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AudioKinesis Cabs Part VI...

#10,682
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Stacked both ways. Just in time for a gig tomorrow 🤘
 
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#10,684
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#10,687
bassvirtuoso said:
Thanks to a few great TBers, I am now a two time owner of AK cabs - a Hathor 1203 and a TC115AF.
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Congrats! Now all you need to do is stack them. . They should sound great together. My 312 stack, 1203 atop TC212AF, has kept me cabinet happy for many years. The Hathor and Thunderchildren are complimentary, playing quite nicely with each other.
 
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#10,689
The only online activities I've seen from him is on another audio forum recently. I wish him the best getting through what he's going through. Duke is a great guy! I had met him in the HiFi shows, but I still haven't heard his bass stuff. His HiFi stuff is great, so I would recommend his bass cabs sight unseen. Maybe I will get one some day.
 
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#10,691
I was frustrated in my attempt to buy a cab from Duke a couple of years ago, but it wasn't personal--I just wished I'd gotten the cab! I have nothing bad to say about him. I put down a deposit, but things just didn't come to fruition. This happens sometimes; the things that matter, at least to me, are (1) why it happens and (2) how it's dealt with. As for the first thing, without going into detail--not that I really know or asked about any details other than what Duke himself mentioned--I understood why his situation, which I guess is still ongoing, didn't allow him to fill my order. I would have done the same in his shoes, from the little I know of the situation.

As for the second thing, a key point for me was that in sharp contrast to some of the bad actors and shady characters that have been pilloried around here for taking money and then never delivering products (we've all seen the threads, probably), Duke behaved like a gentleman. As soon as it became definite that things just weren't going to happen, he immediately informed me and then refunded my deposit, with interest, before I even had time to ask. That's how you do it.

I'd still like an AK cab at some point while I can still play (Changeling 12 Tall, by preference), but if that doesn't happen, it's OK, and I'm not at all mad about it. If the stars ever align, I'd feel no hesitation about ordering an AK from Duke. FWIW.
 
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#10,692
Richard Lindsey said:
I was frustrated in my attempt to buy a cab from Duke a couple of years ago, but it wasn't personal--I just wished I'd gotten the cab! I have nothing bad to say about him. I put down a deposit, but things just didn't come to fruition. This happens sometimes; the things that matter, at least to me, are (1) why it happens and (2) how it's dealt with. As for the first thing, without going into detail--not that I really know or asked about any details other than what Duke himself mentioned--I understood why his situation, which I guess is still ongoing, didn't allow him to fill my order. I would have done the same in his shoes, from the little I know of the situation.

As for the second thing, a key point for me was that in sharp contrast to some of the bad actors and shady characters that have been pilloried around here for taking money and then never delivering products (we've all seen the threads, probably), Duke behaved like a gentleman. As soon as it became definite that things just weren't going to happen, he immediately informed me and then refunded my deposit, with interest, before I even had time to ask. That's how you do it.

I'd still like an AK cab at some point while I can still play (Changeling 12 Tall, by preference), but if that doesn't happen, it's OK, and I'm not at all mad about it. If the stars ever align, I'd feel no hesitation about ordering an AK from Duke. FWIW.
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That is a great way to look at it. I'm sorry you didn't get a cab. They are truly wonderful.
I got my pair of Hathor 1203 cabs just before Duke had to bow out. Actually, he was working on mine while he was injured! It took longer, but for some reason, I had no doubt that things would work out. I did get my cabs, but the story you just shared reinforces my thought that I would be taken care of no matter what. Duke it certainly a rare human. We need more folks like him!
 
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#10,695
I’m officially ready to start shopping for a second cab. My Hathor 1203 is my ride-or-die, so I’m considering adding a second now that I’m more often taking a rolling cart into the venue.

Would I feel much difference in tonal response if I ended up with a Changeling or possibly Thunderchild for cab #2? I’m effectively an electric-only player, but also do generally shape my tone quite a bit with pedals & a Darkglass (AO900) head.

Seeing that and understanding why a given cabinet may be hard to source, I think I’m pretty open to any cab pair that would work well together.
 
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#10,696
Several years ago Duke and I kicked around some ideas regarding tubes and AK cabs. I brought a proof of concept rack preamp to one GTG in Boise and was lucky enough to get to hear Michael Manring play through it. No pressure or anything… ;)

With that in mind, I started a full tube amp build six years ago. Life swerves interceded numerous times, but it’s finally making noise now: A DIY 100 watt Tube Amp: PW100B

One of my goals was to leverage the original TC112 switch and port options more fully, since I never really used them much at all with my DIY solid state amps and preamps. I think I may have managed that pretty well, but I haven’t had time for a deep dive into that aspect just yet.
 
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#10,697
Passinwind said:
Several years ago Duke and I kicked around some ideas regarding tubes and AK cabs. I brought a proof of concept rack preamp to one GTG in Boise and was lucky enough to get to hear Michael Manring play through it. No pressure or anything… ;)

With that in mind, I started a full tube amp build six years ago. Life swerves interceded numerous times, but it’s finally making noise now: A DIY 100 watt Tube Amp: PW100B

One of my goals was to leverage the original TC112 switch and port options more fully, since I never really used them much at all with my DIY solid state amps and preamps. I think I may have managed that pretty well, but I haven’t had time for a deep dive into that aspect just yet.
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That’s a gorgeous piece, Charlie! As one who likes my AK ports wide open (well-tuned cabs to start with), I’ll be interested if your tube amp is more sensitive than your solid state to the subtleties of their ports and switches. They’re all great cabs, but I think the TC 112 is my favorite - lots of miles on that one.
 
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#10,698
Real Soon said:
I’m officially ready to start shopping for a second cab. My Hathor 1203 is my ride-or-die, so I’m considering adding a second now that I’m more often taking a rolling cart into the venue.

Would I feel much difference in tonal response if I ended up with a Changeling or possibly Thunderchild for cab #2? I’m effectively an electric-only player, but also do generally shape my tone quite a bit with pedals & a Darkglass (AO900) head.

Seeing that and understanding why a given cabinet may be hard to source, I think I’m pretty open to any cab pair that would work well together.
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My thoughts. I’ve had all three: Hathor, Changeling, and Thunderchild 12”-ers. The Hathor and Changeling are much more similar than different, and I believe you could mix and match them almost like identical cabs. When I stack them the Changeling is on top for the mids dispersion, but it’s a pretty subtle difference.

The TC is a bit beefier, louder, heavier, and overall a bit more cab - perfect as a small club solo cab. For that reason I never stacked it with the H & C cabs, but I can’t imagine any issues in doing so. The TC was my workinest cab, and I don’t know why I sold it. (yes I do, $$’s of course).
 
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#10,699
TomB said:
That’s a gorgeous piece, Charlie! As one who likes my AK ports wide open (well-tuned cabs to start with), I’ll be interested if your tube amp is more sensitive than your solid state to the subtleties of their ports and switches. They’re all great cabs, but I think the TC 112 is my favorite - lots of miles on that one.
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My TC112AF has been my daily driver since 2011. Since most of my SS amps during that time have had a variable HPF I’ve rarely even bothered to bring the port blockers to gigs or jams. I haven’t gotten into fine tuning the new amp’s damping factor yet, but that’s a relatively easy mod if and when I feel the need. At first blush this new amp’s quite a bit more responsive to the switches and I think the horn rolloff might be very useful for acoustic guitar or electric guitar with a modeler, which are both intended alt. use cases. The amp also has a power amp input jack on the front, and good input sensitivity, so there’s a whole lot to unpeel as far as options.
 
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#10,700
Passinwind said:
My TC112AF has been my daily driver since 2011. Since most of my SS amps during that time have had a variable HPF I rarely even bothered to bring the port blockers to gigs or jams. I haven’t gotten into fine tuning the new amp’s damping factor yet, but that’s a relatively easy mod if and when I feel the need. At first blush this new amp’s quite a bit more responsive to the switches and I think the horn rolloff might be very useful for acoustic guitar or electric guitar with a modeler, which are both intended alt. use cases. The amp also has a power amp input jack on the front, and good input sensitivity, so there’s a whole lot to unpeel as far as options.
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Ah yes, I’ve used the AK port blockers to tame a hopelessly hollow stage. It makes sense that a HPF would do something very similar, like it does for mic inputs on a stage.
 
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