fEARful cabs, your thoughts, reviews?

[ArmoredAngels]

I was looking at either the 15/6 or 1515/66 what do u use and how does it work for u? I need to cut through the mix of 8-string baritone guitars, and I play Djent/prog metal, funk. what is your advice?

[JxBass]

No luck in the fourteen mega threads on fEarful?

[CL400Peavey]

Reposted from here, my review of my 1515/66/1


Hey all, Julian here. I have been lurking around for a bit now, posting here and there. Today I have big news! I picked up my fEARful from builder Dave Homer of Gigmaster Soundworks. Dave was great through the whole process. Every detail was discussed in length with him, the email train is 57 responses back and forth. Going with an authorized builder was an easy choice for me. I have no doubt that I could build from the plans Greenboy has mad available, but with limited space and tools (small apartment) out sourcing to a local was a great option. Best thing yet? The time from my deposit to pick up was three weeks. Even better? I am astounded at the quality of product in such a short amount of time.

Now for some picture spam...
















The finished product!


And a crappy cell phone pic of my heads and bass with the new cab.



I cant say enough good things about my experience with Dave and the rest of the fEARful community in getting the details worked out. Everyone is helpful and more than willing to discuss any concerns I had.

Now the important part: Sound.

Ho-Lee $***!

I plugged my Classic 400 in first, set all the tone knobs to noon and left the volume at 7 o'clock (barely on). After about 40 seconds of playing Dave's neighbors were over telling us to turn it down. Yes its loud, very loud, stupid loud in an amazing "every hair on your body is tingling" kind of way. This is also the first cab that I haven't had to dime the mid knob to get the sound I want, its also the first cab that handles the low end of my CL400 with out complaint. The mids are present, the highs are crisp, and the low end with burn your village defile your women and slaughter your animals with out a hint of mud or loss of definition.

I then switched over to my Mark VIII. Different story, same great results. My EQ sliders matter in a way that they are now usable for changing my tone in a big way. Bump one slider a little bit and you notice, no more of cranking three or four to hear a change. The shelving knobs don't need to move from noon. With the tweeter on and turned to 2.5 I have all the zing I need.

Load up in my jeep was no problem either, with the seats laid down it fit easily. At a hair over 100lbs this cab is lighter than some 410's. I'm not a huge guy but when I got it home I tossed it on one shoulder and schlepped it up two flights of stairs no problem. It is also narrower and more easily managed than a 410 so narrow door ways aren't a problem. Tilt back casters and handle make it a dream to move. All in all I couldn't be happier.

If any of you are in MI and want to hear this thing I have no problem letting anyone try it out. Also if anyone has any questions about going with a builder, ask them straight up. I have nothing but good things to say about my interactions with any of them.

[Joe Louvar]

That was a fun review.

Originally Posted by CL400Peavey

Btw, I like those corner clamps - who makes them and about how much each do those clamps cost?

[CL400Peavey]

No idea, they are in the Gigmaster Soundworks shop.

[evilt70]

You can get corner clamps like that at most woodworking stores, sometimes even lowes or menards. I have several sets and they are handy!

[dhomer]

Got the clamps at Harbor Freight.. I think they're about $10 each.. might have picked em up on sale..

[ArmoredAngels]

Mr. CL400Peavy:

Thanks so much for your review! Indeed it was a fun story to read. Would u use this cab (well maybe if it was a 15/6) with another one to get more mid rang punch or is this really all u would ever use?

[CL400Peavey]

Originally Posted by ArmoredAngels

Mr. CL400Peavy:

Thanks so much for your review! Indeed it was a fun story to read. Would u use this cab (well maybe if it was a 15/6) with another one to get more mid rang punch or is this really all u would ever use?

This cab has all the mid range punch anyone will ever need before they need FoH support. It has more lows, and highs too. The amount of SPL you can get out of this cab is unreal. If for some silly reason you needed more, a fEARful 15sub could be added. Can be run in parallel with the 1515/66 if your head is 2 Ohm stable.

If you go with a 15/6 and plan to add a 15sub later, I would look into some of the talk about different pads for the single mid. I think some of the guys have a switch that can put the mid from low to high for when they add a sub.

[wcriley]

My 12/6 cabs have the Eminence Alpha mid driver and they have all the punch I'll ever need. The 18Sound mid driver in the 15/6 cabs is even stronger. So strong, in fact, that it needs to be padded back when used with a single woofer.

Also look at KJung's review in one of the recent fEARful threads. His 15/6 had too much midrange for his tastes.

[barryaudio]

Originally Posted by wcriley

Also look at KJung's review in one of the recent fEARful threads. His 15/6 had too much midrange for his tastes.

I wonder if he has ever tried biamping? Its a wonderful solution to attenuate mids/highs but still have the higher levels when needed.

Reviews can be good source of info, but always subjective and based on a particular person's opinion. There are also a lot of other variables such as amp selection, basses, effects, playing style, etc. If you can find someone in your area to jam on a fEARful, obviously that would be best. Check out the fEArful forum, introduce yourself and see if there is someone nearby.

[CL400Peavey]

Originally Posted by barryaudio

If you can find someone in your area to jam on a fEARful, obviously that would be best.

+1

AA where are you located?

[wcriley]

Originally Posted by barryaudio

I wonder if he has ever tried biamping?

He doesn't like using EQ to get his sound. What makes you think he'd try biamping?

[KJung]

Originally Posted by barryaudio

I wonder if he has ever tried biamping? Its a wonderful solution to attenuate mids/highs but still have the higher levels when needed.

Reviews can be good source of info, but always subjective and based on a particular person's opinion. There are also a lot of other variables such as amp selection, basses, effects, playing style, etc. If you can find someone in your area to jam on a fEARful, obviously that would be best. Check out the fEArful forum, introduce yourself and see if there is someone nearby.

+1 I try to review a cab based on what I hear. Whether I like it or not should be relatively uninteresting to the general reader.

For the OP, the fEARfuls have incredible bass response. A very nice combination of 'going deep but not stupid deep' (i.e., no 'efficiency problems', or strange mechanical issues like with the Acme's IMO), and the 3015LF driver used in these cabs (and the 3012LF driver in the 12 cabs) has 'PA sub' mechanical specs, which means you can POUND on your B string if you want, and you won't fart these cabs out.

There is absolutely no low mid bump in these cabs, which is good for some and not for others.

The upper mid response, due to the crossover used in this particular version of a 15/6, and the very aggressive, bright, powerful 18Sound mid driver generates a LOT of energy in the upper mids (peaking around 2K to my ear) It is surely not 'flat'. Again, could be a positive or negative depending on what the player wants. For some, that is just the frequency area where you want to soften the response.

It would be key for me to have an amp with at least two semi-parametric mid controls, which would allow a player to 'bump the punch' if he so desired and also to soften that upper mid response to reduce 'clack, gank', etc.

Nice combination of big low end, bright top end, decent efficiency. If you are a DUB style player, forget about it... nothing comes close to it on the market. For other styles of playing, some will need quite a bit of EQ power to get you where you might want to go IMO.

For me, the relatively large size of the 15/6 (much larger than, for example, my Bergantino AE410 or 212), the limitation of amplification choices (the 8ohm impedance and big low end really needs an amp that can comfortably put out 500 watts or so at 8ohms to reach my typical gig volume), and for me, the additional EQ power it would take to get me where I want to me tonally, resulting in the cab not working as well as my current cabs. Pure IMO there.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by wcriley

He doesn't like using EQ to get his sound. What makes you think he'd try biamping?

I don't have any problem tweaking the EQ, but like many, do like a rig to be 'most of the way there' to get my tone. Of course, with the fEARfuls, I'm sure for many they are 'most of the way there'.

As many seem to have heard when I had all those clips up, I like a more classic pop/funk 'recorded' bass tone... nice tight, not overextended low end that 'sits above the bass drum' in a mix, a STRONG dose of low mids for 'growl' down low when you dig in, and a pretty good dip at around 1K-2K to eliminate what I and others describe as 'clinical harshness' in the top end (I call it 'gank', since that is kind of the noise that frequency area makes when, for example, you slap/pop a string), and then a nice, warm, natural lower treble extension. That tone profile, to my ear, is exactly the opposite of what I hear in the fEARful on every point.

Again, that does NOT mean any of that is a bad thing. Every cab has its own voicing and will work great for some and not for others. And, +1 in that if you want to spend enough money and time and carry around enough stuff, you can pound most any cab to 'get where you want to go'. That just isn't my thing personally.

[barryaudio]

Originally Posted by wcriley

He doesn't like using EQ to get his sound. What makes you think he'd try biamping?

Ya..I don't want to get in the middle of that...

I just thought of the biamping idea as a possibility for someone who might want to attenuate rather than EQ, that's all. I'm using a HBP-1 these days with a variable Q that seems to do it for me, but others might want to try something different.

[Chef]

Not all things are for all people: this is very ok.

The Ff cabs do what they do very well, and that's cool.
What's cool for one guy might not be cool for another guy.

I have and use both Ff type cabs, and AudioKinesis cabs, which are a different take on the 301(X)-LF driver thing. They can make big SPL for their size, they can be pretty pure and studio-ish.

What they don't do that some folks like is the "added harmonics of a regular paper cone driver under a bit of duress." And the mids and highs they deliver are of a different flavor than a regular paper driver + horn kinda thing.

So, if those things are an integral part of your sound, consider that.

[Chef]

"bi-amping"

Not a bad idea, but, also probably not what someone who is a regular user of micro-amps is looking for as an answer,

[KJung]

Originally Posted by barryaudio

Ya..I don't want to get in the middle of that...

I just thought of the biamping idea as a possibility for someone who might want to attenuate rather than EQ, that's all. I'm using a HBP-1 these days with a variable Q that seems to do it for me, but others might want to try something different.

+1 If you are a player that is willing to go there with a rack of stuff, I would think the fEARful builds are a very good platform for that!

[BurningSkies]

Originally Posted by Chef

Not all things are for all people: this is very ok.

The Ff cabs do what they do very well, and that's cool.
What's cool for one guy might not be cool for another guy.

I have and use both Ff type cabs, and AudioKinesis cabs, which are a different take on the 301(X)-LF driver thing. They can make big SPL for their size, they can be pretty pure and studio-ish.

What they don't do that some folks like is the "added harmonics of a regular paper cone driver under a bit of duress." And the mids and highs they deliver are of a different flavor than a regular paper driver + horn kinda thing.

So, if those things are an integral part of your sound, consider that.

And that's sort of why amp choice can be pretty important in fEARful use. They're not going to hide a lot with cone breakup or distortion. And even if you don't think you have those with whatever your current cab setup is...you probably do. I thought my rig was clean and clear until I started with a 15/6 then all of a sudden I was hearing breakup in the mids (right around the bottom frequencies of the high pass/mid) that my amp was presenting to my speakers, and it wasn't a good or positive type of breakup.

One of my guitarists early on when hearing my double fEARful stack from across the room at very loud volume commented that he 'got' it...that it gave the same sound as standing in front of a PA stack at a big show.

Because it's not mid scooped, and doesn't have a low mid bump, you have to add that to your sound. My bass presents it when I run in series with the two pickups, but I've also been able to get it with other amp heads (my Hartke MOSFET 3500 is all sorts of surprisingly chest-punchy with fEARfuls).

I found what I really have loved is the harmonic richness of tubes, combined with very big power and these clean/wide speakers. It gives me that big three dimensional tonal 'magic' that I think of with tube amps, but often falls flat on bass tube amps since most speakers don't reproduce competently.