alexclaber

[quote name='highwayone' timestamp='1441535937' post='2859530']Thinking of buying one of these but wondered if it is compatible with my Orange OBC410 as I've read the Ampeg is 2 or 4 ohm and I think my speaker is 8. I currently have an Orange TBH500 but looking to switch to Ampeg. Any help would be appreciated before I take the plunge! Thanks[/quote] There's a pretty high chance that your OBC410 contains 8 ohm speakers wired series/parallel, in which case changing the wiring to parallel/parallel will make it a 2 ohm cab, and so SVT friendly. Very simple change, easily reversible.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1441372626' post='2858397']Depends what you are driving them with tho.... if a cab requires a LOT of watts in... or a match up with a very powerful amp, how can this point to efficiency..? If a cab takes a lot of bass, and/or needs a lot of bass, that is going to drain the amp. [/quote] Power handling and efficiency are two separate things. You can have high power handling AND high efficiency from a good design. And if you have two cabs with the same efficiency, the one with higher power handling will exhibit less thermal power compression and thus have higher efficiency when you're playing loud. Cabs don't 'drain' amps - a cab which can handle a lot of bass will be easier on an amp because it will exhibit less magnetic power compression, so produce more output with less power.

[quote name='tbonepete' timestamp='1441376924' post='2858459'] Thanks guys, Seems an ask too far [/quote] It really isn't! There's two halves to the puzzle, the amp side, and the cab side. If you can run your DI post EQ and then use an accurate cab (ie minimal colouration) then the PA and cab sound should end up pretty well matched. Alternatively if you run your DI pre EQ and have a cab which is fairly full-range you can tweak the EQ to get the cab more like the FOH sound - this might also require the EQ on the bass channel on the desk to be tweaked to. The first approach requires a fancier cab and is definitely easier and far more likely to work well whilst the second approach can work surprisingly well with quite a lot of amps and cabs but requires more effort and cunning!

I should add that Ampeg's specs used to be very realistic, maybe even conservative! Not sure if they're all still consistent... Glad you're converted Lozz!

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1441352563' post='2858110'] Good point, get a cab with sensitivity of say 103 or 104 and it makes a fair difference. The 610 HLF is 98. [/quote] I wouldn't pay ANY attention to dB sensitivity figures, they're a complete joke! I was looking at the specs for the EA Wizzy 10 and they claim 102dB sensitivity, which is about 6dB higher than it could realistically be. That's equivalent to claiming 1000W power handling when it's truthfully 250W. Unless something very special has been done, sensitivity in bass cabs is directly linked to physical size. Sealed cabs will be lower sensitivity than ported/transmission line/etc cabs of equal size. Even if you've done a bunch of clever stuff you're not going to gain more than a couple of dB sensitivity over run of the mill cabs of the same size. The BIG difference comes from increased volume displacement (ie low frequency power handling) and to a lesser degree from reduced power compression (from increased thermal power handling). Volume displacement is how much air a speaker can move. For example, double the distance in and out that a 10" can move and it can do the work of two normal 10"s.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1439029167' post='2839464'] Thanks Alex! The cabs are EBS Proline 2x10 and 4x10. I don't know what mic was used but it looked like a large diaphragm a couple of inches away from the speaker in the 2x10 that was furthest from the bass port. The engineer spent a good 10 minutes listening to each speaker before deciding on that configuration. The tweeters are on about 1/4 of the pot travel, which is just enough to add a bit of sparkle to the top end. IMO the EBS tweeters are a bit harsh for the sounds I like. On my other cabs (Dr Bass) I have the tweeters on full to get the same sound as the EBS. For gigs I nearly always DI post EQ from the DI socket on the amp. Pretty much every PA engineer who has expressed an opinion has loved the sound and when I've had a chance to get out front during the sound check it always sounds just like my rig but louder, so I've been happy. I've had the cabs mic'd a couple of times at the bigger gigs we played, but haven't been able to tell if it has made any difference. I'm happy to DI so long as the sound coming from the PA matches what I get out of the rig. We've spent a lot of time working on the guitar and bass sounds, so that there is already plenty of separation between the two. We just want the PA to make them louder (if necessary). [/quote] For anyone else reading, I did reply to this but got moderated - I'm not so rude as to ask a question and then not answer it!

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1439050651' post='2839673'] Massive +1. Pisses over BF [and Berg][/quote] I'm not sure how that can be true considering the Barefaced Gen 1 & 2 models used the same woofers and similar enclosure/crossover designs to the fEarful and fEarless models and the Barefaced Gen 3 12XN cabs are louder, punchier and more accurate than the Gen 1 & 2 models. Would you care to explain?

I like your EP! What are your EBS cabs and how were they miced for that? How were any tweeters set? Do you currently DI or mic for gigs (and if you mic would you rather DI if it sounded as good?)?

A big heavy rack on top of a lightweight stack will be more stable than a lightweight amp on the same stack - the heavy rack ties the stack down and makes it much harder to knock over. And the chance of knocking over a lightweight stack is very low - has anyone ever done this or seen it happen? We designed the Big Baby 2 to be used vertically in singles and pairs and stacked horizontally in threes or fours. 'Unfortunately' we've yet to have anyone need more than two!

Great amp! I think the naysayers have either used them with muddy cabs or are after a totally different tone. Try one on a Super Twin - magic!

Woofer holes and bolt circle diameter may be different so might not fit! If it does then you'll get lows but it'll overload more easily. Might sound good, might not.

[quote name='nickhuge' timestamp='1438601144' post='2835661'] Not wide enough unfortunately. Is it a square fraqme or does it have a slant? [/quote] If you want something wider then how about this: http://barefacedbass.com/product-range/Retro-Six10.htm All our bass cabs are straight-front but easier to hear than most slanted cabs because they're designed for superior dispersion.

[quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1438372198' post='2834119'] Jamerson's studio sound is a long way from the modern concept of a DI. He and the other guitarists ran into a headphone amp that doubled as a DI and the signal broke up as they cranked their volumes up. Definitely salted that pasta![/quote] No, that's my exact point! I have never miced my cabs for gigs or recording. Since 1999 I have used the most accurate cabs available. That doesn't mean I've always gone for 'pristine' clean tones. I'm a huge fan of dirty sounds, pushing preamps to break-up, using piles of FX pedals, doing extreme EQing. Even when I'm running a completely clean sound I'll attack the bass in a multitude of ways to get a huge variety of sounds. The more accurate the cab, the more you can hear how my hands are shaping my tone. To continue the seasoning analogy, you could say that using an accurate cab is like cooking a dish and putting the salt and pepper in before serving as opposed once its on the plate.

I wish it was easier to use the quoting thing on my phone! I don't like the term 'flat response' for two reasons. Firstly it sounds boring/dull/unmusical/sterile/etc. And secondly flat frequency response on axis is only one quarter of what you need if you want ACCURATE sound reproduction - you also need equally good polar response, transient response and dynamic response. Whichever of the four aspects is worst will dominate your tone. I understand that plenty of bassists want their amp and/or cabs to add colouration to get their tone. But there are a LOT of great bassists who usually recorded via DI. Every single Motown bassline was DI'd (let me know if you know of one that wasn't!) If the late great James Jamerson wanted to get the same tone on a gig that he had on those recordings and he was alive now he could run through that same preamp into a power amp and through something like a Big Twin 2 and absolutely nail that awesome Motown sound. Sadly the few times he toured he had to struggle with getting heard through some of the mediocre rigs of that era. There is no way you can say Jamerson's tone is like "pasta with salt"! For modern equivalent look at Anthony Jackson. Amazing player, amazing tone and he uses a bass with one pickup, no knobs, and live he goes through a super clean mic preamp into very accurate Meyer Sound active cabs.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1438352242' post='2833835']Are there any "flat" basses out there? My fingers certainly don't do "flat". [/quote] I'm sorry Chris, normally your views are well worth listening to but this makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE AT ALL!!! If there is no point to accurate (aka transparent) amplification and loudspeakers then why do so many bassists DI in the studio and through PA systems? You make music with your instrument. If the tone coming from the instrument is exactly what you want, then why would you change it? If the tone coming from the instrument isn't what you want then you can use FX/amps/speakers to change the tone (add colouration) to get the sound you want.

Our Big Baby 2 and Big Twin 2 are about as accurate as can be (there's a lot more to accurate sound than flat on-axis response) and the Super Midget isn't that far behind. Unless you're using a seriously good PA system they'll be less coloured than the PA.

The on-axis plot on the data sheet does suggest it'll sound moderately midrangey, based on how 12" drivers with that kind of construction behave off-axis. Likewise it won't sound hugely trebly. Considering the relatively low inductance voice coil I think the cone itself must be relatively soft yet heavily damped for a paper cone. The other thing is the harmonic distortion - if compared to the norm it has more harmonic distortion in the mids than the lows then they'll sound more prominent, especially if it has more odd order distortion in the mids and less even order in the lows.

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1438270586' post='2833115']If you don't like them you can send them back and get a refund (minus your deposit)[/quote] Refund minus the return shipping fee (£30 or £40) not the whole £100 deposit! Thankfully not many come back. P.S. No trial period for customers outside Europe because the shipping costs get a bit silly...

I should add that I hope it doesn't take 3 years like the Gen 3 cabs did!

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1438253118' post='2832887']There was also a hint of a Barefaced amp lurking in the shadows. I'm very interested in that as well.[/quote] Yes, though it's a LONG way from release!

Awesome! My first bass amp.

[quote name='Oopsdabassist' timestamp='1438194089' post='2832477'] Oh Dave, now one of your pics has gone and got someone in trouble!! [/quote] Don't worry, we'll let them take the dunce's hat off before the summer is over.

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1438189402' post='2832420']Yeah I got all that before, I understand it's tuned differently to most cabs, and that its at its best on its long edge. What I'm not clear about is using it upright with a gramma pad. As these are designed to de couple the can from the floor I'm wondering what the effect will be.[/quote] The Gramma pad is for mechanical decoupling, not acoustic, so it still couples the good way, just not the bad way. And it'll affect the hybrid resonator's port the same as if it was onto the floor. I'd try it with and without the Gramma - you may find you can leave it at home except on particularly boomy hollow stages. P.S. I have had words about the cleaning of that grill - it should have been properly polished before it left, not just wiped clean (hence the residue). Give it a quick rub with a soft cloth and it'll look nice!

[quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1438077127' post='2831353'] Yeh i use it with a bass with a P&J pickup config, playing motown/funk/soul and it works great for me. You should do a review when it arrives. I was going to, and got half way through. But i'm terrible at putting what i hear into words. Felt it wouldnt be useful to anyone.[/quote] It definitely would!

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1438014446' post='2830874']Not a deal breaker, but it's a shame the stereo version doesn't bridge to 4 Ohms? - OR is there a way of muting an unused channel?[/quote] You can run one 4 ohm cab off one side and nothing off the other - and the unused channel won't care that although it's generating an output voltage there's no current flowing. The joys of solidstate amps!