably one that cannot be manipulated. But the industry has been trying to find one for decades and hasn't succeeded. This plethora of xmaxes in spec sheets doesn't help anybody except the marketeers who are happy to pick the biggest number and run with it. Xlim certainly gives you a good idea of how much abuse a speaker will take. I note that the Eminence 3015 in the Compact has the same Xlim as the Beta 15.

[quote name='escholl' post='467135' date='Apr 20 2009, 12:40 AM']see, to me, that Klippel method makes a lot more sense, as does BC's method of obtaining their parameter Xvar. Both of these analyses take into account the actual performance of the speaker. on it's own, voice coil overhang is meaningless, other than to tell you what i would assume is roughly how far the driver can move within a the fairly stable area of the magnetic field. it doesn't take anything else into account though in the actual performance of the speaker itself. unless i've missed something?[/quote] I do agree with you that xmax @ 10 percent is a more meaningful spec, but it has been the subject to some controversy because it has been misused, especially in the car audio sector where xmax has become a unique selling proposition. However, don’t underestimate the value of voice coil overhang. It is useful because it tells you exactly when the coil starts to leave the gap. It’s an accepted, commonly available specification and it is also relatively easy to check and virtually impossible to fudge. System designers continue to use voice coil overhang because they can find the distortion information they need by measuring (across the driver’s entire bandwidth rather than at the single frequency measured by Klippel).

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='466392' date='Apr 18 2009, 09:40 PM']Opinions? Seen these retail online at £899; worth the cash?[/quote] Hughes and Kettner are one of the few serious companies in the business. They have their own full-time electronics designers. They have their own in-house woodworking plant, which makes cabs for companies like JBL and others. They also build their own electronics, and last time I looked, were still making everything in Germany - unlike much of the rest who have shipped production (and jobs) to China. The guy in charge of production (and part owner of the company) has a master's degree in horn design. I could go on... I have a lot of time for them and did once own a Fortress preamp and power amps, until a so-called friend borrowed it and disappeared. (Dougie McKendrick, where are you now?). Quality gear.

[quote name='bassace' post='466943' date='Apr 19 2009, 08:00 PM']Ella, married to Ray Brown.[/quote] Yes. In a class of her own.

[quote name='4000' post='466663' date='Apr 19 2009, 12:26 PM']Karen Carpenter (bassist - no idea),[/quote] Joe Osborne - my kind of player.

[quote name='escholl' post='466437' date='Apr 18 2009, 11:43 PM']how do eminence measure then?[/quote] Their xmax measurements are based on how far the coil can travel before the speaker reaches 10 percent distortion. It’s a perfectly valid method, but it will always give a higher result than the voice coil overhang, which is why it is favoured by marketing departments. You calculate the voice overhang by taking the voice coil length, subtracting the height of the gap and then dividing the result by 2. Eminence provide an explanation here: [url="http://www.eminence.com/resources/data.asp"]http://www.eminence.com/resources/data.asp[/url] B&C has a good explanation of the different methods of quoting xmax. Go to their website at: [url="http://www.bcspeakers.com"]http://www.bcspeakers.com[/url]. Click on Products at the top and look under Excursion Limits.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='465976' date='Apr 18 2009, 10:57 AM']I'm using the 3015 in the Compact, Xmax=5.9mm and extended upper frequency response. The Schroeder 1212L cab no longer uses the Deltalite II 2512, it uses the Celestion BN12-300S, Xmax=2.5mm. Excursion limited output is basically dependant on your total cone area x excursion, so the older Schroeder 1212L cabs can match the Compact for this, whilst the newer ones have only half this volume displacement.[/quote] When comparing specs for drivers from different manufacturers you really should make sure they are measured in the same way. The Celestion xmax is the voice coil overhang, a figure that is quoted by every other speaker maker except Eminence. Eminence uses a method that can give a figure up to twice this.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='464544' date='Apr 16 2009, 11:11 PM']Is this the McIntosh, or Krell, or Mark Levinson, or Audio Research of bass amps?[/quote] You mean overpriced, overhyped and over here?

I've got an AH200 head, which really should be loud enough for most sane people and it's not heavy, at about 10kg. There's a big jump in weight when you go to the 300-watt version though.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='465015' date='Apr 17 2009, 01:55 PM']I don't know why but that description would have got alarm bells ringing for me.[/quote] Not to mention: I bought this bass 1 year ago, play only home, ..... and I add originally gig bag.

As a result of all the wise words in this thread, I just fitted a Gotoh (thanks Spree) to my 1984 Yamaha BB1100S. I was very sceptical, but couldn't help notice a clear difference. Better attack, more ' thump', greater definition, especially on the low E, which was sounding a bit wooly. The Jazz bridge pickup is slightly fatter and just about useable on its own now. I'm a convert. It also looks the biz!

Dan sold me a very nice Gotoh bridge for a very fair price - delivered it first class post, too, even though he didn't charge me for first class. The bridge is knockout, and the info and service were spot on. I'm very pleased.

The seller has just emailed me asking for another £4 for postage. The cheek! I've politely told him to take a running jump. He's likely to try the same thing on with you guys. Just for your info. Stevie

[quote name='JohnSlade07' post='442699' date='Mar 23 2009, 05:20 PM']Blimey it comes to something when the most serious advice comes from BBC![/quote]

I'd strongly advise you to go for a head and a cab rather than a combo. It will give you much greater flexibility. Also, it's not a bad idea to get second hand stuff to start with, as this will allow you to chop and change a bit while you get your bearings. This forum is certainly a great place to buy.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='442678' date='Mar 23 2009, 05:08 PM']I got my 1212L (new) in June 2008 as well.[/quote] Looks like they've downgraded to a pressed steel chassis.

[quote name='andy67' post='442326' date='Mar 23 2009, 11:56 AM']Eddie Van Halen says Billy was his main influence when learning to tap and shred![/quote] Would you like to point us to a source for that statement? It seems extremely unlikely to me, but I'm willing to be convinced.

[quote name='bassbloke' post='442455' date='Mar 23 2009, 02:21 PM']Utterly pointless comment.[/quote] No, there was a point to it, whether you agree with it or not. Your comment, on the other hand.......

[quote name='Twigman' post='430702' date='Mar 10 2009, 04:48 PM']I refuse to believe that a Squier JV precision could be worth that much.[/quote] If the seller had accepted PayPal and not restricted sales to the UK, he would have got a lot more. He only received one bid.