How nimble are higher-end cabinet manufacturers?

[hennessybass]

Originally Posted by ::::BASSIST::::

Keep in mind that those "93 fEarfuls" are those posted by people like me who like to blah, blah, blah on the internet. Alot of people dont get too involved and just lurk. Alot of people have no interest in clubs and think the whole thing is silly. So yeah, that number of 93 is not likely to be too accurate. It could be triple that, but at least its not going to be less.

I got you, and think I indicated that that 93 number might be a really low representation (I think),,, but even if you quadruple it, that's still under 400 cabs. Of the close to 200,000 people on TB, how many do you think own multiple cabs. Let's say average 3 per person... that's 600,000 bass cabs. Even if the fEarfull number is way low, it's still a really small percentage.

[BurningSkies]

Originally Posted by ::::BASSIST::::

Keep in mind that those "93 fEarfuls" are those posted by people like me who like to blah, blah, blah on the internet. Alot of people dont get too involved and just lurk. Alot of people have no interest in clubs and think the whole thing is silly. So yeah, that number of 93 is not likely to be too accurate. It could be triple that, but at least its not going to be less.

*ahem* or maybe they're owned by people who aren't part of the whole club thing.

... Or maybe they're the many people who have found fEARfuls on their own, or by way of Greenboy's website and message board, or through the websites of his builders. The TB 'door' is not the only access to fEARful, BFM, Barefaced, or AudioKinesis...

[BurningSkies]

Originally Posted by hennessybass

I don't think any of these guys are hurting local music stores. Mega-realtors, and the internet are hurting local music stores. They simply can not compete. And I don't think they are targeting each other. That kind of implies malicious intent,,, I think they are all just doing their own thing, and happen to be doing similar things.

You have to think of these guys like Alex, Duke, David, and Bill as "The New Local Stores." If you don't want to buy from Guitar-Center, and you want to keep it "local," maybe buying from one of these guys is the new local in our modern global economy. That is, small businesses run by individuals that the buyer can develop a relationship with. Maybe it's not a face to face relationship that's a few miles from your house, but if I buy a product from one of these guys, and have a problem, I can probably email and talk to them directly... that's what I call modern mom-and-pop.

I go to the local farmer's market to buy as many of my weekly food needs as possible. I know that the farmers are doing their best to put the grocery stores out of business!

[KJung]

Originally Posted by hennessybass

I got you, and think I indicated that that 93 number might be a really low representation (I think),,, but even if you quadruple it, that's still under 400 cabs. Of the close to 200,000 people on TB, how many do you think own multiple cabs. Let's say average 3 per person... that's 600,000 bass cabs. Even if the fEarfull number is way low, it's still a really small percentage.

There is also this strange sort of vibe with a few 'mega fEARful posters' that 'if only all these players could try one of these cabs, they'd all love them'.

Trust me, from my own and quite a few other of my peers experiences, this is FAR from the case

[Joe Louvar]

I want to add more but I’ve got to run - I’ll be back later.

[R Baer]

Originally Posted by Joe Louvar

No blame, just pointing something out - the independent loudspeaker designers that only sell direct or through their builders aren’t helping local music stores keep their business doors open...

We sell direct for one simple reason. Our cabinets are quite expensive to manufacture. Adding the typical 25% to 30% mark up that dealers require means we either, lower our profit margin to an unacceptable price for us to stay in business, or the dealer has to mark to the cabs up to a price level unacceptable to the customer.

Any retail business these days has to find ways to stay relevant in the age of online sales. I worked part time for Home Depot for a couple years and I can tell you that they saw their number one threat, not as the Lowe's down the street, but the Amazon.com on your desktop. Home Depot's response to this online threat, was very simple and has worked to keep them as one of the largest retail stores in the world. Customer service. They drilled it into our heads that to compete against Amazon.com, we had to offer the one thing that they can't offer. One on one, personal service. They liked to say that Amazon.com can't reach out and shake your hand and ask you how your day is going. Amazon doesn't hold weekend workshops for the kids, or go down to the local school and replace the roof that blew off in the last tornado. Not the greatest job in the world, but I had no previous retail experience and wanted to learn how the retail world worked. I learned a lot from them.

For the Mom and Pop music stores, they, like Home Depot, need to find ways to stay relevant in todays online world. They can no longer just open the door every morning and wait for customers to come in and buy gear. They need to get involved. Offer what online can't. One on one personal service. Offer lessons. Work with the local schools and find out how they can get involved with their music programs. Have an online E-bay store. Offer in store clinics, etc.... It's a different world these days. You either stay relevant, or you close your doors.

[guy n. cognito]

Originally Posted by R Baer

We sell direct for one simple reason. Our cabinets are quite expensive to manufacture. Adding the typical 25% to 30% mark up that dealers require means we either, lower our profit margin to an unacceptable price for us to stay in business, or the dealer has to mark to the cabs up to a price level unacceptable to the customer.

Any retail business these days has to find ways to stay relevant in the age of online sales. I worked part time for Home Depot for a couple years and I can tell you that they saw their number one threat, not as the Lowe's down the street, but the Amazon.com on your desktop. Home Depot's response to this online threat, was very simple and has worked to keep them as one of the largest retail stores in the world. Customer service. They drilled it into our heads that to compete against Amazon.com, we had to offer the one thing that they can't offer. One on one, personal service. They liked to say that Amazon.com can't reach out and shake your hand and ask you how your day is going. Amazon doesn't hold weekend workshops for the kids, or go down to the local school and replace the roof that blew off in the last tornado. Not the greatest job in the world, but I had no previous retail experience and wanted to learn how the retail world worked. I learned a lot from them.

For the Mom and Pop music stores, they, like Home Depot, need to find ways to stay relevant in todays online world. They can no longer just open the door every morning and wait for customers to come in and buy gear. They need to get involved. Offer what online can't. One on one personal service. Offer lessons. Work with the local schools and find out how they can get involved with their music programs. Have an online E-bay store. Offer in store clinics, etc.... It's a different world these days. You either stay relevant, or you close your doors.

Would you please stop making sense!!!!!!!

Great post.

[garnermike]

Can't speak to the question you pose, but, just as an aside, I am wondering why there are not more manufacturers out there offering cab kits or empty cabs. I have really good 12" and 15" bass speakers lying about, and would love to have a selection of possible cabs to mount them in. Very few companies sell such products...

[aborgman]

Originally Posted by KJung

Nice post, and +1. There seems to be a sort of myth on TB that these cabs are somehow a 'new design'.

They sort of are - the idea isn't, but the execution that can be achieved with the newer (much) higher x-max drivers is.

[BurningSkies]

Originally Posted by garnermike

Can't speak to the question you pose, but, just as an aside, I am wondering why there are not more manufacturers out there offering cab kits or empty cabs. I have really good 12" and 15" bass speakers lying about, and would love to have a selection of possible cabs to mount them in. Very few companies sell such products...

Because cabs are designed around specific speakers, there's no such thing as a 'plug and play' empty cab for whatever speakers you might have.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by aborgman

They sort of are - the idea isn't, but the execution that can be achieved with the newer (much) higher x-max drivers is.

Actually, I think it is the newer NEO higher x-max drivers, since the ceramics used by EA, Acme, etc. are in the same league.

However, again, the bigger point is the voicing of these cabs is a voicing that will work for some players and not for others (IMO, not for a lot of others). So, again, like the Acme always was, and also the EA VL cabs, these various executions are nice niche type products that can work quite well for some players, and not for others (like any piece of gear).

[Jefe]

Originally Posted by KJung

There is also this strange sort of vibe with a few 'mega fEARful posters' that 'if only all these players could try one of these cabs, they'd all love them'.

Trust me, from my own and quite a few other of my peers experiences, this is FAR from the case

Couldn't agree more. It's a bit tiring seeing the same few people shill the fEarful cabs in so many threads as being the magic bullet. It wasn't for me and it hasn't been for several of my peers.

[wideload]

So, let's get serious. Jimmy M, when is Ampeg coming out with an 8x10, 8x6 two tweeter fridge with french doors and a cold drink dispenser?

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Jefe

Couldn't agree more. It's a bit tiring seeing the same few people shill the fEarful cabs in so many threads as being the magic bullet. It wasn't for me and it hasn't been for several of my peers.

Let's make sure not to get personal and nasty with this topic All the posters are good people who love the gear they love. I was just trying to provide a bit of a counterpoint from my and other's experiences, and frame the discussion more as 'they are nice cabs but not for everyone' versus the second coming of god (which is on topic as to one of the reasons most companies are not too worried about this stuff).

We can provide a little 'IMO balance' to these discussions but also keep it friendly

We don't want the thread closed... interesting topic.

[wcriley]

Originally Posted by Jefe

It's a bit tiring seeing the same few people shill the fEarful cabs in so many threads as being the magic bullet. It wasn't for me and it hasn't been for several of my peers.

I don't consider myself a "shill" and I readily admit that these cabs may not be everyone's cuppa' tea. But...

Did you and your peers spend any time playing with EQ or experiment with the port blocking and shelf extension that greenboy has suggested for getting an old school response?

[hennessybass]

Originally Posted by KJung

There is also this strange sort of vibe with a few 'mega fEARful posters' that 'if only all these players could try one of these cabs, they'd all love them'.

Trust me, from my own and quite a few other of my peers experiences, this is FAR from the case

I agree. Interesting, and maybe a topic for another thread. It would for sure be a thread that would have the potential to get some folks worked up.

I really appreciated what you had to say when you got your AON fEarfull. I felt like you were honest about what you thought about it (in a respectful way - as always), and I felt like it was one of the first times I had heard an opinion that was a little different from the crowd.

I'm interested, and I want to try one with my own ears. Almost pulled the trigger on an AON 1212/6 a few months back, but backed out. I'm honestly pretty close to getting myself a 15/6 tube. Ah, GAS.

Is this the cab to end all cabs?? We'll see. A whole lot of people say these cabs are where it's at. A whole lot of people also said the LMII was where it's at... and I hated that amp!

[1n3]

Originally Posted by Jefe

Couldn't agree more. It's a bit tiring seeing the same few people shill the fEarful cabs in so many threads as being the magic bullet. It wasn't for me and it hasn't been for several of my peers.

Shill? Ampeg has way more fans here than fEARful, and yet I seem to see more complaints about fEARful fans than Ampeg fans. You can extoll the virtues of the SVT endlessly with little chance of a response like this. Goes for other popular brands as well. A curious double-standard...

[rpsands]

The SVT wasn't for me or many of my peers and I'm getting tired of hearing about it.

[BurningSkies]

Its a two way street. If someone suggests a Mesa, Ampeg, Genz cab it's all fun and games, no matter what the question and how many times someone has made the suggestion. Yet, if someone makes those same suggestions with a fEARful, all of a sudden you're a shill.

For that reason, I stopped suggesting them years ago and only comment when its the topic at hand. And still to this day I get that charge from people regularly.

The fEARful double standard is healthy as ever.

[jnewmark]

Originally Posted by rpsands

The SVT wasn't for me or many of my peers and I'm getting tired of hearing about it.

I'm really in the minority: I tried both and neither one was for me !