Finally got to play my new Hathor 1203 with the full band today (have had it a few weeks), and I must say it delivered on all counts. I didn't have to push it at all at a moderate volume practice jam, and it should handle anything I'll need under my D800+. I played it with both switches up and 1 of the 3 ports plugged, with excellent results-meaty, full bass and low mids without boom, easily heard with the cab on the floor right behind me....very pleased. Thanks Duke!!!
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AudioKinesis Cabs Part VI...
- Thread starter Thor
- Start date
.....ya know.....I realize Duke has made recent mods/improvements to the Hathor 1203......but if I wuz a bettin' man, I'd put money on the most marketable "new" model in the AK line being a little micro bro to the 1203.....a 1003 (or straight 10, depending on the driver) under 20 lbs.....to compete in the same space with the BF One 10 and perhaps the Genzler 10-2 array.......I would certainly be very interested......
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The 3012lf and 3010lf are about the same price and weight. A 10" equivalent of the Hathor 1203 would likely offer less output at a similar weight and price.
The Greenboy Fearless cabs have a 2x10 variant - I think there are some really practical reasons why not many people opt for that configuration.
if size is the issue, a 10 may be the answer. however, for what i do, i much prefer the sound of a 12.
Yes, it IS beyond the flattening of the curve of diminishing returns if one needs its' full volume capability, but for applications where the 1203's full volume potential is not needed, a box that's even moderately smaller in volume and a bit lighter would still be preferred by many. My Hathor 1203 has become my favourite 112 cab ever, but there will be many times when I'll prefer an even smaller box, for playing with no drummer or just a cajon or whatever, in a tiny setting. The Barefaced line has the One 10, which seems very popular. It's a great cab, but not all that much lighter or smaller than the 210 or 112 offerings....an AK 110 would not necessarily have to be based on the 110 LF driver.....
I know that there is a 110 on the horizon, at least the last I messaged with Duke. If I only played 4 string I'd just use a 110. Having a low B makes that pretty improbable for me though. Would love to have a Hathor if anyone wants to trade theirs for my Thunderchild. Seems like the Hathor still supports a low B and is lighter. The TC has a bigger low end, and is the most wonderfully natural sounding cab I've ever heard, but I never use it with all of the ports open, so I think the Hathor would work well for me.
Duke set me up with a Birdhaus 48 about a month ago. I'd been skipping around in this thread and was really taken by how involved, helpful and present he seemed here, and decided to contact him and ask if something like a Hathor 1203 was full-range enough to also reproduce cleanish electric guitar and lap steel (my other instruments).
1. He took my question seriously and promptly replied that the Hathor was voiced to complement those instruments when a bass was going through it, so it was probably not the ideal voice for that application.
2. He apparently gave it some thought after the exchange and contacted me to suggest that a Birdhaus miiiiiiiiight work. He conducted a guitar test of his own and wrote to say he didn't think it had enough upper-end content after all. I pointed out that I was used to a guitar amp with a Peavey Scorpion 12 in it, which is pretty "flat" for a guitar speaker, and that I didn't use much, if any, distortion. He responded that yep, Scorpion 12s are flatter than many, and if that was what sounded good to me...
3. He sent me a Birdhaus to try out and offered to pay return shipping if it didn't work out.
The Birdhaus most certainly did work out. I love it. I play a four-string P-type bass through a Zoom preamp set to the cleaner end of the "Marshall Superbass" model, more or less, for just a smidge of classic rock bass grime, using an old Peavey M-3000 power amp (210 W @ 4 ohms). At this power level, with both ports unplugged, the low end is full but not farty, the mids convey that sort of pillowy blooming hint of dirt, and I can EQ the top end to bring the clank or subdue the clank and the Birdhaus is able to convey what I tell the EQ to do. I'm playing with drums and a Les Paul/Marshall halfstack and I can hear myself with even frequency coverage from anywhere my instrument cord will reach, including looking straight down at the top of the cabinet. Remarkable. I no longer have to position myself close to on-axis to hear the upper textures of the sound. My bandmates--neither of whom are gear-tweaker nerds like I am--both commented by the end of the first practice with the Birdhaus that they could a) hear me more clearly and b) were not getting skewered by the intense cone of higher frequencies experienced when on-axis with the driver in my previous practice cab.
I find I don't need to use any of the speaker sims in my Zoom to sound good even though the Birdhaus goes higher than what I'm used to. The top end reproductions seems smooth and natural to me, even with a slightly dirty bass sound.
What I've read on this thread suggests to me that I may be on the caveman end of the Audiokinesis customer spectrum, tonally speaking, and I think it's noteworthy that a boutique cab can bring the goods even when asked to do it lowbrow-style.
With a 19" 3U rack SS power amp on top of the 14" wide Birdhaus, I do experience the "visual blight of lateral overhang," but I'm learning to appreciate that. I do have a soft spot for jank. In fact it might be time to send an update to the Janky-A Rigs of Doom thread...
As an added bonus, both my guitar and lap steel come through with lots of clear tone and hard-hitting transients if I want them, but not harshly if I don't. I'm thrilled to have one rig that seems able to amplify all three instruments at adequate volumes, with ample room for EQ tweaks, and is pretty lightweight and portable to boot. The tweeterless configuration still goes higher than I need it to; I do use a combination of speaker sim and top-end-limiting shelving EQ with those instruments but it's easy to tweak and get sounding good and natural that way.
Thanks a million, Duke! You just drop-kicked me WAY uptown.
1. He took my question seriously and promptly replied that the Hathor was voiced to complement those instruments when a bass was going through it, so it was probably not the ideal voice for that application.
2. He apparently gave it some thought after the exchange and contacted me to suggest that a Birdhaus miiiiiiiiight work. He conducted a guitar test of his own and wrote to say he didn't think it had enough upper-end content after all. I pointed out that I was used to a guitar amp with a Peavey Scorpion 12 in it, which is pretty "flat" for a guitar speaker, and that I didn't use much, if any, distortion. He responded that yep, Scorpion 12s are flatter than many, and if that was what sounded good to me...
3. He sent me a Birdhaus to try out and offered to pay return shipping if it didn't work out.
The Birdhaus most certainly did work out. I love it. I play a four-string P-type bass through a Zoom preamp set to the cleaner end of the "Marshall Superbass" model, more or less, for just a smidge of classic rock bass grime, using an old Peavey M-3000 power amp (210 W @ 4 ohms). At this power level, with both ports unplugged, the low end is full but not farty, the mids convey that sort of pillowy blooming hint of dirt, and I can EQ the top end to bring the clank or subdue the clank and the Birdhaus is able to convey what I tell the EQ to do. I'm playing with drums and a Les Paul/Marshall halfstack and I can hear myself with even frequency coverage from anywhere my instrument cord will reach, including looking straight down at the top of the cabinet. Remarkable. I no longer have to position myself close to on-axis to hear the upper textures of the sound. My bandmates--neither of whom are gear-tweaker nerds like I am--both commented by the end of the first practice with the Birdhaus that they could a) hear me more clearly and b) were not getting skewered by the intense cone of higher frequencies experienced when on-axis with the driver in my previous practice cab.
I find I don't need to use any of the speaker sims in my Zoom to sound good even though the Birdhaus goes higher than what I'm used to. The top end reproductions seems smooth and natural to me, even with a slightly dirty bass sound.
What I've read on this thread suggests to me that I may be on the caveman end of the Audiokinesis customer spectrum, tonally speaking, and I think it's noteworthy that a boutique cab can bring the goods even when asked to do it lowbrow-style.
With a 19" 3U rack SS power amp on top of the 14" wide Birdhaus, I do experience the "visual blight of lateral overhang," but I'm learning to appreciate that. I do have a soft spot for jank. In fact it might be time to send an update to the Janky-A Rigs of Doom thread...
As an added bonus, both my guitar and lap steel come through with lots of clear tone and hard-hitting transients if I want them, but not harshly if I don't. I'm thrilled to have one rig that seems able to amplify all three instruments at adequate volumes, with ample room for EQ tweaks, and is pretty lightweight and portable to boot. The tweeterless configuration still goes higher than I need it to; I do use a combination of speaker sim and top-end-limiting shelving EQ with those instruments but it's easy to tweak and get sounding good and natural that way.
Thanks a million, Duke! You just drop-kicked me WAY uptown.
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...thanks for quoting me; I kinda like that phrase, almost as much as I dislike the appearance it describes
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As a fairly non-theory-informed, non-jazz-enhanced rock P-bass guy I'm not sure if this is relevent to shwashwa's point, but I can relate to some of this. A major benefit of the Birdhaus configuration, and certainly its execution, for me is that I get a comforting, gentle hemisphere of all the frequencies I'm generating if I'm anywhere in the room. That upper content really helps my pitch recognition--especially important when I'm doing something low on the neck, especially if it's chromatic, stepwise stuff--and it's nice to have it anywhere my cord will reach. Including being right on top of the cabinet. I always have to work to not dig in too much; the minute I have trouble hearing myself I try to compensate by playing harder and tightening up and things get worse fast. Adequate, non-position-dependent ease of hearing myself reeeeeaaaaallly helps me.
It is freeing to no longer need a line-of-sight relationship with my cabinet's driver.
I am concerned with how my tone comes across--"say, that feral-looking guy in the mammoth-wool codpiece has only played five different notes tonight, but his tone is like immersing oneself in glistening, well-seasoned meat fat. My IQ has lowered as I've listened, but I daresay he's onto something with respect to band and mix support. Good God, man--a gifted primitive!"
That's what I aspire too, basically. And my bandmates don't even bother with the codpieces, and may not be aware that any sounds possess the quality of "pitch," but they were both quick to mention (with no prompting from me) that they were amazed how well they could hear me with the Birdhaus. The guitarist is usually pretty on-axis with my cab and used his words I mean a series of emphatic gestures and hooting sounds to mention not getting beamed to death by it. The drummer is usually trying to form a relationship with a dead saber-toothed tiger at 90 degrees to my cabinet, so the side-firing speaker helps there.
The Birdhaus is a lot easier to carry up and down stairs than my old Peavey 1 x 15 combo was, too.
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There were parts of that post that made me wonder if you play in Gwar. 
GWAR! No, but our guitarist would be flattered. Recent band conversation snippet: "Man, I like the material, but I ain't puttin on no makeup and I'm not wearin a bear suit."
"That's okay...(the drummer) would probably wear the bear suit."
I am trying to imagine an AudioKinesis magazine ad, featuring us as the photo subjects...kind of in the spirit of thumbs-up Kip Winger in those late 80s Peavey ads. I get so far and then it's just like a mental circuit breaker trips.
Okay, sorry...back to AudioKinesis products.
"That's okay...(the drummer) would probably wear the bear suit."
I am trying to imagine an AudioKinesis magazine ad, featuring us as the photo subjects...kind of in the spirit of thumbs-up Kip Winger in those late 80s Peavey ads. I get so far and then it's just like a mental circuit breaker trips.
Okay, sorry...back to AudioKinesis products.
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Excellent news on all fronts. I really enjoyed your write-up, too.
You know, Duke, with the proper speakers (and the current ones might be just that for some), something like the Birdhaus could make a great guitar cab -- not to mention that, if guitarists can hear themselves better, they might not turn up so much -- the cab would have to be of the right efficiency to operate their amps in the "sweet spot" though -- that and we would be spared the "cone of piercing treble". Amp placement/overhang might be an issue for some.
Just a thought.
.....accurately describes what I am now getting from a Walkabout through a Hathor 1203.......
i want to know how you guys are self-medicating.
Hi Duke,
Need to put my TC115W in the shop. Could you PM me your phone # please in case the repairman has questions. I'm sure he will have seen nothing quite like this. Thanks!
Need to put my TC115W in the shop. Could you PM me your phone # please in case the repairman has questions. I'm sure he will have seen nothing quite like this. Thanks!
