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North East Mini Bass Bash - Video


wateroftyne
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The idea of this vid is great, but, I'm obviously in a minority here; that tone is so far away from what I like that this demo doesn't show me what these cabs can do at all! Can you do the whole thing again with the bass sounding like, well, a bass?

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[quote name='chris_b' post='569314' date='Aug 14 2009, 06:06 PM']The idea of this vid is great, but, I'm obviously in a minority here; that tone is so far away from what I like that this demo doesn't show me what these cabs can do at all! Can you do the whole thing again with the bass sounding like, well, a bass?[/quote]
It's not my idea of what I like either. But yes, we're in the minority.

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Well to be honest miked recordings of speakers played back through other speakers are of infinitesimally small use! How many of those who watched the video are listening on a set of studio monitors anyway? Just read the words and enjoy the novelty of accompanying sounds.

A good way of assessing what speakers sound like is to play one of your favourite CDs through them. If you haven't done this before it's quite shocking but very enlightening - you will not believe how little bottom most bass guitar cabs have!

Or you could record a sample of a bassline - maybe use a classic bass intro from a song - actually I sometimes use the solo on Everything Is Everything because the rest of the band is pretty quiet - and play it back through the rigs, with them turned up to about 120dB @ 2m. That'll sort the men from the boys!

Alex

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[quote name='alexclaber' post='569331' date='Aug 14 2009, 06:21 PM']Well to be honest miked recordings of speakers played back through other speakers are of infinitesimally small use! How many of those who watched the video are listening on a set of studio monitors anyway? Just read the words and enjoy the novelty of accompanying sounds.

A good way of assessing what speakers sound like is to play one of your favourite CDs through them. If you haven't done this before it's quite shocking but very enlightening - you will not believe how little bottom most bass guitar cabs have!

Or you could record a sample of a bassline - maybe use a classic bass intro from a song - actually I sometimes use the solo on Everything Is Everything because the rest of the band is pretty quiet - and play it back through the rigs, with them turned up to about 120dB @ 2m. That'll sort the men from the boys!

Alex[/quote]

Right on. I think chris_b is missing the point a bit...

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[quote name='wateroftyne' post='569334' date='Aug 14 2009, 06:23 PM']Right on. I think chris_b is missing the point a bit...[/quote]
OK, I have a different view, but what is the point then? I know 12's are rounder than 10's and 15's are lower and old Fenders have a lot of mid. I also know that you're limited in what a camera mic is going to pick up. Maybe I was hoping for too much.

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Hang on, Have people missed my post where i said this post was massivly useful to me?! No Its not going to be useful on a one cab "shall i buy this" solution, But even through a camera mic, Through whatever speakers, there is a comparison in tone between all four cabs. And i managed to work out that the Fender has more mids, The bergs have the Sizzle, The Aggies have a very smooth sound. All this i would not have kown if i hadnt had personal experiances.

Jeeze.

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Right. A lot of it's a bit OT, but here are the things I learned (or at least had reinforced) from last night and from reading this thread today:
[list=1]
[*]There's no subsitute for standing in a room with this gear, even if the entire room rattles when you play the low string through the Fender or the Vintage. For me, bass is as much felt as it is heard. The Fender and the Vintage both have a visceral quality that doesn't come through [i]at all[/i] on the video. Whump, thud and thwack. Again, thanks to Howard for the terminology. :lol:
[*]One man's meat is another man's poison. This can be further broken down:
[list]
[*]The neck profile on a Zon Sonus is not for me, although I love the sound.
[*]The neck on that Sadowsky is lovely, lovely, lovely, and it's light as a feather, but the sound's just not for me at all.
[*]Those Aguilars and Bergs are nothing like how I want to sound.
[*]I love that Fender cab, but the weight would be a complete deal-breaker. And back-breaker.
[/list]
[*]The Vintage sounds top-notch even when you're standing in "gig position", about 18 inches in front of it.
[*]The Vintage is [b]the[/b] cab for fretless. Seriously. On that topic, WoT, did we get a clip of the fretless into the Vintage?
[*]I need to stop being shy about playing in front of people in a non-band situation. I just fall back on noodling around pentatonics and minor seventh arpeggios... :)
[*]I can't pick up an unlined fretless Precision for the first time ever and expect to play anything more than the first bar of "Continuum". :rolleyes:
[*]Real men -- I mean, real [i]Geordie[/i] men -- don't need more than four strings. My Ibanez was greeted with looks of confusion and bafflement. :lol: Could have just been the astonishing weight of it though...
[*]My idea of a low action was way off the mark. I mean, I knew I liked it pretty high, but several of these guys' instruments were so low they were unplayable to a heavy-handed mofo like me.
[/list]
The list might continue later if I have any further thoughts/recollections.

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[quote name='BottomEndian' post='569529' date='Aug 14 2009, 09:37 PM'][*]My idea of a low action was way off the mark. I mean, I knew I liked it pretty high, but several of these guys' instruments were so low they were unplayable to a heavy-handed mofo like me.[/quote]

We need to come up with some kind of basschat official action standard. Exactly how many mm at the 12th fret (assuming sensible nut height and relieft) is low, medium and high action?

Alex

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Gave it a proper listen. Asked my girlfriend to play the vid in different order so I didnt know.

My 'tastes' went for the Aguilar and Bergs as my type of tone. But..I do agree we all have different tonal goals. I think I like top end sparkly a lot more than I thought. Some prefer it really fat and smooth.

Ive gotta admit, wow at that Sadowsky....that is one special bass sound. Im gonna have to take a look at them.

Edited by Musicman20
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[quote name='alexclaber' post='569553' date='Aug 14 2009, 10:07 PM']We need to come up with some kind of basschat official action standard. Exactly how many mm at the 12th fret (assuming sensible nut height and relieft) is low, medium and high action?

Alex[/quote]
I shall start a thread on this...

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[quote name='chris_b' post='569314' date='Aug 14 2009, 06:06 PM']The idea of this vid is great, but, I'm obviously in a minority here; that tone is so far away from what I like that this demo doesn't show me what these cabs can do at all! Can you do the whole thing again with the bass sounding like, well, a bass?[/quote]
+1 - I thought the Barefaced easily sounded best but still way too trebly for my liking.

I do realise that 'you had to be there' to get the 'real' sound - however good my headphones are.

Edited by EssentialTension
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Just for clarity's sake, It's probably worth pointing out that:

- The head was set pretty much flat
- The bass had the VTC wide open with a little nudge on the active treble & bass
- The action was incredibly low

Maybe we should do this again with the cabs EQ'd to taste...

In any event, as stated earlier, these things need to be heard in the real world. 'Too much treble' in an empty room might mean something entirely different in a full room.

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Just had a listen through my studio set up:

MotU 2408 interface into Tascam TM-D8000 desk both running at 24bit, then NAD2150 power amp into Tannoy Gold Speakers.

Given the limitations of the recording microphone and YouTube's audio compression and the fact that the basic sound was probably a far to clanky for my tastes...

At moving some air volumes (I'm sure my neighbours love me...) only the Barefaced had the body to the sound that I would be looking for, and seemed to tame the overly bright sound that the Berg and Aguilar were producing. The Fender was nice, but next to the Barefaced didn't quite have enough oomph. Tone is entirely subjective and what sounds good isolation might not work quite so well in a full band mix, but the Berg and Aguilar would have me reaching for the treble cut and just didn't seem to have the body to sound that I like. I will definitely need to try a pair of Barefaced Compacts at some point!

BTW. was the Sadowsky used a NYC or a Metro? IMO the NYCs I've played sound plenty good enough on their own without needing any help from the pre-amp.

Edited by BigRedX
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[quote name='BigRedX' post='569847' date='Aug 15 2009, 12:32 PM']BTW. was the Sadowsky used a NYC or a Metro? IMO the NYCs I've played sound plenty good enough on their own without needing any help from the pre-amp.[/quote]

Metro; the preamp had a midge's nadger of bass and treble boost only because that's how I like it set and that's how it was when it was handed to WoT. :)

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[quote name='warwickhunt' post='569854' date='Aug 15 2009, 12:44 PM']Metro; the preamp had a midge's nadger of bass and treble boost only because that's how I like it set and that's how it was when it was handed to WoT. :)[/quote]

I gotta say....that Sadowsky sounds really nice. Really nice.

Did you get it from Sadowsky direct?

Im just shocked and also pondering why they are cheaper than there normal metro basses. Is it due to it being a new model?

Thanks

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[quote name='Musicman20' post='569883' date='Aug 15 2009, 01:15 PM']Did you get it from Sadowsky direct?

Im just shocked and also pondering why they are cheaper than there normal metro basses. Is it due to it being a new model?[/quote]

I got the Sadowsky by way of a 3 way deal with Chris 'Beedster'.

I'm not so sure that it is cheaper than their 'normal' Metro basses; last time I saw one advertised new (and they aren't easy to source) it was only slightly less than the UV which was the most expensive Metro and more expensive than the MV/RV/RS. :)

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[quote name='warwickhunt' post='569945' date='Aug 15 2009, 02:24 PM']I got the Sadowsky by way of a 3 way deal with Chris 'Beedster'.

I'm not so sure that it is cheaper than their 'normal' Metro basses; last time I saw one advertised new (and they aren't easy to source) it was only slightly less than the UV which was the most expensive Metro and more expensive than the MV/RV/RS. :)[/quote]

Ah yes, sorry, it just seemed weird that it was $400 or so cheaper than the UV...but I suppose the UV's are fairly high whack money anyway. Ive sent an email to Sadowsky seeing how much they are shipped here......probably dont have enough...but I need to find out! guitarguitar and thomann are selling Sadowskys but the prices are far too high. I think they do sell the Metros direct to overseas customers still. Anyway, enjoy it, a stunning bass.


[quote name='wateroftyne' post='569949' date='Aug 15 2009, 02:28 PM']And if you want it, form an orderly queue behind me. :rolleyes:[/quote]

Hahahhaha...indeed! Its an awesome sounding bass.

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[quote name='Mr.T' post='569977' date='Aug 15 2009, 03:14 PM']... Just read the spec on the EV drivers in that Fender cab.

21 lbs. a pop!
No wonder it is a heavy beast.... :)[/quote]
Lawks. So, what with the Kappalite 3015 speakers being 7.9 lb each, Alex could probably get five of those in a Barefaced cab before he reached the weight of the Fender cab. 5 x 15, eh? Hmmm...

Barefaced Behemoth, anyone? :rolleyes:

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