I reread this, now I understand what you're saying! Two cabs would equal The Birdhouse type of design one cab would be enough for what I've been looking for... Swanhaus!
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AudioKinesis Cabs Part VI...
- Thread starter Thor
- Start date
I think I'm getting dizzy just trying to visualize all these different configurations. I'm hoping to see one in the wild soon.
Total douche move by that unsavory individual. I always thought, perhaps naively, there was a sort of unwritten code that says musicians never steal from musicians. Not that one should steal from anyone. I try to keep both karma and the golden rule in mind these days.
Total douche move by that unsavory individual. I always thought, perhaps naively, there was a sort of unwritten code that says musicians never steal from musicians. Not that one should steal from anyone. I try to keep both karma and the golden rule in mind these days.
Coming from the point of view of this bassist, sound man & live-band recording engineer,
It seems like one potential negative aspect of the Birdhouse type configuration, might be:
A LOT more Bass bleeding into the PA-microphones of the guitar amps and drum kits, than a more conventional (forward & upward only facing ) Bass cab would.
I know I've been forced to locate my bass rig very close, in-between mic'd-guitar amps & mic'd-drum kits on serveral, smaller/tight stages at gigs before...
Just seems like the sound man would need to more drastically cut lows & low-mid frequency's from all of those other instruments stage mic's, (especially the kick drum mic...) Plus even then, he would still end up with additional mic-phasing issues, that would degrade/muddy the sound quality of the Bass guitars DI (or microphone) signal, that folks out in the audience are hearing through the PA.
I know I sometimes need to cut additional lows from the Bassist vocal mic, with conventional bass cabs.
So It seems like sideways-facing, bass cab speakers would be following suit, and probably even more so....
It seems like one potential negative aspect of the Birdhouse type configuration, might be:
A LOT more Bass bleeding into the PA-microphones of the guitar amps and drum kits, than a more conventional (forward & upward only facing ) Bass cab would.
I know I've been forced to locate my bass rig very close, in-between mic'd-guitar amps & mic'd-drum kits on serveral, smaller/tight stages at gigs before...
Just seems like the sound man would need to more drastically cut lows & low-mid frequency's from all of those other instruments stage mic's, (especially the kick drum mic...) Plus even then, he would still end up with additional mic-phasing issues, that would degrade/muddy the sound quality of the Bass guitars DI (or microphone) signal, that folks out in the audience are hearing through the PA.
I know I sometimes need to cut additional lows from the Bassist vocal mic, with conventional bass cabs.
So It seems like sideways-facing, bass cab speakers would be following suit, and probably even more so....
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this probably a lot of different kinds of floating around in bed exactly what this thing is, but my personal concept is it's for small gigs. It's a speaker and a personal monitor system all in one. if you're playing a gig big enough to have sound reinforcement you probably have monitors, therefore you probably don't need this thing
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
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- 46,029
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- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
Yep. On my jazz gigs there often were no mics on stage at all. But speaking for myself, just having a mid driver or two firing at me would be all I'd need for good pitch definition for upright or fretless BG. The first 48 Birdhouse was a big old clunky thing by my standards, no way I would travel on public transit with something like that.
i love duke's cabs, own two and hoping to buy a third if the configuration i want becomes available. just the same, beware this as you envision things to come:
" ...a machine intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and overcomplicated fashion. "
" ...a machine intentionally designed to perform a simple task in an indirect and overcomplicated fashion. "
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Man, you thought mine was too simple, and now you're saying others' are too complicated?
Edit: Like the Rube Goldberg reference though, as my son just made one in summer camp.
yeah, i guess i've become the contrarian here. i'm older & played hundreds of rough and tumble gigs, good, bad, & ugly. the point of diminishing returns sets in very quickly on stage. i'm still in duke's corner, have no fear.Man, you thought mine was too simple, and now you're saying others' are too complicated?
Edit: Like the Rube Goldberg reference though, as my son just made one in summer camp.
Just joined the club! Received a composite TC212 yesterday that I bought here from @mam1862 . This is probably the first AK cab in Greece, I kinda feel like I brought it home since Kinesis is a greek word (it means motion) 
First impressions are great, although I haven't taken it to rehearsal yet. This is an impressively smooth and even cab. The top end is perfect; I was like, FINALLY, someone gets it right! I've had Glockenklang (not the Art line though, with the better tweeter), Vanderkley and Bergantino (again, the HD and not the HT/REF) and all of them had a colouration to the highs I wasn't crazy about. This is just like I want it, airy and transparent. I'm not completely sure about the low lows yet, I like a natural, extended low end, I use a 5-string and never liked sealed cabs for example. The TC's low end is full and tight, it doesn't go as low as I prefer but that could be a good thing, for example I think I'll rarely face any problems with boominess (and if it happens, the B|Amp's HPF will take care of it). That wasn't a surprise, I had done my reading on the cab and knew that Duke had targeted the first harmonic of the low B (62 hz) and not the fundamental (31 hz). Its small footprint might also play a role in this, as there is less floor coupling than most other cabs. It was a tradeoff I consciously took though for a 212 cab that weighs 40lbs and fits in my VW Golf's trunk, and I think I may probably prefer it in the long run, it will probably be better for the band mix. Overall I think it's very even, like a monitor, which may seem a bit dull flat but again, it was a conscious choice, I knew that I'd have to use eq with this one, and it responds great to it. The mid switch is also very useful, the cab instantly becomes more lively with it (although I intend to keep it off). All in all it seems to deliver everything that I expected in a great way. I try not to be too enthusiastic before some time passes and before I've used it with the band, but this very well seems like it could be the last cab I'll ever need. I like the fact that it uses stock Eminence speakers too, if something goes wrong I'll be able to replace them even after many years. I also really appreciate the fact that Duke seems to be one of the nicest people on TB, never exaggerating about his work or putting other designers' cabs down. Thank you @DukeLeJeune and @Mike Arnopol for designing and building this amazing cab! And thanks to @tombowlus for his invaluable advice.
Now, some questions!
1) Do you think the composite material with the handle in the middle of the side is strong enough to carry the cab with one hand, for going up and down stairs etc? It seems OK but I wouldn't want to risk it, if it's recommended to use both handles to carry it, I'll use both.
2) How does the TC212 compare to one or two TC112s? The TC112 has more internal volume per driver so I was wondering if it also results in deeper low end extension.
3) If I understand it correctly, the mid switch up is the "natural" sound of the cab, with a mid-cut in the low position to make it more flat response, right?
First impressions are great, although I haven't taken it to rehearsal yet. This is an impressively smooth and even cab. The top end is perfect; I was like, FINALLY, someone gets it right! I've had Glockenklang (not the Art line though, with the better tweeter), Vanderkley and Bergantino (again, the HD and not the HT/REF) and all of them had a colouration to the highs I wasn't crazy about. This is just like I want it, airy and transparent. I'm not completely sure about the low lows yet, I like a natural, extended low end, I use a 5-string and never liked sealed cabs for example. The TC's low end is full and tight, it doesn't go as low as I prefer but that could be a good thing, for example I think I'll rarely face any problems with boominess (and if it happens, the B|Amp's HPF will take care of it). That wasn't a surprise, I had done my reading on the cab and knew that Duke had targeted the first harmonic of the low B (62 hz) and not the fundamental (31 hz). Its small footprint might also play a role in this, as there is less floor coupling than most other cabs. It was a tradeoff I consciously took though for a 212 cab that weighs 40lbs and fits in my VW Golf's trunk, and I think I may probably prefer it in the long run, it will probably be better for the band mix. Overall I think it's very even, like a monitor, which may seem a bit dull flat but again, it was a conscious choice, I knew that I'd have to use eq with this one, and it responds great to it. The mid switch is also very useful, the cab instantly becomes more lively with it (although I intend to keep it off). All in all it seems to deliver everything that I expected in a great way. I try not to be too enthusiastic before some time passes and before I've used it with the band, but this very well seems like it could be the last cab I'll ever need. I like the fact that it uses stock Eminence speakers too, if something goes wrong I'll be able to replace them even after many years. I also really appreciate the fact that Duke seems to be one of the nicest people on TB, never exaggerating about his work or putting other designers' cabs down. Thank you @DukeLeJeune and @Mike Arnopol for designing and building this amazing cab! And thanks to @tombowlus for his invaluable advice.
Now, some questions!
1) Do you think the composite material with the handle in the middle of the side is strong enough to carry the cab with one hand, for going up and down stairs etc? It seems OK but I wouldn't want to risk it, if it's recommended to use both handles to carry it, I'll use both.
2) How does the TC212 compare to one or two TC112s? The TC112 has more internal volume per driver so I was wondering if it also results in deeper low end extension.
3) If I understand it correctly, the mid switch up is the "natural" sound of the cab, with a mid-cut in the low position to make it more flat response, right?
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I think you are on the right track here lo-freq. It's starting to sound alot like Duke's modular subs for home audio (the swarm? maybe?) Sounds interesting for BG, he might have experimented with it already? Im curious of his response.......to anything really. I just dig the way that dudes mind works.
So I've cranked my amp up next to the Birdhaus 4x15 and stood to the side. Honestly not a lot of bass firing that way. The whole concept is that the sound wraps around the front and reinforces up there, which I can also confirm in my gig space. Different venues will have very different characteristics, but at 60 lbs, I'm packing a helluva whallop walking in. If it becomes an issue, I just plan on twisting the cab around to isolate it as much as possible. I guess my point is that I love the cab enough that I don't care.
So I've cranked my amp up next to the Birdhaus 4x15 and stood to the side. Honestly not a lot of bass firing that way. The whole concept is that the sound wraps around the front and reinforces up there, which I can also confirm in my gig space. Different venues will have very different characteristics, but at 60 lbs, I'm packing a helluva whallop walking in. If it becomes an issue, I just plan on twisting the cab around to isolate it as much as possible. I guess my point is that I love the cab enough that I don't care.
If my band ever gets its act together enough to play a live gig, somewhere with a savvy soundman, I will be full of questions about how the Birdhaus 48 works out from the mixing board position. Anderbass makes some points that seem to go hand-in-hand with what I've absorbed about live audio over the years...
...but what I've absorbed about using the Birdhaus 48 in my band practice situation is that it seems to lay down an even distribution of mids in sort of a hemisphere around the cab and it makes it less critical where I stand in order to get enough mids in my ear to help with pitch recognition on the lower notes.
My particular trio all seem to agree that having the bass pretty "up" in the mix works best for what we do, but I hope I can develop the restraint to use that mids hemisphere to run at a lower volume, rather than to carpet-bomb the room with bass sound. If that ends up being the case, it might make the Birdhaus configuration just the ticket onstage. Or, if I end up never getting past the phase of using cab like a 16-year-old riding his first sportbike in traffic, I could end up as the bane of soundmen everywhere, doing the live-music equivalent of rush-hour lane splitting and 65 mph traffic wheelies in shorts and a cropped tee shirt.
Time will tell, I guess. One Birdhaus thing that has been an issue at practice is that when I set up at the bottom of the basement stairs like I usually do, one of the side-firing 8s is aimed up the stairs into the guitarist's living room, and the guitarist's wife has said that the bass gets pretty intense upstairs. I envision it as using the stairs as a giant folded horn, aimed at the guitarist's wife's head while she's trying to hold a conversation with someone upstairs. Unfortunatley that's the best location for me to set up. If I use my old Peavey TKO combo instead of the Birdhaus, and just lean it back so it's aimed at my head, I can get by down there and the bass horn stairs effect is much reduced. So in order to avoid the Anderbass stage concerns, I may have to work on restraint.
EDIT: Duh! Or fire the drummer, wait until he loads out, then re-hire him and set HIM up at the bottom of the stairs. Sorted! Hell with restraint.
whoa, whoa, whoa...what? i thought an H1506 was something far down the road, maybe in the pipeline for the future, or maybe not. will it be a prototype? are you the guinea pig, er, i mean, beta tester?
Awaiting eagerly am I the tales of mid-honkin' intestine-rearragin' 15-powered badassery that will surely follow receipt of the H1506.
The future is now!
I did ask if this was a prototype and Duke said the design is set. There is a lead time on the build, but my attitude is that I'm willing to wait for the right cab.
I shall report accordingly! I went back and forth between the 1506 and 1533 a hundred times. I'm sure they both slam, but I think I made the right choice for me.
i see, thank-you! my H1203s took three months ( worth it, ) so longish lead time is not exceptional. i'll pm Duke to get the full lowdown. thanks again.The future is now!
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not at all, all reports are three thumbs up. the reason i didn't plump for an H1505 is the faital 5" may soon be unavailable. i'm not a churner, i keep my stuff forever - so if i blew something up years from now i'd be in a pickle.
