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Big E Speakers Part 4 - Quadraphenia

#921
Hey, Mike--
Be of good cheer, good buddy!

I'm sure there are a lotta players, in addition to me, who appreciate the way you're seriously breaking ground in bass cabs here.

I'm an old cat who's played through a gazillion different rigs--including a Sunn 2000s and Acoustic 371, back in the day, and some very nice boutique stuff more recently. My considered opinion is that this MAS112 is a real breakthrough for a working stiff like me.

Any cab that speaks with the authority and clarity of this one is worth every dime I dropped on it. Any cab that magically has me playing better because it's doing just what my fingers ask it to do, well...

I'm gushing about it because--damnit--the thing is _that_ good.
 
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#922
I hear that mini-rant and will return only praise. I played my Super J/J today and really missed my 110 Flex. The JBL tone ring cab is nice but just doesn't hold a candle in comparison to the clarity, punch, and singing three-dimensional sound envelope that the Flex caresses my ears and body with. Okay, okay, I'll keep in G-rated, there's youngin's around... :cool: I am very appreciative of your quick diagnosis and replacement of the mid-level control switch and free upgrade to the current frequency damper device all for the cost of a few dollars for shipment. I don't believe in luck, but I do feel blessed to be able to play through this particular musical instrument/cab due to your non-stop pushing of the envelope, labor and dedication to making these designs available to the discerning low-end fanatics out here in the wild! You'll be renewed after a good night's sleep, brother! :)
 
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#924
Well there you go gentlemen.

Mike is so right about the concussive impact of this cab.

First day it cost me $50.00 to replace some China items that jumped off the walls and glassware that leaped off counters.

Seriously we were in a concrete basement two floors under the scene of the crime and at the opposite end of a two year old custom build home.

Some things of note:
On board EQ actually works.
Amp tone controls operate at frequencies you probably never heard or felt before.
Plectrum notes have incredibly fast articulation and definition of notes. Other speakers routinely go click boom, The MAS 112 delivers the click/boom as one note. No lagging behind like Hammond pedal tones for the bottom.

A cab like this should be mandatory for serial amp shoppers. You do not have to listen very long or hard to discern sonic differences.

One last comparison for me would be MP3 vs. Vinyl. One is a dull facsimile of a tune people like. Vinyl sounds organic and lifelike as if music is being played right in front of you.

Now what bar room can I play that won't bankrupt me for breaking booze bottles with bass notes.

Cheers,

Mr BEAR
 
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#926
spiritbass said:
This. Seriously. After you settle on your amp and MAS cab, get the setup tweaked on your basses, you should be able to stop the GAS cycle. If not, you'll have to admit to yourself that you like the process...

I hope that no one was sentimentally attached to the fractured china. :rollno:
Click to expand...

I used the cab at the lyric writer / geetards house but his wife was at work when the nasty deed occurred. Probably find a note on the music stand tomorrow.

You are correct regarding redoing all aspects of setup on every bass as well.
Pickup height is especially easy to get right through a MAS 112.

There are just so many things that this cab does better than any previous offering I have owned.

Enough prose. I can hear my basses calling. Pretty sure one just said shut up and play.

Cheers,

Mr Bear
 
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#927
Here's beauty shot of my new beast. Full grille, no other options. IIRC, there hasn't been a pic of an all-black MAS112 with the full grille yet, in this thread.

IMG_5111.jpg



It's great that Mike will customize these. The red inside looks cool...and coyoteboy suggested a "tuxedo" look in post #661 (white inside)...but I went for the stealth bomber look. Heh.
 
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#932
Well, thank y'all for the kind words! Yeah, I like the way it looks, too. The magic is in how it sounds...

Here's a pic of it in situ (my music room, at the moment).

IMG_5113.jpg


Looking forward to getting it out on a gig. Our guitar player had words with the singer after a gig, a few weeks ago, and pulled a rage quit. The drummer's buddy filled in the past two weekends, and everybody's happy with him, so he has the chair now. But we asked our agent to hold off on filling up the calendar for the rest of this month so we can rehearse properly. Just have a couple Hallowe'en parties in the last week.

Mentioning that because we've been working regularly at a little bar (great staff, great patrons) that has vexed me no end, trying to get a good, muscular bass sound. My theory is that there's some wicked comb filtering going on (all reflective surfaces, basically a square floor plan with a 12' ceiling, about 40' + on a side). I've used a variety of very good cabs there, but have never been able to get my tone the way I'd like. Really eager to see how the MAS 112 does there, but we won't be back until next month.
 
#936
It'll work but won't be the last word as far as headroom. But it will have better headroom than other amps that put out 250 into 8 ohms. Aguilar is doing an interesting thing. They're using the same Ice module that's in all of the amps that put out 500 into 8 and 800 into 4. They limit the absolute output a bit but have better headroom at that output. So---while ultimately an MB800 or Minnie or Puma 900 will go louder--I feel that the TH500 has better headroom within its dynamic constraints.
 
#938
J.Wolf said:
does the TH500 have enough oomph to open up the MAS112?
Click to expand...

Well, I've used the TH500 there with a pair of Baer ML112s, a pair of Patterson 12/6/1s (they're at the left edge of the pic, above), and a 4 ohm Berg AE212. Volume hasn't been an issue, in itself. It's that the bottom end whomp just disappears--kinda gets mushy like I'm playing in a miniature gymnasium.

(Edit: Just remembered that I tried an 8 ohm LDS 15/6 cab in that joint, too, with about the same results. I'm figuring all these cabs--with very different personalities--sounding mostly the same in the room, whether a single 8 ohm or 2x8=4 ohm load, with the same amp and the same bass, seems like evidence of the room cancelling some important BG freqs.)

Of those three rigs, I've been happiest with the Berg. It's the only one of the three cabs with ports in the back...and its advantage would be consistent with my SWAG that there's some kind of cancellation going on with the front-ported cabs. (The reflection from the opposite wall coming back, causing phase cancellation.)

Hey--any insights or speculation much appreciated!
 
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#940
lack of low end firmness or 'mush' is one of the things that shows up when a cab is underpowered. Like you said, it will still get "LOUD" but things like dynamic range and low frequency transmission can suffer. I can't comment on that head sound in general, but I wouldn't be shocked if some of those artifacts showed when leaning hard into a 500w head.
 

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