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Double Bass 2 "EA" VL108 or 1 VL208?

#41
tombowlus,
Now for the $64 question. Your rankings, kind sir.

With a single VL208 at the top, what would be your recommended list of cabinets, in order, that come closest to it.

Please included your LDS/Patterson experience, other EA, Accugroove, and anything else that's sounds as good and is in the same general size and weight ballpark.

Thank you.
 
#42
macmrkt said:
tombowlus,
Now for the $64 question. Your rankings, kind sir.

With a single VL208 at the top, what would be your recommended list of cabinets, in order, that come closest to it.

Please included your LDS/Patterson experience, other EA, Accugroove, and anything else that's sounds as good and is in the same general size and weight ballpark.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

That is a tough call. Without spending more time with each cab in a controlled setting, and without trying a wider variety of instruments (including upright), it would be hard to give a definite ranking, but outside of other VL-series cabs - which probably come the closest to the VL-208 - the Patterson 3x8 is right up there. The Patterson 2x8 is very close, too, and I would love to hear two Patterson-style 2x8's (which again, are really the same thing as LDS 2x8's, just in Ralf's preferred configuration) versus two VL-208's. The Accugroove Tri 208 has midrange and high end reminiscent of the VL-208, but does not have the deep, tight, full lows. Of the Accugroove line, the Whappo, Jr. actually has similar overall tonality, though it sounds thicker than the VL-208, and the VL-208 sounds more precise. I also really think that the Wizzy captures a lot of what is cool about the VL-208, even though in many ways it sounds different. I know that sounds a bit at odds, but comparing the two definitely gives me that "different, yet something sounds familiar" feeling. You get a bit of this with the NL-210, too.

I don't have any LDS cabs at home (yet!), but maybe I can spend some more time with my other cabs to see what comes the closest to the VL-208. Certainly, Don/Ralf's cabs are up there on the list. Way up there. But in all honesty, the VL-208 does stand just a notch above about any other cab I have tried. Two (or better yet three or four) VL-208's are tough to beat in nearly any regard (flat-out massive, deafening volume being the one category where they can be surpassed).
 
#43
Chris Fitzgerald said:
Holy crap you guys, my head is spinning! And I though that JOKERJUNKY was the most enthusiastic TBer when speaking about speaker cabs...Anyway, thanks for the reviews.

I'm going to ask a very selfish question here, since with two VL208's I'm all set in the 2x8 department for now:

Could you rate the 1x8 cabs (by that I mean any cab with a single 8" driver plus whatever smaller speakers are thrown in for balance) in order from favorite on down at this point? I only have one VL108, and I'd like another 1x8 cab to keep in my music room for rehearsals and as a backup for gigs where little reinforcement is needed. I'm thinking DB only at this point...
Click to expand...

Don didn't have a functioning 1x8 when I was up there (though he had several 2x8's, two 3x8's and a 4x8), so I really can't tell. With the VL-108 being the only 1x8 I have heard, it would be at the top! ;) But adding a second VL-108 is a real improvement in the low end department. With them being hard to find, though, I think a cab from LDS could make for a nice improvement (when used with the VL-108). Depending if you wanted more of everything (in which case, I'd try the 3-way 1x8), or just more low end (in which case, a 1x10 in the 3-way 1x8 cab might the ticket), Don could help you out. His prices are really reasonable, too.

I haven't heard a Low B-1 yet, but that may also be a stellar cab. I do have a Hevos Midget, which is another very compact, but deep sounding 1x10.

Tom.
 
#44
tombowlus said:
Depending if you wanted more of everything (in which case, I'd try the 3-way 1x8), or just more low end (in which case, a 1x10 in the 3-way 1x8 cab might the ticket), Don could help you out. His prices are really reasonable, too.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the start - I'm looking for another standalone 1x8 cab for small gigs, so whatever comes closest to the VL108 would be great. Let me know if you get to try one!
 
#45
Chris Fitzgerald said:
Thanks for the start - I'm looking for another standalone 1x8 cab for small gigs, so whatever comes closest to the VL108 would be great. Let me know if you get to try one!
Click to expand...

Chris:

While I did not get to hear Don's 3-way 1x8, it is my strong suspicion that this cab will be as close as you can get to the sound of a single VL-108. Some of my other cabs (VL-110, Wizzy) might sound somewhat like a VL-208, but they don't really sound like the VL-108.

I did discover, though, that an Accugroove Tri 208 sounds a lot like two VL-108's (or one VL-108 with more low end). The LDS 1x8 probably hits the overall tonal range more closely, but if you were after the sound of two VL-108's, the Tri 208 gets reasonably close.

As for the VL-208, the Patterson 3x8 hit the tonal range pretty closely, a VL-110 sounds pretty close, but with more of a low end focus, and not as precise through the mids. The Wizzy captures the overall feel of the VL-208, but is varies a bit, tonally (more of a midrange presence with the Wizzy).

Tom.
 
#46
Tom,

Thanks for the thoughts/suspicions! What I'm really after is the ability to take two 1x8's to certain gigs so that I can stack them with one facing the drummer (lower cab) and one turned toward my ear. Dopey as that sounds, I used to do it with a 108 on top of a 208, and it would have been the perfect setup, except that the 208 on the bottom was overkill.
 
#47
Chris Fitzgerald said:
Tom,

Thanks for the thoughts/suspicions! What I'm really after is the ability to take two 1x8's to certain gigs so that I can stack them with one facing the drummer (lower cab) and one turned toward my ear. Dopey as that sounds, I used to do it with a 108 on top of a 208, and it would have been the perfect setup, except that the 208 on the bottom was overkill.
Click to expand...

Not dopey at all. I would think a call to Don at LDS would be in order. ;)
 
#48
Some more info to ponder as options:


1. Still waiting on Jim at Bergie to finish hs cab for upright bass. I am going to put a call in to see how things are going.

2. Flite is working on a 1x8 with a 5, for overtones. A light weight cabinet for uprights . The 5 will be sealed in its own compartment and there is a question if the cab will have the option of an attenuator for more tone control. Waiting to hear news on the proto-types.

I am looking for the right cabinet to match up with SonicCord's Classic tube amp as a rig for the upright.

Peace,
Mark :bassist:
 
#49
Bruce Lindfield said:
... the VL208 is ... not just two 8" speakers .. it also has two 5 and a bit mid range drivers and a tweeter! It's also to do with the way it is constructed and the speakers positioned.
Click to expand...
What is most cool about VL208's is when stacked, they build into a vertical array - all the speaker types are equidistant and in vertical alignment with the same speaker on the cab' above and below.

With my limited knowledge, that is the secret of why they sound so good together, and Bowlus has reinforced that by stating that three piled up is more than the sum of parts.

Now if only I could find a couple more .... I'd have a full array of four piled up. My dream speaker rig.
 
#50
Chris Fitzgerald said:
Tom,

Thanks for the thoughts/suspicions! What I'm really after is the ability to take two 1x8's to certain gigs so that I can stack them with one facing the drummer (lower cab) and one turned toward my ear. Dopey as that sounds, I used to do it with a 108 on top of a 208, and it would have been the perfect setup, except that the 208 on the bottom was overkill.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I'm after as well. I have a Bergantino 1-12" and I was about to buy another to aim at my drummer, but I'm holding out for the rumor Mark Sacchetti mentioned that Bergantino will have a DB-specific cab loaded with 8"s.

There were two EA VL110's on ebay a few days ago for $350 each. I gave that hard thought as well, but I love 8"s for DB. I'm going to wait a while and see what comes out.
 
#51
larry said:
I'm holding out for the rumor Mark Sacchetti mentioned that Bergantino will have a DB-specific cab loaded with 8"s....I'm going to wait a while and see what comes out.
Click to expand...

Give Jim a call or an e-mail. He's a great person to talk to. But based upon my conversations with him, I don't believe that this cab is very high on his radar screen right now.

Tom.
 
#52
tombowlus said:
Give Jim a call or an e-mail. He's a great person to talk to. But based upon my conversations with him, I don't believe that this cab is very high on his radar screen right now.

Tom.
Click to expand...

Yes, I've emailed him about it - and I also gather it will be a while. That's the nice thing about Talkbass, maybe he'll see us GAS'n for it and push it up the list. To be fair to Jim, he could be working very hard on it and just not be happy with yet. Speaker building seems like endless tweaking and rebuilding to me.

Though there's probably 1000 slab players for every DB player, and Jim has got to make a living...
 
#53
tombowlus said:
I suggested to Don that maybe he could build a 1x10 "sub" to go under his 3-way 1x8 (the 10" will just fit in this box), and he really thought that was a great idea. I think that this combination could be exceptionally good.
Click to expand...

What exactly are you talking about here? Are you talking about a 4-way setup in the same cab with a the 8", 5", and tweeter forward firing and the 10" downfiring a la Acoustic Image?
 
#54
Adrian Cho said:
What exactly are you talking about here? Are you talking about a 4-way setup in the same cab with a the 8", 5", and tweeter forward firing and the 10" downfiring a la Acoustic Image?
Click to expand...

I have asked Don to build a seperate 1x10 cab to also go into a 14" cube (to match the 3-way 1x8). I have toyed with the idea of incorporating a crossover into the 1x10, such that you run from amp to 1x10, and then from "high out" to the 1x8, thus making a 4-way rig. But, just adding a 1x10 and running it "full range" may work, too.
 
#55
tombowlus said:
I have asked Don to build a seperate 1x10 cab to also go into a 14" cube (to match the 3-way 1x8). I have toyed with the idea of incorporating a crossover into the 1x10, such that you run from amp to 1x10, and then from "high out" to the 1x8, thus making a 4-way rig. But, just adding a 1x10 and running it "full range" may work, too.
Click to expand...

Just for the hell of it, I paired an EA CXL 112 with the LDS 1x8. The 1x8 leaves me hankering for just a little bit more bottom sometimes. While the 112 is not perfect (a little too thick) it is heading in the right direction. Also, it presents a 4 ohm load which adds a little more meat to the sound too.

Peace
 
#56
I've had more time to try a pair of 1x8's versus the 2x8. The 2x8 is a better sound (just like everyone seemed to prefer a VL208 over a pair of VL108's). While the second 1x8 does allow for more low end, it's not as defined as the 2x8. The 2x8 runs all the lower strings effortlessly. If you need the gain and low end power, the 2x8 is preferred. However...Tom's 10" sub may be an excellent pairing with a 1x8.
 
#58
So just out of curiosity, what kind of pick up/mic thing are you hi fi guys using who are defining these cabnets in such subtle ways ? I just ordered a LDS 1x8 neo and mean to use it as a replacement for my GK and 12in cab (Kolbe) and for the powered PA. But different Pups/mics sound so different with different rigs that I am having difficulty following how all of these differences can be assesed without saying what is the source of the signal. I just switched from a full circle to a contact type mic and it makes a huge difference in the cabs and amps that I am using. I think that the mic has so much more dimension (and gain). When I run a mini mic (not contact) that has its own set of needs too.
I know that Chris is using the FC and AMT but what about you'se udder guys?
Also I ordered the 14" 1x8 with a pole mount. When I used the Schertler Pub 280 on a pole it made monitoring just perfect.
 
#60
macmrkt said:
I've had more time to try a pair of 1x8's versus the 2x8. The 2x8 is a better sound (just like everyone seemed to prefer a VL208 over a pair of VL108's).
Click to expand...

I prefer the sound of 2 VL108's to a single 208. I usually just bring the 208 out of laziness. I think you're correct about the 208 putting out more bottom, but I think the 2 108's are more transparent and even...at least when discussing the EA VL series. YMMV, of course.
 

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