Acme cab for upright

[sir juice]

My electric bass rig is an SWR sm400 and an Acme 400watt 2x10 (not sure of the exact model, bought it off a friend)

To my understanding, upright through the sm400 would sound disgusting (I can't test these things out yet because as of yet I don't own a pickup) but the Acme cab is so clear sounding I wonder whether it'd work well with the upright.

The reason being that I know that I need a new head, but is a new cab really necessary?

Thanks

[ctxbass]

The Acme should work very well with upright. I used a B-1 (1X10 model) for some time and it sounded great.

[Touch]

I use an Acme B2L with my iAmp 500.

It is a great, transparent cabinet. However it really does need some serious power to get it going.

[ToneRanger]

Does the SWR sound that bad? They've generally seemed a fairly neutral amp to me, so should be OK on acoustic instruments. But the Acme speakers are very inefficient - my only worry would be whether the SM400 has enough power to properly drive it.

[ctxbass]

If you are looking to play rock and emphasize the deep tones, the Acmes require more power. It is not as much of an issue if you are looking only for accurate reproduction of the natural sound of a double bass. I used the B-1 as an extension for a GK MB 150 combo at times and the amplifier was able to adequately drive the speaker.

[LarryR]

Originally Posted by ctxbass

If you are looking to play rock and emphasize the deep tones, the Acmes require more power. It is not as much of an issue if you are looking only for accurate reproduction of the natural sound of a double bass. I used the B-1 as an extension for a GK MB 150 combo at times and the amplifier was able to adequately drive the speaker.

I've wondered about a B1 as an extension (in conjunction with) the MB150. I once posted about nice/compatible cabs for the GK. Prevalent response: get the GK ext cab. How does the B1 sound with the MB? Do sensitivity ratings make one or the other louder in the mix?

....sorry to hijack this thread.

FWIW, Upright through Acme (B1 or B2) is IMO about as natural a sound as you can get. Just be ready to roll off the lows.

[thombo]

i had this same rig for a while and it sounded pretty good. any problems i had with harsh tone didn't come from the amp or the cab, it came from using an upright with an electric bass rig. assuming you are using a piezo pickup, simply get a decent upright pre and put it between the pup and the swr and it should sound great.

[ctxbass]

Originally Posted by LarryR

I've wondered about a B1 as an extension (in conjunction with) the MB150. I once posted about nice/compatible cabs for the GK. Prevalent response: get the GK ext cab. How does the B1 sound with the MB? Do sensitivity ratings make one or the other louder in the mix?

The B1 adds the low end missing from the GK and the sound is much more focused. The highs and mids can be dialed in on the Acme crossover, giving you even more eq choices. Even with the Acme being touted as inefficient, it seems to be a fairly even distribution of sound. I would guess that the best thing going for the MBX is the low weight. I wonder how a wizzy 10 would sound with the MB.

[LarryR]

Originally Posted by ctxbass

The B1 adds the low end missing from the GK and the sound is much more focused. The highs and mids can be dialed in on the Acme crossover, giving you even more eq choices. Even with the Acme being touted as inefficient, it seems to be a fairly even distribution of sound. I would guess that the best thing going for the MBX is the low weight. I wonder how a wizzy 10 would sound with the MB.

I wondered about the Wizzy / GK combo as well. Nice to hear the B1 works for you. I miss mine. What an organic sound and PHAT as hell.

[ctxbass]

Actually, my B1 is for sale. I'm not using it and I have way too much gear around.

[billyfalconer]

Originally Posted by sir juice

My electric bass rig is an SWR sm400 and an Acme 400watt 2x10 (not sure of the exact model, bought it off a friend)

To my understanding, upright through the sm400 would sound disgusting (I can't test these things out yet because as of yet I don't own a pickup) but the Acme cab is so clear sounding I wonder whether it'd work well with the upright.

The reason being that I know that I need a new head, but is a new cab really necessary?

Thanks

I've been playing a five-string upright with a Realist piezo into an SWR SM-400S into Acme 2x10s for years, and it sounds great. The SM-400S has 100 watts more power than the SM-400, though.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by ctxbass

If you are looking to play rock and emphasize the deep tones, the Acmes require more power. It is not as much of an issue if you are looking only for accurate reproduction of the natural sound of a double bass. I used the B-1 as an extension for a GK MB 150 combo at times and the amplifier was able to adequately drive the speaker.

Indeed. Saying nothing about their sonic qualities and taking the specs at face value, the Acme B-1 requires 20x (13 dB more) the power that the EA Wizzy 12 does to reach a given sound-pressure level. FWIW, posts #7 and #17 here contain more detail.

[Low D.]

SM400 and Acme sounds good combination to me. I hope only the cab is 4-ohms so you ll have the maximum output out of the SWR head. Other than that I dont see any reason that you will not like this mini rig of doom! Congrats btw.