The HandBox Amplification thread

[dmccombe7]

Well we did a large club last night with the Glam covers band with just vocal PA and used the WB-100 backline only. Was definitely a little worried the HB would run out of steam but nope it handled it with ease.

Had the Gain at 1 o'clock at the crunch setting with just a little bit of edge to it. EQ was totally flat and master was at 11 o'clock. It was faultless. Stage was a bit boomy but it just meant we felt the bass on stage as well as hearing it. Out front the tone was perfect.

No vids appeared yet but hopefully some later.

Club was approx half full. Feedback was excellent. Dancing from 2nd or 3rd song all the way thru the night and lots of people taking vids with their phones. We have been asked if we could do 2023 Hogmanay night. We gave them our price and they said they would run it thru the AGM committee this morning at 10am. They were very impressed by sounds of it.

Used my Sandberg VM4 (tried the P bass but on stage it was even more boomy so opted for old faithful) HB WB-100 into Mesa SW210/115 rig.

A very  successful night for us.

Only downside was the 2hr drive home in torrential rain with lots of flooding. Got home and watched the F1 Qualifiers with my coffee and biccies before bed 4am. Back up for the cats at 9:30am. 

I'm now wishing i hadn't sold my Auralex Gramma last year. Looks like i'm gonna have to buy a new one as last 2 gigs have had hollow wooden stages and lots of booming.

Dave

Edited November 20, 2022 by dmccombe7

[Clarky]

Great to hear the WB-100 had all the headroom you needed (and more), Dave. Jealous that you and WoT have had the chance to try yours out in anger. With my band "on hold" until 2023, mine just sits at home in my study being played at neighbour-friendly volumes.

[dmccombe7]

2 hours ago, Clarky said:

Great to hear the WB-100 had all the headroom you needed (and more), Dave. Jealous that you and WoT have had the chance to try yours out in anger. With my band "on hold" until 2023, mine just sits at home in my study being played at neighbour-friendly volumes.

Why is the band on hold till 2023. December is the usually the busiest time for bands.

I know you've probably told me the reason but at my age i have a short memory 

The good news is you wont be disappointed when you do start gigging with the WB-100.

As someone mentioned above the WB-100 sits really well in the mix without the low boominess you get with some all tube amps.

Even using my P bass the sound is deep but retains a clarity i've never come across in an all tube amp. Some amps sound "woolly" with a lack of definition which suits many styles but i like to hear my notes clearly.

Hopefully your band gets a move on and some gigs come your way soon.

Dave

[Clarky]

Hi Dave, our front man/singer and band leader (Wily Bo Walker) is taking time out to move house, do other stuff. Our next booked gig is a good'un, main stage on Saturday night at HRH Blues Festival, Sheffield O2 ... but that's in April 😞

Edited November 20, 2022 by Clarky

[dmccombe7]

10 minutes ago, Clarky said:

Hi Dave, our front man/singer and band leader (Wily Bo Walker) is taking time out to move house, do other stuff. Our next booked gig is a good'un, main stage on Saturday night at HRH Blues Festival, Sheffield O2 ... but that's in April 😞

4-5 mths to  move house, must have a big house 

Sounds like a good gig to get too.

I won tickets for that show a few yrs back but couldn't make it.

Dave

[Woody1957]

On 19/11/2022 at 13:01, Woody1957 said:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2022 by Woody1957

[wateroftyne]

Hey gang - was just going to measure up for a Roqsolid cover for the WB-100, but I see they already have measurements on there.... three different ones 😄

Had anyone ordered one already who can confirm how good the fit is?

[dmccombe7]

12 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

Hey gang - was just going to measure up for a Roqsolid cover for the WB-100, but I see they already have measurements on there.... three different ones 😄

Had anyone ordered one already who can confirm how good the fit is?

I have a padded Hot Covers one specially made. It has a zipped open end with only the handle showing at the other end.

Put the amp on its end and drop the cover over the amp, lie it flat and zip up the end to completely cover the amp.

HotCovers.co.uk

 

Apologies but i cant seem to get the actual link copied and pasted ???

 

Dave

[wateroftyne]

Cheers, Dave - I ended up going with Roqsolid. Usually their covers drop over the top, but they made me a custom cajon-style case that you put the amp into, and zip up at the top (similar to yours, from the sound of it).

 

Here it is...

 

(A little tip for anyone thinking of doing the same... mine came with long stitched-on handles, which I don't need as I'll be carrying it by the amp handle. They'd just flap around and get on my nerves, so I carefully unpicked them and removed them. If I were to order again, I'd specify not to include them.)

 

 

[dmccombe7]

That's a better idea than mine. I slip mine over the handle end and turn onto its feet and zip the bottom end opposite the handle.

This would have been easier.

Hot Covers is not far from where i live and i pass it on a regular basis. I took the amp in and they measured it for me plus i got the name added to the cover. Helps when i'm looking thru a lot of band covers after a gig LOL

Dave

[dmccombe7]

How are you finding the amp Michael ?

I'm loving it, i've used it for approx 6 gigs now with both bands and it more or less sits flat with just little tweaks depending on venue. Gain set at crunch mark no buttons selected and master typically around 11 o'clock-ish.

I'm now looking for another Gramma pad as i've had a few recent gigs where stage boom was a nuisance and without the Graphic EQ of the Mesa its difficult to dial the boom out. 

Annoying thing is i sold a brand new one 1-2 yrs ago because i wasn't using it. Sods law.

Have a great Xmas and all the best to you and your family for 2023.

Dave

[wateroftyne]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

How are you finding the amp Michael ?

I'm loving it, i've used it for approx 6 gigs now with both bands and it more or less sits flat with just little tweaks depending on venue. Gain set at crunch mark no buttons selected and master typically around 11 o'clock-ish.

I'm now looking for another Gramma pad as i've had a few recent gigs where stage boom was a nuisance and without the Graphic EQ of the Mesa its difficult to dial the boom out. 

Annoying thing is i sold a brand new one 1-2 yrs ago because i wasn't using it. Sods law.

Have a great Xmas and all the best to you and your family for 2023.

Dave

 

I absolutely love it! I'm about ten gigs in now.

 

EQ-wise, I just leave it flat. Boom hasn't been a problem for me, but I use a Gramma pad and my cab (TKS 2x12) is pretty tight down low.

 

That said, there is some I would change about it... the DI is very hot. Too hot for a couple of desks I've come across, and my Scarlett DI. I had to run the input gain barely on, which is a shame.

 

Leszek's been very helpful and is sending me instructions on how to make a short adapter cable that has a couple of resistors or suchlike in it to tame the signal 🙂

 

 

[peteb]

26 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

That said, there is some I would change about it... the DI is very hot. Too hot for a couple of desks I've come across, and my Scarlett DI. I had to run the input gain barely on, which is a shame.

 

 

Funnily enough, most engineers seem to like the DI on my R-400 

 

[wateroftyne]

28 minutes ago, peteb said:

 

Funnily enough, most engineers seem to like the DI on my R-400 

 

 

Absolutely - the DI itself sounds amazing.

 

It's just very hot - much hotter than my R-400.

[dmccombe7]

11 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

 

I absolutely love it! I'm about ten gigs in now.

 

EQ-wise, I just leave it flat. Boom hasn't been a problem for me, but I use a Gramma pad and my cab (TKS 2x12) is pretty tight down low.

 

That said, there is some I would change about it... the DI is very hot. Too hot for a couple of desks I've come across, and my Scarlett DI. I had to run the input gain barely on, which is a shame.

 

Leszek's been very helpful and is sending me instructions on how to make a short adapter cable that has a couple of resistors or suchlike in it to tame the signal 🙂

 

 

Oddly enough i had to drop the Gain on Sat night because the SE said the DI was too hot. Not a big deal but does limit the overdrive tone.

If i get any more issues i'll maybe ask Leszek for advice on it too. If he can tell me what he did for you i can probably build my own.

Dave

[wateroftyne]

3 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Oddly enough i had to drop the Gain on Sat night because the SE said the DI was too hot. Not a big deal but does limit the overdrive tone.

If i get any more issues i'll maybe ask Leszek for advice on it too. If he can tell me what he did for you i can probably build my own.

Dave

Yeah, I’ll share the diagram for the adapter when I get it.

[Jack]

There are a few inline attenuators that you can get if you don't want to mess about with specific cables. Like this cheaper one or this more expensive one.

[dmccombe7]

That's a new one on me. I wasn't aware you could get these. 

I have found some SE's relate a Hot input to the desk to what they're used to getting. I'm no expert in sound desks but would have thought most desks had Pad attenuation to drop the input gain ?. Maybe that's more a question for those that know. Is that not what the desk Gain control does.

Dave

[Jack]

44 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

That's a new one on me. I wasn't aware you could get these. 

I have found some SE's relate a Hot input to the desk to what they're used to getting. I'm no expert in sound desks but would have thought most desks had Pad attenuation to drop the input gain ?. Maybe that's more a question for those that know. Is that not what the desk Gain control does.

Dave

Yes but the issue with that is that 'sound engineer' can mean 'multiple person crew at a large festival where both the monitor engineer and the foh techs have large format consoles with line and mic inputs' and 'dude with broken 20 year old Mackie who isn't even really paying attention and doesn't know how to work it when he is'.

Edited December 21, 2022 by Jack

[Woody1957]

6 hours ago, Jack said:

There are a few inline attenuators that you can get if you don't want to mess about with specific cables. Like this cheaper one or this more expensive one.

The attenuators are great if you have a hot DI. I had to use one on my mk1 Terror 500 but l now have the mk2 version and the DI is fine. The appropriate attenuator will sort it for you no problem.

[wateroftyne]

1 minute ago, Woody1957 said:

The attenuators are great if you have a hot DI. I had to use one on my mk1 Terror 500 but l now have the mk2 version and the DI is fine. The appropriate attenuator will sort it for you no problem.

I’ve just bought the bits to make one up. I’ll report back once it’s done 🙂

[Jaybeevee]

Anyone have any feedback/news on production of R400's?

[dmccombe7]

I thought you had given up on the HB R-400 Jay.

Dave

[Jaybeevee]

41 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

I thought you had given up on the HB R-400 Jay.

Dave

When they finally become available I can see me being still really tempted even if i am loving the Thunderfunk..

[wateroftyne]

4 hours ago, Jaybeevee said:

Anyone have any feedback/news on production of R400's?

 

Sounds like you might just need to hold on a little longer... from the horse's mouth:

'Musicians in Poland are also waiting for the R-400. The hold-up is the wooden box - it is difficult and time-consuming to do this. I asked the musicians what they thought about the version without a wooden box, and there was only one answer - everyone wants only in a wooden box. My plan is to finish the R-400 by mid-January.'