Re: So do we still like downsizing?

Jess Band-ee-Coot <LateShoBandicoot@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Yes, I do. The Fender jazz bass continues to be the standard design
that most "boutique" instrument makers copy.

There's a market for boutique Fender Jazz basses - but really - if you
think that's what most 'boutique' instrument makers are making - well -
you really haven't been looking very carefully.

Early electric bass rigs used 18's & 15's,

No, early electric bass rigs were things like this:
http://www.carvinmuseum.com/decade/58-bassamps.html
30 watts and 4x8" speakers.

Or
http://www.ampeg.com/milestones.html
1951 20 watt 1x15" speaker

OK, so one of those has a 15"

The 2x15" and 18" bass rigs came in later in the 60's

then people thought 10's were all the rage,

The original Fender bass man amp had 4x10" speakers - so that fad has
lasted rather a long time.

The SVT with the 8x10 cabs came in late 1960's

and now 12's seem to what's "hot".

Well, there were plenty of 12" bass cabs around in the 70's when I
started playing.

Certainly what's currently 'popular' does change on a cyclic basis - but
as far as I can tell the only thing that really counts as a phase is the
18" speaker.

This is because smaller is not better for bass.

Ignoring speaker configurations for a moment, the biggest flaw with the
early bass amp designs from Ampeg, Fender, Carvin and the like was
power. Those tube amplifiers were large, heavy and not very powerful.
The newer solid state amps are much more powerful. Additional size and
weight is not a benefit per se. Given equivalent power and tone lighter
and smaller is better.

These micro heads and neo speakers are a PHASE.

Let us explore the neodynium speaker options offered by Markbass.

They offer a 4x6" cabinet - very close to that early carvin 4x8"
also 1x15", 2x10 (including a very compact model), 4x10", 6x10" and
8x10".

So, all the popular speaker cabinet configurations from the last 50
years are available with neodynium speakers - with the intruiging
exception of the 18" - those monsters really were a fad.

So - what's your point? If you are suggesting that neodynium speakers
are a fad because they are *smaller* then that simply does not follow -
the speakers and cabs - with the exception of the very smallest (which I
agree are niche products) - they are the *same size(s)*.

If your argument was that neodynium speakers don't sound that good it
would be different - but no one seems to be arguing that at all.

Given equivalent performance going with the option that is heavier
simply because it is heavier makes no sense.

--- Derek





--
Derek Tearne - derek@xxxxxxxxx
Vitamin S - improvisation from Aotearoa/New Zealand
http://www.vitamin-s.co.nz/

.

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