AMPS FAQ!! Info on OHMS, Allsize RIGS-OverUnderPowerCabs DIY TechTalk-Links

[IvanMike]

Clink on the links below to view threads on the most frequently asked questions and topics in the amps forum.

If you have threads or links to contribute to this section, please feel free to PM an AMP mod for inclusion!

Warning! Some of these topics are objective and to the point. Most are on much more subjective matters. The one thing you won't get in those threads is a single definitive answer. Like most subjective issues, you're going to get a lot of opinions, hopefully most of which are based upon real world experience. The point of having threads like this linked in the FAQ sticky is to give users a starting point. Just like in an individual and specific thread, these threads will contain a wide variety of answers and viewpoints. Hopefully after reading threads like these a user will be able to come back to the forum with a better understanding of the issue (even if the understanding they gain is that no one can agree on the subject ), and a more prepared assessment and explanation of their particular needs and situation.

Ohms & Impedance - how many cabs can I use with my amp and what does all this mean???

Repair Resources for Amps and Speakers

Good Amp Techs - TB Members Recommendations for Quality Service and Repair.
Speaker Repair and Reconing Resources
Amp Schematics and Reference Links | TalkBass.com

General Amp Questions Discussion

Bass Guitar Amplifier Knowledge Base site by Joris!
TalkBass AmpFAQ by Joris
Amplifier Classes easily explained.
Class D amps Illustrated, Lots of Pics!
Suggestions for lightweight rigs for easy transport
Instrument cable for a speaker?
How safe is it to run an amp without a power conditioner?
Running amp without speakers? Good idea?
Learning amp repair
Technical Books, Online resources for learning Amp Repair

Does your rig really matter?
Soundmen - your DI or theirs? and other issues
Best advice ever given on TB - "which should I upgrade 1st? bass? amp? cab? check out this one post answer"
Why not use midrange drivers instead of tweeters in a bass cab?
Reality check on amp prices, performance, etc
Show your amps

Does "clipping" hurt speakers? - read the whole thing, it gets heated.
My subjective opinions on amps - Ivanmike
Which is more important, the head or cabinet?
What heads can handle a 2 ohm load?

EQ - what do the different frequencies sound like?
EQ - AMP EQ ADVICE - How do I EQ my amp to get a good sound?

How many watts and cabinets do i need to gig with?
Combo amps - pros and cons
Is there an easy way to move my amp? my back's killing me!
Rackmount rigs - what the heck are they and what's in them??
Rigs for both upright and electric bass

THE CURE for GAS - how not to lose sleep over gear you lust after, and save $$$



Bass Through Guitar Gear (see repair resources also)

I've heard of using a bass amp for a g**tar, but a bass through g**tar speakers?
Playing electric guitar through a bass amp (please dont hate me)
Can i play a standard guitar through my Bass amp?

Tube Amp Specific Discussions and The Definitive List of Tube vs Solid State Amp Discussion Threads

Tube amps VS solid state amps - which is better and why?
Tube watts
Are Tube amps louder than Solid State?
Favorite Preamp Tubes
What's the best tube amp?
Tube and Solid State
Amp repair Questions... Tube and solid state
solid state vs tube
Solid State or Tube or Good Amp Tech?
tube or solid state?

Which blows up more speakers TUBE or SOLID STATE?
Solid State Vs Hybrid Vs Tube
Solid State vs Tube Watts: Need Help
Solid state or tube
Primary Amp: Tube? Solid State? Or Hybrid?
Solid state watts vs x power tube watts
Tube and solid state volumes
Tube Watts vs. Solid State Watts, Conversion?
Solid State, Tube, Mosfet, Digital ... Help please !
Tube Watts to Solid State Watts

Solid state or tube?
Solid state/tube....why?
Tube Vs Solid State?
Cab Power Handling (solid state vs. tube power)
Trying to fix a solid state vs. tube
Help me decide on an amp and cab, Tube, Solid State
Do tube amps push more air than solid state amps?
Solid State to Tube Ratio?
Tube amp or solid state?
Are solid state amps inherently superior to tube amps for bass?

Volume difference between tube and solid state amps.
Tube, Solid State, Pre, etc
Tube Power amp VS. Solid State power amp
Choosing A New Bass Amp, tube, solid state, or hybrid?
Confused about tube/solid state hybrids
Tube vs. Solid State
Whats the ratio of tube watts to solid state watts.
Tube watts and solid state watts
Solid State Amps are Superior in Every Way to Tube Amps
Solid State or tube
Tube or Solid State?
Tube to solid state transition=really rough.

tube vs. solid state...sound clips?
Tube Watts Versus Solid-State Watts in a "battle royale"
Tube vs solid state
Looking to change up my tone: Tube vs. Solid State
Is working on solid state amps as dangerous as tube amps?
Tube watts/solid state watts
Tube / Solid state pre amps...
Solid state bassmen vs old all-tube ones...
Solid state vs all-tube
Preamp Sound Sample Test! Tube Vs. Solid State

Reliability and Tube vs. Solid State
Hybrid vs all-tube vs solid state
THE Tube Vs Solid State Thread
What were your reasons for switching from tube to solid state preamps?
Tube or Solid State???
Tube vs. Solid-State
Tube or solid state
Tube vs. Solid State (or Mosfet)
Tube or Solid State?
Difference of tone in solid state compared to tube

Over/Underpowering Cabs
Can you blow a speaker with too much "clean" power?
Can You Damage A Cab By Underpowering It: The Poll!
Am I underpowering my setup here? Please help
Underpowering cabs
Amp output and cab power, dumb question
I'm about to underpower this cab to the max
Under-powering?
Overpower or underpower, a hypothetical..
Underpower/overpower revisited

Please see FAQ's continued below

 

[BassyBill]

FAQ's continued

Technical and Design Discussions

Mixing Speakers and Phase Response courtesy of billfitzmaurice
Considerations on the effects of group delay -Great thread by ThisBass
Bass Frequency/Waterfall Plots: What They Mean To Bass Rig Designs
A Paper on Near Field Line Arrays
The Meyers Paper on Line Array Field Theory

Technical discussion pages from TB'er fdeck:
Three pages on the physics and math behind Thiele-Small theory in pdf :
1-speaker 2-kpro10a 3-phase
Notes and free tools for response measurement by fdeck
Free spectrum analysis software: Index of /~fdeck/bass/freesa.zip
fdeck Open source speaker design program, excel format.

History Lesson, ThunderFunk/SWR/Eden


Speaker Size Discussions

Does speaker size matter?
Speaker Size
Does speaker size effect tone or just volume?
Speaker dust cap: size, shape and the effect thereof
Is there an ideal speaker size on a bass combo amp?
Speaker Size and Wattage
Favorite speaker size and why...
15" speaker tone...Size does matter.
Speaker size & changes in technology
Speaker size characteristics
Poll: What Size Speakers Do You Mainly Use?
Speaker size vs sound
Mixing speaker sizes - acid reflux
Mixing Speaker Cab Sizes. 10's with 12's or 15's? Read the definitive answer(post #6).


Resources for DIY Speaker Cabinet and Amp Builders Including Builds by TB Members, Useful links and Speaker Design Freeware

WinISD Download, a state of the art freeware speaker design program, with many built in T/S parameters available. START here, this is a must have program for the cab designer.
LinearTeam

A quick roundup of some TB DIY Builds:

A Jack build from Bill Fitzmaurice plans by the Jester.
DIY Lightweight Composite Cab Build II - ZL1263, 3-way by Zac2944
DIY 6x10 Build Thread by nebzero
DIY 12"+8" by Feast
DIY 2x10" by michabass
DIY 4x10" and 1x15"by Snakeman1066
DIY Lightweight Composite 2x10" by zac2944
DIY Schroeder 1210 copy by modulus763
DIY 1x15" by MojoBenny
DIY 2x10" by Roundwound
DIY 15"+6" by jock
DIY Hi-Fi 3/2 Way Rig (8" is enough) by spodemaster
DIY A $160 Fullrange 1x12 Cabinet. Build by Schecter4.
DIY Upgrade of the Rat Shack 2x12 Music Cab to a
2x12 Ported Bass Speaker Cabinet by Thor
DIY Loud, Small and Cheap, 22lbs that Pounds! by Lowactnsatsfctn
Great little thread on a simple, low cost practice cab!
Show your DIY Cabs - TB Thread

A new compiled section on Greenboy's fEARful 15/6 designs

greenboy's fEarful™ 12/6 & 15/6 bass enclosure designs - FREE! - the discussion thread
greenboy's fEarful™ 12/6 & 15/6 bass enclosure designs - FREE! - the download area
fEarful™ 12/6 Cutkit Assembly by Supertanker
Main Wiki Article on fEarful Cabinets on Talkbass Wiki.
Wiki article on fEARful build by Burning Skies
Thread on construction of fEARful enclosure by Andyman on Woodnet. Basic cab construction example.
Wiki Comments on the enclosure build directly above by the cab designer.

Build discussion links and tools:

The Speaker Builders Bible from Parts Express a very useful beginner and intermediate link for understanding speaker design and cabinet construction. Link suggested by
Bill Fitzmaurice.

A Speaker Design by fdeck
Building your own speaker cabinet - how & why, pros & cons
Basic Car Audio Electronics - Lots of basic info on crossovers, electronics, sound, physics, etc.
Passive Crossover Designer Freeware, easily downloadable, runs on Excel.
3 Way Crossover - Crossover calculator and design info.
diyAudio
http://eminence.com/resources/cabinets.asp
Eminence's reference designs for many of their drivers:
Big and small box, ported and sealed.

Eminence Speaker Wiring Diagram
Designing and Building a Bass Guitar Cabinet
Archived E-V TL Bass Cab Plans .pdf's available
for free download from the Telex Site.
Best Little Bass Speaker Cabinet
Article by Len Moskowitz from Speaker Builder Magazine
Published in 1994, a 1/10 cab build suitable for a Low B.Good Technical discussion, but the Peerless Woofer and Midrange are no longer in production.

Duncan's Amp Pages
Not really bass guitar specific, but some decent info
Speaker Building Software
Building a High End Enclosure
U.S. Speaker
Speaker Wiring Info
Parts Express Speaker Building
http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/.
http://www.eminence.com/resources/wiring.asp
http://archives.telex.com/archives/EV/Builders Plans/ Older info.
http://www.duncanamps.com/zips/speaker5.xls
Speaker Design Basics
Box Design Links
Lots of links here, seem to be geared more towards car audio, good info.
Article on Power Ratings

http://woodworking.about.com - Basic Woodworking Tips and Info./
Save wood, prototype your cabinet design in Free Google Sketchup:
Google SketchUp
You can find speaker cabinet examples under File->3d Warehouse
One you've drawn your cabinet, you can calculate the internal volume using one of the "Volume" calculators at:
Home - Ruby Library Depot
Hint: Temporarily plug the end of ports so they won't be considered in the calculated volume.
To derive a cut list for plywood and other wood components take a look at "Cut List" plugin. Cutlist and Layout from Sketchup - by daltxguy @ LumberJocks.com ~ woodworking community

Some Speaker manufacturers sites with design info for PA or Instrument woofers:
18 Sound - Only PA, no instrument cab designs.
Eighteen Sound - professional loudspeakers

B&C - Only PA, no instrument cab designs.
B&C SPEAKERS

Beyma - Complete design catalog, primarily PA-centric. Individual .pdf or .cad files can be found at the second link.
Beyma
Beyma

Ciare - PA, guitar and bass specific designs.
CIARE - Making speakers, woofer, tweeter, driver and car audio

Fane - Only PA, no instrument cab designs.
http://www.fane-international.com/resources.asp

P.Audio, Peavey, Pyle, Radian - No designs, as they make and sell their own enclosures.

RCF - Only two suggested subwoofer designs.
RCF - Homepage

Amp/Pre-Amp DIY Builds and discussion threads.
Sound City B120 MKIV restoration | TalkBass.com Nice example of an old tube amp restoration.
Bass pre-amp kits:anybody ever build one?
Building my own Pre-amp? Includes nice schematics and links!
New DIY project in the works - Ampeg B-50R Bass Pre-amp. Includes schematics, pics and links.
A DIY rack pre-amp build by Passinwind.
A DIY Tube Line Driver by Passinwind
fdeck's new Bo-Teek DIY Pre-Amp with schematic
link
A 1u Rack Space DIY Pre-Amp by Passinwind
A DIY 500 Watt Bass Head | TalkBass.com

***

Thanks to all TB members, too numerous to mention, who have contributed links, info, personal pages and threads for inclusion in the Amps FAQ resource section.

If anyone has any suggestions for the FAQ section, please let us know.

 

[Chef]

High Pass/Low Pass Filter Discussion:
High Pass Filter (HPF) and Low Pass Filter (LPF) Mega Thread