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AudioKinesis Cabs Part VI...

My Hathor 1203 arrived yesterday and I am very impressed with the clarity and volume this little wonder produces. Paired with my 800RB, P Basses sound wonderful, especially with "driven" settings as shown here. Kudos to you Duke on getting it built and delivered ahead of schedule, just amazing work ethic and a true inspiration. Thank you sir.

A pair of them will peel paint off walls. Just sayin'...
 
Yeah---the 212 is killin'. Perfect form factor, tiny footprint, light weight. Oh and did I mention that it sounds fabulous? Better sound, smaller size, and definitely a MUCH better value than a few other boutique 212's that I've played that are currently in favor-- USA made or from across the pond.

I would agree. I have been using mine now for a couple of years and it's the best set up I've ever owner thanks to Mike.
 
ImageUploadedByTalkBass1410448609.031833.jpg


a little percussion/bass duo session with my new hathor.

gotta get a copy of the roughs, but using a mic and a di (my preferred way) sounded pretty damned good when we were doing it.
 
Howdy TB. Just a quick report on a TC118 I got last week (I think mine may be the first with a high-powered rear-firing tweeter, for what that's worth). All I can say is "holy crap!" This was a bit of a lark for me to try to see how low I can go since I've only played through an 18 once before. I've only played with it a couple times, and only once at rehearsal, but man, it can go super low! It's almost dangerous without a high pass filter or something, even with all port plugs in. The tone is classic AK, but "bassier" or a bit "darker" than, say, the tc112 or tc115 (or even the tc212). Each note has incredible girth and heft to it with loads of volume. Plenty of top end for me. I'll have to play with EQing more, and try a different amp than the WW I used at practice, but it doesn't cut through the mix so much as it sits under the mix and envelopes the room. Anyway, I'll report more if I have anything new or different to add, but so far so good. Thanks again, Duke! DM
 
Howdy TB. Just a quick report on a TC118 I got last week (I think mine may be the first with a high-powered rear-firing tweeter, for what that's worth). All I can say is "holy crap!" This was a bit of a lark for me to try to see how low I can go since I've only played through an 18 once before. I've only played with it a couple times, and only once at rehearsal, but man, it can go super low! It's almost dangerous without a high pass filter or something, even with all port plugs in. The tone is classic AK, but "bassier" or a bit "darker" than, say, the tc112 or tc115 (or even the tc212). Each note has incredible girth and heft to it with loads of volume. Plenty of top end for me. I'll have to play with EQing more, and try a different amp than the WW I used at practice, but it doesn't cut through the mix so much as it sits under the mix and envelopes the room. Anyway, I'll report more if I have anything new or different to add, but so far so good. Thanks again, Duke! DM

Ooh, man! I'm gassing now!

A few months ago, I had a chat with Mike Arnopol about which AK cab he would recommend for the ultimate in that "phat, deep, smooth, all-enveloping" sound - the sort of "liquid bass" sound that seeps deeply into the mix and fills up all the cracks. "TC118", he said. "That's the one you want". Now there's your testimony as a customer as well. :hyper:

Me? I'm fantasizing about ordering two (2) TC118s...and a Carvin B2000 amp head. :)

MM
 
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Oh man, MM, two of these? Better make an appointment with your audiologist first. The lowend is massive - a beast to be controlled. Yeah, Mike's and Passinwind's comments here (and a few others from that infamous Seattle GTG where a TBer's wife played violin through one of these) is what GAS'd me up to try one. I can only imagine what the 1855 is like (it has an even more powerful and loud driver, from what I've read here).

By the way, the tc118 is styled the same as other AK cabs - top strap handle and side handles, only larger (mostly taller but also a little bit wider and deeper than a tc115) and is in the low to mid 40s pound-wise, so it's an easy one-person carry. I'm going to rehearse with it again today and will report any additional observations worth noting. I'll try to post some sound clips,, if possible, but that would be pushing my tech abilities.

EDIT - Been thinking about what I wrote and I want to correct the above by stating the cab is about 20" wide (not measuring from the protective corners), about 14" deep and a bit over 30" high. So, it's only taller than the tc115 and negligibly deeper, if at all (and not as wide as the tc115 wide body).
 
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Oh man, MM, two of these? Better make an appointment with your audiologist first. The lowend is massive - a beast to be controlled. Yeah, Mike's and Passinwind's comments here (and a few others from that infamous Seattle GTG where a TBer's wife played violin through one of these) is what GAS'd me up to try one. I can only imagine what the 1855 is like (it has an even more powerful and loud driver, from what I've read here).

By the way, the tc118 is styled the same as other AK cabs - top strap handle and side handles, only larger (mostly taller but also a little bit wider and deeper than a tc115) and is in the low to mid 40s pound-wise, so it's an easy one-person carry. I'm going to rehearse with it again today and will report any additional observations worth noting. I'll try to post some sound clips,, if possible, but that would be pushing my tech abilities.

I have no doubt that the TC118 goes deep. But I doubt it's any deeper than my pair of Acmes. Thing is, while the Acmes go uber deep, "girth" and "heft" are not quite the first words to spring to mind to characterize their tone. They're unparalleled for certain applications (i.e. electric jazz/fusion, etc.) But maybe not for what I have in mind for them. So I'm thinking about flipping the Acmes, and using the proceeds to invest in a single TC118 for now; with a second one to come thereafter, perhaps early in the new year. On the basis of my experience with my first-generation TC112, they would seem to be just what I need.

By the way, which Walter Wood amp did you use to generate the output you just described? How much power did you pump into it anyway?

Regarding the Hathor 1855, there was a recent user review here that characterized the low end as noticeably leaner than one might expect, given the other observances of it on this very thread. I have no idea whether that review might be an outlier, but if you're curious to read it, it should come right up with a simple search.

MM
 
Hi MM. I am not familiar first-hand with Acme cabs. If you're referring to 10s (or possibly 12s), I would think those would be "quicker" or "more responsive" for fast playing (which isn't my style). The thing about the tc118 for me (and maybe the Acmes do this too) is that you can feel/hear the entire lowend of the note (so-called "low end extension" I guess), even the low ones, and the cab doesn't seem to break much of a sweat and seems like it can go even lower (handled a low B with ease); with other cabs, the low end gets cut off at some point. What kind of style of music are you thinking of using the tc118 for?

I was playing through a WW blue light (so 800w into 8 ohms). Was using a Rob Allen fretted Mouse with piezo and LaBella tapewounds. First went though an Fdeck HP3 then into Walter. Compression would have helped. Again, it could have been the room, but the lowend outta this thing can get to be too much of a good thing (even with the port plugs in), so an HPF or compressor (or both) seems to help. The combo of the Walter with piezo pup and the tc118's horn and rear tweeter gave too much high end for my taste for what we were playing (think psychedlic cowboy jamband music), so I had to turn that down.

Yesterday, I was playing with drums and 2 guitards at home in my living room, using a few basses including a 5-string. Was going into a Lowend True Voice pre into a Glock BAC pre (with EQ only on bass, which was at about 11:00 or so), a Rane compressor and an Alembic SF-2 powered by a Crown K2 (so it was like 1200w per side or something ridiculous, but never had either volume above 11:00). I had the tc118 on 1 channel and a 4 ohm tc112 (v.1) sitting on top of the tc118 (but pointed sort of backwards) on the other. Man, that sounded good! All port plugs in on the tc118. The tc112 was aiming right at me and I was behind and to the side of the tc 118. Regardless, the effect of the tc118 was totaly there. The tone was clear and, again, tons of girth and heft to each note (the SF-2 doesn't hurt in that regard, though I didn't have it set to its lowest frequencies). Cutting the bass on the pre and boosting the compression a bit really helped keep the furniture from rattling too much. My playing sucked but that rig was clear and strong!

Anyway, gotta run. Hope this helps. Feel free to pm me if interested.

And to Coyoteboy, if you're in SF area and want to check out my tc112 (v.1), let me know. Cheers, DM