Boutique 3-way 115 and 215 on a budget: Part II

Well, I've been silent for some time as I have had no time to properly test out my 1503. I finally got in on a practice today in a pretty large room... probably capable of seating 800 people. Initially when I plugged it in at home, I was really impressed with the tone I was getting with my Alembic Epic 5er and my GBE-1200. Fantastic all around, pretty much mirroring everything everyone else was saying. Today, I took my Markbass LMII and the Alembic along to practice. Wow... just... wow. This cabinet completely blew me away. I've finally found the "sound in my head". The low end was amazing. Solid, articulate and warm. No harshness at all in the mids or highs. I'm getting less of the annoying fret clack from this cab than either my previous Mesa powerhouse 212 or the walkabout scout combo I had. Smooth, articulate and detailed. Mixed in with the band, it was pure joy. I could hear every note, even with a really loud drummer! And the LMII blew me away as well. I was expecting in to be a little stressed at higher volumes, just because of the 8 ohm load. Not an issue at all. This combo gets stupid loud, and sounds incredible doing it. Now that I have the LMII, I'm almost considering letting the GBE-1200 go simply because I don't really play the big gigs anymore! I want to do more A/Bing of the 2 heads first, and unfortunately I forgot the Genz at home today. I also have no grill rattle issues. Now... perhaps I should roll the dice and go for the lighter 15" as well! Thanks to all who put so much into describing their experiences here. Because of you, I am now finally happy with my amplification gear again. And for all of you on the fence... just try it. I was hesitant, that's for sure. Sometimes it pays to take a chance. Cheers!

GB; You're now the proud father of a megathread!!

I've been wondering when alembic5 would give his report.

GB; You're now the proud father of a megathread!!

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Thumbs up at GB.

lbwdog, did you get my PM replies?

lbwdog said:

I've been wondering when alembic5 would give his report.

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Yeah, I was beginning to wonder myself! Life kept throwing me curve balls, so I haven't had the chance to play hardly at all this last month... but hopefully that will be changing here in the next week or 2. Firing up a new band!

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I finally had some time to really check it out at "normal" volumes this weekend. The other cabs in the picture are an Avatar B210Neo and B212Neo. The LS1503 is taller than either one, wider than the 210 on end and a bit shallower than either. Although it's nominally the same weight as the B212Neo it's easier to move around due to it being narrower - definitely less reach to get to the handles.

Sonically it had better low end than either cab and was smoother overall. I found that the "politeness" I noticed in the LS1503 vs the B210Neo was just the hyped high-end (loud tweeter) on the Avatar. I could get just as much (and more) bite/presence/clank by either hitting the bright switch on my Bmax or cranking up the upper end via the knobs. So I don't lose anything at all in that area by moving to the LS1503. And I gain smoothness and real lows.

I'm looking forward to full band rehearsal tonight with the LS1503. I'm expecting it to be my 1-cabinet solution for rehearsals (driven by 425W from one side of my PLX2402) and small gigs and will be getting a second one for large gigs and PA usage.

I spent a long time testing the cabinet this weekend w/ the GK both with and without the SansAmp and then comparing it with my Kustom just for a reference point. I'm really looking forward to Thursday's practice.

craigb said:

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I finally had some time to really check it out at "normal" volumes this weekend. The other cabs in the picture are an Avatar B210Neo and B212Neo. The LS1503 is taller than either one, wider than the 210 on end and a bit shallower than either. Although it's nominally the same weight as the B212Neo it's easier to move around due to it being narrower - definitely less reach to get to the handles.

Sonically it had better low end than either cab and was smoother overall. I found that the "politeness" I noticed in the LS1503 vs the B210Neo was just the hyped high-end (loud tweeter) on the Avatar. I could get just as much (and more) bite/presence/clank by either hitting the bright switch on my Bmax or cranking up the upper end via the knobs. So I don't lose anything at all in that area by moving to the LS1503. And I gain smoothness and real lows.

I'm looking forward to full band rehearsal tonight with the LS1503. I'm expecting it to be my 1-cabinet solution for rehearsals (driven by 425W from one side of my PLX2402) and small gigs and will be getting a second one for large gigs and PA usage.

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That's a very enlightening picture.

+1, it doesn't look as big as I thought it would.

+1, it doesn't look as big as I thought it would.

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Funny the first thing that struck me when I opened the box was that it was bigger than I had expected. Its still quite portable.

Yep, I should have thought of posting a comparative image as well as describing how easy the LS1503 is to handle. And that the additional tallness and dispersion characteristics are just enough to be able to stand very close in and still hear about the same relative sonic balance.

After all these weeks it's still my favorite cab, though I sometimes plug into the Ampeg 1832 Extreme just to see how well all my new V-Bass patches are translating from one sonic environment to the other. They are. In fact, they translate well to the PA too, so I'm not afraid to gig with some new presets; they always seem to fit into the mix just fine.

My favorite DI is a XLR Y-cable ; }

just to see how well all my new V-Bass patches are translating from one sonic environment to the other. They are. In fact, they translate well to the PA too, so I'm not afraid to gig with some new presets; they always seem to fit into the mix just fine.

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Greenboy is the V-bass a bass modeling bass similar to the Line 6 POD? If so I’m curious what models does it have, how accurate and which ones do you find yourself using the most?

Well, I just ordered a LS1503 from Carvin. They have 9 (well, now 8) in stock. Great deal, I can't wait to try it out! They said that I should receive it within a week.
Thanks for everyone's input and experiences!
Scott C

So how many of us is that now?

ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE

1; greenboy
2; Supertanker
3; lbwdog
4; Tom Bowlus
5; alembic5
6; jnewmark
7; MichaelVee
8; EricBoyer
9; pedro
10; Bass Below
11; Sliderbass
12; craigb
13; edgeruner
14; sevenorchids
15; scottic2
(pending; Mike V S, FroggyOne2, SeaMonkey)

I got to try out the LS1503 in a full band rehearsal situation last night.

my config: BBE Bmax (SS version)->PLX2402 (one side for 425W)->LS1503

The LS1503 handled the way-too-loud rehearsal without any problems (I used my ER20 earplugs and needed them). The lows were impressive and the mids/highs clear and defined without being harsh. It showed the deficiencies of my cheap multieffect (Zoom BFX708) which my other configurations have not. Using my L2000 I could clearly hear distinct tonal differences for all the different settings I played with (series/parallel, pickup selector, active/passive, etc.) - and some of the settings (active+treble boost) were useful where with my old setup they were overkill and never used.

Someday I may try biamping to see if I notice a difference. I now need to think about a different power amp - maybe a PLX1804 - for a few more watts and a few less pounds or something with 700-800W @ 8 Ohms bridged (I'll try my Carvin DCM-1000 with it sometime and see if I like that better).

I jumped the gun and ordered a second one yesterday - I hope it arrives Friday (like the first one did) so I can do my Saturday outdoor gig with a pair of LS1503s.

Has GB worked out a commission deal w/ Carvin yet? BTW LBWDog, did you like the Danko interview?

questions:
1. doubtful
2. yep,thanks

I jumped the gun and ordered a second one yesterday -

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Wow!!