Acme Full Range Series III 112

[KJung]

Haven't given the Fullrange much love lately. Here is a combination that is simply stunning. The Genz Max 9.2 (set virtually flat, with a little bit of treble cut to control the tweeter volume, and a touch of the low frequency filter), and the Rob Allen Mouse.

The Max 9.2 solid state channel is warm and mid voiced, and adding a bit of the low end filter just makes the Acme sing, while the wonderfull hi passing and low end tailoring that the Genz engineers did with this head results in big low end without stressing that Acme 12. About as DBish as I've achieved with the fretted Mouse... fat, bloomy, with a nice 'click' up top, and a bit of swell to the notes. VERY woody sounding. Dig it!

Really something, articulate, warm, huge, and as loud as any other 112 (given I have 900 watts pumping into it at 4ohms).

The other cool thing is that the Max 9.2's feet fit perfectly inside the plastic locking corners... snug as a bug.

 

[tombowlus]

I bet that does work well. As previously mentioned, I had very good results driving two Acmes (Flatwound and Full Range) with my ShuttleMAX12.0. Those heads definitely make a good match for the Acme cabs. I found that I had to tweak the low mids a bit once the full band got playing (sounded great solo, but seemed like I had some peaks and valleys once the mix got going), but other than that, I ran it pretty flat.

 

[KJung]

I bet that does work well. As previously mentioned, I had very good results driving two Acmes (Flatwound and Full Range) with my ShuttleMAX12.0. Those heads definitely make a good match for the Acme cabs. I found that I had to tweak the low mids a bit once the full band got playing (sounded great solo, but seemed like I had some peaks and valleys once the mix got going), but other than that, I ran it pretty flat.

+1 I was actually a bit surprised, since the inherent tone of the Max 9.2 is a kind of tight and bright thing. But expanding the low end a bit and the Acme really took it and opened up. Nice!

 

[tombowlus]

+1 I was actually a bit surprised, since the inherent tone of the Max 9.2 is a kind of tight and bright thing. But expanding the low end a bit and the Acme really took it and opened up. Nice!

Since I was driving two cabs, the lows were "right there" without having to goose anything, but I can see where you might want to boost it a bit with just one cab.

 

[KJung]

Since I was driving two cabs, the lows were "right there" without having to goose anything, but I can see where you might want to boost it a bit with just one cab.

Also, +1 to the need for additional EQ on the gig. The Acme's IMO take a little 'love and care' in a mix, but work quite nicely once you get there. The solo tone is to die for.

I LOVE this cab in a small trio setting... just puts a pillow of low end under the group, without 'getting in the way', and the mids are still present enough for nice note attack and a good sense of pitch. Dig it.. specialty cab IMO, but dig it!

 

[Jazzdogg]

Also, +1 to the need for additional EQ on the gig. The Acme's IMO take a little 'love and care' in a mix, but work quite nicely once you get there. The solo tone is to die for.

I LOVE this cab in a small trio setting... just puts a pillow of low end under the group, without 'getting in the way', and the mids are still present enough for nice note attack and a good sense of pitch. Dig it.. specialty cab IMO, but dig it!

Out of curiosity, what keeps this from being a general purpose cab and limits it to specialty status?

 

[monsterthompson]

Out of curiosity, what keeps this from being a general purpose cab and limits it to specialty status?

My guess based on his previous posts is the fact that the amp head choice is a bit more tricky and limited, particularly given the power hungry nature of the cab. It also sounds like it can be a bit unconventional in the EQ department, so having power in the head isn't enough, you may also need the right EQ options and no/minimal "baked in" tone.

 

[rpsands]

The lack of sensitivity is the #1 reason.

 

[Mystic Michael]

Out of curiosity, what keeps this from being a general purpose cab and limits it to specialty status?

In a word, I think it would be "circumstances". With due respect to Ken, one player's "specialty" cab is another one's bread & butter.

For Ken's purposes, it probably does have limited application. He freelances for a living...and IIRC, he plays a lot of pop, R&B/funk gigs. The mixes tend to be busy and dense - and the genre(s) call for a specific, well-known type of tone. So he's got to keep the low end very, very tight, while cutting through with his mids & highs: not exactly the Acme's claim to fame.

For a different kind of application, you might very well consider the Acme to be "general purpose": Say if, for example, you have a steady, ongoing gig with a band that requires a very deep, strong, authoritative bottom end, yet generates a relatively spare mix. Reggae, dubstep, house, electronica, and drum & bass are just a few such genres that come to mind.

It all depends...

MM

 

[JxBass]

For a different kind of application, you might very well consider the Acme to be "general purpose": Say if, for example, you have a steady, ongoing gig with a band that requires a very deep, strong, authoritative bottom end, yet generates a relatively spare mix. Reggae, dubstep, house, electronica, and drum & bass are just a few such genres that come to mind.

It all depends...

MM

Agreed. It's a great Rock and R&B cab, IMHO.

 

[KJung]

Out of curiosity, what keeps this from being a general purpose cab and limits it to specialty status?

That was too strong of a term I used, and I was speaking strictly for myself. The Acme is unique in every way... tone, look, efficiency, low end, treble, everything. I dig it quite a bit, and have used it on a couple of reasonably loud gigs.

For me, it is a bit sensitive to peaks (i.e., digging in or slapping can result in some issues.... probably as much with the amp reaching limiting as the driver hitting the back plate). So, that combined with its unique voicing does not as simply give me the tone and performance I typically like on a gig (i.e., plug in my AE210 or Thundrechild with a moderate powered amp, turn it on, and pound the s*** out of it on the gig without thinking aabout it).

However, for something like the Rob Allen in a less dense mix with enough power, and it truly is stunning... massive, real low end, decent volume, and a nice sparkle up top (if you have the FullRange).

So, not so much a negative in general as just how the cab fits into my 'gear portfolio' for me personally. It is going nowhere... I dig it much!

 

[Peredur]

I have a Fullrange. I use it for everything bass guitar and everything double bass. It is great. Are there times when it is not loud enough? Yes, but that is the case with all single 12" cabs. If that is the case I take a bigger cab. It is not a "one 12" cab does it all" solution because I do not believe they exist.

 

[KJung]

I have a Fullrange. I use it for everything bass guitar and everything double bass. It is great. Are there times when it is not loud enough? Yes, but that is the case with all single 12" cabs. If that is the case I take a bigger cab. It is not a "one 12" cab does it all" solution because I do not believe they exist.

+1 With the right head (good power, good limiting/hi passing) that Fullrange can hang with any 112. You again kind of need to know what you are doing to make it sing MO, but it will put a very nice pillow of low end under a band, and can handle a surprising amount of volume. Cool, quirky design. I'm glad I own one!

 

[Ric Vice]

+1 With the right head (good power, good limiting/hi passing) that Fullrange can hang with any 112. You again kind of need to know what you are doing to make it sing MO, but it will put a very nice pillow of low end under a band, and can handle a surprising amount of volume. Cool, quirky design. I'm glad I own one!

Ken,
If you compared the TC-112 to the Acme Fullrange, using a lower wattage head like, say your F-500, I would think that the Thunderchild would be a little louder since it's not having to push the lows that Acme produces. The Shuttle Max 9.2 just has more power to drive the Acme, yes?

Ric

 

[andertone]

So, I assume most people are using Streamliner 900s
with the Flatwound/Fullrange to get full bass extension
without amp clipping

I have a Streamliner 600 and play in low-moderate bands,
and use a Bergie mini stack (HT112/EX112), either one
or two cabinets depending on gig

Would the 600 be able to drive one Flatwound at 4 ohms
to desired volumes, or did I blow it by not getting a 900?

Of course, my bluegrass band gives me hell for having
a 600 watt head on stage (after years of a SWR Baby Blue),
so I got the smaller amp <grin>

 

[JxBass]

So, I assume most people are using Streamliner 900s
with the Flatwound/Fullrange to get full bass extension
without amp clipping

I have a Streamliner 600 and play in low-moderate bands,
and use a Bergie mini stack (HT112/EX112), either one
or two cabinets depending on gig

Would the 600 be able to drive one Flatwound at 4 ohms
to desired volumes, or did I blow it by not getting a 900?

Of course, my bluegrass band gives me hell for having
a 600 watt head on stage (after years of a SWR Baby Blue),
so I got the smaller amp <grin>

I drive my 4 ohm Full Range with a 650w Series 4 Acoustic Image Clarus. Like butter!

 

[KJung]

Ken,
If you compared the TC-112 to the Acme Fullrange, using a lower wattage head like, say your F-500, I would think that the Thunderchild would be a little louder since it's not having to push the lows that Acme produces. The Shuttle Max 9.2 just has more power to drive the Acme, yes?

Ric

Yes. Also, the limiting design of the F500 (clean and then pretty much clamps when you hit the peak) is a bit problematic with the Acme. It drives the Thunderchild to full performance. It does not do that with the Acme, and I can hear the power amp hitting its limits with the Acme.

 

[KJung]

So, I assume most people are using Streamliner 900s
with the Flatwound/Fullrange to get full bass extension
without amp clipping

I have a Streamliner 600 and play in low-moderate bands,
and use a Bergie mini stack (HT112/EX112), either one
or two cabinets depending on gig

Would the 600 be able to drive one Flatwound at 4 ohms
to desired volumes, or did I blow it by not getting a 900?

Of course, my bluegrass band gives me hell for having
a 600 watt head on stage (after years of a SWR Baby Blue),
so I got the smaller amp <grin>

+1 to JXBass's comment. The Streamliner600 is a good match. There is no way I could totally crank my 900 into my 4ohm fullrange without blowing that cab up.

I'll just add (similar to my comment to Ric above), that it isn't all about pure power, but rather a combination of power, low end voicing/hi passing, and power amp limiter/management design. While higher efficiency cabs with a more rolled off tuning like the Thunderchild don't care much about these issues, with the Acme, it is the difference between 'cranking and clean' versus 'not enough volume and low end farting or amp clipping'.

The Genz (no matter which head you use) is IMO and IME PERFECT for the Acme112 due to its magnificant low end voicing (big, but hi passed, etc. so that it sound big without causing massive deep low end to hit the driver), and it has a very gently tube-emulation sort of limiting that results in the head still sounding nice when it is pushed to the rails.

So, that, combined with a nice 600 watt power amp of the Streamliner, would make a VERY nice combination with the Acme, assuming you liked a bit fat warm creamy tone.

That being said, your 2 x 12 mini stack will of course be quite a bit louder in an absolute sense, due to the additional cone area, and the much more mid present voicing that makes a cab like that 'sound louder', since the human ear is much more sensitive to midrange than deeper bass.

 

[Jazzdogg]

Thanks for all the responses. There's something strangely compelling about the deep bass available from the Acme twelves.

 

[banditcosmo]

Hey guys I'm really considering getting two 112 flatwounds and need your opinion.

Which would be the better way to go:

1. GB Streamliner (my current amp) and two 8 ohm flatwounds which would give me one 8 ohm cab @ 500w and 2 @ 900w
   or
2. GB ShuttleMax 12 or 12.2 and two 4 ohm flatwounds which would give me one 4 ohm cab @ 600w and 2 @ 1200w
3. GB Streamliner and one 4 ohm flatwound

Not sure if the 100 watts would make much of a difference with one cab but then again a 4 ohm cab is much more efficient than an 8 ohm.

Notes:

• I play in a bluesy funky rock band one guitar, harp and drums.
• I mostly play 4 string short scale fretless basses
• most of the time I will probably only need one cab as my band plays at pretty small places
• I usually play with no PA support.
• I don't like a lot of high end treble so I don't think I need an Acme full range 112 ??