Ampeg 1832HE

[chaosMK]

Whatever happened to this cab?



I remember trying it out as a youngster in the late 90's and was pretty impressed by it. I havent seen one in use since. I wonder if it would be to my taste these days.

[sublime0bass]

i like it, when properly powered and EQd. not easy to do correctly unless biamping

[watspan]

agreed--I have one and the little brother pr1528he as well. my 1832 stays in the basement--it's too big and heavy to schlepp around IMO. I bi-amp it with an AMP bh-420 providing 400 watts to the 4 ohm 18" and a thunderfunk tfb420 sendinfg another 400 whats to the 4 ohm 2x10 + 2x 6.5" +horn top end. I keep the HF turned down pretty low--this cab has a lot of sizzle. I like to put effects between the amps so the low end gets no effect. with the timbre control on each amp and a variable crossover , the tonal flexibility of a rig like this is almost limitless. the 1528 is a more giggable size, but still big, deep and heavy--it's got great tone though.

Originally Posted by sublime0bass

i like it, when properly powered and EQd. not easy to do correctly unless biamping

[SubMonkey]

I ran one of those for a couple years, and it was a monster. Very powerful lows when paired with my Classic400. Ultimately it got traded for an 810e, not because there was anything wrong with it, just found it a little too clicky for the music I was playing.

If the "bi-amp"/"hi-fi" routine is your thing, and you can handle lugging a 167 pound piece of gear around, then it is a great cab.

SM

[sublime0bass]

bump. Biamping this thing is complicated. Where is greenboy when you need him?

[greenboy]

Nothing complicated about biamping this cab - just as long as you have an active crossover, preferably one with at least 3rd order Butterworth. You set it to 200 Hz or so, and set both amplifier channels gains to the same spot. Anything else would be a matter of taste for different balances but I found that if you crossed over lower it would have less going on in the upper bass and really couldn't take squeeze out as many SPL. You can really pour the wattage to this baby and punish with extended lows and no boominess without the need for a PA even when rawkin' hard!

Actually I liked the cab a lot running passively as well, but I suppose if you had a preamp that was voiced differently (I prefer ones that when set flat are actually FLAT - no default voicing to confuse issues), you might not get the results I was pleased to decimate with ; }. Late this summer though, a Carvin LS1503 totally replaced mine, being both smaller and even smoother throughout its response, meaning I no longer had those closed-back Em 6.5" midrange cones and their peakiness, and a fuller upper-bass by default.

I put 5" wheels on the back and 2" rotating casters on mine to make loading in and out easy in any circumstances short of long flights of stairs. We have a lot of summer gigs around here that often require long trundles across rolling lawns. Oh -I got one of the early ones that seems to be maybe 20 pounds lighter due to wood choices I would presume.

[sublime0bass]

i thought the 1832 had an internal crossover around 250?

the ampeg spec sheet says the 18 is good from 35-100hz, and the uppers are good from 60 on up

[greenboy]

You must have an ersatz datasheet from the same people who make Lolex watches ; }

It's 200 Hz for the crossover point, and the 18" roughly gives output up to 300 Hz. Actually that's because the 18 is being acoustically shaded by the downfiring angle and also represents to the ear its off-axis response. The driver itself like any other 18 makes noise above that, but due to the cab alignment you won't hear much of that. Smart design for this application.

[greenboy]

Also, the sealed Tens chamber with those particular high-sensitivity drivers is 3 dB down by 160 Hz, so there's little point in trying to make them do more below that. I experimented with porting and a lower biamp crossover point but it wasn't really gaining any advantages over a 200 Hz crossover point and the sealed alignment so I nixed that approach.

[fenderhutz]

These Ampeg cabs were some of the only Ampeg cabs I hated. Yes hated. They were small, overly heavy and didn't put out as much sound as they sould for being that heavy.

[watspan]

different strokes for different folks! i own a pr1528he (owned 2 at one point!) and an 1832he. I love them! extremely versatile when biamped. agreed that they are large and heavy--mine don't move--the 1528 is at our practice site and the 1832he is in my basement loosening my house's foundation! One feature I think contributes to the sound of these cabs is how deep the box is--I think probably the deepest box on a production bass cab. I prefer the 1528 over the 1832--less "sizzle-y' in the top end.

greenboy: if size/ weight etc. were not an issue, do you still prefer the carvin?

[greenboy]

Originally Posted by watspan

I prefer the 1528 over the 1832--less "sizzle-y' in the top end.

Yeah, I ran mine with the horn turned down some. Like all cabs with variable Lpads it's too easy to think you have it set right when in reality the thing is still a few dB louder than what's below it. Also, those closed-back Eminence 6.5" drivers are peaky, so if you are not a slapper who wants a lot of emphasis at some upper-mid frequency (Victor Wooten was providing consultation on the design) you might find it TOO cutting as a fingerstyle guy in a rock setting. Sometimes that works admirably in stage mixes provided you have the right bass, strings, pickups - other times it's better it's nice to have decent EQ facilities to counteract it. You could do that with more general low-Q EQ but then the whole region gets pulled back instead of just the peaky areas.

That said, a lot of bandmates never lost astonishment about what a Demolisher that cab is with 300 to 500 watts times 2 behind it, especially if one is playing more strings than 4.

greenboy: if size/ weight etc. were not an issue, do you still prefer the carvin?

Yep. And especially after retrofitting Kappalite 3015LF which can output even more low frequencies and never run out of xmax. But also, a better midrange (ie not closed-back but in a properly sized subenclosure) and a better high frequency section contributes. Once I figured out how to dial in the 1832 I wowed myself and a lot of bandmates, but it was NEVER this good.

As for the heaviness of the 1832, that should never go down into a basement, or it will likely never come out again ; } - thus my big-wheels mod, along with knowledge I had when I bought it that the typical venues here are generally easy to get 810 cabs and the like in and out.

[greenboy]

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

These Ampeg cabs were some of the only Ampeg cabs I hated. Yes hated. They were small, overly heavy and didn't put out as much sound as they sould for being that heavy.

Small? Stock, that's 39" tall and has more internal volume than almost any bass cab around. But as Watspan said, depth is where it comes by some of that. As for SPL, set up right and fed with plenty of watts and I NEVER got buried by self-deafened dual guitarists with stacks, and had it going on from top to bottom.

[Lust4sound]

Originally Posted by greenboy

Small? Stock, that's 39" tall and has more internal volume than almost any bass cab around. But as Watspan said, depth is where it comes by some of that. As for SPL, set up right and fed with plenty of watts and I NEVER got buried by self-deafened dual guitarists with stacks, and had it going on from top to bottom.

Love your responses, always the best from you! Been a long time, rehashing an old thread, but I finally got a chance to scoop one of these up cheaplike.. Excellent condition, original owner, buried in a garage for the past 6 years, paying 200..

Anyway, I'm playing a Warwick Streamer II 5 in a loud metal band, play with fingers, style is a mix where I match riffs with the guitar player note for note, then lock in with the kick and rythyms with a lot of ghost notes and thump.. Essentially, I need the clean low end grunt for the B, with the clarity punch and definition of the mid/high section..

My question is this, I play an old Trace Elliot AH600SMX head, two internal 300 watt @ 4 ohms amps full range.. Problem with biamping is this.. When I biamp, the low end drops to a fixed 300 watts @ 250HZ and below, which is pretty spot on for this cab... The mid/high however, drops in power by half, I'm only getting 150 watts rms variable from 250HZ and up @ 4 ohms..

Would I be better off incorporating a passive low pass filter on the 18, HP on the mid high section? This way I could run both channels full range and get the full 600 watts?

Plz advise.. -E