Best lightweight head and cabs for Reggae?

[Bassybert]

14 hours ago, fretmeister said:

Well, in a BMW you don't have to have it loud enough to get over the annoying click of the indicators if you never use them...  

BMW’s come with indicators?

 

 😁

[Lozz196]

6 minutes ago, Bassybert said:

BMW’s come with indicators?

 

 😁

Is there a more pointless job in the world than being the man who installs them?

[Marcus Cornall]

8 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

No, and for that matter chances are you may never put the full 800 watts into it. The first 100 watts are the most significant, and in most cases you won't put much more than that into it, other than as short transient peaks.

Erm...I dont understand but I feel I need to!

In my ignorance I thought..if it's an 800w 8ohm cab (say,if I get a BB), and so I ought to get an amp that puts as much of that in..thinking that a MB LM800 or 800T might be good since they still give 600w to the cab at 8 ohms.

But from what you have said,would I be equally well off with a 500w amp or even lower?

Seems the extra watts are not as important as I thought.

There's obviously a fundamental thing I don't grasp here.

I considered it a linear thing...the more the watts the 'louder/ 'more'/'better's

Apologies for my ignorance, and please feel free to point me at a site which explains it ,if it's saving you the job of all this 😀 

 

I still don't know whether to get an ampeg or one of the Markbass ones,or something else,but I need to understand this first!

I nwo suddenly realise I have no idea how "loud" I have been playing !!!!

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

The more watts the louder, yes, but running either an amp or speakers to their limit isn't a good idea, for their longevity or that of your ears.

Compare this to a car. Let's say the speedometer goes to 240 KPH and the tach goes to 7,000 RPM. That doesn't mean you should be driving 240 KPH at 7,000 RPM. You can, but probably not for long. The car has that capability so that it will run for ten years or more at 120 KPH at 2500 RPM. 

 

How many watts is enough? Between one half and twice the speaker thermal rating. One half is usually enough to drive a speaker to its mechanical limit. Twice gives you more amp headroom, which gives cleaner tone.

 

If your amp can only deliver half the speaker's mechanical limit that's at best -3dB from the speaker's maximum output. -3dB is audible, but just. As for linearity of power versus loudness, it isn't. It's a logarithmic relationship. That's why I said the first 100 watts are the most significant. That gets the average speaker output to the vicinity of 115dB at one meter. 115dB for extended periods will cause hearing loss. (Just ask Pete Townshend. You'll have to speak loudly.) Luckily we tend not to stand 1 meter from our cabs, but still, it's louder than we usually play at. A more reasonable 109dB takes only 25 watts. Where the next 75 watts come in is headroom, again so you're not running the amp at it's limit.

 

Going beyond 100 watts, if for some silly reason you want it twice as loud 200 watts won't do it. That only gets you to 118dB. Twice as loud as 115dB is 125dB. That requires 1,000 watts. Not that it matters, at that level you'll go deaf in short order. The only advantage to having 1,000 watts over 100 watts is that it gives you 10dB additional amp headroom, so that you won't clip it on hard transients. But with a realistic 25 watt average draw you only need 250 watts for 10dB of headroom. 

 

The last factor comes down to specsmanship, the fudging of data by marketing departments. The higher the stated power output the more likely the marketing department is writing cheques that the engineering department can't cover. Some companies are famed for doing this, TC and Bugera being two. Some have a well earned reputation for honesty, Ampeg being one. If only there was a comprehensive independent testing source to separate the wheat from the chaff, but there isn't. This is where cost versus claims comes in. If the price makes it seem to be too good to be true it probably isn't.

 

 

[Marcus Cornall]

Thankyou again so much Bill.That's just educated me anew. You truly know your stuff.

Trouble is ,it keeps showing me new gaps in my understanding,so hope you will forgive that :)😃 

 

It still seems strange to think I really might need less amp watts than I thought.

 

But erm, the driver in the BB has a thermal rating of 500w ,so I would need 1000w to have twice as you suggest for headroom.

It would seem that if I ran a 500w into it, giving ,say 350 really (like the Ampeg PF500) it wouldn't be enough then?

 

I also read about sensitivity on the Barefaced site,and saw how much difference that makes (their driver rating 97db as opposed to 94 dB from the competition ie the other main two neo drivers),and also that apparently having two of their 12s gives 3db more sensitivity than one ,and how that means you can get the same loudness with half the wattage apparently!! 

Brain explosion! But I see why two drivers now.

 

But it would also seem from what you say,that running ,say a 500w amp actually giving  say 350 into the single BB 12  wouldn't be enough to drive the driver properly then? Or does a better sensitivity allow for this? Am I anywhere nearer getting this?

 

I am still confused though as to why we need something like a BB and big wattage amp if 125w is theoretically enough for a good dB level?

Is that about how the low frequencies are  projected, or are we all just being Rambos and thinking "MORE POWER" without really listening?

 

Part of me now still sees a BB or Supertwin and 1000w amp,

But another part thinks why not run a 200w head and cab(s) like an Ampeg mini stack and let the PA do the work.

Do I really need to be as 'louder as I thought onstage?

 

If at this stage you have had enough and bid me go to 'Amp Camp'  and stop bothering you,do say!

 

Or just advise which amp size/make would work with a BB if that's easier!!! Seen a used one on Reverb here in UK for a good price, or there's the ST option as Fretmeister has one going .(there are collection  issues ,but bass love will find a way..its just I'd be unsure about going without a tweeter.having that as well would facilitate the other styles I do).

If I have to use a class D ,is it worth pursuing one with a mosfet power supply as opposed to the other type (is it smps?)

[Reggaebass]

A lot of the technical stuff goes over my head I’m afraid so I can’t assist on that, there’s some good info here Marcus that might be helpful about some of the cabs and the differences 

 

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

1 hour ago, Marcus Cornall said:

But it would also seem from what you say,that running ,say a 500w amp actually giving  say 350 into the single BB 12  wouldn't be enough to drive the driver properly then?

There's no such thing as enough power to drive it properly. There's only enough power to go as loud as you need to. That could be 100 watts, it could be one. How much is enough? The Ampeg B15 is 30 watts. Horses for courses.

[fretmeister]

16 hours ago, Marcus Cornall said:

I am beginning to realise that I know NOTHING about amps and cabs! 

All these yrs I just plugged into the old stuff I had .it made a bass sound.

But then I started pre-internet,then taught for yrs and played through the amps there,or my old stuff,and didn't KNOW all this great lore !(particular thanks yet again Bill Fitzmaurice-learning so much from you)

 

Heres another dumb question..it seems if I had a BB II and a 1000w amp,most of them give 500-600w to the cab since it has 8 ohm resistance.

So you don't have to put the full 800 into the cab to get the best sound +/ loudest output from it then? 

 

And I was just getting to which amp....

Thanks Fretmeister for the tip re the AG1000 because that got me thinking about the whole question of eq types and centre frequencies.

I dont fully understand the connotations of the low one being the 40hz of my FB compared with the 60 or 65 of these heads.

There's quite a range of different mid and high mid centre freqs across even just the different Markbass heads now I look.

My FB has a sweepable mid going from 200hz to 2k and I find that really useful for dialling in for different rooms. One thing I would miss with one of these little class D heads.

The hf is only 7khz.No matter for Reggae but slightly limiting for my gritty Jazz bass.

The other thing I would miss is the 'contour' knob on my FB.

It can give a huge round boom esp when combined with the low up full

But alas! The manual enigmatically says that is "a special preset eq" but won't TELL you WHAT!

 

 

 

7Khz is plenty for grit. You'd be surprised!

[Downunderwonder]

If I had the ping for the used BT I would be all over it if I was in your shoes. Never need to be concerned about having enough rig for the gig.

 

If you know you're always getting a proper PA then the BB is no slouch either.

 

There's a reason guitars can get away with a piddly little 50w and tear your head off. They don't have to move air very far before drawing it back again. They tend to use as many watts as they can all the time.

 

The more low end you have in your sound the more power is used on average but still a fraction of the maximum when you drop a low B bomb. Where the excess 'headroom' really comes in handy is giving the odd theatrical wallop or a even little reminder who is carrying the biggest stick. Headroom in '  ' because actual headroom is what you don't ever use.

 

Outdoors you could well make use of some to put the bottom in when there's no PA. Only real use for the BT I feel aside from the theatrical. Probably why they cone up for sale more than BB's.

[Marcus Cornall]

Hi Downunderwonder,

well, I AM deadly grateful to get the ping but it was on an ST, not a BT.

If a BT i would've bought it in seconds flat,except that

its collection only ,I live miles away and have no transport! 

Which unfortunately pretty much tears it. 

The current band I am in has it's own substantial and good quality PA with huge subs.ALthough I would like power in reserve of course! 

And I do have reservations about a cab with no tweeter.Not so much for my current gig,but for others.

And i can get a used BB for £150 less,which can be shipped to me free.

Ideally I would get a BT but can't really run to a new one,since i also have to get  a decent amp.And that's the other thing..if i had a 1200w cab,how big would the amp have to be to drive THAT properly?

 

[jrixn1]

38 minutes ago, Marcus Cornall said:

The current band I am in has it's own substantial and good quality PA with huge subs.

 

On 16/02/2023 at 12:57, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

Where tone is concerned reggae isn't low end strong in the 40-60Hz range, it's midbass strong in the 60-90Hz range.

 

Hi @Bill Fitzmaurice

My understanding is that subs are omnidirectional.  So everything under, say, 100Hz will be heard on stage from these huge subs.  In that case, is there any point in any speaker on stage (backline or monitors) reproducing frequencies below 100Hz?

[Marcus Cornall]

27 minutes ago, jrixn1 said:

 

 

Hi @Bill Fitzmaurice

My understanding is that subs are omnidirectional.  So everything under, say, 100Hz will be heard on stage from these huge subs.  In that case, is there any point in any speaker on stage (backline or monitors) reproducing frequencies below 100Hz?

Hi jrixn1 ,

Well,I don't know about their supposed omnidirectuonality.

I would say really i FEEL those freqs as much as hear them,but I certainly  cannot always feel them from our subs,because they are usually not ON the stage but in  front of it on the ground L and R . And being at the back of the stage and near the middle of it, i can be quite far away from them.And even if they are heard (if not felt) it is at a much lower relative volume .I dont use a monitor,so all I hear and /or feel comes from my own cab,and I want and need to have plenty of sub 100hz.

Generally,although I can hear from the stage that to FOH is a lot bigger than my rig,it has no immediacy or detail or presence in ANY part of my frequency range, and the sub frequencies dont reach me any more effectively from the  PA than my mids do ,such as they are,and thats another thing- I use as round and fundamental a tone as poss -full bass,just enough low mid so that you can  hear the a and d as well as the e, and no mid mids,hi mids or treble.-like my amp was down the street and underground but impossibly loud!   and I do whole gigs without ever going as high as the open g string!!! Its heavy roots SO since low is about all I put out,I want to hear it CLOSE to me and BIG ENOUGH

[Marcus Cornall]

And by saying the subs are in front of the stage,I don't mean at the front on the stage ,I mean in front of and therefore BELOW the stage,and not physically abutting it,so there's no way they can reach us really.

[Downunderwonder]

1 hour ago, Marcus Cornall said:

And by saying the subs are in front of the stage,I don't mean at the front on the stage ,I mean in front of and therefore BELOW the stage,and not physically abutting it,so there's no way they can reach us really.

Nope. Omni directional means exactly that. All power in every direction, another reason you need so much power putting into sub frequencies as they spread out everywhere they waste an awful lot of it giving a bass massage to the hotdog stands out the back.

[Downunderwonder]

3 hours ago, Marcus Cornall said:

ping

Ping as in scratch, dosh, moolah, readies, disposable...

 

3 hours ago, Marcus Cornall said:

..if i had a 1200w cab,how big would the amp have to be to drive THAT properly?

I think Mr Bill answered that one already. I wouldn't bother with 1200w myself. 800w would wake the dead. Another 400w would mostly go in heat if it was being used in anger ( after someone blew up your subwoofers ).

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

2 hours ago, jrixn1 said:

 

 

Hi @Bill Fitzmaurice

My understanding is that subs are omnidirectional.

All speakers are below the frequency where the baffle is one wavelength across. Above that they shift to directional. As you keep going higher the radiation angle keeps shrinking. Since a wavelength at 100Hz is 3.4 meters it takes a large cluster of subs to be directional.

Quote

In that case, is there any point in any speaker on stage (backline or monitors) reproducing frequencies below 100Hz?

It depends on how far the backline is from the subs. But by and large if you're getting a lot of output from the subs on the stage it's mostly below the frequencies that your backline cab is producing, the fault of a sound man who doesn't know what he's doing. IME the #1 fault in concert sound today is sound men pushing the bass at lower frequencies and higher levels than they should. I had the pleasure of seeing 'Tower of Power' tonight and the sound man actually got it right. It's a good thing, if he'd turned fabulous funk bass into a boomy unintelligible mess I'd have had no choice but to hogtie him and hijack the board.

Edited February 19, 2023 by Bill Fitzmaurice

[alexa3020]

@Marcus Cornallsounds like you are at the start of a journey most of us have been through (and are still on). I certainly didn't get it right first time and I'm guessing it's the same for many others.

I think some excellent advice here, particularly from Bill. I think the most important thing is to trust your ears and go and listen/play through some of these cabs.

I bought some high end cabs and on paper they were perfect (and others absolutely love them), but I really didn't like them. I ended up with cabs at a fraction of the price and I'm pretty pleased with them.

Of the cabs I tried, the Aguilar dB range seemed to go pretty low. They are heavy, but they do have a lightweight range - I haven't tried those yet. I've always found the markbass stuff pretty good too.

[Marcus Cornall]

6 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Nope. Omni directional means exactly that. All power in every direction, another reason you need so much power putting into sub frequencies as they spread out everywhere they waste an awful lot of it giving a bass massage to the hotdog stands out the back.

Well theory's one thing.in my experience with this band and this pa (65 gigs so far) I have not FELT the subs on stage.i can hear those frequencies from the PA of course ,but I don't feel the on stage. The stage and the floor the subs rest on are two different levels.SOME may come through the flooring,but is  not the same ..as Bill said..SOME,but not a usable amount 

 

6 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

All speakers are below the frequency where the baffle is one wavelength across. Above that they shift to directional. As you keep going higher the radiation angle keeps shrinking. Since a wavelength at 100Hz is 3.4 meters it takes a large cluster of subs to be directional.

It depends on how far the backline is from the subs. But by and large if you're getting a lot of output from the subs on the stage it's mostly below the frequencies that your backline cab is producing, the fault of a sound man who doesn't know what he's doing. IME the #1 fault in concert sound today is sound men pushing the bass at lower frequencies and higher levels than they should. I had the pleasure of seeing 'Tower of Power' tonight and the sound man actually got it right. It's a good thing, if he'd turned fabulous funk bass into a boomy unintelligible mess I'd have had no choice but to hogtie him and hijack the board.

Well said ! 3 times I saw Rush here in Birmingham at the NEC,and all 3 times I felt but COULD NOT HEAR Geddy.All boom and no mids.and the kick drum was like a bloody wwi stage mine going off.terribly disappointing as you must imagine .

We run our own PA.Its a Jamaican Reggae band,and we play for dances,so the clientele expect Old School Sound System bass for the night-from DJ and band.So there is a lot of sub bass .But it's perhaps a unique situation- something of a cultural tradition here that goes with the music. 

But we aren't ridiculous with it, and it's a specialist Sound System PA rig.

But I agree that in virtually any other case it is too frequent, and really ruins things .

 

Re amps- I still don't fully understand ! I have read that the BBII should ideally have 600w put through it to drive it properly.(This from the Barefaced designer himself,via someone on the Barefaced thread mentioned earlier)

So I would need an amp that did 600w at 8 ohms.

That seems to mean I get an 800w ,because some of those give 600 at 8 ohms.

I tried to get that right !

 

[Marcus Cornall]

8 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

Ping as in scratch, dosh, moolah, readies, disposable...

 

I think Mr Bill answered that one already. I wouldn't bother with 1200w myself. 800w would wake the dead. Another 400w would mostly go in heat if it was being used in anger ( after someone blew up your subwoofers ).

Ahahaha! 

In my neck of the woods, 'ping ' is used as a verb,meaning to send someone a pm or text! And Fretmeister had just done so about his ST, so you can see where the confusion arose!!!

And I wasn't going to get an amp that big,but I was reasoning that if I did get a ST ,since they're 1200w, you'd have to put that much in.which probably goes to show I still don't get it yet.but I will do ...or will keep trying . I'm going to reread all that has been said,and once again,I really do appreciate all contributions.(and yes,especially Bill!)

[Marcus Cornall]

5 hours ago, alexa3020 said:

@Marcus Cornallsounds like you are at the start of a journey most of us have been through (and are still on). I certainly didn't get it right first time and I'm guessing it's the same for many others.

I think some excellent advice here, particularly from Bill. I think the most important thing is to trust your ears and go and listen/play through some of these cabs.

I bought some high end cabs and on paper they were perfect (and others absolutely love them), but I really didn't like them. I ended up with cabs at a fraction of the price and I'm pretty pleased with them.

Of the cabs I tried, the Aguilar dB range seemed to go pretty low. They are heavy, but they do have a lightweight range - I haven't tried those yet. I've always found the markbass stuff pretty good too.

Thankyou ,and yes I have only just realised the size of that journey too! 

It's good advice to try cabs,but there aren't going to be BBs anywhere here.

There was a general consensus that that cab,or Barefaced ones,are the best bet for the type of thing I do.

But yes,I am  to try others locally.

I may have somewhat unusual desires for my sound too- I spent yrs doing synthesis,breakbeat and D n B, and I routinely operated with sine or Square waves between 10 and 40 hz as basslines.heard through some stunning high end systems.

I fell in love with the sub register,and my Reggae bass taste personally is to sound as purely 'fundamental only' as possible, a bit like hearing and feeling it through the wall from next door's party. 

People say you can't hear things that low.

You hear it with your whole body! But you can hear those freqs.i can anyway.

I have to dial in more than those freqs of course,otherwise thered be no attack or punch,but I only add just enough to do that.

So I really do desire LOOWWWW more than most bass players would deem necessary. I dont need that to be loud,just powerfully felt.

Seems Barefaced cabs do that better than any other from what people here say.

But I do agree with you...it might theoretically be 'right' ,but it still might not work out for YOU.and you can only really know by trying.

If I got a BBII and for some reason didn't dig it,I could resell it and get what I paid, so I may end up doing that.

There are a couple going online for 700-750 in excellent condition.

[chris_b]

When I do a Reggae gig it's with my regular rig, 700 watts and 2 x BF 112's. I only make one change. I press the Deep button. The band leader likes that sound.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

2 hours ago, Marcus Cornall said:

  But you can hear those freqs.i can anyway.

No, you can't. What you can hear when playing tones below roughly 30Hz is their harmonics. Even if the source is a tone generator that only produces sine wave fundamentals harmonics are still there, created by the speaker. If it's a square wave generator harmonics are there in spades, as what makes a square wave square is harmonics.

Quote

my Reggae bass taste personally is to sound as purely 'fundamental only' as possible

You may think that's the case, but electric bass produces mainly harmonics, especially below 100Hz. Classic reggae tone is primarily 2nd and 3rd harmonics. This is an RTA of a PBass playing an open A string. Most of the energy is in the harmonics. With lower notes there's even less fundamental and more harmonic content, and this is with the pure signal from the bass. The coloration imparted by the speaker results in less fundamental content.

Edited February 19, 2023 by Bill Fitzmaurice

[itu]

On 18/02/2023 at 03:19, Marcus Cornall said:

My FB has a sweepable mid going from 200hz to 2k and I find that really useful for dialling in for different rooms. One thing I would miss with one of these little class D heads.

The hf is only 7khz.

I was working in a broadcasting company long ago. I had the chance to use some high end equipment then. I opened my then MG Quantum SPi 5 custom. She had triple (neck) and double (bridge) coil bartolinis which I decided to analyze.

 

With the system (I think it was Philips or Rohde & Schwarz, but anyway something that cost awfully lot!) I measured 50 Hz - 10 kHz. The -6dB limit was already passed at 1 kHz, and from 2kHz the response went down really quickly. At 6 kHz the signal was 25 dB (!) less than at 50 Hz depending on the coil.

 

If your amp is capable of boosting 5 kHz surroundings by 15 dB, there will be something, maybe. On the other hand: is it feasible to go to the g-word and keys territory? I try to avoid that area, because there simply is not too much space there. Bass is a low frequency instrument, we are filling lows. Mark King may disagree, but he is an exception.

[Marcus Cornall]

11 hours ago, alexa3020 said:

@Marcus Cornallsounds 

Apologies.Bill, but there is something wrong with the quote button my end,but to answer you,

Thankyou yet again for describing something to me in a way I hadnt had it before

 

And I stand corrected because you obviously know exactly what you are talking about,so I humbly and sincerely bow to your superior knowledge,and thankyou for your time explaining.

I will revise my internal conception and external talk to that of 1st  order harmonics.

And perhaps I should have chose  my word better in the first place and said that that was what I was trying to emulate with my bass sound.

But I am also now aware that when I am going that I am actually dealing with higher orders.

It' a profoundly helpful graph too.

 

an anecdote that may amuse...

 

in the late 90s i had the good fortune to get a session  recording job for Producer John Rivers in Leamington.

he had a fantastic studio.

 

After i had recorded a couple of parts he invited me in to the control room  to listen.

He had two enormous speakers shaped like seashells ,and a massive 48 channel desk,custom made.

 

He played back a part of mine that was open G,the A and C above it , with some sustained notes and some short.

The weight and purity of the notes was amazing especially the sustained ones.

So much so that I asked him if he had put an octave divider on it.

 

He  chuckled and said "No son,that's what your instrument (a Ric 4003 ,just neck pickup,tone open) ACTUAL,Y SOUNDS LIKE!!!.

These Nautilus speakers cost half a million pounds each,and the channel you were recorded into - they're custom built and cost 30 thousand each!

The thing is though,you'll never hear it like that again! °

 

And so far that has sadly been the case  

 

Dare I ask you two more questions?

 

1. I am considering an amp containing a tube.I have never had one before. Try not to laugh! 

I didn't have the income for a proper amp before either.

I am considering it because I would like a more 'vintage ' sound,which at the moment is what comes out of my Cort-essentially a rw P bass

But in the near future I may have to go to a 5string,as the band are possibly going to introduce so songs that have 5 string or synth lines.

 

So the question is- could an amp that is just tube (like the LM Vintage) cope alright with an active 35" scale bass with humbuckers,and stay clean if  the gain isn't pushed too far? Or should I go SS to futureproof?

 

2.first ,to try to give you an idea,as that's all I can really do,of how 'loud' I am at gigs-

We usually play to rooms around 500 capacity, but sometimes nearer 1000.

They're indoor. The only monitors are for the vocalists,and the guitarist and keyboard player are not overly loud with their amps on stage.

Its loud enough onstage that although I do get some of the actual drums and hat by standing next to him but get (and need) the sound of the kit from the drummers  monitor.

My current amp gives 475 w at 4 ohms ,which I was told the cab was (no specs anywhere!!) And that its 200w 15in speaker.

At a typical gig i have it gain around 11 o clock,vol around 1 or two o clock.with low almost fully up,mid swept to lowest (200hz) and up to tenor eleven o clock.treble off. Any more than that and the cone starts to 'fart'.

I  dont need it any louder, but would like more weight/low ,just for me and the others to feel onstage.

I know that's not an exact enough explanation, it's all i can do. 

 

Question 2  is ...what size of wattage of amp would you use with a BB II in those circs?

Disclaimer- its still my responsibility ! You're just giving advice .But despite trying hard to understand, I still don't enough to decide the amp power.

Its because you very kindly credit me with more conceptual and electical understanding than I actually have in think

 

The thing is ,everyone said Barfaced,and I know from you that a BBII would be more than enough as a cab,and I can get one used.

So I am working backwards from that.

And I'm post (failed) spinal fusion,and really need to replace my rig ASAP.

And you have been so good, and helped so much,and have deep knowledge of the subject.(no pun intended ) 

 

RESPECT ,as we say in Reggae circles, and very sincerely and genuinely meant,Sir.

[Marcus Cornall]

46 minutes ago, itu said:

I was working in a broadcasting company long ago. I had the chance to use some high end equipment then. I opened my then MG Quantum SPi 5 custom. She had triple (neck) and double (bridge) coil bartolinis which I decided to analyze.

 

With the system (I think it was Philips or Rohde & Schwarz, but anyway something that cost awfully lot!) I measured 50 Hz - 10 kHz. The -6dB limit was already passed at 1 kHz, and from 2kHz the response went down really quickly. At 6 kHz the signal was 25 dB (!) less than at 50 Hz depending on the coil.

 

If your amp is capable of boosting 5 kHz surroundings by 15 dB, there will be something, maybe. On the other hand: is it feasible to go to the g-word and keys territory? I try to avoid that area, because there simply is not too much space there. Bass is a low frequency instrument, we are filling lows. Mark King may disagree, but he is an exception.

Thankyou thats most interesting.

The treble is just off with the gig i do now,but I also play jazz basses set up to be as 'clattery' and zingy as possible (think Geddy Lee or Chris Squire), and the highest 'zings' of brand new steel roundwounds is what I would be trying to emphasise when using the fb in that way.

However I realise I would probably need additional tweeters to go with a BBII for that kind of stuff.