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Big E Speakers Part 4 - Quadraphenia
- Thread starter kesslari
- Start date
Stephen Regier
Commercial User
- Apr 11, 2014
- 78
- 131
- Disclosures
- Co-Inventer and Co-Owner of Big E Loudspeakers Technology
The site is working for me but the link on the left to the review returns "publication not available."
OK, sorry if this has been covered before, but has anyone tried the 110 sub (the one designed to go with the MAS45) with a MAS46 and, if so, could you please describe how they worked together, what the sub added, etc.? From what I've read, this sub has a lower crossover point than the 110 sub used with a 210 Flex Mod that Nomatic loves to use with his 66 (I think). Thanks a lot, DM
Mike's website seems to be currently showing the MAS-110S as the only 10" sub (supposedly, the one that goes with the 210FlexMod), but I don't know if he's made some changes since then.
I'd love to try that cab with the MAS-46 (I probably already said that on here somewhere, cause I've been thinking about it since Nomadic brought up using the MAS-66 with it).
I really don't need overkill (though, I understand why some would want overkill
) & I think that combination would cover every situation I would need one to.
I'd love to try that cab with the MAS-46 (I probably already said that on here somewhere, cause I've been thinking about it since Nomadic brought up using the MAS-66 with it).
I really don't need overkill (though, I understand why some would want overkill
) & I think that combination would cover every situation I would need one to.
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- Dec 21, 2007
- 15,227
- 45,063
- Disclosures
- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
I believe that Dominickc has the 45/110 and a 46. I think he's posted a photo in the thread of the 3 stacked.
Not sure but I think that has a different crossover than the FlexMod 110 Sub.
I'd think a crossover at a lower frequency would sound a bit less beefy or less thick in the upper bass / lower mids. So it would come down to what kind of tone you're after.
Mike's mentioned the different crossover before, I believe, and that the results would be pretty different.
The website WILL be cleaned up, etc. The sub that Nomatic and I like is indeed the bottom of the 210 Flex---which is crossed over higher. The 110 sub is the bottom of the 45/110 combo. It's crossed over much lower---I think that the balance would be too much in the low end. The Flex sub still contributes going into the midrange. I'm doing some experimentation with different xover points, no lowpass on the 110, etc. just to see how it sounds. I'm envision (yet) another switch to vary the xover point of the sub, and the upper module (46 or 66) now both have a dual xover switch, so different tonal profiles can be had. Also, I have a custom 3010lf from Eminence that I'll try too---they were able to raise the "Q" a bit and smooth the midrange. Whatever works best.
Speaking of vortexitude, I got the purple tank into an open mic last night. I got to play my Dingwall Voodoo Prima through it and I've never heard a low B sound soo good!
All the bass players and even some of the guitards were raving about the sound. They all wanted to know where to get one.Even better, I got to hear others play through it and I am thrilled with this cab. It sat perfectly in the mix, such as it was for an open mic, and everyone was impressed.
I couldn't tweak too much, but I really liked it best for that room with both the midboost and tweeter engaged. The difference was wonderfully subtle. My Streamer 900 loves it, too!
I love the footprint and handling capability as well. The wheels with handle is great once on flat ground, and the side strap handles make lifting it a breeze!
Can't wait to make some serious tunage with it in the near future!!
Didn't want to say anything 'til I'd played it outside of my living room, but I picked up nomatic's erstwhile 210 Flex Mod. With work/life the way it is now, I was thinking that'd be summer, but I got a last minute (make that last-second) call to fill in for someone on Wednesday night. Nothing super-major, just the house band at a local funk jam. There is a house rig (a Peavey 410 -- not a bad cab, actually -- and an SWR Working Pro 700 which, I confess, I do not like), but I wanted to hear the Flex, so I packed up my Kustom KXB 500, Markbass F500 (figured it'd be cool to hear both through the Flex at volume, and I didn't want to take a more powerful head if others were going to play through it), cables, etc. into my backpack, threw the cabs into the trunk, and rushed to the jam. Got there and realized I'd left my backpack at my place, 20 minutes away. No time to get it. (Did I mention that the call was last-second? I was exhausted and falling asleep on the couch when I got it.) Had to use the SWR and there was only one Speakon cable, so I could only run the top of the Flex Mod.
Stage volume at this jam tends to the too-loud -- anywhere from medium to loud to TOO LOUD! (loud enough to strain the aforementioned 410). It started loud and seemed to be working its way up to too loud until I said something at a break between tunes, then we were back to medium-loud. I could hear myself pretty clearly up to "loud" but, just running the top (though stacked on the bottom) and not being that familiar with the capabilities of the cab or the head, didn't want to try to compete with "too loud". "Medium loud" was easy.
Sound. Running the cab at home-practice levels, I could tell that there was something special going on with the mids. A different kind of presentation than the 112 -- much more 3D, more detailed -- but the 112 seemed more thick, balanced, visceral -- also quicker in a way, at least more "dry" at the ends of notes; Flex stops quickly but 112 stops quicker.
Tuning up and playing a bit before the jam started, the cab sounded good but not magical. Granted I was playing it out the first time with not-my-favorite head and trying to dial it in quickly (I seem to recall a similar experience with my first MAS cab, a 2nd gen 66), but it sounded... a little thin? Unbalanced? Could it be? Then the drummer and keyboardist started playing and I turned up and... boom. Or maybe it was more like a "schhhWOOM." The cab just came alive. Not sure how to describe it -- it filled out, balanced out, expanded. It was marked. When we started playing "for real" (this all happened rather quickly) and I turned up to an appropriate volume, the thing just sang. I tweaked the SWR a bit in the first couple of tunes -- no Aural Enhancer for me, thanks -- and the fingerstyle tone I got was, bar none, the best I've gotten at that jam. Just juicy and detailed and wonderful -- well, almost wonderful. There was a bit of the brittle signature of that head still in the tone, but for sure it was the best I've heard that head sound and I got several compliments. A bass player said, "Man you've got your sound dialed in," and a guitarist raved for minutes straight during my one break of the night. (Jam lasted about three hours.)
Slap sound/feel wasn't where I liked it -- felt like I disappeared in the mix when I did that, so I didn't do much, at least when there were a lot of people on stage -- but that could be due to EQ/unfamiliar head. Palm-muting riffs, though, were ridiculous -- thick, chunky, and clear at the same time. A keyboard player for an area band showed up and couldn't stop looking my way and smiling. We traded licks on a few tunes and locked in well. He made a point of saying something afterward, too -- not specifically about the bass sound, but I think that had something to do with being able to engage and lock-in with a player across the stage.
Misc. note: The house drummer, during our brief sound-check, said I was rattling his snare and that he wasn't used to that happening. I don't know if that's good -- it annoyed the drummer, at least 'til we started playing -- but the cab was putting out some serious low end. Never felt boomy, though, at any point during the night.
Listening to the one other bass player who showed up to play (some nights there are a bunch of bassists, others not), the sound was clear with good pitch definition up by the stage and out in the house. The bass was in the PA, but not loud there. Cab was still contributing significantly to house volume.
On the whole, an encouraging first outing.
Addendum: Played a bit with the switches: Found the full-nasty mode a little too hot with the mids (at home I've found it more useable when hooked up to the sub). Default voicing was nice, particularly as the cab got working. Engaged the "dark" mode on some reggae and blues tunes (it's primarily a funk jam, but other things happen) to good effect.
Addendumdeedum: As things started to get really loud (before I said, "Hey, guys, can be bring our stage volume down?") I started to have a hard time hearing myself clearly. Now, I don't know if people were actually turning up (not at all uncommon here) but it seemed that way. I started to wonder if maybe the cab was going into thermal compression -- possibly paranoid, as I didn't hear it strain, but it was my first outing with the cab and, running just the top, I tried to treat it like a stout 210 in terms of expectations. When our volume backed down, it seemed fine - clear and dynamic. Barring the short breaks when people were switching-out on stage, it got played for about three hours.
Addendo-wah-diddy-dum: Instrumentation varied through the night, but, at its busiest, the stage included drums, bass, keys, two guitars, trumpet, and a variety of singers/MCs.
Stage volume at this jam tends to the too-loud -- anywhere from medium to loud to TOO LOUD! (loud enough to strain the aforementioned 410). It started loud and seemed to be working its way up to too loud until I said something at a break between tunes, then we were back to medium-loud. I could hear myself pretty clearly up to "loud" but, just running the top (though stacked on the bottom) and not being that familiar with the capabilities of the cab or the head, didn't want to try to compete with "too loud". "Medium loud" was easy.
Sound. Running the cab at home-practice levels, I could tell that there was something special going on with the mids. A different kind of presentation than the 112 -- much more 3D, more detailed -- but the 112 seemed more thick, balanced, visceral -- also quicker in a way, at least more "dry" at the ends of notes; Flex stops quickly but 112 stops quicker.
Tuning up and playing a bit before the jam started, the cab sounded good but not magical. Granted I was playing it out the first time with not-my-favorite head and trying to dial it in quickly (I seem to recall a similar experience with my first MAS cab, a 2nd gen 66), but it sounded... a little thin? Unbalanced? Could it be? Then the drummer and keyboardist started playing and I turned up and... boom. Or maybe it was more like a "schhhWOOM." The cab just came alive. Not sure how to describe it -- it filled out, balanced out, expanded. It was marked. When we started playing "for real" (this all happened rather quickly) and I turned up to an appropriate volume, the thing just sang. I tweaked the SWR a bit in the first couple of tunes -- no Aural Enhancer for me, thanks -- and the fingerstyle tone I got was, bar none, the best I've gotten at that jam. Just juicy and detailed and wonderful -- well, almost wonderful. There was a bit of the brittle signature of that head still in the tone, but for sure it was the best I've heard that head sound and I got several compliments. A bass player said, "Man you've got your sound dialed in," and a guitarist raved for minutes straight during my one break of the night. (Jam lasted about three hours.)
Slap sound/feel wasn't where I liked it -- felt like I disappeared in the mix when I did that, so I didn't do much, at least when there were a lot of people on stage -- but that could be due to EQ/unfamiliar head. Palm-muting riffs, though, were ridiculous -- thick, chunky, and clear at the same time. A keyboard player for an area band showed up and couldn't stop looking my way and smiling. We traded licks on a few tunes and locked in well. He made a point of saying something afterward, too -- not specifically about the bass sound, but I think that had something to do with being able to engage and lock-in with a player across the stage.
Misc. note: The house drummer, during our brief sound-check, said I was rattling his snare and that he wasn't used to that happening. I don't know if that's good -- it annoyed the drummer, at least 'til we started playing -- but the cab was putting out some serious low end. Never felt boomy, though, at any point during the night.
Listening to the one other bass player who showed up to play (some nights there are a bunch of bassists, others not), the sound was clear with good pitch definition up by the stage and out in the house. The bass was in the PA, but not loud there. Cab was still contributing significantly to house volume.
On the whole, an encouraging first outing.
Addendum: Played a bit with the switches: Found the full-nasty mode a little too hot with the mids (at home I've found it more useable when hooked up to the sub). Default voicing was nice, particularly as the cab got working. Engaged the "dark" mode on some reggae and blues tunes (it's primarily a funk jam, but other things happen) to good effect.
Addendumdeedum: As things started to get really loud (before I said, "Hey, guys, can be bring our stage volume down?") I started to have a hard time hearing myself clearly. Now, I don't know if people were actually turning up (not at all uncommon here) but it seemed that way. I started to wonder if maybe the cab was going into thermal compression -- possibly paranoid, as I didn't hear it strain, but it was my first outing with the cab and, running just the top, I tried to treat it like a stout 210 in terms of expectations. When our volume backed down, it seemed fine - clear and dynamic. Barring the short breaks when people were switching-out on stage, it got played for about three hours.
Addendo-wah-diddy-dum: Instrumentation varied through the night, but, at its busiest, the stage included drums, bass, keys, two guitars, trumpet, and a variety of singers/MCs.
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A few more thoughts on Wednesday night: at home, I like the Flex with at least one of the tweeters on. On the gig, I tried it with both one tweeter on, cutting treble at the amp a hair, and with the tweeters off and a bit of treble boost. Each yielded a distinct and totally useable sound. There's still lots of upper mid and lower treble information with the tweet off.
I shouldn't rag on the SWR so much; there was probably a fair amount of user error -- or at least user unfamiliarity -- involved. I ended up dialing the Aural Enhancer down to zero or close to it, and the Transparency (presence?) control fairly low. There was some sort of "bass enhancement" control, which I didn't even try -- dialed it down to zero to start -- and a semi-parametric midrange, which I should have been able to dial in quickly but couldn't get quite where I wanted it, though I was a lot closer a few tunes in than at the beginning.
The dark voicing on the cab is as much a difference in feel as in tone -- at gig volume, it really does impart a bit of a tube amp feel (or at least a tube preamp feel -- reminded me a bit of my Mesa Walkabout. I'm not qualified to say much about "for real" tube amps.).
I'm looking forward to the next outing with this cab.
I shouldn't rag on the SWR so much; there was probably a fair amount of user error -- or at least user unfamiliarity -- involved. I ended up dialing the Aural Enhancer down to zero or close to it, and the Transparency (presence?) control fairly low. There was some sort of "bass enhancement" control, which I didn't even try -- dialed it down to zero to start -- and a semi-parametric midrange, which I should have been able to dial in quickly but couldn't get quite where I wanted it, though I was a lot closer a few tunes in than at the beginning.
The dark voicing on the cab is as much a difference in feel as in tone -- at gig volume, it really does impart a bit of a tube amp feel (or at least a tube preamp feel -- reminded me a bit of my Mesa Walkabout. I'm not qualified to say much about "for real" tube amps.).
I'm looking forward to the next outing with this cab.
MAS 112 LPT
I am head over heels in love with this cabinet after some serious session and live work.
Thanks to Mike and Duke for listening to my request for vortexitude at 45 watts.
I am head over heels in love with this cabinet after some serious session and live work.
Thanks to Mike and Duke for listening to my request for vortexitude at 45 watts.
And now that this MAS112 is broken in its really starting to shine! (and I thought it was before) Much more open and the mid character is really coming through. This cab goes any where I want it to! I couldn't get this with any other cab IME. Having those 4 inchers in there makes all the difference. Not to mention the low end girth yet control.
My 112 has the 4ohm Faital
My 112 has the 4ohm Faital
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I feel the same way with the MAS115. It just keeps getting better and opens up more as I keep playing it.
- Dec 21, 2007
- 15,227
- 45,063
- Disclosures
- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
