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Baer Amplification Megathread!
- Thread starter KJung
- Start date
There's nothing inherently wrong with mixing and matching cabs, but some pairing will definitely work better than others. It's a crap shoot for the most part and your ears are always the best judge as to what sounds right and what doesn't. Fortunately, this pairing seems to work quite good to my ears as well.
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What made it even more enjoyable was getting the bassist from our drummer's other band play a few songs. I got to go out in the crowd and get the audience perspective!
First gig with the ML112 series 1. This rig was unbelievable...
What are you using for the amp setup there? Cool idea with the stand. That would also give you good versatility over the amount of low end you want to hear. On the stand, would be the least because you are up high enough to lose some low end coupling with the floor. If you wanted a bit more low end, you can put the cab vertical right on the floor, which lets you pick up some floor coupling effect. Putting it on the floor in the horizontal position gives you the greatest amount of floor coupling and a bit more low end still. Nice to be able to tailor the deep lows in this manner. Welcome to the family!
Yup, that was exactly the idea. I've been struggling with my setup on gigs, because no matter what I tried there was a low-mid hump. I could EQ it out mostly, but at the cost of losing some punch. With the ML112 set up on the stand I actually have to push the lows and low mids a bit, which I've NEVER been able to do on a gig. I'm only one gig in, but once I got the EQ tweaked a bit (middle of the second set) the ML112 just cruised the rest of the night. Totally solid and punchy with no boom. None. Drummer and horn section loved the sound... the sax player described it as every note having such fatness and presence that he could chew on them.
The cabinet is being driven by something a little unique. Before I came across your ML112, my favourite cab combo was a Bergantino HT112 worth an Ampeg 210 AV sitting on top. I needed an small profile setup that I could sit on top of the 210AV, and it needed to have a fairly comprehensive EQ - like I said, getting rid of pesky low mids has been an issue. So, walking through the local music shop one day, they had a bunch of Radial Workhorse boxes on sale, which were the perfect size to sit on top of the Ampeg. So, the Workhorse is filled with three 500 series modules... a Radial JDV PRE, an Alta Moda AM20 EQ, and an FCS Pico 502 compressor. The power is supplied by an RAD Ice Power 1000 amp, which are built by Talkbass member Randy Dritz, known around here as radbass. I believe it uses the same power module as the Bergantino IP cabs. Honestly, I came across it completely by accident, and it has turned out to be a total winner.
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Very cool setup! You might want to try putting the ML112 on the floor to see if that doesn't give you a bit of low end fatness without having to boost the lows. It tends to lend a very broad low end plushness that is a bit different from what you get from an EQ. Something to try anyways. I always find it takes me a while to experiment and dial in my sound when going to new gear. Really glad to hear you are enjoying the cabinet!
Eventually I will - I ran it on the floor in rehearsal this morning, and again it got rave reviews - different horn section in a different band that said almost exactly the same thing as the guys from the gig Friday night. You are correct about the plushness, but if I have to sacrifice a little plushness for punch and clarity, I'll opt for the stand every time... I won't say anything foolish like "you have no idea how well it worked on the stand" ( I'm guessing that you have a pretty good idea), but it was so good and so easy for everyone to hear that I am a little reluctant to put it on the floor.
Just to give you an idea of the difference in EQ settings, this morning on the floor with the cabinet placed vertically, the bass control was at 12:00, low mid control was at 12:30, the upper mids were at 11:30, and the treble was at 11:00. At the gig on Friday with the cabinet on the stand placed horizontally, the bass control was at 1:00, low mid control was at 1:30, the upper mids were at 11:30, and the treble was at 11:00. These were the settings for my 4 string bass. For my 5 string I increased the bass by "one hour", and decreased the low mids by "one hour".
Extra info - the EQ settings on the AM20 are variable. Right now the EQ points are:
Bass - 80 Hz
Low Mids - 240 Hz (wide Q)
Upper Mids - 1000 Hz (narrow Q)
Treble - 4000 Hz
I am using Alleva Coppolo basses, an LG4 and an RA5, playing R&B, Funk, Blues, Motown, Rock, and Jazz. I can't wait to get a chance to do a jazz gig with my Rob Allen - I think it will rule!
Six months with the ML-112 pair... still in the infatuation stage. Love these 1st outdoor gig this week (weather permitting) and I can't wait to really crank them up!
This morning's setup - they pair up really well with the Genzler Magellan 800 and Noble tube pre/DI
1st outdoor gig this week (weather permitting) and I can't wait to really crank them up!This morning's setup - they pair up really well with the Genzler Magellan 800 and Noble tube pre/DI
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I usually run 2 ML112 cabs, but I was recently reminded how good just one can sound.
We were playing a small bar in Fells Point (Baltimore) and since space was a premium I just brought one cab. I had my Streamliner turned up pretty high (master at 1-2), enough gain to get a little hair from the tube, and a slight cut to the high mids. It was a great slightly dirty sound with good low end and plenty of low-mids. My band leader said that it was the best tone he'd heard from a rig in a while.
We were playing a small bar in Fells Point (Baltimore) and since space was a premium I just brought one cab. I had my Streamliner turned up pretty high (master at 1-2), enough gain to get a little hair from the tube, and a slight cut to the high mids. It was a great slightly dirty sound with good low end and plenty of low-mids. My band leader said that it was the best tone he'd heard from a rig in a while.
On Wednesday my classic rock band had its first 'outdoor' gig of the season... actually under a hipped roof. The venue provided a sound tech who was TERRIBLE, a craptastic 80s Fender PA, setup with the speakers behind us. We asked him to move them out front, but he refused, and we ran out of time as the gig was pushed forward an hour. We're doing the same gig 3 more times this summer and have always been able to use our own. We're going to insist on our own for the remaining gigs. Anyways, this was the first time the band had seen or heard my current system - I had been using an Eden WT-800C D210XLT/XST stack for the last 5-6 years. They loved the sound of the Baer... yes, Baer... only one. The #@$% soundtech had unplugged the lower cabinet from the head, and I was unaware until tear-down. Not letting this guy near our stuff again! SO, yes one cab can do the job... quite well - BUT I'm going to use both the rest of the summer - just because. BTW, I did notice the sound wasn't what I expected, but attributed it to the hipped metal roof over us.
Man, I hate when you get a sound guy like that and it can make it really hard to enjoy the gig sometimes. Bad enough putting the PA behind the band, but unplugging one of your cabs? That's beyond unprofessional. Unfortunately, these kind of guys are out there and they tend to think they have skills way beyond their actual capabilities. Real skill at FOH requires a in depth knowledge of the gear and a deep understanding of acoustics and engineering. It's unfortunate that the "sound guy" quite often just happens to be the guy who own the venue owner's second cousin's next door neighbor who just happens to own some PA gear and a van.
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Chef
In Memoriam
what the heck is that Workhorse deal?
Can you link me to more info?
That seems pretty cool.
Can you link me to more info?
That seems pretty cool.
Chef
In Memoriam
"sound guy unplugged one of my cabs."
Uhhhhh........
Man.
The only way I'd be ok with that would be if I had been playing idiotically loud, to keep up with other idiots. Like, so loud, the sound guy had already talked to me about it, pulled me out of the mains, and there was nothing left to do on his end without IdiotWhacking me.
That's pretty not ok.
I wouldn't care for that.
You know; there are amps that could have shut down or been seriously damaged from changing the ohm load.
That could have ended badly any number of ways.
Boo :>(
Uhhhhh........
Man.
The only way I'd be ok with that would be if I had been playing idiotically loud, to keep up with other idiots. Like, so loud, the sound guy had already talked to me about it, pulled me out of the mains, and there was nothing left to do on his end without IdiotWhacking me.
That's pretty not ok.
I wouldn't care for that.
You know; there are amps that could have shut down or been seriously damaged from changing the ohm load.
That could have ended badly any number of ways.
Boo :>(
Certainly...
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
It is basically a small metal box that holds three 500 series modules. In my case, I have a pre amp (Radial JDV Pre), Compressor (FCS Pico 502), and an EQ (Alta Moda AM20). The box has a lot of flexibility in terms of inputs and outputs, and the box itself is also the power supply for the modules. It's not a cheap way to go, but you can mix and match modules depending on the gig/situation. I'm using it with an RAD Engineering Icepower 1000 power amp, and I absolutely love it.
Here is a close up:
Chef
In Memoriam
I see they also make a six pack rack for the 500 series modules, but, I couldn't find a page of what exactly are 500 series modules, and, what ones they have.
Neat idea.
Neat idea.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,085
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- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Sorry Chef... should have included more info. 500 series modules are used mostly by recording studios. I'm no recording pro, but it is an interesting way to have a modular channel strip. There are all sorts of different modules from all sorts of different manufacturers, EQs, Compressors, Preamps, etc. I think the idea is that if you are a studio pro, you can make your sound portable and take it with you from place to place, and mix it up as situations require. I got into it because I was looking for a particular size requirement - the Workhorse box fits perfectly on top of an Ampeg 210AV cab.
If you go to gearslutz.com, or reverb.com and search for 500 series you can get an idea of what some of the offerings are. I also included two store websites for you to look at - both have a boatload of modules. when you go to Zen Pro Audio, choose the recording tab, and then you will see a 500 series menu.
ZenProAudio.com
500 Series - Vintage King Audio
I really like the fact that the unit is super portable, and I can experiment with different components. However, the stuff is not cheap. But... it sounds really good. Basically, you get to build your own preamp system. Changing a module out literally takes a minute or two. It is a tweaker's delight.
Hope that was more helpful!
