Hah! Only two arms, but via the magic of modern recording technology I just recorded the beat first, then overdubbed everything else.
Thanks! I shoulda known. About the only having two arms, I mean.
;^)
Forgive me if you already addressed this, Duke, but can you talk about the different design goals for the Hathor 1203 versus the Changeling, and how the two of them sound/perform relative to each other?
Agreed, Duke, but while you're at it, perhaps consider the TC-112 in the mix as well so we understand your overview of the 12"-based product goals. Sorry Tom, hope that doesn't derail .
Okay, so you guys are bringing out the double Toms...
Seriously, I thank you both for your interest and your questions.
The Hathor 1203 was an attempt to strike a particular balance between size/weight/cost and "sounds good on electric bass", and of course its secret weapon was that little open-format mid chamber. Then the Birdhaus 46, with its uber-wide dispersion, was well received, particularly for jazz and double-bass. The Changeling 112 is sort of a combination of the two concepts, though obviously it looks more like a Hathor than like a Birdhaus.
Let me back up for just a minute. I've been doing "poly-directional" speakers in home audio for quite some time. My first amateur polydirectional builds date back to the late 1980's, and imo my polydirectionals have always been my best-sounding speakers. But I wasn't sure the concept would play well in a live music setting.
You see, the best wisdom of the day says that, for a good PA system, you want to maximize the amount of direct sound the audience gets, and minimize the amount of reflections they get. So PA systems ideally have radiation patterns no wider than they need to be for audience coverage. My Thunderchild cabs were essentially small PA cabs... which imo sound better with the "acoustic friendly" rear-firing tweeter!
So I should have done the Changeling cabs long ago, as there was enough evidence to justify the venture. I just hadn't thought it through yet.
The thing I learned all too slowly is, for a bass cab, the audience INCLUDES the bass player, and may well include the other musicians! So the Changeling cabs are taking what the Hathors started to the next level, with the added benefit of better approximating an acoustic instrument like upright bass.
Unfortunately, to get into Changeling land, we trade off some of the weight and cost benefits of the Hathors. We also trade off a little bit of low-end extension... my most recent calculations indicate that the three-port Hathor 1203 is -2.5 dB @ 62 Hz (the singleporter was -3.0 dB at 62 Hz), and the three-port Changeling 112 is -3.0 dB at 62 Hz, due to losing about 1/10th cubic foot of internal volume to the rear-firing mid chamber.
It is possible the Changelings might turn out to be something big. In situations where the band doesn't have monitors, I think it would usually be of benefit to the entire band to be able to hear the bass player's cab. He's the one who lays down the groove, not only for the audience but also for the band. And what benefits the band, benefits everyone in the house. Well that's my theory - as of this writing, there's only the one Changeling cab out there, and it hasn't been gigged yet.
The Birdhaus cabs arguably have a better radiation pattern from a "bass for the band" standpoint, but I'm less able to tweak the tonal balance the way I want with that format. Theoretically I could do two-way Birdhaus cabs, but that would be really complicated, expensive, and heavy. So I think the Changeling format has more potential once practicality is factored in.
The Thunderchild was designed as a "hi-fi" cab, so what goes in = what comes out with relatively little "editorializing" by the cab. I've sold a few to luthiers. The current version has the midrange smoothy/grindy switch, but it's really just a hint of grindy in grindy mode (on paper the upper-mid peak is about 5 db, but that's the on-axis figure and it's all coming from the woofer and the woofer is beaming, so subjectively it's still just a hint). And those nice low-coloration constant-directivity horns are mostly just firing past the bass player's knees. So... if the Changeling cabs turn out to be a big hit, I may be making some changes to the Thunderchild cabs, if I can do so without too many tradeoffs.
Okay let me try to pull it all together:
Hathor 1203: Good sound-per-pound and good for electric bass, not as good but still decent for double-bass (imo). You can hear yourself pretty well on a tight stage.
Changeling 112: Heavier so not as much sound-per-pound, overall probably at least as good as the Hathor for electric bass, better for double-bass, and better for accompanying unamplified acoustic instruments. Your band mates can also hear you pretty well. Tall version coming, which goes a bit deeper.
Thunderchild 112: Bigger and heavier, goes a little deeper. Okay for electric bass and good if you want a hifi sound, generally takes EQ well. The acoustic-friendly version is probably tonally the best of the bunch for double-bass. Not so good for distortion; the little paper cones on the others sound better with distortion than the hifi compression drivers do. The vertical dispersion is about average, so it's harder to hear your overtones on a tight stage compared with the other two, though the optional rear-firing tweeter can help. I've been told that drummers like the rear-firing tweeter. Current version has the "4/8" ohm switch.
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