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AudioKinesis Cabs Part VI...

#7,621
DukeLeJeune said:
In my Hathor and Changeling cabs, I have tried to get some mids and highs up to the bass player's ears without having to resort to pole stands or tilt-back. The midrange cones are in a chamber that has big openings on the top, which bounces some of the cone's backwave energy up towards your ears. Probably not a perfect solution, but hopefully "better than nothing".
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I tested out a Changeling 112T and can confirm that Duke's novel approach works well not just for the bass player, but for other band members (especially the drummer for some reason...proximity to the bass cab maybe). Quite honestly I thought that whole mid ported chamber idea was going to be interesting, but nowhere near game changing - and once again life proves me wrong!

While I have never pole mounted a bass cab, I suspect that the low frequency loss would be very noticeable. The great thing about Duke's approach is that you get the problem solved with the mids and upper end (for the whole band, not just yourself and/or the audience) while not losing a thing in the lower end. Plus, Duke's cabs really sound good and offer tremendous flexibility in voicing through ports you can easily plug/unplug and voicing switches.
 
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#7,622
DukeLeJeune said:
The bass is already omnidirectional, but pole-mounting would give your mids and highs (which are directional) a "clearer shot" at people's ears, whether they are in the band or on the stage. The downside is, you would lose a lot of boundary reinforcement in the low end. Most bass cabs are designed with the expectation of there being at least one nearby reflective surface.

In my Hathor and Changeling cabs, I have tried to get some mids and highs up to the bass player's ears without having to resort to pole stands or tilt-back. The midrange cones are in a chamber that has big openings on the top, which bounces some of the cone's backwave energy up towards your ears. Probably not a perfect solution, but hopefully "better than nothing".

Some of my Thunderchild cabs have an optional rear-firing tweeter, which can help with that too, if there's a reflective surface behind the cab.
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Ever considered a Hathor 212 Changeling? What effect would that have on the 62 Hz response?
 
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#7,623
Stumbo said:
IME, in pretty much all of the venues I've played in, reflections created by stage floor boundary reinforcement get lost in venue acoustics and can create stage boominess.

Seems that raising cabs on a stand(yea for @JimmyM's milkcrates), vertical stacks, HPFs and foam pads have all come more into use in the past 10 years to improve how the bass sits in the FOH mix.

The reason I brought up the PA pole stand is that it can create more distance from the stage floor than other methods.

Anyone ever try this?
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IME if you get more than 18 inches away from the closest solid boundary (in most venues I've played in), you lose more low freqs than it's safe to try to add back in with EQ. I've used a milk crate probably 90% of the gigs I've done, all rigs had really good low end. About 12 inches from the floor & a back wall seems to work really well most of the time.
 
#7,624
Found out a new trick last night.

Plug the ports, switches down, and mic a Hathor 1203. You can fairly approximate an 8x10 sound with a little EQ. Except you can do it at conversation volumes.

Did a live radio spot with a six piece prog band, drummer on rods. Speaker pointed away from the circle of players. When it hit tape, just a wonderful throaty sound like nothing you’d expect. Still continue to be impressed with what this cab can pull off.

EFC5B963-6803-4F32-8B76-57DD14772BB0.jpeg
9B5D9EDA-5D85-47D4-9A9C-D0286B5C2BA0.jpeg
 
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#7,625
fourstr00 said:
Found out a new trick last night.

Plug the ports, switches down, and mic a Hathor 1203. You can fairly approximate an 8x10 sound with a little EQ. Except you can do it at conversation volumes.

Did a live radio spot with a six piece prog band, drummer on rods. Speaker pointed away from the circle of players. When it hit tape, just a wonderful throaty sound like nothing you’d expect. Still continue to be impressed with what this cab can pull off.

View attachment 3013923
View attachment 3013925
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Hackneyed as the phrase is, that's thinking outside the box (and the circle of players). Did you point the cab outward to reduce bleed into each other's mics, or am I missing something?
 
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#7,626
I continued to be amazed at the options Duke's cabs give us in terms of voicing flexibility. When I was testing out a Changeling 112T I almost felt like I could use an amp flat and do my room adjustments with the cab itself. With cabs like this I can see where something with minimal EQ like a Bass Block might work well.
 
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#7,629
MarkA said:
Hackneyed as the phrase is, that's thinking outside the box (and the circle of players). Did you point the cab outward to reduce bleed into each other's mics, or am I missing something?
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Yep, did it to reduce bleed. The radio station had a single live room for the whole band, with us on a headphone mix. If there’s no audience to face, might as well keep it isolated.

Ken Lloyd said:
Nice gig update. What does it mean, drummer on rods? I also think Duke's gear is tops.
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Promark-C-RODS-full.jpg
 
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#7,630
Al Kraft said:
I continued to be amazed at the options Duke's cabs give us in terms of voicing flexibility. When I was testing out a Changeling 112T I almost felt like I could use an amp flat and do my room adjustments with the cab itself. With cabs like this I can see where something with minimal EQ like a Bass Block might work well.
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Having tried the Bass Block with a Hathor 1203, I can attest that it is indeed a great match! The Bass Block's EQ is more flexible and intuitive than it looks, really. Combined with Duke's cabs you really get access to a lot of useful tones; all in a simple, lightweight, powerful yet affordable package. Really looking forward to get my Changeling and to use this combination with my band!
 
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#7,636
fourstr00 said:
Found out a new trick last night.

Plug the ports, switches down, and mic a Hathor 1203. You can fairly approximate an 8x10 sound with a little EQ. Except you can do it at conversation volumes.
Click to expand...
Verrrrry interesting! I wouldna thunk it!

The woofer doesn't go up as high as the tens on an 8x10, but I'm guessing that enough off-axis energy from the little mid makes it into the mike to compensate. And the tone profile being in the ballpark with both switches down, well that's just lucky.

Thanks for discovering and posting this!
 
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#7,638
fourstr00 said:
Just spitballing, but I think a lot of it was the sealed profile and the low end drop that comes with it. We ended up splitting the mic between the top of the woofer and the mid driver to end up with more grind.

Live, it sounded like us. But put to tape is where it really came through.
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Thanks for clarifying on the mic placement. I had always thought my cabs weren't really well suited for micing, but you're making me rethink that.

If I understand correctly, by changing the mic's height, you can get either more or less grind, depending on how much of the midrange cone you're capturing. Does that sound right?
 
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