Focus Series III 2R + 2 12" Wizzy M-line

[Mingus Fingus]

Hey All,

I've been recently having some amp power problems. Running a Contra Series II head through one Wizzy 12" M-line. The sound is GREAT and I love it, sometimes I just need more bump and more bottom. It is fine for most jazz situations, but I also play upright and electric in a hip-hop band and am constantly feeding back trying to get more volume.

So, I am considering seriously breaking the bank and getting another Wizzy M-line and a Focus 2R. The hope of this is to have an amp that will suffice for electric as well. One rig, both basses plugged in, and no power issues. I can also sell my ampeg B15 and Contra series two. So, does anyone have experience with a similar set-up as an end-all amp? Here's to hoping...

Thanks,
Adam.

[Ric Vice]

Mingus Fingers,
Well that certainly sounds like a pretty serious rig. My only concern would be that two Wizzy M-LInes might have to much bottom with that Transmission Line Design, I can't say. Hopefully some one has already tried this. Since the Focus will run 1,000 watts into a 2 ohm load. The Wizzy is rated at 4 Ohms, so it's my understanding that two of them would drop the load to 2 Ohms. Unfortunately, the Wizzy is rated at 250 watts rms. I'm sure that that's a conservative rating but the 1.000 watt Focus is double the power that their rated for, at least on paper. That said I use my Walter Woods MI-400-8 with a EA VL 108 and the Walter Woods Ultra with the VL-208 and I've never had any problems.

Ric

[robgrow]

I use a Walter Woods M300 (450 watts @ 4 ohms) with a Wizzy M, and for my needs this rig is always plenty loud, clean and solid for both DB and BG. I think you primarily just need more power, and a series III Focus and one Wizzy M will probably be more than adequate for most situations.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I use that same rig, only with two Wizzy 10 cabs instead of M-Line 12's. I think your idea sounds great or what you want to do with the rig. After using the two Wizzy 10's together on numerous occasions, I put all of my other cabs up for sale.

Regarding the power question, use your ears and trust your instincts. I seriously doubt that you will blow up your cabs with DB - that's just counterintuitive unless you boost a lot of bass. With the BG, the HP filter on the Focus is your friend, and as much volume as the two Wizzy 10's give me with my Rob Allen Mouse with the master on the Focus set at 12 or below, the M-Line 12's should do much better still. I bet you'll be fine. The other advantage is that you'll have a great modular rig once you get a feel for what the pieces can do.

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by Mingus Fingus

Hey All,

It is fine for most jazz situations, but I also play upright and electric in a hip-hop band and am constantly feeding back trying to get more volume.

Adam.

The Focus has great control for this problem. Between the notch, high pass filters, and EQ section you should be able to eliminate most feedback. There are limitations to the volume of an amplified upright, but I'm sure you understand this. Make sure that you mute the after length of the string with something. The "Vibramute" is a helpful little device for this problem. Don Payne still makes them you just have to email him.

Don Payne c/o Jazzazart Productions
861-NW Avenue
Plantation, Floridia 33317

1-800-406-2320
http://www.recyclednotes.com/
email:recyclednotes@comcast.net

Ric

[bribass]

I have a Focus 2R III w/ two Wizzy M-line 12's. It IS an awsome stack to be sure.

Loud enough for most any situation. Sounds great and you don't have to worry much about overdriving the M-lines w/the Focus. Only thing is after awhile I realized that one Wizzy M-line is so loud that I find I rarely need the two together these days. At first I was afraid to push 1 mighty little Wizzy too hard on BG or doubling gigs, but I'm finding (w/ the Focus, anyway) that the thing can be surprisingly loud and clean when pushed a bit.

Last week I played a party in huge room w/ like 300 plus guests, eleven piece band.I was doubling on BG and DB w/ one WM-line playing dance music all night w/o any PA support for the bass. My friend who was a guest in the crowd said the bass perfectly balanced a present in the mix, even a tad too loud at times. But I am glad I have the two for those occassions when I need the extra beef. They compliment eachother well and it's nice to have one at ear level when they're stacked.

BTW- 2 Wizzy M-lines and a Focus 2R III w/ some long speaker cables w/ Speakon connectors makes for a pretty dandy two channel PA as well.

BG

[robgrow]

Originally Posted by bribass

...Only thing is after awhile I realized that one Wizzy M-line is so loud that I find I rarely need the two together these days. At first I was afraid to push 1 mighty little Wizzy too hard on BG or doubling gigs, but I'm finding (w/ the Focus, anyway) that the thing can be surprisingly loud and clean when pushed a bit.

Last week I played a party in huge room w/ like 300 plus guests, eleven piece band.I was doubling on BG and DB w/ one WM-line playing dance music all night w/o any PA support for the bass. My friend who was a guest in the crowd said the bass perfectly balanced a present in the mix, even a tad too loud at times.

Exactly my experience. I can't imagine when I'd ever need two Wizzy M's.

[jweiss]

On the focus Series III - I have the 1 channel model. It is ridiculously loud. It will definitely solve your power needs and leave you with plenty of headroom.

On the cab - don't have experience with the Wizzy cabs but you might want to consider an Acme Low B2. I have a 4 ohm B2 and it is a great match with the focus. Flat response with polite highs and tons of low end. It will easily take 500+ watts of power.

http://www.acmebass.com/

Search around on talkbass and you'll find plenty of info on the Acme cabs.

Cheers,

Jeff

[Jet Nero]

Mingus, do yourself a favor, try the Focus through a variety of cabinets. It'll be an interesting adventure for your ears when comparing the 12's to 10's or even 8's. Personally, I could never get anything but mud (when playing high volume) out of 12's. 10's give me a nice mix of bottom end, volume and clarity. I'm very happy with a Focus and EA NL210 rig.

[charmicarmicat]

I've been using a friends rig (Focus Series III 2R w/ an EA CXL 112) and it sounds really good. Volume to spare and the eq is, generally speaking, flat. I play with a drummer, sax player and a turntable-ist that does soundscaping and the choice of samples he sometimes uses can mess with my frequencies. Even with him in the mix I'm still plenty loud and have no problems with feedback. My two cents

[unlined4string]

Hi. I don't usually post on the DB side, as I stopped playing DB many years ago. But I do have some experience with the Focus. I'm running a Focus SA with an EBS preamp and several different EA VL and CXL series cabinets.

The Focus SA is my number 1 go to power amp for indoor gigs. But if you're playing outdoors in strong direct sunlight at temperatures of 70 degrees or more, the Focus may overheat, go into thermal protect mode and shut down. I've had this happen several times when it was driving an 8 ohm load at moderate volume. The black paint attracts heat in direct sunlight, and with no fan it just can't get rid of the excess heat fast enough.

If this is not an issue for you I think you'll be vary happy with the Focus.

[Ric Vice]

Originally Posted by unlined4string

Hi. I don't usually post on the DB side, as I stopped playing DB many years ago. But I do have some experience with the Focus. I'm running a Focus SA with an EBS preamp and several different EA VL and CXL series cabinets.

The Focus SA is my number 1 go to power amp for indoor gigs. But if you're playing outdoors in strong direct sunlight at temperatures of 70 degrees or more, the Focus may overheat, go into thermal protect mode and shut down. I've had this happen several times when it was driving an 8 ohm load at moderate volume. The black paint attracts heat in direct sunlight, and with no fan it just can't get rid of the excess heat fast enough.

If this is not an issue for you I think you'll be vary happy with the Focus.

Unlined,
The Walter Woods will do exactly the same thing, because it has a black top and sides as well. I've been looking for a small umbrella made out of that reflective material that they use inside of automobile windows. If I find one I'll post it. Lots of gigs outside this summer and St. Louis is notorious for hot and damp. It's way better on the lungs than smoky bars, but switching power supplies don't like direct sunlight.

Ric

[yodedude2]

i'm adding this post on my experience yesterday...

i played an outdoor gig (on ebg) in the shade on a stage next to the rio grande river. it was about 100 degrees fahrenheit, humid, and about 112 on the heat index. i brought a fan for me, but none for my amp...

i used my focus series 3 (one channel) into a 4 ohm 18" and a 4 ohm 2x8" crossed over at 150 hz. we played for 6 hours. there were no issues at all with the rig, no thermal shutdown, just lots of bass all day long. later, ron

Originally Posted by unlined4string

Hi. I don't usually post on the DB side, as I stopped playing DB many years ago. But I do have some experience with the Focus. I'm running a Focus SA with an EBS preamp and several different EA VL and CXL series cabinets.

The Focus SA is my number 1 go to power amp for indoor gigs. But if you're playing outdoors in strong direct sunlight at temperatures of 70 degrees or more, the Focus may overheat, go into thermal protect mode and shut down. I've had this happen several times when it was driving an 8 ohm load at moderate volume. The black paint attracts heat in direct sunlight, and with no fan it just can't get rid of the excess heat fast enough.

If this is not an issue for you I think you'll be vary happy with the Focus.

[bolo]

Originally Posted by Chris Fitzgerald

I seriously doubt that you will blow up your cabs with DB - that's just counterintuitive unless you boost a lot of bass. With the BG, the HP filter on the Focus is your friend, and as much volume as the two Wizzy 10's give me with my Rob Allen Mouse with the master on the Focus set at 12 or below, the M-Line 12's should do much better still. I bet you'll be fine.

Actually in my case I think I need the HPF for "protection" much moreso with my piezo-equipped DB than with my EBs. I have played my upright w/ a Rev Solo p/u and observed the speaker excursion without the filter, and the motion of the speaker and surround can get intense at higher volumes. But when I plug in a slab and adjust dials to attain the same perceived loudness, the speaker settles down considerably. I reasoned this was because the slab signal contained zero infrasonics.

Wait ... The Rob Allen is piezo equipped. So there we are. Maybe. Dunno.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Originally Posted by bolo

Wait ... The Rob Allen is piezo equipped. So there we are. Maybe. Dunno.

I think you've got it. I hadn't put that together, but now that you mention it, that may well be why the mouse puts out such an overkill amount of low end. The HP filter tightens it up nicely, though.

[bolo]

Originally Posted by Mingus Fingus

Hey All,

I've been recently having some amp power problems. Running a Contra Series II head through one Wizzy 12" M-line. The sound is GREAT and I love it, sometimes I just need more bump and more bottom. It is fine for most jazz situations, but I also play upright and electric in a hip-hop band and am constantly feeding back trying to get more volume.

So on upright if you could tame the feedback, do you think you could go louder with your current set up and a single M-line?

I could be wrong but adding a second speaker cab might make the feedback worse. But if you could get it workin', it would be a huge sound all right. A friend of mine just bought a pair, but I think he uses them for his "super loud" slab gigs.

[Mingus Fingus]

thanks for all the replies. i think im going to give it a try and see how i like it. the reason for the second m-line isn't for upright as much as it is for electric. the goal of this set-up would to have one amp that i can use for any gig, no matter the volume. i'll let everyone know how it works out.

i should be posting in the next couple days with pictures in the "for sale" section, but im looking to get rid of my series II contra. i'll post it there for anyone interested. thanks,

adam.

[MT Spaces]

Originally Posted by bribass

.... BTW- 2 Wizzy M-lines and a Focus 2R III w/ some long speaker cables w/ Speakon connectors makes for a pretty dandy two channel PA as well.

I think this is a good point BriBass makes here. If anyone is considering AI gear, I think the 2-channel versions (Focus, Clarus, Coda combo) are worth it for blending pick-up and mic for the bass only situations and can come in real handy as a "small PA system" at times. I've used my Coda 2-channel combo along with an M-Line and a long speaker cable for separation a number of times for smaller gigs and left the real (and heavy) PA system at home.

[Paul New]

Should have gone that route myself, but instead bought a series 3 Contra and a 12" M-line. Thought there might be some situations where it would be nice to carry just the Contra, but so far I`m always using the extention.

Can`t you pull the head out of the series 2 Contras? Why don`t you get the M-lines first and see if the Contra will drive them to your satisfaction? Might be surprised.

[mstclairmiller]

Originally Posted by Paul New

Can`t you pull the head out of the series 2 Contras? Why don`t you get the M-lines first and see if the Contra will drive them to your satisfaction? Might be surprised.

Yes, you can! I asked AI if it could be done, and Rick sent me a link to a website that showed you how to do it, but it isn't too hard to work it out anyway. My Contra head and M-line is a great combo.