FBT X-PRO 112A

[Dan Dare]

23 hours ago, Al Krow said:

I'm sure none of us are keen on encouraging child labour exploitation. But you disrespect so many nations and their hard working citizens by making such generalisations.

 

Where exactly are "these places" in the "Far East" you refer to where children are working 7 days a week for 12 hours a day, making high tech bass PA equipment that we consume here in the West?

 

Which Western bass equipment manufacturers are you aware of who are importing such kit without looking at the working conditions of the factories making the products they import? It would be good to know - I'm sure we would all benefit from the research you have done on this.

 

Ah, yes. The usual platitudes - I'm "disrespecting hard working citizens", etc, etc - trotted out by those who like the fact that they can buy things cheap and who wish to turn a blind eye to the reasons why it costs so little.

 

I'm not "disrespecting hard working citizens". They have no choice but to work hard for little reward. I admire them for it. I'm criticising the system that forces them to do so. Next, you'll be telling me that they aren't used to Western pay rates and conditions of employment and therefore it wouldn't be good for them.

 

I'll turn your question on its head. My PA and bass gear was made in Germany, the US and the UK, where I can be pretty certain that people are paid decently and don't have to work in a poor environment (relatively speaking, of course. Things can always be better). Have you ensured that the factories where your stuff was made are up to snuff, or are you happy to assume it was because it makes you feel better?

 

The issue goes much wider than just musical equipment. It extends to every aspect of our lives - clothing, consumer goods, food, etc, etc. I know it's unfashionable, "bigoted" even, but I look at country of origin for everything I buy. If I can, I buy home produced goods.

 

This is a matter of pragmatism, as well as principle. I live in the UK and therefore, I want the UK economy to be healthy, because that will benefit my quality of life and that of those I care about. it's in my interest to ensure that, if I can, I buy in a manner that does not see the money I spend lost for good to our economy.

 

Thou doth protest too much. I made a sardonic comment and you took umbrage and attempted to accuse me of bigotry. I suggest your over-reaction betrays your sensitivity about your own conduct, rather than anything I say or do.

[Rich]

This argument is adding nothing to the topic. If you wish to continue the frank exchange of views, please do so via PMs.

[Dan Dare]

22 hours ago, Rich said:

This argument is adding nothing to the topic. If you wish to continue the frank exchange of views, please do so via PMs.

 

Agreed. I've said my piece anyway.

[stevie]

Back to the matter in hand. As others have said, the OP not going to gain anything in terms of performance by swapping the QSCs for any of the cabs mentioned. As far as I can gather, the MK1 K12 used off-the-shelf Celestion drivers which are still available. So, as long as the amp doesn't give out, they have many years left in them.

 

If they were mine, I'd be tempted to refurbish them. A can of satin black paint will work wonders on the grilles, for example. 

[Phil Starr]

I'd wondered about re-finishing the cab also. It is made of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene or ABS. This is a really tough plastic which can be made with various formulations but all designed to be hard wearing. Lego bricks are made of ABS

 

Anyway it can be sprayed with enamel paint or acrylic paints. Tough Cab is the brand most commonly used for painting cabs in this country and is an acrylic paint. You can also get acrylic paints in rattle cans from artists supplies and most of the 'kitchen' and 'bathroom' paints and low VOC gloss paints are acrylic. My Cabs are also ABS and I've been looking at them gradually accumulating little bumps and scrapes and wondering if I could touch them up. At the moment under stage lighting they look fine so I've left well enough alone and bought some covers to stop them getting worse.

 

Anyway here's probably more than anyone needs to know about spraying ABS here

Edited 2 hours ago by Phil Starr

[stevie]

The link doesn't work, @Phil Starr. I have some, limited experience of painting plastics, as I paint the ports on LFSys cabs. You can't apply normal paint directly; you need to use a special plastic primer. Fortunately, these are available for not much money at most DIY stores. A thin coating is fine. Once you've applied the (spray) primer, you can paint with whatever you like. An acrylic like Tuffcab is a good choice, as it dries quickly and doesn't give off nasty fumes.

 

I've not tried them myself, but there are a number of products available to fill chips and dents in ABS - the kind of thing the autobody guys use to fix bumpers.

[Phil Starr]

1 hour ago, stevie said:

The link doesn't work, @Phil Starr. I have some, limited experience of painting plastics, as I paint the ports on LFSys cabs. You can't apply normal paint directly; you need to use a special plastic primer. Fortunately, these are available for not much money at most DIY stores. A thin coating is fine. Once you've applied the (spray) primer, you can paint with whatever you like. An acrylic like Tuffcab is a good choice, as it dries quickly and doesn't give off nasty fumes.

 

I've not tried them myself, but there are a number of products available to fill chips and dents in ABS - the kind of thing the autobody guys use to fix bumpers.

Fixed

 

The article doesn't say that a primer is needed but does say that sanding well is the preparation needed for good adhesion and that acrylic and enamel paints are the ones to use. Interestingly ABS reacts with quite a few organic solvents which is relatively unusual for many plastics. It seems possible that some paints could chemically bond with some plastics and I know Styrene does bond with enamel paints well from my days building airfix kits. The proof of the pudding is in the eating of course. I'd be interested to try so long as it was with someone else's cab  

 

I had a couple of hours of fun reading about ABS and it's chemistry