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AccuGroove mini review Tri-112 & 115

#22
Wally Malone said:
I had the fortune of being the first to play through the Tri115. Last New Year's Eve I played with Lady Bo at the Cal Neva in the Sinatra Room and coupled it with my Tri112. I'm glad I had the rig that I did since the PA wasn't that great and they ended up just running the vocals and the harmonica through it. I used a Stewart 2.1, a Read Purity preamp and played my Kubicki Factor. It was a great gig and I really loved my sound. The drummer was Floyd Sneed that played with Three Dog Night during the period they had the hits. He complemented me on my sound and playing.

Wally
Click to expand...

Nothing to do with the cabinet, but I used to play with Floyd Sneed's brother, Bernie, way back when in Vancouver. He was a very good Hammond player. Tommy Chong played guitar. We had some fun gigs. We had a steady house gig on Sunday nights in a club and did other gigs other nights of the week.

Floyd did well for himself. Excellent drummer.
 
#23
jokerjkny said:
funny,

my experiences were a bit sideways vs. yours mike. but hey, if i could rip open a gretsch like you do, i guess any cab will do. :p

FYI, i couldnt find a happy stage mix sound w/ my old Tri112. and yet w/ my newly acquired pair of Epifani UL112's, its all roses.

go figure...
Click to expand...


I loved my Epi's. Didn't think I would ever get rid of them.
Light, loud and sounded great.

What was your "sideways" experience with the AG???
 
#24
MikeBass said:
(...)

What was your "sideways" experience with the AG???
Click to expand...

eh, no biggie.

just didnt think it cut as well for me onstage. really disappointed, cause i LOVED the cab when i was just chillin' at home, and it sounded pretty awesome for my upright.

then again, had i used my new ag500 thru a Tri112, i bet it woulda been pretty awesome, cause even the epifani UL112's didnt quite open up to my sound, until i used 'em with the ag500.
 
#25
This was in a PM I wrote to Larry Kay. The topic was based on some experiences with Schroeder cabs.

"I was never a fan of the AccuGroove stuff based on some old designs that I heard (a 2x8 and some other now discontinued models).
Well, these new ones kick some serious tail. That may not go as loud as say the Schroeders, but the ability to sculpt your tone is unreal.
The thing is actually (regarding the volume) is I noticed that I ran my amp at a lower setting, quieter actually, and I was able to hear myself as good, if not better.
So, one would assume, that the raw ear splitting volume that the Schroeders posess, is made up for in balls out clarity across the frequency spectrum (in the AG's). Hence, allowing both to acheive what we need, to be able to hear ourselves well. "

Tonight is a big outdoor festival with the country band.
Tomorrow is a loud bar gig with a funk/R&B/bit of rock band.

I'll post up tomorrow about tonight.
 
#26
One thing I noticed about the Accugroove versus the other cabs we were trying at LDS (Epi310UL, Schroe1212L, etc.) was the very nice 'off axis dispersion' (if I have that term correct). While I like a slightly more aggressive sound personally, I was totally impressed that the Tri112 sounded almost exactly the same in any part of the room, where the other cabs sounded somewhat different.

I assume that was due to the mid driver, which dispersed the all important mids more evenly than a two way system? (just guessing here).

Nice cab, and it put out a surprising amount of volume.

I like the idea of the 'modular El Whappo with double the tweeters and mids' thing with the Tri112 and 115. I would think that would retain the best parts of the El Whappo (to me)... huge bottom, but greatly improve the upper mid and treble response of those (IMO) rather 'bottom heavy' sounding cabs.

Very cool. I will be 'out in the crowd' at Mike's Thursday gig, so we will find out!

K
 
#27
OK, real quick about tonight (I'll post up tomorrow a more detailed report!)

I've been using the Tri112 at a few rehersals so it was broken in a bit better/more than the Tri115.
At the beginning of the first set it (the Tri115) sounded tight and I didn't really want to push it hard. Almost sounded like it would fart out or even break up. By about 2/3 the way through it really opened up and I let them have it.

Man did these things roar tonight.
The gig is modern country (think Dixie Chicks to Sara Evans to Chris Cagle) so it was 90% fingerstyle 9% pick and 1% slapping (yes slapping in a country band-durring my little solo spot- she likes it when I pull that stuff out).

They sounded stinkin' clean and clear no matter where I was on the stage.
Like Ken mentioned, off axis they sounded almost like they did standing in front of them.

Rig:
Smith 5 (the bolt-on with the Jazz Bass style pick-ups)
Tuner pedal, Demeter Compulator compressor, Demeter BEQ-PB EQ pedal, Groove Tubes Ditto Box tube DI, Acoustic Image Focus 1, Tri112 on top of the Tri115.
FOH took the line out off the Focus, as I forgot my line splitter (DUH!!). Otherwise it would have been after the GT tube DI. I hit the tube DI before the amp, split it- one for the FOH and one to the amp.

When they opened up I was like this:
:eek:
Then like this:
:hyper:
And ended up like this:
:bassist:
 
#28
MikeBass said:
OK, real quick about tonight (I'll post up tomorrow a more detailed report!)

I've been using the Tri112 at a few rehersals so it was broken in a bit better/more than the Tri115.
At the beginning of the first set it (the Tri115) sounded tight and I didn't really want to push it hard. Almost sounded like it would fart out or even break up. By about 2/3 the way through it really opened up and I let them have it.

Man did these things roar tonight.
The gig is modern country (think Dixie Chicks to Sara Evans to Chris Cagle) so it was 90% fingerstyle 9% pick and 1% slapping (yes slapping in a country band-durring my little solo spot- she likes it when I pull that stuff out).

They sounded stinkin' clean and clear no matter where I was on the stage.
Like Ken mentioned, off axis they sounded almost like they did standing in front of them.

Rig:
Smith 5 (the bolt-on with the Jazz Bass style pick-ups)
Tuner pedal, Demeter Compulator compressor, Demeter BEQ-PB EQ pedal, Groove Tubes Ditto Box tube DI, Acoustic Image Focus 1, Tri112 on top of the Tri115.
FOH took the line out off the Focus, as I forgot my line splitter (DUH!!). Otherwise it would have been after the GT tube DI. I hit the tube DI before the amp, split it- one for the FOH and one to the amp.

When they opened up I was like this:
:eek:
Then like this:
:hyper:
And ended up like this:
:bassist:
Click to expand...


Insert me drooling here.

I have been waiting to hear this and Mike called me tonight after the gig. He was very pumped about the cabs.

I am still looking for that lightweight, modular rig. Mark Wright and I have been talking for the past few weeks about their cabs and what I am looking for. I am psyche about this combo, two single 12's or a Jr. Might have to test them all.

Mark sent me this picture. I guess if they work for this guy they may work for other country. Yes?

Link Removed
 
#30
MikeBass said:
OK, real quick about tonight (I'll post up tomorrow a more detailed report!)

I've been using the Tri112 at a few rehersals so it was broken in a bit better/more than the Tri115.
At the beginning of the first set it (the Tri115) sounded tight and I didn't really want to push it hard. Almost sounded like it would fart out or even break up. By about 2/3 the way through it really opened up and I let them have it.

Man did these things roar tonight.
The gig is modern country (think Dixie Chicks to Sara Evans to Chris Cagle) so it was 90% fingerstyle 9% pick and 1% slapping (yes slapping in a country band-durring my little solo spot- she likes it when I pull that stuff out).

They sounded stinkin' clean and clear no matter where I was on the stage.
Like Ken mentioned, off axis they sounded almost like they did standing in front of them.

Rig:
Smith 5 (the bolt-on with the Jazz Bass style pick-ups)
Tuner pedal, Demeter Compulator compressor, Demeter BEQ-PB EQ pedal, Groove Tubes Ditto Box tube DI, Acoustic Image Focus 1, Tri112 on top of the Tri115.
FOH took the line out off the Focus, as I forgot my line splitter (DUH!!). Otherwise it would have been after the GT tube DI. I hit the tube DI before the amp, split it- one for the FOH and one to the amp.

When they opened up I was like this:
:eek:
Then like this:
:hyper:
And ended up like this:
:bassist:
Click to expand...

Cool! I bet that rig puts out a lot of sound.
 
#31
To clarify for those that don’t recognize him, that’s monster bass player Keith Horne from Nashville.

He played for Tanya Tucker for five years. From there he went on to play for such artists as Waylon Jennings, Peter Frampton, Ricky Van Shelton, Trisha Yearwood, Sons of the Desert and Lonestar. Now he’s on tour with the quickly rising country group HOT APPLE PIE (where this photo was taken last week with his El Whappo...thanks Cliff!) He serves up a huge helping of bass, guitar and steel guitar, also lending his voice on vocals, but mostly bass.

Little know facts about Keith:

  • He's left handed
  • He plays 4, 5 & 6 string basses. (Mostly Warrior)
  • He plays with his left handed bass strung upside down like Jimmy Haslip & Jeff Schmidt
  • He's just as much at home playing jazz & fusion as he is playing country.
  • At eight years old he was the flat-picking champion in Virginia

Keith's Web Site:
Link Removed

Gig those groovy Thunderfunks amps!

Hope this helps,
El Marco
http://www.accugroove.com

Link Removed
 
#32
Well, used them again.

I just don't know why everyone just doesn't own a few.

Tonight was funk/R&B/rock and they POUNDED!!!

There were a few other guys from some other bands who were there and they all commented on how they good they sounded. The one bass player said how great they were without being big and overwhelming. He said I was loud and clean without causing a lot of "swamp noise" out in the room (loud without the boomy-ness).

He's seen them in magazines, but never seen/heard them before. His rig is a SWR 410 and a GK head. And he said he always struggles to not only hear himself in that room, but also not to blow everyone away. He wants to hook up and give them a go.

I'll admit, they take a few to understand.
As long as you don't expect them to do the Eden/Epifani/SWR/Aguilar type of thing right out of the box, your good . You don't walk into a studio and have the monitors sound like that, so why should your cabs?!??
They are made to sound exactly what you want them to sound like. Not impart their own "sonic signiture" on how you sound.

Same rig as before BTW, but I didn't take the Groove Tube Ditto Box tube DI. No bass in the house, I had to carry the room. Med size about 150+ people. And it was pretty packed tonight.

They can sound modern or vintage. You just have to decide what you want, not what they give you.

There have been a lot of talk about how the highs are not as present as horn loaded cabs. What I noticed is the highs (and lows & mids for that matter) don't drop off or get "beamy" when you step away from the cab.
Sure, when your 15 feet in front of it things change, but not anywhere near like other cabs. Your sound holds pretty darn true. And the highs are right there. This was a pleasent surprise.

Most cabs place that horn at knee level, so you/we crank that thing up to hear it better. What happens is the people 15-20 feet out are getting more high end off your rig than you would ever like. These, like I said the highs are subdued comparred to other cabs, but they stay smooth and true 20 feet out.
And a simple twist of the treble knob and they get real perky real quick.

For reference, I would run the horns on my Epifani's set at about 8:00. Enough to add some sparkle, but not enough to hear the horn all the time. The AccuGrooves are darn near perfect for me the way the tweeters are voiced.

So far, I'm loving these things. I really thought I would drive my Epifani's into the ground. But as it turns out, they had to go.
And I was blessed to have at my disposal, these two cabs.

All I will say about this is, they were presented to me with the understanding that if/when I am finished with them, they are to be turned over to the Musicians Fund for either sale or to be passed onto the next guy/gal who is in need. Or, in my case, pay for them when we are able (thats a decision my wife and I made, not something that was handed down to us).

When the offer was first made to me, I turned them down BTW. Mike Winnen stepped up and convinced me to do it. Heck, I needed SOMETHING to play thru, and that Yorkville 115 PA cab I had just wasn't gonna cut it.

Mark (and David) from AccuGroove did not expect anything in return for this, nor did they expect to be placed on a pedestal either. This was done anonymously and the only reason I even mentioned it now, was to publicly thank them and also maybe help "turn the tide" a bit towards them.

So, gentleman, I thank you and will make them sing. You have my word.

Again, they didn't want ANYTHING, not even a mention about it.

If I didn't like the cabs, I wouldn't have posted anything up about them.
Plain and simple.
The only thing I would have done is maybe mentioned that I had them.
Mark didn't expect me to write this in return. I did it because the cabs stinkin' ROCK!!:bassist:

Mike Winnen (BigMikeW)will more than likly post up in this thread, and him and I have been having LONG talks about gear.
He'll tell ya, I dig them. I really do.

Given the choice now between my old Epifani cabs and these, I would more than likly take these.

You really need to use them on the gig to really understand how good they sound.

Thats all I got. It's now 2:25AM and I'm tired. So you guys are on your own.
G'Night!
 
#35
MikeBass said:
Well, used them again.

I just don't know why everyone just doesn't own a few.

Tonight was funk/R&B/rock and they POUNDED!!!

There were a few other guys from some other bands who were there and they all commented on how they good they sounded. The one bass player said how great they were without being big and overwhelming. He said I was loud and clean without causing a lot of "swamp noise" out in the room (loud without the boomy-ness).

He's seen them in magazines, but never seen/heard them before. His rig is a SWR 410 and a GK head. And he said he always struggles to not only hear himself in that room, but also not to blow everyone away. He wants to hook up and give them a go.

I'll admit, they take a few to understand.
As long as you don't expect them to do the Eden/Epifani/SWR/Aguilar type of thing right out of the box, your good . You don't walk into a studio and have the monitors sound like that, so why should your cabs?!??
They are made to sound exactly what you want them to sound like. Not impart their own "sonic signiture" on how you sound.

Same rig as before BTW, but I didn't take the Groove Tube Ditto Box tube DI. No bass in the house, I had to carry the room. Med size about 150+ people. And it was pretty packed tonight.

They can sound modern or vintage. You just have to decide what you want, not what they give you.

There have been a lot of talk about how the highs are not as present as horn loaded cabs. What I noticed is the highs (and lows & mids for that matter) don't drop off or get "beamy" when you step away from the cab.
Sure, when your 15 feet in front of it things change, but not anywhere near like other cabs. Your sound holds pretty darn true. And the highs are right there. This was a pleasent surprise.

Most cabs place that horn at knee level, so you/we crank that thing up to hear it better. What happens is the people 15-20 feet out are getting more high end off your rig than you would ever like. These, like I said the highs are subdued comparred to other cabs, but they stay smooth and true 20 feet out.
And a simple twist of the treble knob and they get real perky real quick.

For reference, I would run the horns on my Epifani's set at about 8:00. Enough to add some sparkle, but not enough to hear the horn all the time. The AccuGrooves are darn near perfect for me the way the tweeters are voiced.

So far, I'm loving these things. I really thought I would drive my Epifani's into the ground. But as it turns out, they had to go.
And I was blessed to have at my disposal, these two cabs.

All I will say about this is, they were presented to me with the understanding that if/when I am finished with them, they are to be turned over to the Musicians Fund for either sale or to be passed onto the next guy/gal who is in need. Or, in my case, pay for them when we are able (thats a decision my wife and I made, not something that was handed down to us).

When the offer was first made to me, I turned them down BTW. Mike Winnen stepped up and convinced me to do it. Heck, I needed SOMETHING to play thru, and that Yorkville 115 PA cab I had just wasn't gonna cut it.

Mark (and David) from AccuGroove did not expect anything in return for this, nor did they expect to be placed on a pedestal either. This was done anonymously and the only reason I even mentioned it now, was to publicly thank them and also maybe help "turn the tide" a bit towards them.

So, gentleman, I thank you and will make them sing. You have my word.

Again, they didn't want ANYTHING, not even a mention about it.

If I didn't like the cabs, I wouldn't have posted anything up about them.
Plain and simple.
The only thing I would have done is maybe mentioned that I had them.
Mark didn't expect me to write this in return. I did it because the cabs stinkin' ROCK!!:bassist:

Mike Winnen (BigMikeW)will more than likly post up in this thread, and him and I have been having LONG talks about gear.
He'll tell ya, I dig them. I really do.

Given the choice now between my old Epifani cabs and these, I would more than likly take these.

You really need to use them on the gig to really understand how good they sound.

Thats all I got. It's now 2:25AM and I'm tired. So you guys are on your own.
G'Night!
Click to expand...


awesome stuff, mike. :cool:
 
#36
Mike, Sounds very cool, if only I could afford them! I'm with you on the high end thing, as long as the high mids are present and the frequency response of the cabs rolls and doesn't FALL off (obviously a description of the Accugroves) they should work fine. The "clicky" high end that enables you to hear every string scratch doesn't add anything to the sound of a bass in a band setting 20 rows from the stage. And a cabinet with good even low end response can always be EQ'ed in troublesome rooms, but if the low end response isn't there no amount of EQ will "fix" it.
 
#37
MikeBass said:
Well, used them again.

I just don't know why everyone just doesn't own a few.

Tonight was funk/R&B/rock and they POUNDED!!!

There were a few other guys from some other bands who were there and they all commented on how they good they sounded. The one bass player said how great they were without being big and overwhelming. He said I was loud and clean without causing a lot of "swamp noise" out in the room (loud without the boomy-ness).

He's seen them in magazines, but never seen/heard them before. His rig is a SWR 410 and a GK head. And he said he always struggles to not only hear himself in that room, but also not to blow everyone away. He wants to hook up and give them a go.

I'll admit, they take a few to understand.
As long as you don't expect them to do the Eden/Epifani/SWR/Aguilar type of thing right out of the box, your good . You don't walk into a studio and have the monitors sound like that, so why should your cabs?!??
They are made to sound exactly what you want them to sound like. Not impart their own "sonic signiture" on how you sound.

Same rig as before BTW, but I didn't take the Groove Tube Ditto Box tube DI. No bass in the house, I had to carry the room. Med size about 150+ people. And it was pretty packed tonight.

They can sound modern or vintage. You just have to decide what you want, not what they give you.

There have been a lot of talk about how the highs are not as present as horn loaded cabs. What I noticed is the highs (and lows & mids for that matter) don't drop off or get "beamy" when you step away from the cab.
Sure, when your 15 feet in front of it things change, but not anywhere near like other cabs. Your sound holds pretty darn true. And the highs are right there. This was a pleasent surprise.

Most cabs place that horn at knee level, so you/we crank that thing up to hear it better. What happens is the people 15-20 feet out are getting more high end off your rig than you would ever like. These, like I said the highs are subdued comparred to other cabs, but they stay smooth and true 20 feet out.
And a simple twist of the treble knob and they get real perky real quick.

For reference, I would run the horns on my Epifani's set at about 8:00. Enough to add some sparkle, but not enough to hear the horn all the time. The AccuGrooves are darn near perfect for me the way the tweeters are voiced.

So far, I'm loving these things. I really thought I would drive my Epifani's into the ground. But as it turns out, they had to go.
And I was blessed to have at my disposal, these two cabs.

All I will say about this is, they were presented to me with the understanding that if/when I am finished with them, they are to be turned over to the Musicians Fund for either sale or to be passed onto the next guy/gal who is in need. Or, in my case, pay for them when we are able (thats a decision my wife and I made, not something that was handed down to us).

When the offer was first made to me, I turned them down BTW. Mike Winnen stepped up and convinced me to do it. Heck, I needed SOMETHING to play thru, and that Yorkville 115 PA cab I had just wasn't gonna cut it.

Mark (and David) from AccuGroove did not expect anything in return for this, nor did they expect to be placed on a pedestal either. This was done anonymously and the only reason I even mentioned it now, was to publicly thank them and also maybe help "turn the tide" a bit towards them.

So, gentleman, I thank you and will make them sing. You have my word.

Again, they didn't want ANYTHING, not even a mention about it.

If I didn't like the cabs, I wouldn't have posted anything up about them.
Plain and simple.
The only thing I would have done is maybe mentioned that I had them.
Mark didn't expect me to write this in return. I did it because the cabs stinkin' ROCK!!:bassist:

Mike Winnen (BigMikeW)will more than likly post up in this thread, and him and I have been having LONG talks about gear.
He'll tell ya, I dig them. I really do.

Given the choice now between my old Epifani cabs and these, I would more than likly take these.

You really need to use them on the gig to really understand how good they sound.

Thats all I got. It's now 2:25AM and I'm tired. So you guys are on your own.
G'Night!
Click to expand...


This is all true. I asked Mike for a very unbiased opinion of the cabs on the phone and he gave me one.

I started another thread about Mark Wright and Accugroove as I didn't want to completely derail this review thread.
 
#38
I will say that when I was at Jive Sound and this other guy who I forget his name (awesome player!) was playing a DB750 through an El Whappo Jr, it sounded AWESOME. When we switched over to ther cabs of the Epifani brand (UL410), it just lost something. Not that the Epifani was bad at all, just different. We both agreed that the Accugroove was bootyful.

Some day I'll get some :D
 

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