Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

[The_Janitor]

I've lived in a dozen US states and spent significant time in many more. There are only four states I've never been to, or at least traveled through.

Anyways, my faves are, in no order, Arizona, Oregon, Texas (certain parts of TX.)

I lived in AZ for a couple years in the 90s and really loved it. Still miss it. I was in Cottonwood which didn't have a lot going on as a town, but the people were cool (cops sucked though) and the location of it was perfect. Head East a little and you were in the mountains on the way to Flagstaff...lush, gorges, forests, waterfalls. Head west a little and you soon found yourself in the stark beauty of the real deal desert. It was kind of ideal.

My wife and I got married in Sedona. Spent some time in Jerome, stayed in Oak Creek Canyon and a cabin way the shag out in the Coconino national forest. Jerome was cool, but I would have liked to have seen it when it was a hippie squat/commune in the 60s, kind of touristy now. Awesome little part of the southwest. I also lived in ABQ for a few years - love New Mexico.

 

[ampegfuzz]

Well I posted a thread in regular tb about my OD issue. Let's see how many people tell me to use a vt bass in front of a 1973 SVT. I'm digging still on the rusty box, still a top contender. I did think of tryng to track with the RBI I own. After I loaded out from the studio I played with it a little with the tacking basses. I don't think it would of helped having it at the studio.

 

[Squanch72]

It blows my mind how different it is out there depending on elevation whenever I google anything about AZ and NM. Always wanted to take a trip out there, especially after reading lots of Abbey.

 

[Squanch72]

ok... So all of yall that picked up the El Oso... Who's still in love?
was it a "pedal of the week", or a "keeper"?

I didn't like it and flipped it real fast, but think I was in the minority.

 

[Satyrnine]

I bought the drivers for my new cab today. Going with the Faital 15PR400's. Cab will be made out of solid Walnut. After much deliberation and plotting, I'm going with 6.5 cubic feet internal volume (before considering driver displacement/etc), and two 6" ports, tuned to about 55hz. I was super skeptical about those specs, as it seems small and tuned high, but countless experienced people have convinced me that's where I want to be for powerful B string.

It's the red trace on this graph:

 

[The_Janitor]

Well I posted a thread in regular tb about my OD issue. Let's see how many people tell me to use a vt bass in front of a 1973 SVT. I'm digging still on the rusty box, still a top contender. I did think of tryng to track with the RBI I own. After I loaded out from the studio I played with it a little with the tacking basses. I don't think it would of helped having it at the studio.

I never understood the sansamp > SVT setup. Even less now that I own an SVT. IT MAKES NO SENSE.

You already have the SVT, don't plug an SVT simulator into it, you're cheapening the tone of your tube head for no good reason. It's like using a flight simulator game to operate a 747 - just fly the damn plane!

 

[mbelue]

I bought the drivers for my new cab today. Going with the Faital 15PR400's. Cab will be made out of solid Walnut. After much deliberation and plotting, I'm going with 6.5 cubic feet internal volume (before considering driver displacement/etc), and two 6" ports, tuned to about 55hz. I was super skeptical about those specs, as it seems small and tuned high, but countless experienced people have convinced me that's where I want to be for powerful B string.

It's the red trace on this graph:

Your going to have a hell of a time chasing leaks.

 

[Muddslide]

My wife and I got married in Sedona. Spent some time in Jerome, stayed in Oak Creek Canyon and a cabin way the **** out in the Coconino national forest. Jerome was cool, but I would have liked to have seen it when it was a hippie squat/commune in the 60s, kind of touristy now. Awesome little part of the southwest. I also lived in ABQ for a few years - love New Mexico.

Yeah, when I lived in Cottonwood I worked in Sedona for a while. Subway sammich artist, yep.

My "Brush With Greatness" is that I once made a sammich for Captain Kirk. That's what I said. Apparently Shatner owns (or owned at the time) a ranch or some land out that way. He breezed in, ordered a sandwich and very kindly spoke to me as I jibbered like a fanboy.

I knew a LOT of Jerome hippies. Lots of heads that designed and made beautiful jewelry. Jerome was touristy even then, but the people who LIVED there definitely still leaned towards the hippie commune set.

I have not spent a lot of time IN New Mexico, but have driven through it a hundred times. It's right next door to the state I'm in now. When my wife and I are more able to relocate out of Oklahoma, NM, AZ and Colorado are high up on our list. For the time being we need to be in OK to help take care of our parents. It's the only thing keeping us here.

Thing about New Mexico is, I seem to have a near death experience every time I go through it. I've blown out a tire, spun into the desert and flipped my car, got mugged at gunpoint, threw a rod in a different car on another trip and got stranded in Santa Rosa for a week, sleeping outside some of that time because I couldn't afford a hotel every night...

That state may be trying to kill me.

 

[The_Janitor]

Yeah, when I lived in Cottonwood I worked in Sedona for a while. Subway sammich artist, yep.

My "Brush With Greatness" is that I once made a sammich for Captain Kirk. That's what I said. Apparently Shatner owns (or owned at the time) a ranch or some land out that way. He breezed in, ordered a sandwich and very kindly spoke to me as I jibbered like a fanboy.

I knew a LOT of Jerome hippies. Lots of heads that designed and made beautiful jewelry. Jerome was touristy even then, but the people who LIVED there definitely still leaned towards the hippie commune set.

I have not spent a lot of time IN New Mexico, but have driven through it a hundred times. It's right next door to the state I'm in now. When my wife and I are more able to relocate out of Oklahoma, NM, AZ and Colorado are high up on our list. For the time being we need to be in OK to help take care of our parents. It's the only thing keeping us here.

Thing about New Mexico is, I seem to have a near death experience every time I go through it. I've blown out a tire, spun into the desert and flipped my car, got mugged at gunpoint, threw a rod in a different car on another trip and got stranded in Santa Rosa for a week, sleeping outside some of that time because I couldn't afford a hotel every night...

That state may be trying to kill me.

Santa Rosa is a weird place - spent a night in the car at a state park near there that was very strange and unsettling. It's also the last place that Jim Sullivan was seen alive:

Rock's Unsolved UFO Mystery: The Night Jim Sullivan Vanished Into Thin Air

I had no small account of weird/unsettling experiences out in the backwoods/deserts of New Mexico, weird poopie happens out there and it's not safe for outsiders to go poking around where they shouldn't be. Doesn't change my opinion of the state at all, I still love it - but it's something to be aware of.

 

[Satyrnine]

Going to buy a batch of piezo transducers. Got experimenting to do, read and saw some very interesting things you can do.

I made an acoustic > electric conversion kit using Piezo's + hard foam cones as triggers. Works great! Crazy what you can do with Piezos!

Your going to have a hell of a time chasing leaks.

Because of the walnut? I'm sure it will be more difficult that ply, but fortunately the wood I'm getting will be jointed for true edges, and glued/clamped properly. I think the boards are The builder (who's far more experienced than I, a coworker) might even do tongue/groove to ensure a better joint. I think the boards are rather wide too. Like 12" or so. I'm also going to go for a super thick heavy, hard clearcoat of some sort, for protection. That might help any tiny leaks too.

 

[Turkeypills]

C-C-C-Combo breaker.

Trolling the combo thread.

I love it. I do not understand why so many of those guys consider themselves combo amp giggers. Sure, there is a combo amp involved... but when you add another cab, it becomes a stack of sorts. Maybe they just ratchet strap the two cabs together and pretend its one box. There are very few pic posts in that thread that show a simple combo. There was even that guy with the B15N. Sure it folds into the cab... BUT ITS A HEAD ON TOP OF A CAB.

So I am now part of the combo club.

Citing my JGR, ProLite, F212 + Dually rig.

Maybe I should try for a number. I thought about posting a big rig picture and telling them to look at that combo.

I never understood the sansamp > SVT setup. Even less now that I own an SVT. IT MAKES NO SENSE.

You already have the SVT, don't plug an SVT simulator into it, you're cheapening the tone of your tube head for no good reason. It's like using a flight simulator game to operate a 747 - just fly the damn plane!

I am annoyed by this as well. Every once in a while I see a FB post about the new ampeg DI and there are always a slew of posts where people simply say "Sansamp". Or they post a pic of a Sansamp programmable and cite its superior versatility. Now I may be talking out of my ass, but aren't both pedals based on the SAME tones? Also, I have had a Sansamp programmable. Its great if you want 3 channels of the same flavor. Sure you could tweak the knobs for some differences, but it will still have the baked in sansamp tone to it. Finally, to that comparison, I would take a mid knob over 3 channels errday tha week.

 

[dukeorock]

I bought the drivers for my new cab today. Going with the Faital 15PR400's. Cab will be made out of solid Walnut. After much deliberation and plotting, I'm going with 6.5 cubic feet internal volume (before considering driver displacement/etc), and two 6" ports, tuned to about 55hz. I was super skeptical about those specs, as it seems small and tuned high, but countless experienced people have convinced me that's where I want to be for powerful B string.

It's the red trace on this graph:

Hopefully the design will work for you. Sounds really risky. I would tune those drivers considerably lower and though it'll probably look really cool, there's a very good reason why Baltic Birch plywood is the standard. Hope it works great for you though!

 

[CL400Peavey]

I bought the drivers for my new cab today. Going with the Faital 15PR400's. Cab will be made out of solid Walnut.

Brace the $hit out of the sides.

I love it. I do not understand why so many of those guys consider themselves combo amp giggers. Sure, there is a combo amp involved... but when you add another cab, it becomes a stack of sorts.

IMHO a 212 is pushing it on a combo, and a 410 is just stupid. So you trade in (sometimes) not having to remember a speaker cable for the hassle of having an amp inside a cab, and the whole package is unwieldy?

No thanks.

 

[Satyrnine]

Hopefully the design will work for you. Sounds really risky. I would tune those drivers considerably lower and though it'll probably look really cool, there's a very good reason why Baltic Birch plywood is the standard. Hope it works great for you though!

Hey Duke, (And mbelue) could you give me some detail on what problems the walnut might cause? I really like the idea of walnut, but I definitely don't want to make a "dud". Duke, also, what are your thoughts on the response? I'm still kinda nervous about the lack of low end response, but I'm no pro in this regard. You're the first that's mentioned I should go lower, and my gut says I agree. Does the green plot look more appropriate, or lower yet?

 

[CL400Peavey]

Hey Duke, (And mbelue) could you give me some detail on what problems the walnut might cause? I really like the idea of walnut, but I definitely don't want to make a "dud". Duke, also, what are your thoughts on the response? I'm still kinda nervous about the lack of low end response, but I'm no pro in this regard. You're the first that's mentioned I should go lower, and my gut says I agree. Does the green plot look more appropriate, or lower yet?

Solid wood is instable, weak, and heavy.

55hz doesn't sound too "low" but you need to understand that is targeting the first overtone of low A tuning, where all the energy is.

 

[mbelue]

@Satyrnine yep.
Because you don't have solid pieces for each panel, every place it's jointed needs to be more than structurally strong. It must be airtight.
Running a bead of PL Premium along the inside of each joint should do.

 

[dukeorock]

Hey Duke, (And mbelue) could you give me some detail on what problems the walnut might cause? I really like the idea of walnut, but I definitely don't want to make a "dud". Duke, also, what are your thoughts on the response? I'm still kinda nervous about the lack of low end response, but I'm no pro in this regard. You're the first that's mentioned I should go lower, and my gut says I agree. Does the green plot look more appropriate, or lower yet?

Mid 40's tuning or just a tick lower is more on target for that driver, IMO, which doesn't mean you won't love it where it is.

Regarding solid wood. It looks terrific and lots of guitar cabs and combos use that sort of thing, but it's never going to be as stiff as properly braced Baltic Birch plywood. The stiffer the cab, the better the low end is going to project.

 

[D.M.N.]

IMHO a 212 is pushing it on a combo, and a 410 is just stupid. So you trade in (sometimes) not having to remember a speaker cable for the hassle of having an amp inside a cab, and the whole package is unwieldy?

No thanks.

Seriously. I've had this conversation so many times with people, mostly other musicians.
"Why don't you just use a combo? Having a separate head and such a big cab is so unwieldy"
"Not really. My big cabs have wheels, and I can place the head on the cab when moving it, which involves me walking upright gently pushing it along, unlike a wheeled combo, which I have to bend over to push. And the head I can easily carry up stairs. The cab is easily carriable by two people when not on a surface that its wheels can traverse, compared with a combo, which is would be far more of an effort to move for a single person"

 

[JoeVictim]

ok... So all of yall that picked up the El Oso... Who's still in love?
was it a "pedal of the week", or a "keeper"?

It was a great pedal, but for low OD, I was coping similar tones with the Joyo UD. So the El Oso was trade bait for a pharaoh that my guitar player bought off me. I'm using a Rat and whatever the Marshall amp sim pedal is based on (I got the Joyo version).

The Marshall amp sim is like a wooly, crushing fuzz. The rat is more like a lead, with a bit more high end, but all the nasty treble is eq'd out. If the British is the steak, the rat is the scallops.

 

[Satyrnine]

Solid wood is instable, weak, and heavy.

55hz doesn't sound too "low" but you need to understand that is targeting the first overtone of low A tuning, where all the energy is.

@Satyrnine yep.
Because you don't have solid pieces for each panel, every place it's jointed needs to be more than structurally strong. It must be airtight.
Running a bead of PL Premium along the inside of each joint should do.

Mid 40's tuning or just a tick lower is more on target for that driver, IMO, which doesn't mean you won't love it where it is.

Regarding solid wood. It looks terrific and lots of guitar cabs and combos use that sort of thing, but it's never going to be as stiff as properly braced Baltic Birch plywood. The stiffer the cab, the better the low end is going to project.

I think I'm going to take the risk and give the solid wood a try. Hopefully I'm not screwing myself over, but it will be a good learning experience. I've got a decent price on the wood. $2.50 per board/foot. Will definitely us PL Premium and insane baltic ply internal bracing, as well as some asphalt sheets to dampen/seal . That, plus lots of fill.

I think I might opt for the larger size box/tuning too. While I know it's not apples-apples, I historically really love the way large cabs sound. We'll see how it goes. If it turns out bad, I'll end up building a baltic ply cab I guess.

Thinking about using these ports: Precision Port 6" Flared Port Tube Kit