Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: MDV on December 27, 2009, 04:20:56 PM
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Loving them!
Testing with my PB, playing br00talz.
The low end is the most striking thing. Its huge, quite tight but not as much as the V30s, throaty growly and really natural sounding. Its not choked or constrained of forced. The k100s low end is less prominent (as is the V30s) but sort of sounds like its being squeezed out; this speaker breathes in the low end much more. It slams and grinds, gutterally and with great authority.
I've heard people go for these for blues and doom because of the low end. I can see how that works, but many of you will be familiar with my lust and on going quest for precision, tight low end, and they arent as tight, but they arent loose enough to displease me. Remember that this is with a PB and my Aurora; both low end definition titans. I have more leeway there than, say, a dual rec and a les paul. YMMV!
The mids and top end are far smoother and more open than the k100s they replaced. They dont honk nearly as much and theres little brittlness (unbroken in too). Smooths the harsh breakup of the PB very well. Plenty of bite in them, but less attack. Again, remember the rest of the stuff I'm testing with and YMMV!
Its more innately scooped than the K100 (less than the V30), which may lead to less cut in a mix, but they're also quite a bit louder and more percussive, so I guess maybe it will even out. Yet to test this.
It in general made the sound a lot bigger and fatter as well.
Overall, I'd recommend this speaker if you want to warm up a cold sound, give low end to a thin sound, give more solidity and space to your low end (and dial it back a bit), smooth fat blues tones and huge grind tones through fairly conventional rigs and fatter, chunkier and smoother, more open sounds in laser-beam metal rigs.
Not recommended if you already have a very dark sound/setup, or if you enjoy brighter janglier sounds.
I'm quite delighted with it for my needs and they'll be staying in.
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i didn't know you were getting swamp thangs... so you're running them with the v30s now?
edit: have you tried the texas heats?
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Yep. I liked the K100s, but in the speaker test hunter posted I liked the SA quite a bit, and in my head it added up well with the V30, if you see what I mean. So I tried em.
They're the only eminence I've used so far. I'll definitely be looking into them if I need speakers in future, rather than just celestions (as I was before). Very good stuff, very good value as well. Solid build, great sound.
The only thing I dont like is the US flag and "patriot" on the back in big letters. But I dont need to look at those.
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The only thing I dont like is the US flag and "patriot" on the back in big letters. But I dont need to look at those.
i'll never understand why the hell they do these things. the yankees, i mean...
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They're the only eminence I've used so far. I'll definitely be looking into them if I need speakers in future, rather than just celestions (as I was before).
I'd really like to try out these Swamp Thangs. FWIW, I have a legend GB 12/8 (greenback-like) on my Bjr and AFAICT it's really worth each cent of the €59 I paid for it - just smokes the V30 in this setup.
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would you say they are better than k100s or different or mix better with v30s?
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They both mix well with V30s. Its just different. The k100s have very fast low response and lots of mids and a pretty sharp top end, but not as spiky as the V30, so they pair with the V30s fairly big low end, nasal mid and atack in the high mids. They act with the V30 as a tightener and mid-adder. The V30s bring the low end magnitude and thickness, and the attack snarl in the top end.
The Swamp Thangs also have more mids, but less top and attack, more grit than sparkle and a fatter low end, so they work with the V30 as a smoother and chunkyfier.
I never liked the K100 miced either, it was too honky. Maybe have better luck with the swamp thang, dont know yet, I'll have a listen through a mic soon enough. No point looking quite that closely at it till they're burned in.
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Good review :) I've been interested in trying some with my Laney, as you may know it has quite a harsh/bright breakup. Think they'd work well together. I just don't dare mess with the 2xG12H30 setup which has worked well for about 3 years now!
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cant comment on the h30; not tried them. Heard the comparison in hunters link though, and the 30s, from memory, were one of the smoother, if not smoothest celestions, but the eminences were smoother/warmer than any of the celestions. If youre getting harsh breakup my *guess* (from the comparison) is that these (or tonkers) will help. They helped with that with the PB.
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Yep. I liked the K100s, but in the speaker test hunter posted I liked the SA quite a bit, and in my head it added up well with the V30, if you see what I mean. So I tried em.
They're the only eminence I've used so far. I'll definitely be looking into them if I need speakers in future, rather than just celestions (as I was before). Very good stuff, very good value as well. Solid build, great sound.
The only thing I dont like is the US flag and "patriot" on the back in big letters. But I dont need to look at those.
hehe. I couldn't care less.
i have an eminence in my valve junior cab, it seems fairly nice (and it's one of the cheaper, OEM, ones). Would like to try weber, tayden etc. too at some point. :)
Great review, by the way (didn't mention that yet). :)
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Thanks.
Certainly given the tonal quality and the bang for buck of them, I'll be using Eminence again, even if they do have jingoistic stickers (the new bk stickers are a little nationalistic as well, but they sound good, I'm not gonna stop using them :))
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the bkp stickers would worry me a bit more here, play in the wrong part of town here (or in the wrong town :lol: ) and you might get lynched if anyone saw them. Not sure whether that should be a :lol: or a :( And I doubt the "but they're nice pickups" would be much of a defence.
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You dont have to put them on anything though ;)
Stick them on the inside of an eminence loaded cab and they might cancel each other out :lol;
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Mm, interesting. Was pondering Swamp Thangs. Currently have Weber beam blockers on a V30 loaded Framus cab.
I'd like to replace the whole cab but can't justify a Diezel, hehe. I never liked the Celestion 100s when playing in E standard aaaalthough... I've not tried them out since I started 7 stringery.
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I doubt you'd need the blockers with the swamp thangs.
I did get them under the microscope, so to speak, today - miced up with an MD421 pointing at the join between the dust cap and the cone, and compared them to V30s with isolating headphones.
I was wrong about one thing - they are at least as tight as the V30s, but they havent broken in yet, so that may well change.
They are much less constrained and nasal, much more open and less fizzy. I was able to raise the gain on the PB (channel 4) to about 4 and still have a tone that I would record without fear of mush or mud. Not so with the V30s; 3 is the most I can get away with, and thats pushing it. They're more percussive by far and the low end grinds and slams. The top end is much less brittle, and I could also get away with moving the mic more over the dust cap (havent tried dead on straight yet) and get more attack and definition without the army of wasps.
On the whole the sound was much broader and thicker and the line between 'sharp and attacking' and 'fizzy and annoying' is a much wider one. A little less responsive; it seemed I had to dig in more with them, but then I can raise the gain more and still get a 'clean' distortion (if that doesnt sound absurd), so it ended up easier; let the amp do a little more work. They're darker, but they arent dull or muddy. They strike a nice balance.
I was also able to dispense with my JD10, which was causing some noise and phase and note attack weirdness (subtle but really annoying) - I had it set to 0-10-0, output 10, drive 4ish to give some kick to the mids and smooth the sound overall. No need with the swamp thangs.
I really hope the sound doesnt change drastically with break in, because I'm really liking these speakers.
Ill be doing my next track with them. If that turns out OK I may even redo the one I just did with a V30 with these.
Note to self - must try the i5 on them. I reckon that would sound great.
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Oh, all this testing is in drop A sharp. They can take a low tuning, and take it very well.
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The only thing I dont like is the US flag and "patriot" on the back in big letters. But I dont need to look at those.
I guess that's why a closed back cab is so beautiful :D
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You dont have to put them on anything though ;)
Stick them on the inside of an eminence loaded cab and they might cancel each other out :lol;
with some of the cretins round here i wouldn't be surprised they'd think they were the same flag considering they're the same colour. Which reminds me, never bring italian flags to certain other areas here as well, again too close for comfort. :lol:
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You dont have to put them on anything though ;)
Stick them on the inside of an eminence loaded cab and they might cancel each other out :lol;
with some of the cretins round here i wouldn't be surprised they'd think they were the same flag considering they're the same colour. Which reminds me, never bring italian flags to certain other areas here as well, again too close for comfort. :lol:
where the hell do you live??? and, if i may ask, what have they got against the italian flag? (where i live, IN ITALY, many consider that flag rather offensive too. that's part of the reason why we're a sh1tty country)
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To be fair - the flag thing is to distinguish between the American and the British souding speakers - the words 'Patriot' and 'Red Coat' being a reference to the American War of Independence rather than modern jingoistic stuff. Personally, I don't have a problem given the context.
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To be fair - the flag thing is to distinguish between the American and the British souding speakers - the words 'Patriot' and 'Red Coat' being a reference to the American War of Independence rather than modern jingoistic stuff. Personally, I don't have a problem given the context.
it makes sense, and i get the irony... we took it off context!
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where the hell do you live??? and, if i may ask, what have they got against the italian flag? (where i live, IN ITALY, many consider that flag rather offensive too. that's part of the reason why we're a sh1tty country)
You're a sh1tty country because you got a prime minister that is totally whack and tries to set himself above the law (well that's my opinion :D)
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where the hell do you live??? and, if i may ask, what have they got against the italian flag? (where i live, IN ITALY, many consider that flag rather offensive too. that's part of the reason why we're a sh1tty country)
northern ireland. the italian flag is fairly close to the irish flag (in terms of the colours and design, i mean).
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where the hell do you live??? and, if i may ask, what have they got against the italian flag? (where i live, IN ITALY, many consider that flag rather offensive too. that's part of the reason why we're a sh1tty country)
You're a sh1tty country because you got a prime minister that is totally whack and tries to set himself above the law (well that's my opinion :D)
...and is prime minister also because he supports an extreme right wing party that overtly plans country secession as its foundating principle. and gets coalition votes from them. in most countries those guys would be in labour camps, not in government, even if they attract a lot of morons!
yes, we're a sh1tty country for A LOT of reasons, actually.
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where the hell do you live??? and, if i may ask, what have they got against the italian flag? (where i live, IN ITALY, many consider that flag rather offensive too. that's part of the reason why we're a sh1tty country)
northern ireland. the italian flag is fairly close to the irish flag (in terms of the colours and design, i mean).
i can clearly understand why a union jack isn't seen too sympathetically in your neighborhood... :)
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it's perfectly fine in some neighbourhoods. And I didn't just mean the union jack, fly the irish flag in the wrong neighbourhood (or wear a celtic top, etc.) and you're equally likely to get lynched. what doesn't seem to get mentioned on the news very much is that the majority in NI want to remain part of the UK (it's a small majority, but one nonetheless).
It's getting into the wrong neighburhood which is the problem, which, more often than not, is right beside the right one. bear in mind, i'm using "right" and "wrong" arbitrarily, with "right" meaning "you won't get the cr@p kicked out of you" and "wrong" meaning "you will", I'm not suggesting that one side is right or the other is wrong, other than anyone willing to kick the cr@p out of you for whichever flag you want to wave or not wave is wrong.
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it's perfectly fine in some neighbourhoods. And I didn't just mean the union jack, fly the irish flag in the wrong neighbourhood (or wear a celtic top, etc.) and you're equally likely to get lynched. what doesn't seem to get mentioned on the news very much is that the majority in NI want to remain part of the UK (it's a small majority, but one nonetheless).
It's getting into the wrong neighburhood which is the problem, which, more often than not, is right beside the right one. bear in mind, i'm using "right" and "wrong" arbitrarily, with "right" meaning "you won't get the cr@p kicked out of you" and "wrong" meaning "you will", I'm not suggesting that one side is right or the other is wrong, other than anyone willing to kick the cr@p out of you for whichever flag you want to wave or not wave is wrong.
uh, this is quite surprising, i always thought that a vast majority of NI would rather be independent! it's true that if you live outside a country you'll never REALLY understand its political and social life...
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uh, this is quite surprising, i always thought that a vast majority of NI would rather be independent! it's true that if you live outside a country you'll never REALLY understand its political and social life...
yeah, i know. My sister was an exchange student for a while, and was friends with people from various other european countries, and they were of the usual "give NI back" persuasion (as people tend to be when they're fed lies and misinformation), until they asked how long england/britain had owned NI. When they were told "since the 1600s" (which was older than most of their countries), they were like "wtf?" and they quickly changed their tune. :lol:
Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with people wanting to belong to ireland (just stop making shite up to back up your position), and to be honest, if we could go back to 1600 and have britain not get involved in colonisation and imperialism (along with pretty much every other european power of the time), then that'd be the thing to do. But it's a bit late now, and we can't do that. I mean, i was born in northern ireland, and it feels like home. So were my parents. And their parents. Etc. etc. etc. Using the modern definition of "nationality", if you're born in a country, you're a citizen ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Convention_on_Nationality )
oh yeah, some links to back up what i'm saying, so you know I'm not the one making shite up (as you should be equally suspicious of anything i say).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Northern_Ireland#Views_on_the_Union
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Northern_Ireland#Political_demographics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantation_of_Ulster
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Just to be the pedantic seventeenth century historian that I am, 'Britain' as a political entity did not exist in 1600. James VI and I declared himself to be king of 'Great Britain' in 1603, although political union did not exist until Queen Anne. Lesson over, now talk amongst yourselves :)
Of course if you want to go further back, it was Henry II of England in 1171 that invaded Ireland as an 'English' (i.e. Norman French) scion.
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touche on both points. i said "england/britain" the first time, but forgot about it the second time.
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I've heard it said and I think I read it somewhere in one of my more lucid moments that the cones in Eminemce guitar speakers are made in the U.K. Says it all really; anybody can wind a speach coil. :lol: I guess it's a bit like the Enigma story where a few british crossword buffs cracked the german enigma code but Hollywood has convinced the world that it was it Steven Seagal (a disaffected US marine commando) who dived to 3000 metres to recover an enigma machine and save the world from tyranny. OK a bit far fetched but you know what I mean!
I've always used Eminence speakers, drivers and crossovers in the bands PA system; good gear.
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I do believe it was bon jovi that found an enigma machine, and presumably americans that cracked the code.
Unless hollywood lied to me, which is inconcievable.
I've never seen that film, being repulsed by it, but I've always hoped it was also a musical - its not like it was going to get any less realistic, and you may as well you Jovi for something hes not utterly horrible at.
Clearly they should say 'assembled in the US' rather than 'made'!
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I was under the impression that Polish mathematicians were the first to get a serious start at cracking the Enigma codes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptanalysis_of_the_Enigma
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cipher_Bureau
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_Enigma_doubles
This is also one reason Poland was relatively confident going into WWII; a combatant who knows what his enemy will do in advance has a tremendous advantage.
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That wouldn't be Prawnicowic would it? Thank god for wikipedia eh? :)
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"Prawnik" is a Polish word, but I am not Polish.
Anyway, if you look at the articles I linked to, they are detailed and refer to other sources, including extensive bibliographies.
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When they were told "since the 1600s" (which was older than most of their countries), they were like "wtf?" and they quickly changed their tune. :lol:
well, actually italy was absolutely not a national entity until 1860, when the reign of Savoia conquered the other countries in the italian peninsula exploiting and misleading rising pan-italian feelings and imposing an unfair and often brutal colonial regime on the rest of the newborn and self-proclaimed "reign of Italy". and this explains a lot of things, including mafia! much depends on the way the new forced citizens are treated...
currently one of the actual leading parties (the first party in my home region) promotes (besides expulsion of southerners from northern Italy, micro-chip marking of Rom children, banning of Islam and homosexuality, various racial laws to discriminate officially the much needed african and east-european workforce, forbiddance to walk together and talk in public places in more than 2 persons - i'm not joking, it's a communal law introduced in at least a major town! - and such amenities) the secession of the richest north regions from the rest of the country, but it's a different thing, and i'd bash their padan asses with a spiked club every second of my life...
at the moment it's not uncommon to see groups of "normal" kids teasing lonely coloured people on buses etc...
i know this post is COMPLETELY off topic but i'm really scared by the direction my country has taken...
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yeah, that sucks, i've been reading stuff like that in the newspaper.
I knew Italy was a fairly recent construct, that's why I mentioned it (as are most european countries). :)
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I've alway loved the Lega Nord and Umberto Bossi - with idiots like that, why do you need political satire?
Well I suppose satirists don't stand for election, or beat people up. But surely its true, south of the River Po is part of Africa? No?
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yeah, that sucks, i've been reading stuff like that in the newspaper.
I knew Italy was a fairly recent construct, that's why I mentioned it (as are most european countries). :)
It quite shocked me how young Germany is, too. But as far as Italian politics (in history), when learning about it, I found it so obscure that it just wasn't interesting. Then again, the UK seems to be dominated by 'centre' parties
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I've alway loved the Lega Nord and Umberto Bossi - with idiots like that, why do you need political satire?
Well I suppose satirists don't stand for election, or beat people up. But surely its true, south of the River Po is part of Africa? No?
someone actually thinks it's nicer to be north of africa then south of italy... :)
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Sorry to resurrect an older thread but how have these broken in MDV?
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A good question and fair one to resurrect with.
Break in is always a bit tricky to gauge, but from current comparisons close micing between them and V30s and comparisons when I got them, the STs seem smoother, a bit more open. The lesser attack in the high mids is now even more lesserer. Low end got surprisingly tight. I'll be doing some reamping fairly soon, I'll see if I can remember to try STs Vs the nice familiar V30s. In the mean time, this is a recent clip: an MD421 pointed more or less at the join between the dust cap and the cone, totally untreated, aftermath, VHT pittbull CL, pretty metal, but what did you expect?
http://soundcloud.com/mdv/aftermath-holy-tyranny-happy-riff-exerpt
The guitars dont have any ITB treatment, theres nothing else there: guitar - amp - cab - mic. .
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d00d that sounded pretty br00tal
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Nice to see that the thread got back on track again.....eventually. I've just fitted a couple of Swamp Thangs in a two by twelve custom cab for a customer. They sound pretty good up against other Celestion filled cabs I have around the place but I'm not really a metal head so I prefer the subtlety of the V30 two by twelve that I'm using at the moment.