Forgot the name of a "new" bass amp maker!

Honch · #1 03-02-2011, 11:43 AM

Hi all!

Please help. Tried to search but I am not able to find the following brand name, I only remember this much about them:

It was hyped 4-5 (?) years ago, and was designed with a big black cabinets consisting of active modules within. The brand logo was in red at the front possible name was "Force" or something similar. They were new, as they contained different active modules in each enclosure. You could just order them through webiste. As a head, only a preamp was used (same brand and logo). They were reminiscent of EA Amps but it wasn't them as far as I can tell.

This brand I am looking for may or may not have gone out of business (or changed name, or got bought by somebody else) but I've googled it, and all things comes up, but them. T
Are they still around, and what the **** was their name?
Or were their products best left for oblivion?

fenderhutz · #2 03-02-2011, 11:50 AM

Does this ring any bells?

http://www.fractalaudio.com/products-at-reactor.html

Fractal bought out Atomic and I am not sure if they made a bass version before the buyout.

The Bergantino IP series got a quite a bit of hub bub here as well a few years back.

Honch · #3 03-02-2011, 12:18 PM

No bells ringing, thanks for it anyway. I know of Fractal Audio though. Atomic. It could've been them though. But the cabinets were pitch black and logos in clear red. I remember seeing lots of vids demoing at NAMM and so on. The brand logo reminded me of the word "force" though. Silly company to have a name that doesn't stick... :-)

I think Atomic/fractal uses only tubes in their cabinets, these ones had switched amps. They just looked a bit like Accugrooves large bins with different sizes thrown in, like one 15", two 10s, and a tweeter, or similar, and then behind them were different power amps for each of the elements. Probably crossed over at some other point of course. Initially it became quite a stir and hype in the business, but they seem to have gone belly up.

I do think they had an artist rooster of mainly heavy metal bass players, or extended range basssists, and the overall design fitted very well in to any metal set up on stage. You could stack and rack'em. The black and red fitted particularly well in these settings.

BassmanPaul · #4 03-02-2011, 12:20 PM

The brand was Forge IIRC.

Honch · #5 03-02-2011, 12:21 PM

Oh, and on things for sure. They were definitely American, and made in the U.S.

erigod23 · #6 03-02-2011, 12:21 PM

I think its Forge by XP Audio, their website is pretty skimpy, tho.

JimmyM · #7 03-02-2011, 12:22 PM

ya, forge.

fenderhutz · #8 03-02-2011, 12:24 PM

Didn't EA make a "Force" bass cab? Are you getting confusicated?

Edit: yup Forge.

Honch · #9 03-02-2011, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

The brand was Forge IIRC.

FORGE!!! Was it! Not "Force"!
Thank you very very very much! What would I do without you! Drop dead, perhaps...

That was it! Seems like they went belly up, or bought up?

No wonder. With that name that can be mixed up.

Honch · #10 03-02-2011, 12:30 PM

So they're still around? Found a post here from the owner of Forge dating 2009 october. F-O-R-G-E not force. And a product of XP audio. Thanks again. Things getting clearer now, thank you all guys! Will bookmark it now and forever.

Honch · #11 03-02-2011, 12:34 PM

Went to their site now, and it seems that Motion sound speakers is the only product they "make". Forge seems to have been put on hold, or something else.

JimmyM · #12 03-02-2011, 12:37 PM

forge cabs didn't sell well.

BassmanPaul · #13 03-02-2011, 12:43 PM

As I recall the cabinets were very heavy and had a separate power amp for each driver. They had a full tube pre-amp with, I think, thirteen tubes. The line was exceedingly expensive.

Honch · #14 03-02-2011, 12:44 PM

OK, so they're out of it completely? Hope that someone else will catch on to that idea, in some better "configuration" price wise. They were heavy in lbs as well as dollars... but it's liek that with all speakers and amps. To obtain these last 10 Hz downards in the range (especially linear) you have to put up with huge amounts of dollars.

Thank you everyone. No use dwelling on this anymore.

fenderhutz · #15 03-02-2011, 12:46 PM

Human ear can only hear to 20Hz on a good day. Unless you are making whale, elephant, or pigeon (look it up .1 Hz) songs, why on earth would you need 10Hz?

kdogg · #16 03-02-2011, 12:47 PM

I remember seeing those too, bass player magazine I think. Looked pretty cool at the time. You know, if you track one down, you owe the TB community pics and an extensive review! :-)

Honch · #17 03-03-2011, 12:50 AM

Yeah, but I mean, like, people are hunting for the lowest open strings fundamental. On a 4 it's about 41 Hz on low E, and on a 5 string it's around 31 Hz for low B. And to make a cabinet that goes below 30 Hz just to produce that fundamental note EQUALLY as strong as the rest of'em is huge amount of dollars and watt'n'weight involved. Just those 10 Hz EXTRA from around 40, down to 30, what was I meant.

It's the same in the home cinema systems and high end audiofile world. To buy a subwoofer that can take an ADDITIONAL 5 Hz lower than the previous ones, costs ecxeedingly much dollars more. Down below, it's almost one grand per Hz as you go along! You have to have watts that goes along with it too. It's weird. On top of that, you need ample room space, to be able to DETECT such low frequencies at all. You may not hear it, but detect it by other means. The things you detect first, are some windows and other material just rattling about. Things will rattle before you are able to hear any fundamental down there. Totally uneccessary, if you'd ask me.

Also, on stage, FOH and monitor engineers are reluctant to have any low end like that woofing around on stage. It clutters the FOH mix pretty bad. Provided that you play huge festivals, that is. It's better then to direct inject, and you get that low end out from the PA which is tailored to get these low ends.

So now, they're collectors items, then? :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by fenderhutz

Human ear can only hear to 20Hz on a good day. Unless you are making whale, elephant, or pigeon (look it up .1 Hz) songs, why on earth would you need 10Hz?

Honch · #18 03-03-2011, 01:01 AM

And all this mumbo jumbo, Forge had: Servo Turbo Loop or whatever and "no one did this before".

Honch · #19 03-03-2011, 04:42 AM

I still think it is a very funny brand name. Just missing the letter T at the end. Little wonder one can't remember it. But maybe, it's best just to do that? ;-)

BassmanPaul · #20 03-03-2011, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honch

Yeah, but I mean, like, people are hunting for the lowest open strings fundamental. On a 4 it's about 41 Hz on low E, and on a 5 string it's around 31 Hz for low B. And to make a cabinet that goes below 30 Hz just to produce that fundamental note EQUALLY as strong as the rest of'em is huge amount of dollars and watt'n'weight involved. Just those 10 Hz EXTRA from around 40, down to 30, what was I meant.

Acme cabinets do the Low B fundamental with ease and are certainly not that expensive IMO.