Lightweight Rig.

[silverfoxnik]

+1

And to Mr.T's comment about trying to seek perfection.. there's no such thing!

[BigBeefChief]

[quote name='Mr.T' post='562674' date='Aug 7 2009, 11:09 AM']I got to the point with that rig that I would just say to the g**tarist "How loud are you", adjust my level to suit (while he let a chord hang)..... and we would play![/quote]


I know I'm a bit of a philistine with these things, but that's what I do currently. The difference being, I never take my own amp to gigs, so just use whatever the sh*tty house amp is!

At most I turn that rubbish middle knob down that makes you sound like a prog rock tosser.

[51m0n]

[quote name='Mr.T' post='562674' date='Aug 7 2009, 11:09 AM']That the place I want to get back to!
The only tweeking I ever did with my Trace (If any) was the rather superb 'tilt' control on the SMX amp.

I got to the point with that rig that I would just say to the g**tarist "How loud are you", adjust my level to suit (while he let a chord hang)..... and we would play![/quote]

I dont trust any guitarist to be able to get their volume right, I ask the drummer to 'give it the f**kin' beans' and set to him (playing lightly). Last 3 or 4 gigs we've done this by virute of a wee ickle groovey jam. Then we get the guitarist to slot in.

My eq is almost always flat, really. A tweak to the room if absolutely necessary. I always aim to get my rig right against the back wall if I possibly can though....

Adjust guitarists treble 'skank' to suit room + a couple of db if its going to get rammed (as if...).

That part of the soundchecking takes aout 5 mins, vox is easy, turn it up till it hurts your head then back it off a couple of db, come the gig he'll apply at least 2db more oomph anyways.

I'm lucky, my rig sounds absolutely right to me that flat, any other adjustment is pup pan and technique based.

It can be done.

[4000]

[quote name='Mr.T' post='562674' date='Aug 7 2009, 11:09 AM']That the place I want to get back to!
The only tweeking I ever did with my Trace (If any) was the rather superb 'tilt' control on the SMX amp.

I got to the point with that rig that I would just say to the g**tarist "How loud are you", adjust my level to suit (while he let a chord hang)..... and we would play![/quote]

Ditto...happy days!

[alexclaber]

Though looking back to happy days, has any hearing loss occurred since then?!

Alex

[4000]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='563019' date='Aug 7 2009, 07:29 PM']Though looking back to happy days, has any hearing loss occurred since then?!

Alex[/quote]

Pardon?

[Musicman20]

Mr T....hows the rig search going?

[charic]

yeah how are you getting on with the big one?

[Mr.T]

[quote name='charic' post='565159' date='Aug 10 2009, 04:55 PM']yeah how are you getting on with the big one?[/quote]


Just arrived....

I will report back later.

[Uncle Balsamic]

Can't wait

[Mr.T]

I have had a good, loud play through the BigOne, albeit only in the comfort of my frontroom.
(Many thanks for the loan Alex).

First impressions:
As you may have gathered, I was very disappointed with the Compact, but...
This thing is in another league, it is everything that I was (maybe unrealistically) hoping the Compact would be, i.e:
Truckloads of smooth bottom end (More than I would use).
Nice aggressive, but clear mids (If that makes sense).
Sparkly highs (And not a tweeter in sight).

Kind of like having everything in one box.... which I guess it has with a 15 and a 6.5!

If I am right in thinking that it uses the same 15" driver as the Compact, all I can say is that it seems to much prefer living in the larger environment the BigOne offers.... It seems as though it can really breathe.

Ok, so how does it compare with my Aggie 1x12 & Ashdown 2x10 neo set-up?

Very favourably actually.
Certainly much more bottom end... about a truckfull... (If anyone reading this needs 'bottom', buy one of these). I have never played through a cab with quite so much ability to shake the room!
The midrange doesn't sound as smooth as the Ashdown... which may (or not) be a good thing in a live setting.
The Ashdown has more top end available, as it has a tweeter... although I don't often use it.

So...
Am I in love?

Hmmm...
The main thing putting me off is the size.
Those few extra inches make quite a difference (as someone once told me).
At around 50lbs on the bathroom scales, it is only 5lbs heavier than the neo-loaded Ashdown, but not what I would call a one-handed lift... and getting though doorways would be a no-no without using the built in wheels.

Ahhh, the wheels...
Ideal for manouevring around at home on on stage, but I wouldn't want to trust them 100yds across a rocky Cornish carpark.
I think a trolley/spare pair of hands/young back would be required.

In conclusion...
I think the BigOne is a sonically excellent piece of kit (Well done Alex), and without doubt the best 'single' cab I have tried.

Will I keep it?
Not sure...

Edited August 11, 2009 by Mr.T

[redstriper]

Excellent review.

[51m0n]

Wait till you try it on a gig......

[Uncle Balsamic]

Does that Big One have the newest crossover?

[davidmpires]

I can't wait to read a review after you have gigged with it.

props to Alex for an excelent customer service

[Mr.T]

[quote name='51m0n' post='566442' date='Aug 12 2009, 01:18 AM']Wait till you try it on a gig......[/quote]

Is that "Wait till you try it on a gig".... (Advice)

or

"Wait till you try it on a gig".... (Because.....)

?

[alexclaber]

[quote name='Mr.T' post='566414' date='Aug 11 2009, 11:57 PM']If I am right in thinking that it uses the same 15" driver as the Compact, all I can say is that it seems to much prefer living in the larger environment the BigOne offers.... It seems as though it can really breathe.[/quote]

It's a different woofer which inherently has a deeper sound but needs more room to operate effectively. The 15" in the Compact has a similar response in the lows to more typical 4x10", 2x12" or 1x15" bass cabs, rolling off relatively high with a gradual slope, whilst the 15" in the Big One stays almost flat for practically another octave and then the response drops like a stone.

[quote name='Mr.T' post='566414' date='Aug 11 2009, 11:57 PM']Ahhh, the wheels...
Ideal for manouevring around at home on on stage, but I wouldn't want to trust them 100yds across a rocky Cornish carpark.
I think a trolley/spare pair of hands/young back would be required.[/quote]

Well it isn't designed as an off-road bass cab - tarmac only! However the bottom of the cab is double-thickness ply so you could certainly screw on some really big castors like these:

[url="http://www.adamhall.com/uk/AH_p--project_27__b--37022"]http://www.adamhall.com/uk/AH_p--project_27__b--37022[/url]

[quote name='Uncle Balsamic' post='566448' date='Aug 12 2009, 02:03 AM']Does that Big One have the newest crossover?[/quote]

All the cabs out there have near identical crossovers, just the odd tiny tweak.

Alex

[alexclaber]

[quote name='Uncle Balsamic' post='566448' date='Aug 12 2009, 02:03 AM']Does that Big One have the newest crossover?[/quote]

Ah yes, I mentioned about sending out the prototype. I decided to send a current production cab in case Myke wanted to keep it - prototype is still here waiting for me to do something with it...

Alex

[51m0n]

[quote name='Mr.T' post='566533' date='Aug 12 2009, 09:35 AM']Is that "Wait till you try it on a gig".... (Advice)

or

"Wait till you try it on a gig".... (Because.....)

?[/quote]

Its both really.

As we all know the gig is the most important test so that's where you have to really judge these things.

But also I think the Big One is probably the best lightweight single cab solution out there for a vast number of people (certainly for the money), its built on solid engineering principles, rather than marketing ones, and seems devoid of snake oil, so I think you will also enjoy what you find even more on a gig.

If I were buying my rig all over again and had a choice of v. expensive, exceptional Berg vs cheaper but still exceptional BareFaced I would have struggled to really justify the Berg IMO, even though it is naturally closer to my ideal sound, the Big One is that good at taking on eq.

[LukeFRC]

That was fascinating reading.
I picked up a cheap secondhand tech soundsystem 2x12 with horn. (classic series) It only weighs about 18kg or so, thats without neo speakers. Suits me fine.
But it has (to my ears) a very clean tone. This is good for somethings and some circumstances.
But compare it to big trad rock cabs and it lacks the colouration they give (or more accurately has a different colouration) for a lot of things that colouration is part of the sound. Use a more modern cab and it wont be there.

So surely you have to add it somewhere else? A modern lightweight amp into modern cab will not sound like an older setup. its not designed to, and will sit differently live. I would think trying different amps may be more use than different cabs to a certain degree.
I dont mind using a heavier amp as my cab is very small and compact. Try a trace head into the lightweight cabs?

At church we have a ashdown amd into 4x8 and 1x15 which is what i normally use. I turned up with my tiny 2x12 (18kg) and H&K Q600 (14kg) and the drummer has a go telling me there was no way I would be able to hear myself and I was being stupid. As best I ignored the drummer. To my ears I sounded different on stage, I could hear different parts, BUT I knew that I sounded better and clearer to the folk at the back of the hall. And that's what matters. Ask soundguy/ people which sounds better.

[JTUK]

[quote name='51m0n' post='566995' date='Aug 12 2009, 05:13 PM']Its both really.

As we all know the gig is the most important test so that's where you have to really judge these things.

But also I think the Big One is probably the best lightweight single cab solution out there for a vast number of people (certainly for the money), its built on solid engineering principles, rather than marketing ones, and seems devoid of snake oil, so I think you will also enjoy what you find even more on a gig.

If I were buying my rig all over again and had a choice of v. expensive, exceptional Berg vs cheaper but still exceptional BareFaced I would have struggled to really justify the Berg IMO, even though it is naturally closer to my ideal sound, the Big One is that good at taking on eq.[/quote]


Really...?????????????

[51m0n]

[quote name='JTUK' post='567687' date='Aug 13 2009, 09:39 AM']Really...?????????????[/quote]

Absolutely.

There will be a plethora of Berg and Barefaced at the SE bash. Come along and see what I mean!

[Merton]

Fascinating stuff, and kudos to Alex for helping Myke out.

I am one of the lucky few to have played through a Compact, Big One and a Vintage and I have to say all three are bloody brilliant. I'd love to gig a Big One one day as I thnk I'd make our drummr sh*t himself every time I hit a bottom E, it's a stunningly good cab. But I prefer a slightly less crisp top end and the Vintage does that for me beautifully. Myke; if the Big One isn't for you then i suggest a Hartke LH500 with a Vintage. Tonal bliss and a very "classic rock/blues" sound

[Mr.T]

For those of you who haven't fallen asleep, or simply lost the will to live, after reading about all my 'post Trace' sound problems.....
Here is an update.

My (live) sound problems seem to have been caused by one or more of the following:

1). Amp too clean.
Some frequencies getting lost in the mix.
Probably not helped by using a Status bass?

2). Mixing drivers.
It is possible that the inconsistancy with my sound was caused by using two VERY sonically different cabs, the Aggie 1x12 and the Ashdown 2x10.
Both cabs together in my frontroom sound amazing, but maybe unpredictable in different venues.
The best 'live' sound I had with this pairing was actually an outdoor gig!

3). Not having a speaker at 'ear level'.
I tend to play standing really close to my rig.

Ok, here's where I am at....

1). I have bought an Ashdown ABM500 (Thanks Protium). The sound of the ABM is in the same area as the LM2, although it can also be made to sound anywhere from clean to filthy and the EQ section is very versatile.
I was also introduced to a Sansamp BDDI (Thanks Buff). I have bought the Sansamp VT (Thanks Theo) which can make both my ABM500 and my LM2 sound quite Trace-like and also does a good Ampeg tube sound.

2). I have decided to keep the BigOne (Thanks Alex). After further exploration with this cab, it really does seem to be able to cope with any type of sound from 'dub' to 'clank'... without complaining. The thing that really swung it for me was when I played my electro-accoustic guitar through the ABM into the BigOne. With the amp set flat, it sounded... well... like an accoustic guitar actually. This proved to me how uncoloured and clean this cab is. My other cabs make it sound like an electric guitar! I plan on making a cross-country kit for the Barefaced cab, so it can be hauled around rocky Cornish carparks.
(They are not too big on paving in this neck of the woods!).
I also think (rightly or wrongly) that the kind of sound I want/need requires a big cabinet.

3). Alex assures me that the horn in the BigOne will resovle this issue.

So the plan is...
Status > Sansamp VT > ABM500/LM2 > BigOne
Clean amp and clean cab, with the aggression being added by the Sansamp VT as required.

So there it is, a rig assembled from BC advice.... and sourced through this forum.

I think this is going to work.
(Have I said that before... ).

Any thoughts?

[JTUK]

glad you got it sorted..

I was thinking you'd go back to Trace Elliot stuff.

Big fan of a horn to provide hi-end as 15's..to my ear can only do so much.

The point you make about having the cab in your ear... hmmm
I prefer to make the sound toppier at that distance and stand further away but that is all dependant on the playing area ..

Just a preference, mind you, not a deal-breaker. I like to hear how the sound develops over distance to get more of an idea of how it sounds to people 20-30 plus feet away...

If it sounds bassy at source...it might be booming mush in the audience.. just a thought..and hence my prefernece for other speakers in the chain other than a 15..