Im being really tempted by going all Tube, and being able to reach 2 ohms. Im also being tempted to buy my old Pre Fender henry the 8x8 back from my father, and pair it with 2 8 ohm 18 inch subs on the bottom. Putting the load down to 2 ohms 4 ohms combined from the 18s, and 4 from the 8x8. Any ideas on if this would even work? Thinking or getting a micro and a tube amp if i can swing it, For Tube ive looked at the Peavey VB2 and the Ampeg v4b re issue. Any insight on if that rig might actually sound good, or would i be better off slaving in the 2x10 and the 15 from my GK cabs. The subs are loaded with Peavey Low Riders. I was thinking for outdoor gigs, or big stages that would be my go to rig, and use the GKs for normal stages and such.
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18 inch subs for bass
- Thread starter Mainahman
- Start date
sounds like a pain move for me. tube amps are heavy, then your talking 3 cabs all of which are a chore to move. what I tend to do is just run a ampeg 410he for 95% of my shows, when I need something bigger, I borrow or rent an ampeg 810e.
The 8x8 is a very punchy cab. in my opinion the best cab SWR ever made. but there are other cabs that have a similar vibe to the 8x8, with PJB phil Jones Bass cabs you get that clarity you get from the 8x8 and I haven't tried them yet but I saw Warwick just came out with some 8" loaded cabs.
http://www.musicradar.com/news/bass...ick-introduces-new-bass-amp-products-580101/2
The 8x8 is a very punchy cab. in my opinion the best cab SWR ever made. but there are other cabs that have a similar vibe to the 8x8, with PJB phil Jones Bass cabs you get that clarity you get from the 8x8 and I haven't tried them yet but I saw Warwick just came out with some 8" loaded cabs.
http://www.musicradar.com/news/bass...ick-introduces-new-bass-amp-products-580101/2
I sold the 8x8 for like 300 bucks to my dad to finance my new Lighter GK cabs, but i miss that cab, and i know i could get it back for 300 or less. Part of me is thinking, just that cab and a tube amp for my bigger rig, and my GKS and SWR for other stuff. Im really torn.
Masher88
Believe in absurdities and you commit atrocities
I think that for the subs to be of any use here, you would need to cross them over and use a separate amp. Basically, making the 8x8 take care of highs and mids and the lows going to the subs.
This ^^
The tube amp and the Henry would work nice playing from about 80-100hz on up. Figure out a crossover and send everything below that to a big SS power amp and the subs. You may find when you've PA support, you can leave the subs home and just run the tube amp and Henry. If you're running your own PA, aux feed the lows from the kick drum to those subs too.
I run the PA for our band, we have single 15s for tops. and these single 18s for bottoms. crossed over, so i always have PA support. Im really considering either getting my Henry back, or looking for a nice used 8x10 fridge to go with a nice All Tube head for bigger things. or heck for everything if the tone is there.
Bigger/fatter sound on stage, out front, or both?
The answer to that could mean many different things.
Mostly on stage. But if I can sneak that juicy tube time out front I will
trying to find a rig as close to a svt fridge and a svt 4 pro without killing the back.
I'd skip the tube thing unless you like working out(carrying heavier gear) and having the every-so-often rebuild/re-tube(which now is not inexpensive). I used an SVT for over a decade(70's ~ early 80's) and have an older Fender Bassman and Twin here. I do my own rebuilds but pricing sure has gotten insane for parts.
Some 18's showed up here for a probable DJ side gig with wifey but I tried them another way: as the bottom of a bi-amped rig. I had gotten two 4x8 cabinets because I like the 8" punch(an old Henry cabinet is still here and still kicks a$$) and the picture is what has been used on larger stages or places where I don't trust FOH or I KNOW the owner puts rookies on the mix. No more "I can't hear you". If FOH drops me, I add me.
The 18" cabinets give your E(or B) string much more authority on stage and off, if needed.
Both cabinets are Seismic Audio, are not extremely heavy or costly, and can take showering SPL's on everyone.
I would STRONGLY suggest using a crossover and QSC or other reliable, solid state amp because it will help your sound and make the speakers last longer(work them where they are made to work). The setup in the picture uses a Bugera Nuke head fed by a Line 6 BASSPODXTLive(SVT sim) but the backup "amp rack" is a SansAmp RBI, crossover, and QSC PLX series stereo amp. The crossover point used is between 140 and 160 usually(sometimes a room/stage config will sound better with a lower xover point).
I like your idea of a Henry on the 18's, I'll have to try that.
Some 18's showed up here for a probable DJ side gig with wifey but I tried them another way: as the bottom of a bi-amped rig. I had gotten two 4x8 cabinets because I like the 8" punch(an old Henry cabinet is still here and still kicks a$$) and the picture is what has been used on larger stages or places where I don't trust FOH or I KNOW the owner puts rookies on the mix. No more "I can't hear you". If FOH drops me, I add me.
The 18" cabinets give your E(or B) string much more authority on stage and off, if needed.
Both cabinets are Seismic Audio, are not extremely heavy or costly, and can take showering SPL's on everyone.
I would STRONGLY suggest using a crossover and QSC or other reliable, solid state amp because it will help your sound and make the speakers last longer(work them where they are made to work). The setup in the picture uses a Bugera Nuke head fed by a Line 6 BASSPODXTLive(SVT sim) but the backup "amp rack" is a SansAmp RBI, crossover, and QSC PLX series stereo amp. The crossover point used is between 140 and 160 usually(sometimes a room/stage config will sound better with a lower xover point).
I like your idea of a Henry on the 18's, I'll have to try that.
Attachments
So what your suggesting os going with a power amp and a preamp? Any preamp suggestions? I'm chasing that warm tube tone. I'm facing a possible move to Nashville for work, so I may have to sell off some PA stuff to make the move lighter, and considering creating a mega rig to take with me. I already have the 2 subs 2 power amps, and a crossover so on theory I could set this all up fairly easily, would just need to buy the Henry back, and a preamp. I would then have my GK MBE cabinets for light weight needs.
- Nov 24, 2008
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- Owner & designer, AudioKinesis; Auth. mfg, Big E (Home Audio only)
I've recently had the pleasure of working with several fairly new 18" woofers on various two-way projects. One of those 18's is a pretty serious subwoofer.
Depending on what the response curve of the Low Rider looks like, it may be feasible to run it fullrange and just passively roll off the low end of whatever is covering the rest of the spectrum. This way you avoid the expense of a high value, high power handling inductor, and you don't need to biamp either.
Depending on what the response curve of the Low Rider looks like, it may be feasible to run it fullrange and just passively roll off the low end of whatever is covering the rest of the spectrum. This way you avoid the expense of a high value, high power handling inductor, and you don't need to biamp either.
Here is a pic of the rig I used on NYE, at an outdoor gig (3 - 5 thousand pax I think probably 10K) and at a couple of 7 - 8 piece band indoor shows (100 -200 pax).
The rack has a Demeter, a Klark Teknik Parametric EQ, a TAPCO crossover (2 Band), and a pair of Carver PM300 power amps running bridged. My pedalboard is stowed above the speaker stack which is a 'Nearful' 1 X 12 three way, viz. similar to Fearful, and a 1X18 sub - pic taken after soundcheck. I acquired the 1X18 subs as a pair, as part of a deal otherwise I would have rolled my own. It works well, is crossed at 100hz, and takes the whack out of the 1X12 so it sounds cleaner as it doesn't have to cover that low end. There were good outdoor pro quality subs that NYE, so in truth the 1X18 was overkill, as all I needed was really a good IEM, but I wasn't using IEMs that night.
The Tapco was a cheap used beat up one I acquired to use as a speaker sim in the studio, and I used to use a DBX crossover, which lives now in another rack. I like the TAPCO because it has a switch to turn it off/on. The DBX doesn't, and if someone else shuts down power to your rig or if you forget to shut the power amps off first, you can get an almighty thump that would blow the speakers.
Used the same rig for a 7 piece band in a club, and it is overkill there but the subs in that club are crap. BUT, as a personal monitor, it is much cleaner particularly if I am slapping the bass. The 1X12 is good but it gets strained - not that it can't take the power, but it is sonically not as clean. If I gig in trio or quartet, I am happy to have the 1X12 on its own, but sonically with the 1X18 as sub, it sounds fantastic as a four way system.
In my rehearsal studio in sounds fantastic. I sold those subs as I have moved continents (back in UK now!), but I will rebuild some subs when I get the chance. Even made a profit on them - though they were no name 1X18s, had a pair. As a four way bass audio monitor ( 1X 12 three way, and 1X18 bottom) nothing beats it, notwithstanding the overkill. It makes my playing less strained, the notes are not distorted, and I can hear myself well. The 1X12 on its own does not do the lows as well. I have also used a vertical array of 4 X 5" as a top to the 1X18 at rehearsal, and I run the cross at 200-250hz. Sounds good, and I would gig with that.
That said, I would rather use IEMs at a gig, because as great as it sounds, once the crowd turns up it's a crapshoot - it will not sound the same as soundcheck. The IEMs give me the same monitoring sonics as at soundcheck; and I don't get frustrated trying to hear myself, or hear the tone I want to hear.
The rack has a Demeter, a Klark Teknik Parametric EQ, a TAPCO crossover (2 Band), and a pair of Carver PM300 power amps running bridged. My pedalboard is stowed above the speaker stack which is a 'Nearful' 1 X 12 three way, viz. similar to Fearful, and a 1X18 sub - pic taken after soundcheck. I acquired the 1X18 subs as a pair, as part of a deal otherwise I would have rolled my own. It works well, is crossed at 100hz, and takes the whack out of the 1X12 so it sounds cleaner as it doesn't have to cover that low end. There were good outdoor pro quality subs that NYE, so in truth the 1X18 was overkill, as all I needed was really a good IEM, but I wasn't using IEMs that night.
The Tapco was a cheap used beat up one I acquired to use as a speaker sim in the studio, and I used to use a DBX crossover, which lives now in another rack. I like the TAPCO because it has a switch to turn it off/on. The DBX doesn't, and if someone else shuts down power to your rig or if you forget to shut the power amps off first, you can get an almighty thump that would blow the speakers.
Used the same rig for a 7 piece band in a club, and it is overkill there but the subs in that club are crap. BUT, as a personal monitor, it is much cleaner particularly if I am slapping the bass. The 1X12 is good but it gets strained - not that it can't take the power, but it is sonically not as clean. If I gig in trio or quartet, I am happy to have the 1X12 on its own, but sonically with the 1X18 as sub, it sounds fantastic as a four way system.
In my rehearsal studio in sounds fantastic. I sold those subs as I have moved continents (back in UK now!), but I will rebuild some subs when I get the chance. Even made a profit on them - though they were no name 1X18s, had a pair. As a four way bass audio monitor ( 1X 12 three way, and 1X18 bottom) nothing beats it, notwithstanding the overkill. It makes my playing less strained, the notes are not distorted, and I can hear myself well. The 1X12 on its own does not do the lows as well. I have also used a vertical array of 4 X 5" as a top to the 1X18 at rehearsal, and I run the cross at 200-250hz. Sounds good, and I would gig with that.
That said, I would rather use IEMs at a gig, because as great as it sounds, once the crowd turns up it's a crapshoot - it will not sound the same as soundcheck. The IEMs give me the same monitoring sonics as at soundcheck; and I don't get frustrated trying to hear myself, or hear the tone I want to hear.
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