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Baer Amplification Megathread!

#1,365
Ok, the pair of cabs showed up today and I basically unboxed them, put one in the car and headed to a gig. This was a new venue so I don't have a point of reference for the room but I've played similar places. This was a trio hit, sax, bass and percussion at a local wine bar. As usual, tight area to set up, lots of glass windows and high ceiling. First tune I used my Rob Allen and it was a bit too much booty for the room. I didn't try to eq very aggressively, instead I just swapped to my Fodera MGS (5-string, E-C) and ended up using that the rest of the night. I brought my small looper as I figured I'd end up trying to cover some space with that sparse instrumentation. Normally it is a challenge, as drummers/percussionists have had a hard time hearing it in the past. Tonight was an exception - ended up using it on over half the songs and my percussionist said it was probably the first time he was able to really hear what was going on.

As for tone, the MGS has never sounded better. I've struggled a bit with that bass, as I prefer my PJ setup on my other bass and haven't really been able to dial in the dual coils to get a tone I dug. Tonight it killed though. The added booty of the ML112 along with a bit more midrange beef seems to make a big difference.

Have another two gigs tomorrow, will move more towards getting them broken in (3 hours tonight on the cab). So far I'm impressed. I can't complain about the size. I ran it vertical and like the height. The pair will be awesome. The carry isn't bad and it fits perfectly in the back of my wagon. Sonically they seem to have the right balance of low end push and midrange detail. I don't think I'll miss the tweeter thing with these cabs - other than expecting to hear hiss.

A recording from this evening - [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

1dec12-5.jpg
 
#1,371
Head is a Puma 500. Thanks for the props - solos are still a work in progress, and I'm also working on working the comping chords in while playing. Plus loop pedals are always a challenge live. But I think you can hear the flavor of the cab. Full, but controlled low end, nice articulation, sweet highs. I have an outdoor hit in an hour or so, will likely bring both cabs just because I want to get a little break-in for both. This cab has enough lows to cover many of my gigs with only single.
 
#1,373
I've got a couple hundred (thousand?) hours of live recordings from the past three years and I can tell the difference between the different cabs. Of course there are plenty of variables at play. Most important is how it feels/sounds live as that will affect how I play.
 
#1,374
nostatic said:
Ok, the pair of cabs showed up today and I basically unboxed them, put one in the car and headed to a gig. This was a new venue so I don't have a point of reference for the room but I've played similar places. This was a trio hit, sax, bass and percussion at a local wine bar. As usual, tight area to set up, lots of glass windows and high ceiling. First tune I used my Rob Allen and it was a bit too much booty for the room. I didn't try to eq very aggressively, instead I just swapped to my Fodera MGS (5-string, E-C) and ended up using that the rest of the night. I brought my small looper as I figured I'd end up trying to cover some space with that sparse instrumentation. Normally it is a challenge, as drummers/percussionists have had a hard time hearing it in the past. Tonight was an exception - ended up using it on over half the songs and my percussionist said it was probably the first time he was able to really hear what was going on.

As for tone, the MGS has never sounded better. I've struggled a bit with that bass, as I prefer my PJ setup on my other bass and haven't really been able to dial in the dual coils to get a tone I dug. Tonight it killed though. The added booty of the ML112 along with a bit more midrange beef seems to make a big difference.

Have another two gigs tomorrow, will move more towards getting them broken in (3 hours tonight on the cab). So far I'm impressed. I can't complain about the size. I ran it vertical and like the height. The pair will be awesome. The carry isn't bad and it fits perfectly in the back of my wagon. Sonically they seem to have the right balance of low end push and midrange detail. I don't think I'll miss the tweeter thing with these cabs - other than expecting to hear hiss.
Click to expand...

Very nice playing! I know we had some talks about the cramped stages you play on and from the looks of that one, you weren't kidding. Always a tough situation for any cab because there tends to be a body right in front of the high end driver which can block the top end from reaching your audience. Once nice thing with the ML's in this situation, is that you can turn up the treble on your amp to push more top end volume out there without increasing the level of the above 10k frequencies which can make the top end sound thin and harsh to those sitting in the line of fire.
 
#1,377
KJung said:
Hey Gary,

Since we are going in-depth on the ML112, one other comment. I've found most cabs aren't impacted by 'breaking in' very much. The ML112 is though, and will actually sound a bit more 'bright and tight' right out of the box. About an hour or two of playing will open up the low end enough so that the whole cab becomes nicely balanced.

I found this to happen on my Berg AE212 also. Most cabs, I hardly notice.

Just FYI (and also for others buying Roger's cab). Don't 'freak out' if the cab sounds quite aggressive right out of the box. Play it for an hour or two before you make any decisions on if you like it or not.
Click to expand...

+1 Our woofer uses a very stiff surround and it really does take a few hours of cone movement for that material to loosen up. After break in, the surround will be more flexible and the low end will be a little louder and fuller. The lows will then sound much more balanced with the mid driver.
 
#1,378
nostatic said:
Ok, the pair of cabs showed up today and I basically unboxed them, put one in the car and headed to a gig. This was a new venue so I don't have a point of reference for the room but I've played similar places. This was a trio hit, sax, bass and percussion at a local wine bar. As usual, tight area to set up, lots of glass windows and high ceiling. First tune I used my Rob Allen and it was a bit too much booty for the room. I didn't try to eq very aggressively, instead I just swapped to my Fodera MGS (5-string, E-C) and ended up using that the rest of the night. I brought my small looper as I figured I'd end up trying to cover some space with that sparse instrumentation. Normally it is a challenge, as drummers/percussionists have had a hard time hearing it in the past. Tonight was an exception - ended up using it on over half the songs and my percussionist said it was probably the first time he was able to really hear what was going on.

As for tone, the MGS has never sounded better. I've struggled a bit with that bass, as I prefer my PJ setup on my other bass and haven't really been able to dial in the dual coils to get a tone I dug. Tonight it killed though. The added booty of the ML112 along with a bit more midrange beef seems to make a big difference.

Have another two gigs tomorrow, will move more towards getting them broken in (3 hours tonight on the cab). So far I'm impressed. I can't complain about the size. I ran it vertical and like the height. The pair will be awesome. The carry isn't bad and it fits perfectly in the back of my wagon. Sonically they seem to have the right balance of low end push and midrange detail. I don't think I'll miss the tweeter thing with these cabs - other than expecting to hear hiss.

A recording from this evening - [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

1dec12-5.jpg
Click to expand...

Excellent! Super groove and tone, thanks.

Mark
 
#1,379
R Baer said:
Very nice playing! I know we had some talks about the cramped stages you play on and from the looks of that one, you weren't kidding. Always a tough situation for any cab because there tends to be a body right in front of the high end driver which can block the top end from reaching your audience. Once nice thing with the ML's in this situation, is that you can turn up the treble on your amp to push more top end volume out there without increasing the level of the above 10k frequencies which can make the top end sound thin and harsh to those sitting in the line of fire.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Roger. Now you know why I worry so much about cabinet size. And just to confuse the issue, here is today's hit (different band)

2dec12-1.jpg


Wasn't cranking that loud, but wanted to get both out and break them in a bit. This time had the pair of Foderas and I'm liking this rig a lot. I can see why Ken says these are in the same tone universe as the Berg AE series. I can hear similarities with my old AE210s, which were great cabs. These have more booty though, and don't have that extended upper highs that I don't think I'll miss for many of my gigs.

So far so good. The form factor is bigger than my last ones (which were around the smallest/lightest 12s around) but manageable and the front porting and tall (or wide depending on how you place them) form factor is great. I'm about to listen to the recording from today and see how it sounds. I know this venue pretty well, and aside from the two little girls who were dancing on stage and decided that my recorder was a nice toy to yell at, should give a good idea.
 

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