Thunderfunk Amp club!

[sratas]

Originally Posted by Interceptor

Joebone - thanks for posting that link. I read the whole thing tonight.

At the risk of being an old grouch - it makes me pine for the TB of a few years back. I feel TB was more informative in the past.

I've been gigging a TFB-420 into a fearful for some time now. Lots of different tones on tap, loud, and very reliable. Couldn't imagine a better rig.

Jim

Hi, interceptor. Tell me one thing, please. I'm quite satisfacted by my rig (see two posts before this) but for a certain time I have been thinking about a TF-fearful (or Barefaced) match. The aim would be to have in a livesituation the same tone that I have trough the DI or studio phones (wich I like the most). I red in TB forums that fearful designs are power-demanding in order to produce good spl because of the nature of the low sensitivity drivers in them. So my 550 B is honest in power, but it will drive those super woofers properly? Thanks.

[Interceptor]

The fearful is about the same as other cabinets as far as efficiency is concerned. The 12/6 is in the area of 95 - 96 dB at one meter with a Watt of power, and a 15/6 is around 3 dB louder.

Where the "super woofers" differ is that they not only deliver similar sound pressure levels as a conventional speaker, but also can play much louder than normal if driven with more power than a typical speaker could handle.

The are no more demanding than any other cabinet, they just have the capacity to get significantly louder if you've got the power.

My own goal was exactly as yours, to get a stage tone representative of my front of house tone. Mission accomplished with the Thunderfunk + Fearful.

[sratas]

Originally Posted by Interceptor

The fearful is about the same as other cabinets as far as efficiency is concerned. The 12/6 is in the area of 95 - 96 dB at one meter with a Watt of power, and a 15/6 is around 3 dB louder.

Where the "super woofers" differ is that they not only deliver similar sound pressure levels as a conventional speaker, but also can play much louder than normal if driven with more power than a typical speaker could handle.

The are no more demanding than any other cabinet, they just have the capacity to get significantly louder if you've got the power.

My own goal was exactly as yours, to get a stage tone representative of my front of house tone. Mission accomplished with the Thunderfunk + Fearful.

good novel, very tempting.
I think that for us europeans Barefaced is the corresponding brand of fEARful in the USA, at least for some models. I have to think about this...thank you interceptor

[Bassist30]

Originally Posted by Interceptor

The fearful is about the same as other cabinets as far as efficiency is concerned. The 12/6 is in the area of 95 - 96 dB at one meter with a Watt of power, and a 15/6 is around 3 dB louder.

Where the "super woofers" differ is that they not only deliver similar sound pressure levels as a conventional speaker, but also can play much louder than normal if driven with more power than a typical speaker could handle.

The are no more demanding than any other cabinet, they just have the capacity to get significantly louder if you've got the power.

My own goal was exactly as yours, to get a stage tone representative of my front of house tone. Mission accomplished with the Thunderfunk + Fearful.

That has got to sound good. I love my new audiokinesis TC15wAF with the 750A. Have not used it with the 550B but I cant see it to be that different. First time in a long time to go with a 15 but I like it. Basically I cant see the TF really sounding bad with any cab. There is so much versatility.

[Interceptor]

It really is a great combination. What I like about it so much is the way it communicates things like right hand technique on a gig. I also like the intrinsic growl in the rig. It just sounds right.

[sratas]

Originally Posted by Interceptor

The fearful is about the same as other cabinets as far as efficiency is concerned. The 12/6 is in the area of 95 - 96 dB at one meter with a Watt of power, and a 15/6 is around 3 dB louder.

Where the "super woofers" differ is that they not only deliver similar sound pressure levels as a conventional speaker, but also can play much louder than normal if driven with more power than a typical speaker could handle.

The are no more demanding than any other cabinet, they just have the capacity to get significantly louder if you've got the power.

My own goal was exactly as yours, to get a stage tone representative of my front of house tone. Mission accomplished with the Thunderfunk + Fearful.

just to explain my observations about efficiency.
I was tempted by the Barefaced Big Baby or Big Twin that are loaded with high-excursion Eminence drivers similar to those in the fEARful.The above cabs are built with the same goals as the fEARfuls are, and it is no mistery that Alex Claber and Greenboy are "friends" and have shared many dreams in the recent past. Alex (Claber) tells about the three laws of "low, light, loud", his cabs go very low, are so light but need more power on tap to sound loud. I was expecting a similar thing with fEARful, glad to learn that I was wrong.
Maybe I have to consider a fEARful instead. The 550B is a wonder but it has a sort of slight harsh tone when the power amp is really pushed to the limits, and so I think I need a cab that is able to translate watts in SPL quite efficiently to avoid that point as much as I can (yes, sometimes I MUST play loud).
Thanks for the info, I must think about this and fEARful.

[alexclaber]

Originally Posted by sratas

Alex (Claber) tells about the three laws of "low, light, loud", his cabs go very low, are so light but need more power on tap to sound loud. I was expecting a similar thing with fEARful, glad to learn that I was wrong.

This is incorrect on a number of counts. For starters, "low, light, loud" is wrong. The correct statement is "low, small, loud". That is really REALLY important. I'd phrase it as "deep, small, sensitive" because that gets rid of the loud confusion as loud depends so much on power handling.

Our Big Series cabs go lower than our EMS cabs and consequently require more power to reach a given SPL for a given size of cab. The amount of power our Big Series cabs require to reach a given SPL is essentially identical to the power the matched configuration fEarful designs require.

[sratas]

Originally Posted by alexclaber

This is incorrect on a number of counts. For starters, "low, light, loud" is wrong. The correct statement is "low, small, loud". That is really REALLY important. I'd phrase it as "deep, small, sensitive" because that gets rid of the loud confusion as loud depends so much on power handling.

Our Big Series cabs go lower than our EMS cabs and consequently require more power to reach a given SPL for a given size of cab. The amount of power our Big Series cabs require to reach a given SPL is essentially identical to the power the matched configuration fEarful designs require.

Hi, Alex, thanks for the reply and for the correction. Sorry to everyone if I made some confusion.

A question for you Alex: it has been some months that I'm thinking about a Barefaced. My goal: I love my amp's DI or headphone tone (recording tone), but I'm not able to get this tone with my bass cab(s). So it will be fantastic if this could be possible.
My possible problem: my amp is a Thunderfunk 550 B, a true wonder but it's only 300 watts at 8 ohms and 550 at 4 ohms, and it tends to develop a sort of compressed and struggling feel when I happen to push its poweramp really (REALLY) hard. It' not a frequent occasion, but it does happen 1-2 times /year.
The power rating of my amp and its features do match in a good way with a Big series cab in order to obtain a "studio tone" on stage? The SPl produced by a Big Baby will be much different from that of a Bergantino AE 210 (I use two of them stacked at the moment)?. Thanks

[alexclaber]

A Big Baby pushed with 300W will be about as loud as one of the AE210s - the Big Baby will take all the power but is a bit less sensitive, whilst the AE210 won't handle quite all the power but is a bit more sensitive. You'd need two Big Baby cabs or a Big Twin to be in the same area - the AE210s don't go as low, so they're more sensitive for a given size, and two AE210s are twice the size of a lone Big Baby.

How do you tend to EQ your Thunderfunk? How do you EQ your bass(es)? Have you ever gigged with one AE210 and how did that work? Tonewise, you'd love the Big Series cabs, without a doubt but SPL is the issue!

[sratas]

Originally Posted by alexclaber

A Big Baby pushed with 300W will be about as loud as one of the AE210s - the Big Baby will take all the power but is a bit less sensitive, whilst the AE210 won't handle quite all the power but is a bit more sensitive. You'd need two Big Baby cabs or a Big Twin to be in the same area - the AE210s don't go as low, so they're more sensitive for a given size, and two AE210s are twice the size of a lone Big Baby.

How do you tend to EQ your Thunderfunk? How do you EQ your bass(es)? Have you ever gigged with one AE210 and how did that work? Tonewise, you'd love the Big Series cabs, without a doubt but SPL is the issue!

Thanks alex, you need more info and I have other questions about this argument. I do not want to waste your time now and hijack the TFunk thread. I'm not sure if I'm ready to purchase one of your cabs. If I decide to go barefaced in the near future (financies do matter I will contact you directly. I know you love to sell the right cab to the specific musician...

[Sublab]

Current rig: Ampeg PF500 paired with twin Ampeg SVT410he's. Love the sound but considering selling the SVT410he's to get me a Barefaced cab. Thinking that Super 12 might be the right fit to replace the 410's.

[Sublab]

Originally Posted by Sublab

Current rig: Ampeg PF500 paired with twin Ampeg SVT410he's. Love the sound but considering selling the SVT410he's to get me a Barefaced cab. Thinking that Super 12 might be the right fit to replace the 410's.

OOPS! wrong thread!

[hennessybass]

Anyone care to comment on the sound of Thunderfunk vs. the old AMP BH420.

Years ago I had saved up some money to buy a Jazz bass. Went into the store to try out the one I was going to buy, and tested it on an AMP BH420. That day I walked out of the store with the AMP and not the Jazz bass.

I always thought the AMP had enough power on hand, so I'm thinking about a 550. What can I expect sound wise vs. the AMP? Also, what are the tonal differences between the different T-Funk models? Bigger bottom end on the 750/

[dmrogers]

Originally Posted by hennessybass

Anyone care to comment on the sound of Thunderfunk vs. the old AMP BH420.

Years ago I had saved up some money to buy a Jazz bass. Went into the store to try out the one I was going to buy, and tested it on an AMP BH420. That day I walked out of the store with the AMP and not the Jazz bass.

I always thought the AMP had enough power on hand, so I'm thinking about a 550. What can I expect sound wise vs. the AMP? Also, what are the tonal differences between the different T-Funk models? Bigger bottom end on the 750

I really can't answer your question comparing the 420 to the 550. I just wanted to say that I have a 550B and a 750. When I gig, it really doesn't matter to me which one I use. I alway take both (backup) but either one has enough power, plenty of EQ/tonal options and both sound great.

I bought the 750 first, then purchased a 550B that was just like brand new. I never really compared them. I was sold on the Thunderfunk quality and ease of dialing in what I needed at any venue I played in. So buying the 550 was a no brainer.

I will say this, if you were happy with the AMP 420 you should have no concerns in picking up a 550. I love mine!

Hope this helps.

[sratas]

Originally Posted by hennessybass

Anyone care to comment on the sound of Thunderfunk vs. the old AMP BH420.

Years ago I had saved up some money to buy a Jazz bass. Went into the store to try out the one I was going to buy, and tested it on an AMP BH420. That day I walked out of the store with the AMP and not the Jazz bass.

I always thought the AMP had enough power on hand, so I'm thinking about a 550. What can I expect sound wise vs. the AMP? Also, what are the tonal differences between the different T-Funk models? Bigger bottom end on the 750/

Sorry, no experience of the AMP...
basing upon general believings and the wise opinion of the TF importer in Italy, that I know and consider the first passionate and true pro-level user of these amps, the 750 should be, flat out, more extended in the lows and highs, and with less midrange bump compared to the 550.
I own the 550 and it's quite evident the tonal fingerprint of the amp, super clear and articulate, warm midrange with tight controlled lows and sweet highs. The above guy said to me that "the 750 feels wider and more extended and a bit less mid focused" even if the fabulous eq allows wild variations in tone. Mr. Dave Funk said that the 550 sounded best to him with the enhance control at noon and the timbre knob twisted counterclockwise two dots...I think that while engineering the 750 Dave attempted to impress that kind of articulated and bolder feel that he found in the 550, even if, for what I know, not so extreme, but in that direction.
The 550 works very well, in my personal opinion, with classic aggressive basses, with a fantastic compliment of tone. For example a jazz bass with rounds is a fantastic marriage for the 550, even with the eq close to "flat", whereas my Mayones and Thumb (mid heavy) require a tweak in the direction suggested by Mr. Funk to shine...this at least is my experience, the T-Funk is a super versatile beast, no matter what version, and the experience of other players could be different but with great results as well...
I'ma a lot curious about the 800, too...

[pgbassman]

I own a 750-A and can't imagine wanting another amp...sound, power, portability, and reliably all there! How do I get a number?

[Bassist30]

Originally Posted by pgbassman

I own a 750-A and can't imagine wanting another amp...sound, power, portability, and reliably all there! How do I get a number?

I agree. I have the 550B and 750A. When the 750 came out I felt i had to get it. Ill wait for something in the realm of 850 or 900 to go to the next. I can't afford a new model every time it comes out. I never tried the 800 but I'm so happy to with the 750A. Enough so that Ill wait for the next model - maybe - to get.

[Bassist30]

I really love what Dave is doing. A great product with every update that he has produced. I just hope the weight won't be an issue if it goes any higher. I will never put down digital as it has its purpose. Many love it and its very popular. It's just not the same as a full tubed or hybrid nor a transistor amp. But I'm not saying better or worse. Its just not the same-and I think Dave has kept the weight down but if it goes higher in power i'm not sure how much he can keep the inevitable weight gain to a small increase.
Power supplies can get heavy. But in most cases, the 420, 550, 750A has enough. As well as the 800. But we are always seeking more power for some reason or another. I wish Dave would come into these threads every now and then.

[Bassist30]

I used the 550B as a sub for my 750A. A single cabinet that has a thermal handling of 450 watts, That's pretty good for a single 15 (Audiokinesis TC15AF). I didn't want to overpower it as i have been using the 750A with good results but I really liked it with the 550B as it was closer to the cabs rating. Really nice. I had not played the 550B for some time now. These amps are really a pleasure to play.
The 550B does compress the low end but in a very sweet way. It was like having a tube amp without the tubes. It does matter how much power as compared with a certain set ups. To much power for a smaller set up does not necessarily mean more head room. You can damage the speaker before it starts to distort. Which eventually it will but you will lose the good part of your sound first.

[michricker]

Hey all. Just got a mint shape 750a. Amp is great however I can't get the line out/head phone jack to work. I did write to Dave funk however thought I would write the TB thunderfunk experts. Any special settings to activate the front line out for using headphones?