Bass Amp/FRFR cab to also be PA

[Chienmortbb]

On 13/03/2021 at 19:31, adamg67 said:

This sounds a bit like what I've done, except I would say I've gone for an amp and cab that can work as a monitor, but I've never thought of using it as part of the PA. I've got a Big Baby 2, and a Markbass Mulitamp which can be used as a straight power amp which gives me far too many options really. 

The big deal for me is that what goes to the PA or desk for FOH is the same thing I hear out of the amp. So the DI from the amp goes to FOH and into a FRFR speaker, and they sound something like the same. Obviously if there's an engineer I might be better with an monitor and then I hear his fiddling as well, and that's what I'd do for that sceanrio, no speaker at all. For the PA no engineer scenario, without the FRFR speaker, ie using an old fashioned bass cab, FOH would get one sound and I'd get that sound coloured again by the bass speaker. So if it sounded muddy to me and I tried to brighten it up with the eq on my bass, it would end sounding harsh out front (and this really did used to happen)

If you read througb the thread on @stevie's  DIY thread for a 1x12 ( the so called BC112 MK3), you will see that one of thre main criteria for this FRFR design was that the bassist could hear him/herself clearly on stage, hence the vertical positioning of the horn. This ensures that the mids/highs are not being lost at leg height for the player and ensures that both player and listener are getting similar sounds. So whether used without PA support or with, the sound is more consistant. Of course to a greater or lesser extent the same is true of the QSC/RCF/Yamaha cabinets.

I read comments about the harshness associated with tweetered cabinets and I have some sympathy for that. Many respected brands use cheap tweeters and minimal crossovers and the result is a nasty sound. Not to pick on Markbass but one of the subjects that often comes up for MB combos,  both on here and on TB is disconnecting or replacing tne tweeter. However a proper;y designed cab with either a passive or active (DSP) crossover should sound smooth, not harsh

 

[adamg67]

16 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

I read comments about the harshness associated with tweetered cabinets and I have some sympathy for that. Many respected brands use cheap tweeters and minimal crossovers and the result is a nasty sound. Not to pick on Markbass but one of the subjects that often comes up for MB combos,  both on here and on TB is disconnecting or replacing tne tweeter. However a proper;y designed cab with either a passive or active (DSP) crossover should sound smooth, not harsh

I find it interesting when I read about people replacing bass-specific cabs with FRFR cabs without adding something like a cab sim, I wonder if that is behind some of the harshness comments.

I've got cab sims in the MB Multiamp and an IR loader pedal for cab sims in my "fly rig" pedalboard.