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Acme B4 woes.....keep it, replace it, or add to it

#41
g4string said:
Joker, this has me thinking as I have noticed this in another practice room.....but could it be the room I am practicing. There are NO acoustics, they have padding all over the walls, and its a really small room. In another room like this I used to practice in, I found that I really had to crank my amp to hear myself. However, live on a gig - different story. I always have enough headroom for a gig. Maybe its the room?????
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geez, it could be a variety of crap.

might also just be the simple fact that a small room means you're alot closer to the other amps and the drummer. and heck, if the amps and whatnot are all pointed at one another, that'd spell trouble. while on the other hand, with everybody onstage, inline, and more spread apart, it'd make it alot easier to hear yourself.
 
#47
Sounds like it's the room causing the problem. You're probably standing in a null so you can't hear the cab properly. Experiment with changing your positions relative to the room boundary and also with tilting the cab to point at your ears. If you have plenty of headroom on the gig then at rehearsal you're just putting tons of power into fighting the acoustics, which is almost always a battle you will lose.

I would strongly recommend a steep 30Hz filter but in the meantime I'd try just using one size of the amp - you'll only lose a few dB of headroom but you'll greatly reduce the risk of cone damage.

Alex
 
#48
g4string: Before you get too nuts, you definitely want to experiment with the arrangement in your practice room. If, like most bands, each member is standing in front of their amp and you're standing next to your drummer to 'hear him', then you're getting pummeled with guitars and the bass is passing under your ears...only to die at the opposite wall.

Here's a suggestion...if you all must stand in a circle because of room dimensions: Put your drummer on one wall, and your bass amp right next to him on the same wall. YOU stand on the opposite wall so the drums and bass amp are firing right towards you.

Then, put the guitar amps on either side of you, facing the drum/bass wall. Put the guitar amps out from the wall a bit so they aren't firing into the back of your head. Then the guitarists can stand on the other two perpendicular walls (right in front of their amps). Have them put their amps on amp stands or tilt them back so they hit right into their ears.


Edit: Like this:
SMALLBANDROOMLAYOUT.jpg

____

But, in order to do this, you need to get new drivers. Then properly break them in. Someone once suggested Aphex Twin for about 8 hours. Turning up the volume a few dB's at a time every 1/2 hour or so.
 
#49
Former B2 owner here...I loved these enclosures and thought they sounded great during the time I steadily gigged with them from 2001-2006.

But - at the same time - I was frequently struggling with cone creasing, over-excursion and blown crossover bulbs. I think I went through 3 sets of replacement drivers over that period.

In my opinion, Acme's are a great product and allow to you REALLY here the sound of your bass like a great studio monitor. While they can really open up and sound enormous when pushed, they are EXTREMELY sensitive and can be damaged if you are not just careful, but diligently cautious with what you are hoping to get out of them, especially in certain higher volume settings.

This is why I sold them...cause it really sucks when you are four bars from the end of a set and all that is going through your mind is "I'd better be careful not to hit the B too hard on the last note" because you are in perennial fear of blowing something up back there when the band is reaching its crescendo for the night.

All the talk of low/high pass filters in the chain, careful gain staging, "be careful of certain percussive techniques" (as outlined in the B2 owner manual), etc. etc. etc. - way too much TLC for a damn speaker when I'd rather just plug in and play and not have to worry about it constantly!

There are times I do miss the B2s for the way they sounded, especially in the way that sub-E notes just jumped out of the thing like a cannon. They can work great - but it has to be the right setting.

Lonnybass
 
#50
Lonnybass said:
Former B2 owner here...I loved these enclosures and thought they sounded great during the time I steadily gigged with them from 2001-2006.

But - at the same time - I was frequently struggling with cone creasing, over-excursion and blown crossover bulbs. I think I went through 3 sets of replacement drivers over that period.

In my opinion, Acme's are a great product and allow to you REALLY here the sound of your bass like a great studio monitor. While they can really open up and sound enormous when pushed, they are EXTREMELY sensitive and can be damaged if you are not just careful, but diligently cautious with what you are hoping to get out of them, especially in certain higher volume settings.

This is why I sold them...cause it really sucks when you are four bars from the end of a set and all that is going through your mind is "I'd better be careful not to hit the B too hard on the last note" because you are in perennial fear of blowing something up back there when the band is reaching its crescendo for the night.

All the talk of low/high pass filters in the chain, careful gain staging, "be careful of certain percussive techniques" (as outlined in the B2 owner manual), etc. etc. etc. - way too much TLC for a damn speaker when I'd rather just plug in and play and not have to worry about it constantly!

There are times I do miss the B2s for the way they sounded, especially in the way that sub-E notes just jumped out of the thing like a cannon. They can work great - but it has to be the right setting.

Lonnybass
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+1 to all points, and exactly my experience with my two B2's before I finally sold them.
 
#51
I'll third that. Had 2 B-2s. Blew 5 or 6 drivers over several years of gigging. I've blown only 2 or 3 other drivers in 30 years of playing. Finally sold the Acmes and haven't regretted it. I just don't need or want the ultra-low frequencies on stage. I found that I got more useable volume and tone from an Avatar 2x12 and PV 2x10.:hiding:

KJung said:
+1 to all points, and exactly my experience with my two B2's before I finally sold them.
Click to expand...
 
#57
If you're used to getting growl from pushing your speakers beyond Xmax you won't really get that from the Acmes because those growly frequencies instead come from the midrange speaker which continues sounding clean however hard you overdrive the woofers. This also means you don't get such an obvious warning that you're pushing too hard.

Alex
 
#59
alexclaber said:
If you're used to getting growl from pushing your speakers beyond Xmax you won't really get that from the Acmes because those growly frequencies instead come from the midrange speaker which continues sounding clean however hard you overdrive the woofers. This also means you don't get such an obvious warning that you're pushing too hard.

Alex
Click to expand...

+1 As has been posted many times before, they sound and 'behave' differently than virtually every other production cab. Whenever you have that sort of unique thing going, it will result in the sort of 'love them/hate them' sort of thing.

It's very hard to feel neutral about these cabs for a wide variety of reasons.
 

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