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Double Bass Big E 4x6 for upright

flatback

flatback

May 6, 2004
2,990
2,667
#1
Just startin this thread early (I ordered a 4x6 from Mike...should be a month or so) but has anyone else been using the Big E MAS 46 for upright?
I ordered the 46 instead of the 45 because I want one cabinet that will work for everything I do from duo to jazz loud quintet and although it is bigger then the 45 it isn't THAT much bigger and both are relatively small.
I plan on driving it with a AI Focus and either a FC or Aptflex and a Troll mic. Something tells me there is going to be a period of sifting thru what works best on my bass.
Anyone else using a 46 for upright? How about a Mic with a Big E? Would love to hear about either....
 
#3
I worked on the crossover for the 46, and listened to recordings of solo upright bass (among other things) through it as part of the process. Imo it'll work fine for upright. And if Mike said it would work, that counts for far more - in other words, I'm saying you can trust his description of what his cabs can and cannot do well. He has no desire to sell anyone the wrong cab for their needs.
 
#4
No one has tried the new 46 for upright except for me. The original 46 was good for electric but I didn't like it for upright. The new one is a completely different animal. Don Sibley should get his in a few weeks (sorry about the delay, Don)

The 45 is generally viewed as on of the best upright cabs.I used it and loved it. The 46 might give up a tiny bit of midrange clarity but the 46 has more low end power without boom or lack of clarity. It goes as loud as two 45's.

But for most guys one the planet the 45 goes loud enough for all jazz gigs. And it weighs 11# less.

I play (and enjoy) lots of fusionish, Brazilian gigs, and others that require electric bass volumes. Most guys don't.

The 46 gives a bit more "oomph" (you notice it when walking) at volumes that are medium to loud for the 45.

Don't get me wrong---the 45 kills on 80% of my upright gigs.My problem is that I almost never have a cab around of the most current designs for my own use. I'll make one for myself and then wind up selling it because it keeps me current with my orders!

The one that is constantly on my "to do" list is the 25.About 30% of my upright gigs are small duos and trios in restaurants or commercial cocktail parties. Having a gig bag with the 25 was a blissful experience. But I had to get one out and promised to make myself a new one. I'm taking a 41# 46 to these gigs! The only reason I have a new 46 is that in our experiments with the new design we did a final improvement that smoothed out a problem area with the prototypes. I'm using the prototype! I just eq it out.
 
#5
thanks Mike...
Too soon with the thread. Methinks along the same lines....if I really dig the 46 I will prolly later get a 26 or 25 for the small gigs (or keep the wizzy 10 though im feelin rather done with it) in the meantime the 46 isn't gunna hurt anyone played down low just above a whisper... I hope it'll be like driving a Sportscar slow on a country road (you can still feel the power even if you aren't using it) and for all the other med to louder gigs, I'll have the room to play dynamically. Mostly I want to be away from the Wizzy sound which has been getting on my nerves more progressively (despite that I love showing up at a gig that lightly attired.) In fact part of my thinking about bringing a bigger cab is this: recently I blew out my rotator cuff (from a lot of abuse) but what threw it out was one trip loads to a lot of gigs carrying the Wizzy a backpack (amp and cords and music) and the bass (broke the wheel so I was using the shoulder strap) ...I had to rethink how I get to gigs and got myself a really excellent cart. (gruvgear) now I put it all on the cart and if the Cab is 40 pounds instead of 16 but way better sound, it is only in and out of the car that I am carrying it....also the cart folds up to make a speaker stand....
 
#7
tyb507 said:
I went from seeking out super lightweight cabs to the MAS85, which is pretty heavy compared to what I'd been running...but the trade off was waaaaay worth it for the improvement in sound. Now I'm wishing I hadn't sold my composite Crazy8 for the quieter gigs, though!
Click to expand...

thats what Im thinkin'...At this point I want to hear myself and like the sound and be able to intonate and build dynamics and lay down a pulse at a particular part of the beat and to hear that and to make the other cats feel right.And if the cab is a little bigger and heavier, thats ok.
 
#8
Ok---EVERYONE is bugging me about my website. It's up and running but definitely under construction. I edited my profile to include it but I don't know if it's showing up. Within the next few weeks all the info will be there and correct. It's getting there. Steve didn't tell me that it's accepting orders but two guys tried ti buy something but there was a glitch. Steve will fix it today.

I tried to add my website address---I think that's ok as the other manufacturers have them---but it doesn't seem to work. I keep entering it and save changes but it doesn't seem to stick. I go back and it's blank. I'll ask the mods.
 
#10
Receive the new 46 today! I'm really digging it! There is a subtle increase in authority or "oompf" compared to the 45. The 46 is voiced more evenly which was the main reason I wanted it.

I will write more after I get to try this thing in a few rooms but I am really excited by what I've heard so far.
 
#11
Yeah Don
Any comparisons between the two would be interesting....Im thinking that if I get another cab it would be the 25 or 26 and that would about cover everything, but I do wonder if I'd have been happier with a 45 since I play mainly upright....
As a side note I have high hopes that this cab is going to kill it for my other need which is to amplify a mic'd vibraphone. Vibes tends to disperse in an omni way out from the bars and needs directionality (toward the audience not to be drowned out) Im hoping that the wide dispersion of the big E will make a great pair with my vibes...
 
#12
I used the 46 on a big band gig yesterday. Unfortunately, I can't report much on the performance of the 46. I have come to realize that my soundpost is too short. It was cut in Albuquerque, NM, a much different climate than Ft. Worth. Gotta start with a good tone and right now my bass sounds ill. :vomit: Hope to get a new post cut this weekend.
 
#13
well, minutes before I walked out the door to an outdoor horn trio gig tonight my new MAS 46 arrived (unexpected till next week) I swapped out the pair of wizzy 10s I usually use for this gig and took the 46. Just finished 3 sets of pretty exposed bass playing and I'm pretty excited by the sounds I was hearing. I had it for the first set horizontal on the ground and it was really musicial and sweet and you can put in all the pretty words that people have been saying about these speakers here (thump but clear, harmonics that jump out,dynamics, even tone, stellar thumb position, natural widely dispersed sound, HiFi etc). The speaker sounded great. I turned it on its side for the second set (this is how Im going to HAVE to play it in a lot of situations because of space) and it was the same though slightly less phat, but really just sounding great. I was thinking about tilting it but I really didn't need it.
The cab is a beast compared to the wizzys. you can tell it is built like a tank.... gotta figure out some wheels and a cover...I'll bet there is a good amp cart out there for this thing.
Mike could not have been better to do business with, I think so far this is a real winner. Glad I got the 46 instead of the 45, this seems perfect for upright.
Thanks Mike.
 
#14
This is what I use--I've owned all of the pricey ones

http://www.sears.com/magna-cart-fol...1x000001&kpid=00987615000&kispla=00987615000P

I just pulled Sears--I got a couple at Costco. Couple of bungees and you're in business. It's super light, folds flat and is cheap. I've walked blocks with it. Doesn't have stair climbers but I've found that they work poorly anyway.

I'll be working with Susan at Studio Slips as far as covers. I like her and I like their stuff. A bit pricier but better I think. By the end of this week she'll have dimensions on all of my cabs. She has a "clamshell" design that has zippers and totally encloses the cab. As well as standard covers.
 
#18
This Cab is extraordinary. Quartet gig on Sun, just silly good sound. It is musical. Man I thought that maybe it had some special mojo to a degree, but that mostly I would be getting a bigger phatter sound (true) and getting away from the Wizzy 10 sound which has a brittle glassyness in the mids that has been bugging me for some time (though I love how light they are)
But this new cab does brand new things:like being able to hear yourself in a new way in real time while you are playing. Two gigs with this box and I can hear myself onstage differently then I ever have before. Dynamics, dry punch, ease, and a sound that makes the best of what you are feeding it.
Even my jazzhole, bow and arrow, high action, I don't use an amp till I bleed friend raised his eyebrows at the gig and said, "now what the nerdy hell is this masterbated vortex thing? From out there it sounds totally sick"
 
#19
flatback said:
"now what the nerdy hell is this masterbated vortex thing? From out there it sounds totally sick"
Click to expand...

Dibs on the sig quote!

I can't wait to get my Pollmann back so I can use it with this cab. I used this with my fretless jazz bass in rehearsal yesterday. I'm not sure it's my favorite for electric bass yet. I also think I haven't learned how to dial it in for my sound. Since I ruled out the 45 on electric pretty early I haven't had much practice with the Big E stuff on the slab. I think I need some more time to get my sound. It took me a while on upright to figure out where to position it and how to handle the EQ in different rooms.
 
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#20
OK I'll stop after this for a while, but dang. Last night I played in North Beach at Rose Pistola (a loud large tiled restaurant) and I didn't say a word about the new cab. (usually the cats I play with could care less...and talk even less then that about bass gear or gear in general) and after we finished the drummer comes up to me and says "is that a different speaker then you had last week" so I tell him a little about it, and he goes on about how clear and present and acoustic it sounded and how much fun it was to play when he could hear what I was playing and how it sounded different. Then later outside on the street the sax player (who really is very into music and NOT gear) asked if there was something different and that he was totally amazed that he could hear EVERY NOTE and that it was a new experience for him to hear the bass like that and that the bass solos had dynamics and punch instead of getting swallowed into the tile abyss of the loud restaurant.Totally unsolicited, he was just digging the sounds.
He kept talking about it way past where he normally tunes out of those things.
About halfway thru the night too, a wonderful singer sat in for a few tunes and she didnt have a mic so I turned WAY down, but was totally amazed at my ability to HEAR everything perfectly despite it being as low as it can go without being off. I know a bunch of guys are gunna say "well if it was that low why not just play acoustic and nix the amp all together?" and all I can say is some things have to be heard to be appreciated. (and hearing yourself, pitch, thump, rhythm,dynamics really counts)
Man Mike sure deserves some big kudos here....

Heres the other thing then Im gunna shut up, I can really see the need for a 1x6 version of this cab. I don't know about all that graphy nerdy speaker ******** that was on the other thread but this thing goes way louder then I'll ever need, but its not the loudness that is good, its the weirdly wonderful all overness and quality of the sound in the midst of a lot of harsh acoustic environments (would love to play it on a big stage in front of a quiet audience) but just projecting downwards,I'll bet a 1x6 of this design would be great for small gigs and as a personal monitor for acoustic(ish) gigs.
The schlep is way more then a wizzy 10 or even 2 of them (for the 4x6) but it is so worth it, I cant see ever going back and in fact I'm going to sell them and get a 2x5 or 2x6 for the small gigs...but I'll bet a 1x6 would cover a lot of ground...
 
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