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AudioKinesis Cabs Part VI...

#3,081
punchdrunk said:
I haven't been able to do a comparison, but I'm going to say that I've been an ardent Glock user for a few years, and while the TC isn't going to blow away the Quattro 410, it does outweigh it in terms of audio imaging, form factor, weight, tuneability, and scleppability. The bottom end of the TC by far and away exhibits the most fidelity of any one twelve unit I've ever played ( and I've played a few). I will reserve a full detailed run down until I've got a few different gigs under the belt, and until I feel the driver has sufficiently broken in. I'll keep the forum posted.
Click to expand...

This just sold me on this cab. Thanks for this. Will be getting one this year for sure.
 
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#3,082
punchdrunk said:
So guys, I'm in brainstorming here.... In conjunction w/ the new TC112 I posted above, I also have a two Hathor 1203 stack being constructed as well. My problem is that I'm friggin' loving the fullness and hifi quality of the TC112, and I'm finding that the mid switch on in "full nasty" mode provides an ample enough boost in the upper mid region to seem to be able to
cut through a mix....and while it was my original idea to have the 4 ohm TC as a single cab solution for smaller rooms, and the Hathor stack for everything else, I'm thinking I might better be served with either getting a second TC or a single Hathor to stack onto my existing TC.... So do you guys thing that a two Hathor 1203 rig would be redundant, or do you think I would find the two H1203 stack to be everything that the TC is but more of it?
@nostatic I see that you have had a two H1203 stack but opt rather to use the TC/Hathor stack in certain situations instead. Is that a best of both worlds, or did you find the two Hathors to be too much of a good thing? FWIW I'm a big B string user...
Click to expand...
Nobody can really make that decision except you. If the 1203 stack hasn't been started yet, you might be able to just switch your order to the TC112 and have a stack of those. The other option is to go ahead as planned and try them out. You may prefer the TC112 with one 1203 and then you can sell the other one or both if you want a TC112 stack. I don't think you'll lose too much money on the sale if you went that way.
 
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#3,087
maisbass said:
Well I will add there is a big difference gigging with the TC112V1 and Hathor 1203, as compared to two 1203's. Granted the TC112V1 is 4 ohm and from what I understand a different animal than the newer TC112 8 ohm.

My rig definitely goes lower and louder with the TC112v1 / Hathor 1203 combination. It is not only noticeable sound wise, but feel wise as well.
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My TC112 is 8 ohm and the current version with the mid switch (which I keep in the "grind" position), so the difference isn't as pronounced as the original version which was much more polite.
 
#3,088
I emailed Duke to pick his brain about what he thinks the merits of the different configurations would be in light of the V3 TC cab. I'm not sure the added mid presence of the Hathors would outshine the mid switchable element (coupled with the tune-ability and bottom presence) of the TC....
Waiting to hear back, maybe he'll respond via the thread (no pressure tho Duke, haha)...
 
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#3,090
well, he gave a few thoughts a page or two back. The "mid grind" from the H1203 comes from a combination of the 12" and the 3". The grind on the TC112 is almost all from the woofer. So they have a different character. I agree with Duke in that grind from a compression horn often doesn't sound too great. A 3" paper cone on the other hand - that breaks up really nicely. I'm more than happy to push the input a bit harder on the Mesa and get some nice grit from the H1203.

You can make the cabs sound somewhat close to the other, but they are voiced differently. TC112 is more calm and refined, H1203 has a chip on its shoulder and lets you know it :D
 
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#3,091
image.jpeg
alaskaleftybass said:
drool :hyper: drool

Maybe another pic with a head one it for scale... ?
Click to expand...
 
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#3,096
So, had an... interesting experience with my Thunderchild 118 tonight. I figured I'd come along and post it here, especially since some people were asking about that specific model earlier.

For all of my gigs, we have substantial PA support. In fact, for one of my bands, we don't even have amps on stage at all - it's all IEMs and FOH (some side fills for people not using IEMs). So, I've never really had a chance to let the TC118 loose and see what it can really do. It has gone loud before in rehearsal, but even with those occasions, I felt it's never been driven at all hard. Which, by itself is saying a lot as one of my bands has pretty bad self-control for volume at rehearsal (loud 6 piece metal band).

Anyway, this evening my newest project was rehearing for our debut gig next weekend. The studio we rehearse at has a 1700 sq. ft. "live room" with a 15'x23' stage, where bands put on shows and what not. That is a fair sized room, and it does have a hefty PA. Our band decided we wanted to use this room for rehearsal tonight because... why not?

At first, my instinct was to use the TC118 for stage monitoring, and let the PA do the heavy lifting. Then, I thought to myself "Hey, we're just kind of screwing around a bit... let's see what the TC118 can do afterall". I knew I'd find it's limit there. Drop-A tuned heavy metal with prog elements in a 1700 sq. ft. room, with a single 18" driver with about 600W behind it. It's going to end up fart city and I'll go through the PA... but only after I find out where this thing comes up short.

Sadly, that limit was not found tonight. :eek:

We did a rough sound check. Soundboard is about 2/3 of the way back in this room. At first, I was pretty hot back there apparently, as I got asked to turn down. I thought the guy was joking... but he wasn't. So I turned down to his liking, and then took a walk through a bit of the room. Pretty ballsy tone throughout the whole room.

We ran our set once, took a very brief break and came back to play it again. For giggles, I had everyone turn up a non-trivial amount. Yes, this is it, I'll finally, finally hear some farting and know where this thing peaks!

But... nope. Still no dice. This cab is a friggin' stud. I had the output clipping on my QSC, so I had to turn it down a smidge. The TC118 took the rated 600W and kept chugging - not the faintest hint of farting or stress. People at the soundboard were telling me their insides were shaking. I believe them, because everything on the stage was shaking fiercely. We all decided, collectively, that things overall were just painfully loud, and turned down again. Even at this absurd SPL, the tone was exactly the same as it was at home practice volume. Granted, in part, that's due to the modeler (Axe-Fx II) that I use, which keeps things consistent from the amp/fx side of things, but what the TC118 sounds like / reproduces is very similar at high SPL as it is at low.

So, sadly, if I ever really want to find the top of this thing, I'd need to buy a bigger power amp. I'd also need to find somewhere to use it. I think Duke rates the TC118 at 600W (IIRC), but, after tonight I have to say that must be conservative, or my amp is rated a bit high. Either way, even though I haven't found the top SPL limit of this, it's comforting to know that I can carry a lot of rooms with it if for some odd reason I need to.
 
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#3,098
DukeLeJeune said:
- The new factory 4-ohm version of the 3012LF is standard, along with the "4/8 ohm" switch. The weight goes up by 1 pound, and the price goes up a bit too, but hey, new switch!! The "4/8 ohm" switch (and its accompanying one pound of resistors) can be omitted.
Click to expand...

Does this mean that the specifications of the 4-ohm 3012 LF (i.e. 550 watts RMS power rating, 92.9 dB SPL sensitivity, etc.) will apply, instead of the specs of the 8-ohm 3012 LF (i.e. 450 watts RMS power rating, 95.5 dB SPL sensitivity, etc.), even when the cab is being operated in 8-ohm mode? Does it mean that the cab can be operated just like any standard 4-ohm cab or standard 8-ohm cab...as long as it's set for the appropriate impedance level?

(I don't quite know how impedance switching works, so please go easy on this liberal arts major, all you TalkBass engineering/tech geniuses... ;))

MM
 
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#3,100
Mystic Michael said:
Does this mean that the specifications of the 4-ohm 3012 LF (i.e. 550 watts RMS power rating, 92.9 dB SPL sensitivity, etc.) will apply, instead of the specs of the 8-ohm 3012 LF (i.e. 450 watts RMS power rating, 95.5 dB SPL sensitivity, etc.), even when the cab is being operated in 8-ohm mode? Does it mean that the cab can be operated just like any standard 4-ohm cab or standard 8-ohm cab...as long as it's set for the appropriate impedance level?

(I don't quite know how impedance switching works, so please go easy on this liberal arts major, all you TalkBass engineering/tech geniuses... ;))

MM
Click to expand...
Realize that he's still using the the 4 ohm driver, not the 8 ohm one. The 4/8 ohm switch just toggles off/on a network of resistors that bring up the impedance, with a bit of a drop in efficiency (and slight tonal changes). So, the Thiele/Small of the 4-ohm driver will always be the ones to consider for this specific case.

If you have it in 4 ohm "mode" (for lack of a better term), then adding a 2nd 4 ohm cab of whatever will make your head have a 2 ohm load attached (assuming cabs are in parallel, which they almost always are). If you have the switch in the 8 ohm position, and add a 2nd 8 ohm cab, it'll be a total 4 ohm load (again, assuming parallel).
 

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