stevie

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='219597' date='Jun 16 2008, 02:39 AM']'No trouble' is a matter of opinion. Mine is that of a bass player who also happens to be an audio engineer. As for specific examples, that would be the simultaneous using of any two cabs that don't have identical phase response. Since no two cabs that don't use identical drivers in identical alignments can have identical phase response that makes every use of non-identical cabs a specific example. I'm not saying they can't sound acceptable, but they would sound better properly matched. Amongst other things. Just the instrument cab industry. The hi-fi, theater and PA guys got it right a half century ago, the instrument market segment is a wee bit slow on the uptake. [/quote] So, in your audio engineer's opinion 2 x 15s or 8 x 10s will always sound better than a 1 x 15 and a 4 x 10 because they are "properly matched". Is that right? And bass players, unlike the hi-fi, theatre or PA guys, have failed to realize this because they are "a wee bit slow on the uptake". Bill, have you heard of a book called "How to win friends and influence people"?

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='219554' date='Jun 15 2008, 11:35 PM']I'm assuming he is not using a crossover. Tens will naturally have a wider midrange dispersion angle and a higher frequency response than fifteens, so the caveat applies with or without being crossed. Because no manufacturer had, or has for that matter, any incentive to do better when they sell all the mediocre high profit margin junk they can crank out. And bassplayers are artists, not engineers, so by and large they just don't know any better.[/quote] Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't midrange dispersion a function of total radiating area? In other words, a single ten will have a wider midrange dispersion than a single 15, but two tens won't. Are you seriously saying that no manufacturer of bass gear has any incentive to produce anything but mediocre, high profit margin junk because their target market is too ignorant to appreciate it? That's a bit arrogant, don't you think?

[quote name='bass player spinn' post='209187' date='May 29 2008, 09:32 PM']cool so i prob need to look at the vintage one? thats a tip i got from someone else to.. thanks much..[/quote] You *never* see any of the vintage SPB-1s for sale secondhand (because players hang on to them). Hot pickups for bass are just a marketing ploy. What you want from your pickup is *tone*, not output. Increasing the output of a pickup normally results in higher inductance, which cuts the higher frequencies and gives you a muddier sound. The same principle applies to guitar, of course, although there are times when fitting hotter pickups to a guitar can be worthwhile (the bridge position on a Strat, for example).

I've tried all the Duncans for P-Bass apart from the Antiquity (which sounds like a total rip-off to me). The SPB-2 was a bit muddy. The Quarter Pounder was punchy but lost quite a lot of the bass's tone. The Vintage SPB-1 was superb. Very close to the SPB-1, but with a slightly deeper bottom end and the same kind of punch as the Quarter Pounder, was the active APB-1. I bought the APB-1, although I'd be interested to revisit the SPB-1 sometime. Just one man's experience.

The original Bass Pod seems to be selling for quite an affordable price now on eBay. I want one mainly for the compressor and the eq, and perhaps for some of the amp models (I'm not interested in the effects). Would I be better off spending more and getting the XT version?

My 1961 Strat. Sold it around around 1980 for £125. Not one of my best decisions.

What's the difference between the models (XT and non-XT)? Would I be right in assuming these are better than the Behringer copies?

[quote name='alexclaber' post='204474' date='May 22 2008, 06:19 PM']Well I've just ordered a pile of grills for these cabs, five for the compact 15" and four for the big 15"+6.5", so I'm committed to making at least nine of them! Alex[/quote] Have you considered using poplar ply, Alex?

[quote name='Huge Hands' post='203553' date='May 21 2008, 10:23 AM']They look like 18s to me, but then again I never was good at judging sizes. Just ask my missus......[/quote] No, these definitely look like JBL K140s. I've got a brand new one here ready to fit into a cab when I find one cheap enough. (Any unloaded Trace 1153s for sale out there for ?) Some say it is the world's best driver for bass guitar. I notice that Rocco Prestia has these in his cabs, too.

[quote name='Lo.' post='202529' date='May 19 2008, 11:53 PM']Thanks - it was a quick take and I didn't have time to learn the verse, but I hope it helps. Sorry - I don't write stuff down, and just learn it by ear. Is it too difficult to see the notes on my vid, or is it just too fast or something? Heh, unless you were getting paid a lot of cash to get it spot on, I wouldn't try to learn the verse note for note, but the intro riff and chorus are worth tryin to pick up accurately.[/quote] No, it's clear enough - it's just that I would find it much easier to figure out if I had the dots as well. Just discovered your contributions to YouTube - wow! I am starting to work my way the the Jamerson book and will be paying you a regular visit on there from now on This particular track certainly has a Jamerson flavour. I tried to find out by googling "Frankie Valli" "James Jamerson" (both in quotes). Guess what? Your YouTube video comes in at number 1! (Fame at last!).

[quote name='Lo.' post='200829' date='May 17 2008, 12:20 AM']I couldn't resist a quick jam along for you: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opISPvcdoAI"]The Night [/url] I did not try to learn the verse - some of my passing notes are very dodgy - if I played it right it should have been Fm/Bb/Gm/Cm sequence, I think [/quote] Really nice job, Lo. You didn't happen to transcribe it while you were at it, did you?

[quote name='bnt' post='199320' date='May 15 2008, 09:36 AM']At least bass amp marketing is honest compared to the marketing you get with e.g. car stereos. The RMS figure is the one that matters, not "peak music power", whatever the heck that is. I also agree with the need for headroom, and the components last longer if they are run underpowered. (Heat is the #1 killer of transistors.)[/quote] They may not be as bad as the car stereo makers, but I do think there's a certain amount of wishful thinking involved on the part of bass amp manufacturers' when they specify power output. After all, have you ever seen an independent test of a bass amp's distortion at maximum output? I've looked inside a few of them and they seem woefully underspecified in terms of mains transformer and reservoir capacitor size. I did find one independent test on the web of a well known and respected American bass amp, whose actual output was only two thirds of its rated output. It could be that many bassists don't actually have as much power as they think they do. I'd feel more confident judging an amp's output by weighing it rather than looking at its specification. Just a theory, of course.

[quote name='TimmyC' post='198215' date='May 13 2008, 07:57 PM']I'm looking for someone who does a really professional job on setting up basses, fret levelling, distressing and the like. Someone you'd trust with a 2k bass and you'd know it would come back perfect! Any guitar techs or luthiers you know to hand. I'm looking for someone preferably within an hours drive of the B'mouth area. And yes, I’ve checked the sticky but they are all a little far for me. Thanks Tim[/quote] Get in touch with Derek Halliday. He's not too far from you. I can tell you from personal experience that he is astonishingly good. Derek Halliday Grosvenor House Fern Hill East Stour Dorset SP5 5ND Tel: 01747 838 732

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='195594' date='May 9 2008, 05:43 PM']How is having an 8 ohm 2x10 with a 4 ohm 1x15 going to help?[/quote] Upon reflection, perhaps not. I was assuming that the Mark Bass would be comfortable with a load of 3.5 ohms or so, which a lot of power amps are. This might be sailing a bit close to the wind. If it were my amp I'd probably not want to risk it though.

Minty, the limiting factor in your current system is not necessarily your amp. It's probably the 2 x 10. The cheapest way of sorting your system out would be to find someone willing to swap your 4 ohm 2 x 10 for an 8 ohm version. That shouldn't actually cost anything and it will re-balance your system. If you think that's an option, I'd be glad to explain why it should work.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='194969' date='May 8 2008, 08:30 PM']A first order crossover at 150 Hz would route the lows to the 15, the highs to the 2x10, and keep the overall load at 4 ohms. Get component values at [url="http://www.lalena.com/Audio/FAQ/XOver/"]http://www.lalena.com/Audio/FAQ/XOver/[/url][/quote] Wouldn't you be concerned about mis-termination? As system output would still be limited by the excursion of the bass driver, what exactly would be the advantage over just using the 15?

[quote name='mintybassman' post='194355' date='May 8 2008, 01:29 AM']Hey Bassing Comrades, My trusty workhorse head got nicked at a gig [color="#0000FF"]([url="http://www.peavey.com/media/pdf/manuals/80301702.pdf"]Peavey Mark VII XP Bass Head[/url][/color]) So i got the [color="#0000FF"][url="http://www.markbass.it/products.php?lingua=en&cat=1&vedi=69"]Mark Bass Little Mark II[/url][/color] paying no consideration to impedance, doh! I have these two cabs, workhorses once again: [color="#0000FF"][url="http://www.peavey.com/media/pdf/manuals/80300395.pdf"]BX115 BW[/url] [url="http://www.peavey.com/media/pdf/manuals/80301560.pdf"]TX210[/url][/color][/quote] What's the impedance of the 15?

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='192197' date='May 5 2008, 01:12 PM']I am sure it was mentioned in the Sound Control going tits thread. I am convinced that Sound Control would have fared a lot better had they provided a quality service. I know the EBS distributer personally as can be deduced from the basses I play. He is not making a fortune doing it. I also know that Sound Control had negotiated a sizeable discount because of their selling power then ordered like one pedal at a time. It is a business and high street shops can never compete with internet warehouses. But then again I like to give a little more consideration to buying gear than I do buying CD's.[/quote] It looks like the Sound Control business model was flawed because the market is too small. It could probably have worked if they had built up franchise-based business. That's one of the ways of guaranteeing good service. I think some of the hi-fi chains works on that basis. I really don't like the way retail is going in many business sectors today. I am forced to buy stuff without being able to look at it. I need a new computer monitor but I don't think there is a shop in the country with a decent stock of monitors on display.

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='191912' date='May 4 2008, 11:02 PM']Methinks you want to have your cake and eat it, and you are making big assumptions about the nature of contracts between manufacturers, distributers and retailers. As you may have seen from some of the posts from guys in the business in the UK some of the european sellers who do big numbers buy direct from the manufacturers and sell for less than UK trade price. EBS, like other distributers, cannot sell direct because they are not retailers, credit card merchants, and all the other bits of red tape that retailers need, liability insurance, fire regulations etc etc la di da. As it happens they will offer deals to basschatters but its not something they advertise cos otherwise the retail business will get the right hump.[/quote] If by ‘have your cake and eat it’ you mean I want competitive prices and good service, then yes - you’re right. You seem to be falling for the argument that high prices are the only way of ensuring good service. The European Commission’s research into the UK car market in the late 1990s showed that we were paying as much as *60%* more for our cars than in other European countries. Why? Because the car manufacturers used a variety of methods to stifle competition - such as refusing to honour warranties for cars imported from Europe. When the EU acted to stop these anti-competitive measures, the industry complained that jobs would be lost in the industry and smaller automotive retailers would go out of business. What they were really squealing about, of course, was the loss of their inflated profit margins. Bass ferret, do you have any specific examples of manufacturers selling to large European retailers at prices that would allow the latter to sell at below trade cost?

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='191643' date='May 4 2008, 03:47 PM']"GENZ BENZ warrants all products to be free from defects in materials and workmanship, for a period of 3 years from the date of purchase, [b]when purchased from an authorized GENZ BENZ dealer.[/b] " The amp will no doubt have come from an authorized dealer and as such will carry the manufacturer's 3-year warranty. This happens with EBS gear bought on the web from europe and when it goes tits they phone EBS UK and expect them to fix it. To quote Del Boy, "no way Pedro". Do you honestly think GENZ BENZ dealers in the UK would want to know.[/quote] That's how the car industry maintained its outrageously high prices in the UK for so many years. It doesn't actually cost a distributor anything to fix a product under warranty - they charge it back to the manufacturer. And if what you say about EBS is true, it's illegal under EU law. Why should anyone buy new gear from Europe if the UK distributor is offering a good deal?

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='191574' date='May 4 2008, 01:36 PM'][Pedant Mode]This one is a priveat sale on ebay not direct from a GB dealer whether in the UK or the US[/Pedant Mode][/quote] "Has been returned to GENZ BENZ or its authorized service center, freight pre-paid, together with a copy of the original sales receipt, from an authorized GENZ BENZ dealer." According to the warranty conditions, the buyer is covered by the warranty as long as he has a copy of the original receipt and returns the faulty item to an authorized service centre.

I'm selling a brand new set of Warwick roundwounds on the bay. Finishes tomorrow. The usual 10 percent discount for Basschatters applies, of course. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=130218263528&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=003"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...E:IT&ih=003[/url]