Big E Speakers Part 4 - Quadraphenia

[nostatic]

Nice rig!

Q: How does your drummer hear you when the cab is in front of the riser like that?

Stage setups which put the drummer back in the corner are one of my pet peeves. IEM's can address that; but, I still don't like it. We've all done it. But, to me, the drummer should be mid stage, even if it means the vocalist has a little less to work with. Sorry for the derail. BTYRSS.

It's a corner, so it is even worse. Luckily the MAS109 is pretty good off-axis, so she didn't complain of not being able to hear me. There was no FOH for bass let alone IEMs which is often the case in my gigs. That's one reason I'm really picky about my rig as I know it will have to carry a room without being over-bearing.

 

[J.Wolf]

Hey guys, just a heads up for Southeasterners and/or anyone attending Summer NAMM in Nashville that Mike will be in the house and will have with him some cabs as well as the new Tantra amplifier!!

Also the following day there will be a get together at a studio in Nashville to demo and try out the MAS gear.

Details to follow, and feel free to pm me for more info!

 

[esoxhntr]

Hey guys, just a heads up for Southeasterners and/or anyone attending Summer NAMM in Nashville that Mike will be in the house and will have with him some cabs as well as the new Tantra amplifier!!

Also the following day there will be a get together at a studio in Nashville to demo and try out the MAS gear.

Details to follow, and feel free to pm me for more info!

I wish...

 

[radbass]

Hi friends,
here's the link to the preliminary Tantra Manual:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
We sent Michael the NAMM unit, he should be getting it tomorrow (Sat, 6/18)
Michael and Boris will be at the booth #131.
On Sunday, the first day after the show, Chuck Ainlay's studio will be an open house to check out our and Michael's gear, including Tantra.
here's the info:
Sound Stage Studios
10 Music Circle South,
Nashville, TN 37203
Phone:+1 615-256-2676
Thanks everybody for the interest.
If you have any questions about the unit, please go to our site and leave a message in the contact box; it goes straight into my email.
best, Zoran

 

[radbass]

I thought this was interesting. Check out the Tantra thread.

 

[J.Wolf]

On Sunday, the first day after the show, Chuck Ainlay's studio will be an open house to check out our and Michael's gear, including Tantra.
here's the info:
Sound Stage Studios
10 Music Circle South,
Nashville, TN 37203
Phone:+1 615-256-2676
Thanks everybody for the interest.

 

[kesslari]

Looking forward to hearing about the Show in the South!
Meanwhile, tonight I'll do my first gig with just the MAS109. I admit, I'm torn - I'm spoiled by how incredible the Flex/109(sub) combo sounds, and the extra schlepp is pretty minor. BUT - I want to hear what the 109 can do on its own.
Gonna be fun.

 

[John D Harris]

I wonder how a MAS109 would work horizontally under a MAS46?

That would be quite a versatile pair of cabs if they mated well.

 

[kesslari]

It would. Again, I went with putting in a crossover so the MAS109 could run as a sub (where it would totally complement the 46) or solo full range.

 

[MarkA]

I wonder how a MAS109 would work horizontally under a MAS46?

That would be quite a versatile pair of cabs if they mated well.

If you ask Mike to add a crossover, the 109 should function more-or-less the same as the Flex sub (kesslari could confirm or elaborate on this, since he's played both in that role). I have used the Flex sub with the 46 before and that is a pairing that works well (the MAS 1200VOG is basically those two cabs in one).

As for running the two full range, I don't know. Might end up working great -- the MAS cabs seem to be more forgiving of mixed pairings than some -- or might end up with some weirdness from all the mids in the two cabs running at once (too hot in the mids?) and at (presumably) different crossover points. If you're contemplating a 46/109 pairing the safe route to go would be to ask Mike to wire up the 109 up with the select-able crossover so that you can run it just as a sub. That way you have one combo you know will work. If you also like the two cabs running full-range, then, bonus.

Somewhere back in this thread I posted about running the 46 full-range with the sub (lots of overlap in the bass, then) vs. after the crossover with the sub. I'm pretty sure I liked the second way more. @tombowlus has a 66 and 110 sub and I think that he's tried running the combo both ways as well.

 

[spiritbass]

It would. Again, I went with putting in a crossover so the MAS109 could run as a sub (where it would totally complement the 46) or solo full range.

This has to sound glorious!

If I switched cabs, I would immediately miss the adjustable mid section of the Flex and the phase switch. I was just playing my precision with flats into the Shaw with the tweeter off, mids in the default (dark) setting and the woofer out of phase (very effective for thinning bass/upper bass) on the Flex 110. For me, I simply can not imagine sounding any better.

 

[John D Harris]

If you put both cabs horizontal then stack one on top of the other, I'm pretty sure with the decorrelated output dominating the combination of the two cabs sound, there should not be any adverse results to running both fullrange.
There might be an optimal way to stack them (as far as which one you put on top the other) from the standpoint of standing closer to them, but I'd wager out in the room there'd probably not be much difference.

Of course, as is usual, I could be totally bonkers in my assumptions!

 

[MarkA]

If you put both cabs horizontal then stack one on top of the other, I'm pretty sure with the decorrelated output dominating the combination of the two cabs sound, there should not be any adverse results to running both fullrange.
There might be an optimal way to stack them (as far as which one you put on top the other) from the standpoint of standing closer to them, but I'd wager out in the room there'd probably not be much difference.

Of course, as is usual, I could be totally bonkers in my assumptions!

Horizontal is definitely the way to go with the 46, and stacking one cab or the other on top is an easy and cheap experiment. I would guess that they'd be fine running both full range, but couldn't be sure unless I'd tried it or talked to someone I trusted who had.

 

[kesslari]

I don't notice a big difference between the 110 sub and the MAS109-as-sub with the FlexTop. Then again I didn't have them to A/B.
But both sound glorious.

Tonight I played my first gig with the MAS109 solo'd.
I was blown away. Just like a MAS cab, only smaller and lighter
Full sound. Visceral low end making booties shake. Dispersion all over the stage.
Former bass player for the band was in the audience checking me out, and he commented on how great it sounded. The fretless Zon helps...

 

[kesslari]

Mike and the Sonic Farm guys on top of Summer NAMM Editors' Picks for Premiere Guitar:
Invalid Link Removed

 

[MarkA]

Mike and the Sonic Farm guys on top of Summer NAMM Editors' Picks for Premiere Guitar:
Invalid Link Removed

Just saw this in the Sonic Farm thread -- very cool.

Top part of the photo is a closeup of the amp -- it is not as wide as a 46!

 

[coyoteboy]

At last played the tri-amp at a gig. A very hot gig. Brought in just a little drive and chorus from the SA boxes stereo through the 26, mostly for the poppier tunes, the main bass signal from the Aggies through the 109.

 

[J.Wolf]

crazy rig! Bet it sounds great!

Does your board have any kind of efx loop or buffer? or is it just linear all the way through? I keep trying to dial in my board so that it has ( or switchably can have) little to no effect on the dry tone of the bass. Even true bypass pedals with good patch cables suffer from tone loss, (IMO).

 

[coyoteboy]

No loop or buffer per se, i got a bit creative on the front end, made possible by the little Radial i/o for instrument select and pedal chain select. As for tone loss, nothing wonky yet, running all of this off one 1Spot, well except for the Stewarts.

 

[J.Wolf]

Wow, running all that on a 1 Spot with no tone loss?!? you must be doing something right! I use good cable and a voodoo labs PP2+ and I still deal with tone loss. Really it just 'feels' not quite as firm and quick, perhaps thats different from "Tone Loss". Either way, its a buzzkill when I plug straight in for reference and realize how much better it sounds direct in. uh well.