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Accugroove/Millennia Rig

oddio said:
Joel, you are absolutely FIRST on my list... but I was owed a rather large credit locally which covered it. I got a very good price, and when you consider duty+taxes+insurance+shipping to Canada I expect it would have been about the same. I'm sure we'll be talking in the near future... :)
:D I was really just busing your chops! Thanks though!

You will love the TD-1. It's essentailly the SS mode of your STT-1 but with the ability to switch the instrument buffer to SS instead of Tube. And, of course, minus the compressor and some of the EQ.

It's very simply buy highly addictive. Enjoy!
 
The gear finally all showed up, and all I can say is nothing...as my jaw hits the floor. I will some the rig up like this:

You know when you put on new strings after a while of not changing them. After you tune up, you hit that first open note and it rings out like a bell. The tone is so full and round and you actually hear the full sound with all the overtones of that single note. It makes you feel great being alive. Well, the Millenia STT-1/ Accugroove setup plays like that on every single note on the fretboard, no matter what string, no matter what fret, and...all of this is with month old strings. Whether I am slapping, tapping, or rolling fingerstyle, all the notes fall into the exact tonality with which you expect to here them. Sounds exactly like you are listening to a mixed and mastered recording of perfect bass tone. The harmonics are ridiculous. I played the opening few measures of Jaco's Portrait of Tracy (As best I could), and it sound like church bells going off. Also, when playing fingerstyle grooves with a lot of muting, I noticed that the muted/dead notes come out as clear and as loud as the fretted notes. This was phenomenal in a band setting when I could finally hear the full grooves that I was playing.

The Millenia STT-1 has the most clear flat tone I have ever heard. I have it set fully Solid state with no extra gain. I boosted the bass at 56 hz, rolled off a good deal of low mids at 250 hz, and pulled back my treble a bit on my Fodera, and it sounds amazing, there is no two ways about. The Millenia is excellent, but I must say that it does take some time to find "your" tone. There are so many adjustments you can make, that your head could start spinning. But, if you put in the time and learn how to use it, you can get any possible tone imaginable. Plus, it is the nicest looking piece of Equipment I have ever owned, well, next to my Fodera Monarch. The biggest thing that is so clutch about the Millenia is that it is normally a studio rack preamp, so it has more then enough gain to reach insane volume levels...just what I like...

As for the Accugroove cabinets, they are everything that everyone has said and then some. The first noticable difference from all other cabinets is there flatness. I mean they pick up exactly what is being put in. Being coupled with the STT-1, the response is so studio-esce that i'm sure if I breathed on my pickup it would get picked up. I guess this could be a bad thing for some, but I love it. I can hear every little detail of my playing. It allows me to hear what I am doing wrong and in turn makes me a better player. Another thing that is great about the AG's is that they project like mad. The sound that is coming right off of the front of the speakers is spread throughout the playing space immediately. Accugroove has hit upon a great design and they know what they are doing, so if you are thinking of trying one, just buy it, you won't turn back, or maybe you will, but you will definetly return. I had been playing a pair of 410's for a long time, by a lot of different companies. My biggest fear was using speakers larger than 10's. I never found any that sound as tight and punchy. I don't know what accugroove does differently about their cabs, but they have a lot of punch, while still remaining full and clear. I played an El Whappo and it sounded full and natural, but upon suggestion of some fellow TBr's, Tom Bowlus and Jake Wolf as well as some others, I order the Juniors and I couldn't be happier. They have so much clarity, while still remaining full yet punchy as a mother...

I definetly knew that I was in love with the flat response cabs, i.e. Accugroove and EA, but the Whappo Juniors etched that love in stone. I have owned and/or played EA cabs, NL-210's, Cxl-210's and Cxl-112's, and they have an incredibly accurate tone with which you lose not a single intracacy of your playing. But, in my honest opinion the Accugrooves have two things over the EA's. With the whappo Juniors you have the same amount of accuracy as the Euphonic Audio's, but you get a much fuller/rounder bell-like tone that sounds a little more true to the tone of a stringed instrument, and with the juniors you can really feel the force coming off the speakers and through the port slots. I have no issues at all with Euphonic Audio. I would suggest them to anyone who is interested in them, but I just love the force and the fullness of the AG's...It's just so damn "natural". It's actually hard to believe that the sounds that come out of these cabs can actually be coming from an instrument that you are playing, it is truly mind blowing.

That being said, I would like to thank Mark Wright for the great product he has helped develop and I send all my prayers and wishes to him and his family in hopes that he recovers really soon.

Well, That's it. It's simply...the best. I cannot find anything wrong with the rig. The only thing is that, this morning I put new strings on my bass and the notes rang so clear and full that I almost felt like I was in a bell choir. I think with this setup I'm actually going to prefer my strings to be a bit broken in. I am just proud to say that I am a Millenia Media /Accugroove user. If I could forge myself into an endorsing artist position I would, because I am not turning back. This equipment is, in my mind, the end all....

I would just like to thank everyone for there help and guidance in my decision making process and especially those who suggested the AG Juniors and the STT-1. I can die a happy man knowing that I have found what I have been looking for.
 
Now THAT is just beautiful......I love it when I read a post like that!! I know that happiness as an El Whappo owner myself....the one thing I will add is that I play a LOT more effortlessly through this cab because it DOES pick up all those little nunaces that you work so hard to get out there with other gear....ghost notes.....harmonics.....playing position changes......they are all reproduced so clearly that it doesn't take as much work to get them to come through with Accugroove.......Congratulations and enjoy...I am a bit jealous that you got 2 Jrs!!! My 1 El Whappo can get pretty insane to me but I can not imagine what a Fodera through the Millenia into a PAIR of juniors sounds like!!! I am not worthy.......

Peace,

T
 
Looks like an awesome rig! I'm very curious about the Millenia that you have... 'The Source'.... do I understand correctly that even though you have the choice of tube of solid state for EQ, etc., that the 'input' section is always 'tube'. I might not have that correct. Could you explain that... my main question is if the general sound of the preamp is somewhat 'tubey' or if you can get it totally 'transistor' sounding. It seems like this is the case with the smaller unit... that you can switch between tube input and transistor. The Groove Shoppe description talks about the smaller unit in 'transistor input mode' being a sort of 'Anthony Jackson' vibe.... is 'the source' also capable of that?
 
KJung said:
Looks like an awesome rig! I'm very curious about the Millenia that you have... 'The Source'.... do I understand correctly that even though you have the choice of tube of solid state for EQ, etc., that the 'input' section is always 'tube'. I might not have that correct. Could you explain that... my main question is if the general sound of the preamp is somewhat 'tubey' or if you can get it totally 'transistor' sounding. It seems like this is the case with the smaller unit... that you can switch between tube input and transistor. The Groove Shoppe description talks about the smaller unit in 'transistor input mode' being a sort of 'Anthony Jackson' vibe.... is 'the source' also capable of that?
Ken,
The STT-1 let's you choose between tube and solid state pre-amps (literally). It has two world class pre's on board the HV-3 (solid state and what AJ uses) and the M-2B (tube). You can also choose between SS and Tube at the EQ and dynamic section - which is a very, very nice option as well. The instrument buffer on the input is tube only.

The TD-1 let's you choose between SS and Tube at the instrument buffer stage but is routed into only one mic pre (the HV-3). I make the point on our site about AJ in reference to the HV-3 mic pre that is accessible in both of these units.

I hope that helps!
Joel
 
Joelc73 said:
Ken,
The STT-1 let's you choose between tube and solid state pre-amps (literally). It has two world class pre's on board the HV-3 (solid state and what AJ uses) and the M-2B (tube). You can also choose between SS and Tube at the EQ and dynamic section - which is a very, very nice option as well. The instrument buffer on the input is tube only.

The TD-1 let's you choose between SS and Tube at the instrument buffer stage but is routed into only one mic pre (the HV-3). I make the point on our site about AJ in reference to the HV-3 mic pre that is accessible in both of these units.

I hope that helps!
Joel

Thanks.... one more question... so what is the impact of the instrument buffer being tube only? Does that impart a sort of 'tube' sound even when in solid state mode?
 
I'm glad to see that you are so happy with this rig! After hashing and rehashing what you were after, tonally, I was fairly certain that the Jr. was the cab for you, and I can imagine that two of them would make for quite a forceful rig!

Enjoy!

Tom.
 
Very nice rig... wow.....
I was torn between the Jr. and EW myself. I decided to go for the EW since I do love 15's and 12's plus after talking with Mark several times he just simply stated that the El Whappo IS the Accugroove Flagship, so since I was going to try something new I went with the big-gun. It's a great cab and keeps sounding better. I also got opinions from several of the TB/AG users on this very post. Thanks to all.
 
Yeah, I must admit that I feel lucky as hell right now. I am just really excited because I have finally achieved that tone that I have been hearing in my head for so long.

Another cool thing is that Mark was telling me once I get the cabs to try them in a bunch of different positions...On the Floor, on their side, stacked, upside down, etc...

I tried them stacked on there sides, but while the bottom cab was gaining low end response, the top cab lost a lot of low end. And I was hearing more of the top cab because it was closer to my ear. I had them both side by side on the floor, which had terrific bass response, but wasn't quite shooting at me as I had hoped. Then I remembered in the manual it said to try taking off the back casters and having it tilt back. I tried them like this, side by side and the sound was incredible. This is how they are, pictured above. It has the great bass response, but the sound gets up and out into the room even faster, its amazing.

So, experiment with placement as well, for anyone who cares...
 
I've yet to try that... does your rig want to slip off the top while angled? I can hear mine real good no matter were I stand. Of course it's the best sitting down right in front of it 4-5 ft. away, but can't turn it up that much... really loud. But standing it's real good. The EW is around 5" taller than the Jr. I don't know if that makes much dif though..
 

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