a revelation!

[ScottyAx800]

For the longest time i have been thinking of selling my AG 500 and GS 112's for something more doubling-friendly. As of tonight, I may have changed my mind...

Now I have never been satisfied with my upright tone through my own rig. My Engelhardt, sporting a K&K Bass Max and Pure XLR preamp ( bought from [all hail] Bob Gollihur) sounded absolutely wonderful through PAs and through my alma mater's Bose PAS. I always had issues with tone going through my own bass rig. My Aguilar never sounded good through my GS112's, and my old SWR Redhead? Ugh. Great for the electric, but not for DB.

So I FINALLY gave it one last shot with the AG500/GS112 tonight. I flattened the EQ, and this time really experimented with gain and volume, getting a sound closer in transparency than I had before. Still, too artificial-sounding. Nasally, tons of barkiness.

In desperation, I threw up my arms and said - what would my amp sound like through one of my PA speakers, a Carvin PM15?

Let me tell you - it was like magic - the first time I remember my DB sound resembling what it sounded like through the Bose. Not a perfect match, but it sounded like my bass!!

At that time, I remember that the GS112 I first played through had the woofer replaced, with a speaker different than the one the cab originally came with. Naturally, I next tried my other GS112 cab, which had the original woofer that, I suppose, Aguilar tuned the cabinet around. Duhh! Again, I was very impressed with the fidelity I got from the amp.

A big part in getting my sound this time was turning down the level of the input signal. Finding the right amount of gain going into the amp seemed to open up a "sweet spot" of gain that really helped recreate a reasonably accurate recreation of my bass's natural sound. No matter what I did with the GS112 containing the aftermarket speaker, I couldn't get even close to that sound.

What is the deal with that speaker?!?!?

To say the least, I will be ordering a GS-series speaker from Aguilar to put back in that cab.

[AMJBASS]

The GS112 is a great sounding cabinet for electric bass. I find it difficult to use with the DB though. I still have one, but it doesn't make it out to that many gigs any more. Its a very deep sounding cabinet, and I find it difficult to control the amount of low end/boominess.

[richhansen]

You mentioned that you tried using a PA speaker, and the tone was instantly improved and much more like your bass than the bass rig sounded.

This brings up an interesting point. Are there any URB players here who use PA speakers as their bass amp? My Markbass amp sounds great with my electric basses, but the tone is not so hot with my URB, using the piezo pickup. I think it's how they tune the speaker cabinets to work well with slab bass.

[PaperbackRyder]

I have that exact speaker sitting around looking for a home.
PM sent.
=JR=

[dar512]

I have played a couple of heads through a Yamaha sv12. The sound lacks lows - it only goes down to 60Hz. But it was my main cab for a while - I'm an amateur and it was a freebie.