- Apr 29, 2003
- 9,078
- 9,800
- Disclosures
- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
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By the bye, I've come up with a new solution for my needs. I play almost every day in a duo with my drummer wife, and that necessitates an actual amp, but the bar band I play with is all direct, even at rehearsals. I've felt silly with an expensive Mesa Subway rig when all I really need it to do is amplify my Oracle's tone, so I looked around and found a powered Wayne Jones 1x10 to replace my WD800 and Subway 1x15.
It's crazy how much sound this 1x10 puts out. It needs more eqing to get the bottom I'm used to, but for 1/3 the cost of the Mesa stuff, it slams. I'll keep my eye peeled for the passive 1x10 extension in case I ever need to play more than a small gig with it.
My wife took this during last night's jam. The stunners say MUVVERSHIP, our duo. Check out our improv jams whenever you stream music.
It's crazy how much sound this 1x10 puts out. It needs more eqing to get the bottom I'm used to, but for 1/3 the cost of the Mesa stuff, it slams. I'll keep my eye peeled for the passive 1x10 extension in case I ever need to play more than a small gig with it.
My wife took this during last night's jam. The stunners say MUVVERSHIP, our duo. Check out our improv jams whenever you stream music.
Micah had reached out to me recently to let me know he is bringing back the Arkham Zephyr preamp but he told me he was doing a different power supply for the rack mount preamp, he told me they should be out possibly around January 2025, I'm seriously STOKED!!!!
First and foremost - I dig the muvvership tunes, very cool stuff.
And in a weird coincidence, I also play a P (clone) through an Oracle and powered cab (Berg IP112), and my wife is my longtime drummer. It must be the preamp!
- Apr 29, 2003
- 9,078
- 9,800
- Disclosures
- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
Agreed those wayne jones 110’s are crazy loud and deep. Super cool rig!
You feel like you're getting enough low end without the low boost engaged? Are you EQing elsewhere in the chain?
That's an awesome setup btw. We have very similar gear. I have investigated the powered cabs and have wanted to maybe turn in my Subway cabs and grab something like that. I have gone back and forth with selling my oracle and keeping just the Beast amp, then I think, oh I can just use the Oracle and go into my Quilter, then I don't need the beast. I can never make up my mind. I just can't have equipment I don't use. I don't know how people do that.
- Apr 29, 2003
- 9,078
- 9,800
- Disclosures
- Contributor- Bass Musician Magazine | Marketing Manager- Trickfish Amplification
FWIW I never use the bass boost switch, or any of the EQ switches. I roll the range up to 2-3 oclock and boost bass and treble to taste. Always sounds amazing. I also run the gain at noon and use the master to get the appropriate output level.
Just dropping in to give a shout out to the oldie but goodie: Arkham Octling!
I've had the same NOS WW2 6SL7 in there for almost a decade. Found some NOS Soviet equivalents (OTK1, 6N9S (6Н9С)) that were one tenth the cost a while back, and dropped one in just for the heckuvit. Same great sound, same great taste. Maybe a little more "pumpf" on the bottom end, maybe just cork sniffing.
Every time I get tempted to get an Oracle I remember the Octling just delivers. Only downside is there's no DI, but I have wolf boxes and jensen DIs when I need it. Maybe one day I'll get an Arkham 12AX7 box, but if you see a 6SL7 by Micah, get it! Won't say it's better but it's unique and special. Same neighborhood tone-wise, different perhaps older house.
I've had the same NOS WW2 6SL7 in there for almost a decade. Found some NOS Soviet equivalents (OTK1, 6N9S (6Н9С)) that were one tenth the cost a while back, and dropped one in just for the heckuvit. Same great sound, same great taste. Maybe a little more "pumpf" on the bottom end, maybe just cork sniffing.
Every time I get tempted to get an Oracle I remember the Octling just delivers. Only downside is there's no DI, but I have wolf boxes and jensen DIs when I need it. Maybe one day I'll get an Arkham 12AX7 box, but if you see a 6SL7 by Micah, get it! Won't say it's better but it's unique and special. Same neighborhood tone-wise, different perhaps older house.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,516
- 19,952
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
I also have an Octling, and I love using it when I get the chance. Great sound!! Soon I'm going to redo my stay-at-home practice rig so I can use the Octling more often. It's really too good to be sitting on the shelf unused.
I tried it for five days, and I don't know if I was expecting a 1x10 to do too much, but it's going back. It's a nice cab, but thinking about adding an extension cab to get more than barely-enough-for-rehearsal volume sort of defeats the purpose of simplifying. I'm back on my Mesa WD800 and Subway 115, with the Oracle going straight in.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,516
- 19,952
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
Yeah, a single 1x10 won't cover me practicing with any of my bands.
I found a Ampeg RocketBass 1x12 on FB marketplace for cheap. HAs a Send/Return that I go direct into with my Oracle-based pedalboard and I store that at the home of my guitarist. Does great for that band and for little investment. Basically a powered 1x12 cab the way I use it and it's as light as one of my Mesa 1x12 subway cabs but has the advantage of the power amp inside.
My rock band is all direct all the time. "Rehearsal" in my case is duo jamz with my drummer wife -- no hard hitter -- and nothing else.
I don't have massive volume requirements at all, and given what I read about the Wayne Jones stuff going back to 2001, it was all about how the 2x10s are 4x10 killers, 1000 watts, etc. I figured a 1x10 with 500 watts behind it would be enough to keep up with the drummer I play with, though perhaps not many others.
The lack of useable volume, the weight, the lack of a volume knob, and the bottom end running out early really killed the WJ110 for me. I was very excited and thought it would simplify things for me.
I'd love for more companies to stick an 800w class D amp in neo cabinets. Imagine what an update IP112 might be.
I'm jumping into Arkham sound tomorrow (sending payment). I messaged Micah about his ultra-linear 70 amp a few days ago. My timing was fortuitous! He had just finished building and tweaking one to deliver one hundred watts with a pair of conservatively-biased KT-120's. 
I can't wait to hear about that one. The Ultra Linears are such a sweet design.
A dream amp for me. If I win the lottery, I'm going to commission a 2-channel, 2-input ultra linear with transformer DI out for doubling, recording, gigging... but I have to win the lottery firstI'm jumping into Arkham sound tomorrow (sending payment). I messaged Micah about his ultra-linear 70 amp a few days ago. My timing was fortuitous! He had just finished building and tweaking one to deliver one hundred watts with a pair of conservatively-biased KT-120's.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,516
- 19,952
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
I'm jumping into Arkham sound tomorrow (sending payment). I messaged Micah about his ultra-linear 70 amp a few days ago. My timing was fortuitous! He had just finished building and tweaking one to deliver one hundred watts with a pair of conservatively-biased KT-120's.
Very nice! I was just playing my (70W) Ultra Linear through my new NV610T the other night, and it was glorious!
I'm looking forward to laying fingers and ears on it. Micah's going to send tracking info over the weekend and ship it out Monday.
