AudioKinesis Cabs Part VI...

[DukeLeJeune]

I guess the ports change the low end response of the cabs?
Does anyone know the actual change in the rolloff frequencies?

According to my modeling program, these are the tuning frequencies and rolloff frequencies for the TC112v3:

Four ports open = 52 Hz tuning frequency; -1 dB @ 62 Hz (the first overtone of low-B); -3 dB @ 54 Hz; and -6 dB @ 47 Hz.

Three ports open = 46 Hz tuning frequency; -1.6 dB @ 62 Hz; -3 dB @ 54 Hz; and -6 dB @ 45 Hz.

Two ports open = 38 Hz tuning frequency; -3 dB @ 62 Hz; and -6 dB @ 44 Hz.

One port open = 27 Hz tuning frequency; -4.5 dB @ 62 Hz; -3 dB @ 75 hz; and -6 dB @ 51 Hz.

Zero ports open = low-Q sealed box; - 3 dB @ 96 Hz, and -6 dB @ 62 Hz.

The port air velocity goes up "on paper" with fewer ports open, but the tuning frequency is dropping at the same time, down into regions where bass guitar doesn't have very much energy, so I think we can get away with it.

 

[Dave Hill]

Very cool. Like a built in HPF. I like an SVT-ish sound and have been setting my fDeck around 60hz (maybe higher) and it sounds great (through an F-212). 30hz extention be damned. And your -3 at 96 Hz with the plugs! Not too long ago, that would have been laughed at. Lol.

What exactly is the tuning freq?

I NEED to try a 1203 stack! Paging @nutdog

 

[DukeLeJeune]

Very cool. Like a built in HPF. I like an SVT-ish sound and have been setting my fDeck around 60hz (maybe higher) and it sounds great (through an F-212). 30hz extention be damned. And your -3 at 96 Hz with the plugs! Not too long ago, that would have been laughed at. Lol.

Thanks!

All ports plugged ("sealed box mode") can be useful if you're in a terribly boomy room, but other than that, I don't think it's really a viable option.

What exactly is the tuning freq?

The "tuning frequency" is the Helmholtz resonance frequency of the box + port combination. Choosing the tuning frequency (via choosing the port dimensions) for a given woofer + box combination is a juggling of tradeoffs. Factor in the variability in acoustic spaces (from outdoors to shoved into the corner of the boom room), and imo there's an argument to be made for user-adjustable port tuning.

 

[Dave Hill]

Thanks Duke. Being so up front and open with your design and engineering analyses is awesome. Really makes a player want to try your stuff!

 

[emjazz]

Can you guys suggest a head that is clean (no need for dirt) with a parametric mid that is under $1000? Looking at an Acoustic Image amp, but looking to possibly find something similar with more midrange control. Thanks!

 

[Interceptor]

Thunderfunk, Genzler and the Genz Benz Shuttle x.2 series come to mind.

 

[nutdog]

peavey minimega

 

[Logo]

There is the Carvin BX (500)/700/(1600), plenty of EQ, clean Sound, inexpensive,
but i have no experience with it, so can't say about the Quality. There are clips on their yt-channel.

 

[Handyman]

peavey minimega

For $1000 you can get TWO Minimegas. I'm really liking mine run into my Hathor.

 

[nutdog]

For $1000 you can get TWO Minimegas. I'm really liking mine run into my Hathor.

Same here. After 4 loudish gigs in 3 different rooms with a pair of 1203's I've yet to touch the 2 para eq's. Nice to know it's there but everything straight up, bells and whistles disengaged, sounds perfect. Able to go from full and fat to more cutting lead tone through finger position and pickup selection.

The peavey and subway can put lots of power into one 8ohm cab and the 1203 can take it which means one 1203 and either amp can handle a lot of situations.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Same here. After 4 loudish gigs in 3 different rooms with a pair of 1203's I've yet to touch the 2 para eq's. Nice to know it's there but everything straight up, bells and whistles disengaged, sounds perfect. Able to go from full and fat to more cutting lead tone through finger position and pickup selection.

The peavey and subway can put lots of power into one 8ohm cab and the 1203 can take it which means one 1203 and either amp can handle a lot of situations.

View attachment 843721

Sweet!

 

[John D Harris]

Same here. After 4 loudish gigs in 3 different rooms with a pair of 1203's I've yet to touch the 2 para eq's. Nice to know it's there but everything straight up, bells and whistles disengaged, sounds perfect. Able to go from full and fat to more cutting lead tone through finger position and pickup selection.

The peavey and subway can put lots of power into one 8ohm cab and the 1203 can take it which means one 1203 and either amp can handle a lot of situations.

View attachment 843721

Is there a noticeable difference in the weight, heft, thickness, slam, or punch of each note across the neck of your BG between these two amps?
Thanks!

 

[svtb15]

does the peavey have a more noticeable headroom than the Mesa?

Same here. After 4 loudish gigs in 3 different rooms with a pair of 1203's I've yet to touch the 2 para eq's. Nice to know it's there but everything straight up, bells and whistles disengaged, sounds perfect. Able to go from full and fat to more cutting lead tone through finger position and pickup selection.

The peavey and subway can put lots of power into one 8ohm cab and the 1203 can take it which means one 1203 and either amp can handle a lot of situations.

View attachment 843721

 

[nutdog]

Is there a noticeable difference in the weight, heft, thickness, slam, or punch of each note across the neck of your BG between these two amps?
Thanks!

does the peavey have a more noticeable headroom than the Mesa?

I've kind of gotten away from trying to describe tone and feel of amps and cabs. Honestly I'm not sure I know what I'm talking about.

Both amps have plenty of power on tap for my needs. Both sound great without knob twiddling. I haven't had either for very long.

As far as headroom goes, I have an 8ohm 212 cab that at the rehearsal space. I used it on some gigs while waiting the hathors. Both the tonehammer 350 and kustom kxb500 ran out of juice trying to keep up with my trio. These amps don't and they still have about half of the master travel and some usable gain left. At 4ohms into the hathors the peavey can get way louder than I need. As far as I have pushed it, it doesn't change tone but just gets more of it. I haven't tried to find out how loud it will get because I don't want to blow a speaker for no reason.

I haven't gigged the subway with both hathors but with one on a little 2 week theater show it did great. I posted vid from that a few pages back. Here's a couple of cell phone clips from last weekend, peavey with both hathors.




The peavey, subway and an Ibanez atk were all part of a self imposed bass playing cost reduction program but I don't think I've ever been happier with my available options than right now.

 

[svtb15]

Thank you

 

[3rdcurve]

Duke was nice enough to let me demo his new Hathor 1505. While I haven't got to spend much time with it yet, I can say with certainty that this cab kicks!

 

[steubig]

Ok ya'll....I'm coming from playing the same cabs for around 15 years, Bergantino HT112's. Those cabs have a built in low mid push that can sometimes sound boxy, but always sits perfectly in a mix. I just received a new TC112v3. I know I need more time with it, and I'm looking forward to it, but I found myself constantly fiddling to eq the cab in a live situation this morning. It sounds so beautiful, and is a great deal more even from top to bottom than I'm used to hearing. It makes my chambered 6 string electric bass sound closer to what I had imagined, which is more "acoustic". I did however struggle with the more polite midrange of this new cab. I'm using an older Powersoft Puma 500 for a head. Any thoughts on this? I haven't had to think much about my live sound for many years.

we should talk.

 

[3rdcurve]

So.......

I've only had a couple hours or so with the 1505 cab thus far due to a hectic schedule, but I spent my lunch break dialing in my eq. My first "get to know you" was testing switches, changes with the ports plugged, and how solid the low end was.

I have been ABing it with my Genz Countour 500 that is loaded with a Faital Pro 15PR400/+ tweeter.

The combo and the 1505 are nearly equal in size and weight. Lows are similar as far as depth is concerned, but the 1505 sounds slightly larger. The biggest difference in the lows are that the 1505 sounds more solid and muscular with WAY more control. The 15pr400 can get huge lows, but they get blurry. With the 1505 the lows stay solid.

I tried the 4/8 ohm switch, and there really wasn't much of a noticeable difference in output.

With the top switch (mid roll off) down, the 1505 is very full, warm, and round. With it up, it brings in a very nice articulation without sounding disconnected or overbearing.

The bottom mid switch, or "bringer of the grind" - took a minute for me to figure out. When I first tried it with the eq flat it was too much. For RnB, Motown, most classic rock, you would probably prefer this switch disengaged. BUT...... I cut the bass from noon to 10:30, set the mids at 220hz and boosted to 2:00 with the treble set flat, and boy did that cab get angry! It became more punchy, and the more I dug in the more I was rewarded with fantastic snarl and grind! I was so enamoured with it that I lost track of time and was 15 minutes late getting back to the office.

The last time a was able to get that feel and tone was with my MAS 210 Flex with the tweets switched off and the mids set hot while running a GK MB800. Freaking KILLER rock tone my freinds!

Nice work Duke! More to come......

 

[Mike Arnopol]

I'm in big agreement as far as the 15PR400 (and the 12PR300) vs. the monster 15's that Duke is using. The PR series sounds really nice at lower volume but get mooshy as you turn up. I've used the 12" and 15" Faitals that are the ones that Duke uses.

 

[Selta]

Had an absolutely ridiculous fun gig last night. My wife and I got home Thursday morning from a 3 week international vacation. Had a rehearsal Thursday night, and a gig opening for Otep last night. We played to a pretty full house, and I ended up using my TC118 for on stage only.
The stage room we had was a little cramped since Otep's setup was on there and pretty big. I had my TC118 at the end of the stage, firing across it. Probably about a 30' wide stage. Guitarist and keyboardist on the other side of the stage had zero issue hearing me clearly! For myself, I was super happy with what I was hearing - basically, what was coming out of that lil cab was what I was hearing from FOH as well during sound check. What I was hearing was what everyone was hearing. Towards the end of our set things got a bit loud and the TC118 just thumped along.

I know I likely sound like a broken record at this point, but I just still am amazed and so happy every damn time I use my rig. I play through an Ampeg 8x10 at the rehearsal spot, which is of course its own experience - but I much, much prefer what I hear out of the TC118. I had the chance to talk to several folks about my entire setup last night, and had a couple of people lift up the TC118. They were all expecting it to be heavy and awkward, but then realized that it is neither. It was cool to load in - rack in one hand, TC118 in the other, and bass on my back. For load out, another person (drummer/sound guy) grabbed my TC118 for me and carried it to my car, and was again impressed with the weight, and as a sound guy was also impressed with the tone I had all night.

I still remember the first time I plugged into a AudioKinesis / Thunderchild cab. I didn't realize that soon after, and for so long after getting my own, that I'd be so happy and content with my setup. I'm a gear whore, and have always been searching for things that will fit my needs. Up until the TC, it's been a series of compromises (cost, weight, complexity, or tone). I feel like I'm at the summit now, and have nothing in my way except my own abilities. What a liberating feeling to have.

@DukeLeJeune - I know you're working on logo stuff as you get time. If it is possible, I sure would also like a bumper sticker sized sticker as well that I can slap some place .