General Music Chat

This is an old picture but this is what you need for your bass!

Sheesh! More gear than The Who. Do you think this bass player was maybe overcompensating for something;)

This was my rig for the last outdoor gig we played:
http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/ ... /F-30.html

Approx. 150 people and the cops came because we were too loud. No mics on instruments, vocals only.

Do you think this bass player was maybe overcompensating for something;)

His healthy back?

Man JW, that's enough bass equipment to crack a skull! I'm going to be looking into all kinds of options...Sunn being one of them.

Yeah aiki, I remember eyeballing those Goliath amps. That's the ideal setup right there! I think 6x10's is perfect. Then again, the Mesa Powerhouse cab looks VERY promising too. 4x10's with a 15 in the center. Combine that with a powerful head and it would sound beautiful!

I have this obsession with Hartke right now cause of their aluminum/paper speakers. Man, those cabs sound great! I always thought Markbass were good amps, but way too expensive for such a small amount of wattage.

I'm discovering a whole new world on this bass equipment search. There's so many great amps, with so many different setups. Gotta get something affordable that isn't garbage either. I may have to go used.

I have this obsession with Hartke right now cause of their aluminum/paper speakers. Man, those cabs sound great! I always thought Markbass were good amps, but way too expensive for such a small amount of wattage.

Do a little research on reliability. I used to know a lot of ex-Hartke users. Not one of them gave up their Hartke equipment because of sound. Especially the aluminum cones. Apparently, though, having your equipment quit in the middle of a gig (or more often, right before the start of a gig) is a problem.

SWR, GK, Ampeg. Solid. Reliable. Consistent.

I've found GK amps to be the best for me, although I like Ampeg as well. I don't like SWR amps (they color the sound too much), but I like SWR cabinets. I also like Ampeg cabinets. But I'm not crazy about GK cabinets (couldn't really say why, there's just something "off" about them).

Just remember, the cabinet is a system. The size of the speaker cones is only one factor and not necessarily the one you should care about.

It would be interesting to see some actual physic research on air movement by various size speakers, all things, such as power / surface area were the same.

In my mind I would think a 15" would move more air than 10's of equal mass / area. Due to "uninterrupted surface".
Simply speculation though.

Sound or "tone" is so much more subjective.

When you look on the sound stage of many professional productions I see a lot of large diameter speakers vs clusters of smaller ones.
Then there is no way of knowing how many are dummies for appearance sake.

I remember when Kustom came out with a ported cab that housed 2 aluminum coned 15's. Those were the first aluminum coned speakers on the market that I can remember.

Check this our Sans,
http://dnbforum.com/showthread.php?8228 ... ncy-ranges

From the graph you can see that the lowest note on a 5 string bass "B" is 31hz. That is a very low note without a lot of musicality that people can hear. If you want to reproduce this note cleanly and with a lot of volume you will need large cabinets, large speakers and a lot of power. Here is one cab that will get it done:
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Cerwin-Vega ... =439933446

With a useable frequency response of 30-300hz, sensitivity of 106db, and calculated max SPL of 136db this 36C sub will go very low and very loud. 18" sub drivers move pretty slowly though so you won't get that snappy punch that a lot of bass players like in their sound. Some say they lack clarity and definition. Compare these specs to the most popular touring bass cab:
http://www.ampeg.com/pdf/SVT810EAV.pdf

The SVT810 cab is full of 10", the cab is tuned higher than the 36C with the lowest useable note at 40hz, sensitivity of 100db, and max SPL of 130db. The tradeoff here is that Ampeg has gone for punch rather than low and loud. It simply will not reproduce a fundamental 31hz "B" from a 5 string but it will give you the 1st overtone at 62hz. The SVT will also need a lot more power to deliver the same loudness as the 36C due to the lower sensitivity. With 200watts the 36C will deliver 129db all night long. The SVT810 will need 700watts to deliver 129db.

So if you are a 5 string bass player which do you choose? A very personal choice. Both cabs are a tradeoff. Personally I don't have much use for tones below 50hz but I like the efficiency a larger driver can deliver. I would probably use a really good quality 15" EV sub on the bottom and a good quality 210 top for punch, clarity and definition. This would give me a smooth response down to 45 hz, a sensitivity of 102db and a max SPL of 130db with 500watts. These cabs are also a lot easier to move around than either the 36C or the SVT810. My back is not what it used to be.

These two cabs would be high volume and sound amazing while not breaking your back. Big $$$ though:
http://www.bass.se/2009/ebs210.htm
http://www.bass.se/2009/ebs115.htm

I have this obsession with Hartke right now cause of their aluminum/paper speakers. Man, those cabs sound great! I always thought Markbass were good amps, but way too expensive for such a small amount of wattage.

Do a little research on reliability. I used to know a lot of ex-Hartke users. Not one of them gave up their Hartke equipment because of sound. Especially the aluminum cones. Apparently, though, having your equipment quit in the middle of a gig (or more often, right before the start of a gig) is a problem.

SWR, GK, Ampeg. Solid. Reliable. Consistent.

I've found GK amps to be the best for me, although I like Ampeg as well. I don't like SWR amps (they color the sound too much), but I like SWR cabinets. I also like Ampeg cabinets. But I'm not crazy about GK cabinets (couldn't really say why, there's just something "off" about them).

Just remember, the cabinet is a system. The size of the speaker cones is only one factor and not necessarily the one you should care about.

I've been looking at the Ampeg SVT's. Heard great things about them. I do like the Hartke cabs a lot. If I can afford it then I'll most likely mix the equipment...that's something I do anyways. My guitar setup always consisted of a different amp and cab. For some reason I think things just sound better...at least for me. I prefer to mix American and British equipment. Hopefully I can be picky about the bass rig I buy.

Yeah, the thought of an amp crapping out during a gig is a little scary to think about.

What do you think of the Peavey bass rigs? They make some loud ones, but I never hear too much hype about them.

Honestly, I don't have much to say about Peavey equipment, good or bad. I just don't see enough of it around to have formed a real opinion. I have a Peavey keyboard amp that's rugged, reliable and, well, ordinary. Ass a bass amp it's inadequate, but it really isn't a bass amp.

So...

Yeah.

Not much to say there.

For a lot of folk in my area the Peavey Black Widows were the holy grail of bass speakers. I've seen Peavey Cabs left by the Mesopotamians that are still in service.
As for their new gear ?? I don't know.

Some good technical information there to chew on thanks TheJohnny7Band.

Eric's Bass and the drums run into an old Sunn head that drives 3 15's for the low end.
They also feed into the main PA feeding the three way towers, so the "punch" of the bass, and highs from the cymbals ETC are not lost.