AudioKinesis Cabs V!!!!

[Michelsen]

Yo !

Just went trough some on old Audiokinesis threads, trying to find info about all-tube heads being used with TC's.
It seems that atleast Tombowlus has been using a Reeves head with TC115 and seemed to be very happy with the results. Since I live in Europe I've been planing on buying a Mywatt 200 ( from Max Weber ). If I remember correctly, it should be pretty close to Reeves as they are both somewhat closely related to Hiwatt-family.
Any other players here using all-tubes with a Thunderchild ? I know I probably won't be getting that oldschool sealed box sound from it ( even with the port plugs on ? ), but would it still be worth the investment ? I'm looking for some new sound for my folk/rock stuff, and it would be great to get that classic tube-sound from the TC.

[tombowlus]

Originally Posted by Michelsen

Yo !

Just went trough some on old Audiokinesis threads, trying to find info about all-tube heads being used with TC's.
It seems that atleast Tombowlus has been using a Reeves head with TC115 and seemed to be very happy with the results. Since I live in Europe I've been planing on buying a Mywatt 200 ( from Max Weber ). If I remember correctly, it should be pretty close to Reeves as they are both somewhat closely related to Hiwatt-family.
Any other players here using all-tubes with a Thunderchild ? I know I probably won't be getting that oldschool sealed box sound from it ( even with the port plugs on ? ), but would it still be worth the investment ? I'm looking for some new sound for my folk/rock stuff, and it would be great to get that classic tube-sound from the TC.

Yes, the Miwatt should be in the same tone universe as the Reeves, and it should pair up well with the TC115. While not as old school tube vibey as a sealed 8x10, you can definitely dial in some vintage-esque vibes with the TC115, and yes, the port plugs allow you to further fine-tune the lows. I think it's a great cab for tube heads.

[Wild Rice Chris]

I've used mine with a blonde Bassman and a Bassman 135 with excellent results, although I like the 135 more for bass with the Thunderchild.

[Ukiah Bass]

Am am having great success with the TC115 and an Old School Amps Model One all tube amp. The 20-watt M1 has very clean tone and sounds fabulous with the TC115. I've also used the Empress ParaEQ's boost section to overdrive the M1's preamp to induce various levels of breakup at low - high volume, so it's the best of both worlds. Works equally well with electric and acoustic bass. So to answer the question of using a clean tube amp with the TC115: Yes!!!

P.S. With the tube amp, I prefer using two port plugs for more of the "sealed" sound. Four plugs is also good, making the tone more of that "felt but not heard" cushion that is appropriate for some music.

[PDGood]

As far as non-tube amps go, here are some other options:

A friend loaned me two amps to try with the TC115 AF - an Ampeg PF350 and also a PF500. Both play very nicely with that cab but in different ways.

I was surprised to find that the two amps are voiced very differently. The 350 has the old school vibe and sounds very much like the old Portaflex amps as best I can remember. The 500, on the other hand, is a modern sounding amp and is more like my Markbass LMlll than the Ampeg 350.

Both are very strong in the mids. I had to dial the mids way way back for my taste, much like Aguilars, so if you like that kind of thing, it's there big time. The 350 has a fixed mid range whereas the 500 has 5 frequencies to choose from. The mid on the 350 was reminiscent of my old Acoustic 370. It was easy to dial up that tone.

I didn't care for the high frequency on either. By comparison the Markbass sounded much more elegant and the Eden 405 I used to have sounded more elegant than the Markbass. That will give you some perspective, I hope.

The lows on the 500 were wonderful and compared favorably to both Markbass and Eden. On the 350 the lows were less distinct in note separation and less deep, but that is also part of how it gets the old school vibe. More tube sounding - warm and wooly.

In a lot of ways the 350 is inferior to the 500 but I really fell in love with it anyway. Put a P bass through it and seal the ports on the TC and you really have the Motown sound nailed. Not a ton of volume though. The 500 is a perfect backup to the LMlll - with serious tweaking I can get a similar sound.

It should be pointed out that there is a mega thread on here about what is being called a design flaw in these amps. They can cut out under certain conditions - loud low frequency spikes can overdrive the power amp, especially into a 4 ohm load, and then it will cut out for a few seconds. That makes me nervous about buying one although I was unable to get either of these to do that and I tried a lot of different things. The only problem I ran into was the preamp from my SR700 easily overdrove the gain stage and caused distortion. I tried four other basses - some active and some passive - and none of them had the same effect.

Nice amps that work well with the TC. To be safe, make sure you have a warranty.

[Michelsen]

Thanks everyone, great answers ! This forum just works. Nice peace of information once again.

I also have the LMIII as my head. It's fantastic for double bass, mut for my fender j-bass it's too, umm, sterile I would say...
I'm glad to hear that you all find the TC115 to be a good match with tubes. I guess the next challenge is to make the big head fit on top of the compact model
Maybe mr. Weber could attach the feet closer to the center of the head or something...
Oh and buying it !

[nemo]

Originally Posted by Michelsen

Maybe mr. Weber could attach the feet closer to the center of the head or something...

Couldn't be hard to unscrew and screw them back closer by yourself

[ACB0015]

Glad to read PDGood's assessment and glad I've held on to my Eden WT330's. I haven't heard any micro heads sound better than those, or even as good.

[Bassist30]

Originally Posted by ACB0015

Glad to read PDGood's assessment and glad I've held on to my Eden WT330's. I haven't heard any micro heads sound better than those, or even as good.

I kind of miss my WT 800. Flew out the back of my truck and didn't know until I got home. Went back to the gig and figure ill start there. About 30 miles away. Well it was in the street not far where I started. I don't have a picture anymore. But I did post it here, so its somewhere. It happened around 2007. Flat as a pancake but the power supply still was intact. I bet there was a few flat tires in the area. But I had insurance and got a Thunderfunk 550B. Great amp and still have. But the WT 800 was a very good amp also. Still wish i had it.

[triplelutz]

Did I read in here that the 15's are out of production?

[KJung]

Yes. It was replaced with the TC212. The proprietary 4ohm 3015LF was no longer able to be ordered in small enough numbers to make economic sense for Duke.

[steve_rolfeca]

Originally Posted by triplelutz

Did I read in here that the 15's are out of production?

The 15" version of the Thunderchild is.

I believe that the Hathor is still in production, because it uses a standard Faital driver.

[triplelutz]

Originally Posted by KJung

Yes. It was replaced with the TC212. The proprietary 4ohm 3015LF was no longer able to be ordered in small enough numbers to make economic sense for Duke.

Thank you gentlemen... I'm on the fence between a TC 115 or a Berg 12 IP ER stack. My gut says go with the TC because of versatility, portability and volume... But that Berg tone and package is alluring...

Any thoughts?

[KJung]

Originally Posted by triplelutz

Thank you gentlemen... I'm on the fence between a TC 115 or a Berg 12 IP ER stack. My gut says go with the TC because of versatility, portability and volume... But that Berg tone and package is alluring...

Any thoughts?

Always fun to discuss my two favorite cab designers!

The Berg IP112ER stack is pretty killer IF you have a preamp that you really like, and if that preamp works well with the somewhat fussy input/gain circuit of the IP. The whole experience of the IP is a bit more 'bass cab-like' than the more studio/monitor vibe of the Thunderfunk. The Berg will have a more forward and extended treble response, and a similar low end. If matched up with an optimal preamp, my guess is it will give you about 20% more oomph and max volume that the TC115 with a good quality 500-700 watt amp. However, it will be literally twice the weight (although modular).

My criteria would be:

- How important is a single cab solution versus maximum volume?
- How much do you like a very hi fi extended treble up top?
- Do you have a head that puts out at least 500 watts into 4ohms that you dig?
- Edit: And, do you have a clear idea of a preamp that would speak to you... this is key with the IP IMO

Hard to go wrong with that decision.

[triplelutz]

Thanks Ken- I'm wanting a single cab solution for doubling gigs, so I think I just answered my own question. Now just need to rock a TH 500 with my TC 115 and I should be set

[engedi1]

Originally Posted by triplelutz

Thanks Ken- I'm wanting a single cab solution for doubling gigs, so I think I just answered my own question. Now just need to rock a TH 500 with my TC 115 and I should be set

As a fellow doubler, it is pretty great to be able to carry your cab with one hand, your upright in the other, and the TH500 over your shoulder. I can walk a surprising distance with this setup and not have too much hand fatigue. Can't praise the TC115 enough for upright. Was like a whole new world of tone compared to my old cab.

[triplelutz]

Originally Posted by engedi1

As a fellow doubler, it is pretty great to be able to carry your cab with one hand, your upright in the other, and the TH500 over your shoulder. I can walk a surprising distance with this setup and not have too much hand fatigue. Can't praise the TC115 enough for upright. Was like a whole new world of tone compared to my old cab.

Great stuff! Thanks man!

[DukeLeJeune]

Originally Posted by triplelutz

Did I read in here that the 15's are out of production?

As Steve Rolfeca said, the Thunderchild 115 is presently out of production (current orders will be filled), but the Hathor 1544 is good to go for a long long time because it uses an off-the-shelf Faital 15" woofer. One nice thing about that Faital woofer is, it's available in either 4 or 8 ohms, which opens up more possibilities. On the downside it doesn't have quite the excursion of the custom Kappalite variant I was using in the Thunderchild 115, but then I've adjusted the cabinet tuning accordingly, and think I've gained back some of that headroom.

Due to come out later this month is 15-plus-horn cab based on the Faital woofer, and I might actually do two such models. Definitely will be doing one that goes all-out for smooth, hifi sound (and would work with a lot of other instruments besides bass guitar), and then possibly doing a more cost-conscious version that just adds some top end to the Faital 15.

Current plan is that all of these cabs would have the "sealed box emulation" tuning pioneered by the Hathor 1544. [reacharound to pat own back] Speaking of which, I got a phone call recently from one of my early Hathor 1544 customers, a bass player you've all heard on the radio but I'm respecting his privacy by not getting any more specific than that (Tom Bowlus knows him, and put him in touch with me). Anyway he told me that the sealed box emulation tuning "hit it out of the ballpark". Not that it's going to be all things to all people of course, but that was nice to hear. [/reacharound to pat own back... ow I think my shoulder is out of socket...]

[Bassist30]

Originally Posted by kringle77

Still waiting on a pair of Hathors. I am having a gear induced episode and the wait is killing me. Not having a gig until february doesn't help. This time of year in the north country is pretty sucky.

Anything yet? Curious.

[DukeLeJeune]

Originally Posted by Bassist30

Anything yet? Curious.

I'll be shipping his cabs tomorrow.