I agree. I would be happy with 2 4x6 cabs. Take one to the usual small clubs, and two to bigger and outdoor. The guys with the flex mod set up seem to like their options.
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Big E Speakers Part 4 - Quadraphenia
- Thread starter kesslari
- Start date
Here's my MAS210Flex in my new, to me, live-in road case.
The Prodigy and Flex pairing is the sound I've been searching for, forever. It's very articulate, super rich, and detailed. I can't believe how good it sounds to me. I honestly feel that as long as the Flex holds up, it will be the last cab I will have to buy. I was on the road for about a month and had no protection for it, and it took a few hits in the trailer, so I knew I had to find a case to fit it. The height of the cab is what made it difficult to find a generic case that worked. I happened to to have a layover in Minneapolis and checked their Craigslist, and there it was. It's a 4x12 guitar case, and it's a couple of inches too wide on each side, but the height and depth is exact. The cab is really snug in the case, and there's very little chance of it moving around inside. It has made my setup so much faster.
Mike let me change my order to one of the new Flex speakers if I promised not to let the secret out until he was ready to produce them, so I've been digging mine for a while.
My mind was blown in the best of ways from the first note. He told me this would probably be the last cabinet I buy. I bought a used 112 but Mike's words ended up proving true - I prefer the Flex, so I sold the 112 and bought another 110. 
Combine one with a great tube amp and the results are amazing.
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Mike let me change my order to one of the new Flex speakers if I promised not to let the secret out until he was ready to produce them. My mind was blown in the best of ways from the first note.
EDIT: Removed what I typed a minute ago, as it was pure speculation. I'll just ask: Are you saying what I think you're saying, or are you saying something else?
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I think I have the second 110 Flex cab that Mike built and ended up buying another a year later.
Cool. I did misinterpret your post! I thought you were implying that there was some new version of the Flex that you just picked up. Mike and co. have enough new stuff going on already with the 1200 VOG, the new 109, and the most recent version of the 112 - not to mention the amp!I think I have the second 110 Flex cab that Mike built and ended up buying another a year later.
- Apr 29, 2003
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After gigging the front and back (preamp and power section) of the MAS head a handful of times, I can easily say that it is the best sounding, most high performance integrated head I've ever come across. It is much more on par with some of the killer seperates rigs I've had, like the Glock BAC+CA9 for example. I'd argue that the MAS sounds better, which is saying a whole heck of a lot. And, it doesnt weigh 80lbs in a rack
Add some fantastic EQ, a couple of well thought out features and options like the harmonic generators and a KILLIN onboard compressor and overdrive, and its kinda game over.
Add some fantastic EQ, a couple of well thought out features and options like the harmonic generators and a KILLIN onboard compressor and overdrive, and its kinda game over.
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Picture's not great, but that's the 46 in between the Flex Top and Flex sub. Mesa Walkabout on top.
Partly, I just wanted to see what that would look like, partly to make a bit of space in my place, and partly (of course) I wanted to hear it. I have not heard it -- yet -- couldn't locate the necessary third speaker cable to make that happen. Never mind that there's no way I could get such a beastly assemblage going in the confines of my apartment. At 1800 CCs of effective Vd (I think that's right -- 600 cc per cab, twice my MAS 112's Vd), it's at least twice what I'd need for any gig I can think of (there's nothing yet that I haven't been able to cover with my 112).
But I did try the Flex Top with the 46! Surprised that I never thought of that before -- always just figured on combining one or other with the sub. Now, this is an apartment-level tryout that lasted all of 5 minutes. Can't say anything about how the pairing would work at volume, how they'd react, as a pair, to EQ, crossovers -- nothing like that. But, the little bit I tried -- wow. At gig volume, my 112 is almost perfect. I love the voicing and it does everything I've liked in my favorite conventional cabs, but with more kick and better clarity and dispersion. The Flex (top and sub), at gig volume, is the most insane cab I've ever played -- articulation, fullness, and midrange detail are almost cartoonishly present. It is a bigger sound than the 112, with the color saturation turned up. Huge, ****-eating grin-inducing. At apartment-practice volume (where it's total overkill and I never use the sub), though, it sounds, relatively speaking, kind of rough and uneven. With the 46, though, right away, everything sounded nicely filled-out. Pretty even -- definitely moreso than the top solo -- nicely detailed, with some of that aggression that I like from the 6" mids in the Flex. I hazarded the wrath of my neighbors, opened up a window, and turned up until I got the cabs going, just a little bit. Some nice, percussive impact there! Should only get better as it's turned up, I think. Feels more punchy than the 46+sub, somehow, but I'd have to verify this...
Now part of this might be that the cabs, sitting on top of the sub, were elevated (14") off the floor, which Mike is always telling me to do. The 46 seems to benefit from this, but I haven't felt it necessary to try with the 112.
If you look at the driver complement, it's like the 1200 VOG + the Flex mids-section (and extra tweeters). I tried it with the mids in the 46 "hot" and "normal" and the tweeters in both cabs in various combinations of on/off. Tried the mids in the Flex in normal and "dark" modes. All were viable (though I liked the mids in the 46 "hot" and I'd only run the tweeter in one cab).
Again, it's possible that this would totally NOT work at volume. I can't vouch for that combo yet and don't know when I'll have a chance to take it out. But, in my one quick trial, it really does seem to meld my favorite aspects of the 46 and the Flex -- and the Big E stuff seems to follow different rules when combining cabs, so it might work brilliantly. I suspect that the Flex top with sub would be punchier. The 112 is "drier" (which I like).
All three cabs -- don't know how they'd work, either, or what would be the best way to run them (WA will do the 2.7 Ohms, but maybe running the Flex top+sub together off one channel of a poweramp and the 46 full-range off another...), and, again, I'm not playing anything big enough to do such a rig (like the 310 Flex Mike posted earlier) justice, but I thought you all might enjoy seeing it, anyway.
Just received my 3rd gen 66 and 110 Flex sub from the TB classifieds. Can't WAIT to rehearse/gig (rock band, medium-loud drummer, horns/guitar/keys/singers) with this setup. I had never played through these cabs; they were purchased based on the careful descriptions and strong recommendations of the many folks who I consider to be "trusted" TB ears. (They are replacing a triple-stack of Aggie GS112s -- my "re-entry to gigging" rig after a 7-year hiatus -- which I was going to replace with a Baer stack.) My heartfelt thanks to everyone in this thread.
They are to be powered with my WT-800C, which will at some point be replaced, I think, with a Monique setup (still deciding on power sections).
EDIT: Forgot to mention that I have an under-utilized Sadowsky SA200 as well, so that may wind up being worth the schlep drool
They are to be powered with my WT-800C, which will at some point be replaced, I think, with a Monique setup (still deciding on power sections).
EDIT: Forgot to mention that I have an under-utilized Sadowsky SA200 as well, so that may wind up being worth the schlep drool
Two of a cab you like is almost always a safe bet - and there are advantages to having two, identical, full-range cabs - but you might consider the sub, too. When elevated, I like how it fills out the sound of the 46 and adds some grunt - takes it a bit back toward a traditional EB sound and feel, but it's still very open and clear and responsive to E.Q. I think Mike said that the 109 could work in that capacity, too, but you'd have to ask him. Might require another switch for mids/tweet. Different crossover? Dunno. Sub definitely works with the 46, though.
If you're referring to my thrash-polka project, I regret to say that that fell apart. Or maybe it just hasn't come together yet. I'm not sure which.
- Apr 3, 2003
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@tombowlus I am guessing that you utilize the crossover in the sub -- that is, you run your speaker cable out of the amp, into the sub, out of the sub and into the 66? I know the sub crosses over pretty high, and it seems counter-intuitive that the 66 cab doesn't contribute to the low end.
- Apr 3, 2003
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- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
Looks like you might have some Pro sound company. They talk about patents and very large vents and even dropped the word "Vortex"
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