It's not a waste of effort if you want proof to back up your patent claims, or to sell your cabs into big dollar pro installations.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Big E speakers: Pt 2
- Thread starter Chef
- Start date
- Status
edwinhurwitz
Supporting Member
I think the reason there is skepticism is that the designs that came before were based on commonly accepted principles of speaker design. These appear to be something different and go against our expectations. Greenboy didn't reinvent the wheel, he just designed a really good one, that minimized friction and maximized handling and it was pretty clear from how the designed looked what it was going to sound like. It did not disappoint. This, otoh, appears to be a wheel with a totally different shape. In my case, I don't want to express skepticism but cautious awe that something so different could be coming down the pike and a genuine curiosity at how it fits into the world of physics and speaker building. I suppose it could come off like skepticism, but given that I'm not in a position to buy a new speaker and it's statistically unlikely that someone will have one in my neck of the woods in the near future for me to play with, all I'm left with aside from "Wow! It's cool!" is the desire for a presentation so I could grok it from a technical point of view.
acmebass
Commercial User
You and me both. The hype would indicate a total revolution in speaker technology is afoot and the patent holders should be able to retire off the royaties, all power to them!
Not to be a detractor, just some hopefully constructive sharing of perspective/preferences.
The horizontal position as optimum for the MVW I understand, but most of the places that I've played (excepting festival stages where there is plenty of room), stage space is usually very limited which makes vertical positioning more practical.
I would think the main target for this technology would be active PA mains & Subs. Just throw a good D class power amp into the back of the cabinet (or however it best can be made to fit).
I'm thinking a lot of people who run sound are not going to like these as cabs for bass players as they apparently have extraordinary throw off stage.
I have no experience with any of these, so I am hypothesizing and could be way off...just throwing thoughts out there.
The horizontal position as optimum for the MVW I understand, but most of the places that I've played (excepting festival stages where there is plenty of room), stage space is usually very limited which makes vertical positioning more practical.
I would think the main target for this technology would be active PA mains & Subs. Just throw a good D class power amp into the back of the cabinet (or however it best can be made to fit).
I'm thinking a lot of people who run sound are not going to like these as cabs for bass players as they apparently have extraordinary throw off stage.
I have no experience with any of these, so I am hypothesizing and could be way off...just throwing thoughts out there.
Really hoping this 8x5 works out. I am thinking acoustic guitar will sound killer through it as well
The MVW's as we prefer now to call then aren't really that wide as far as footprint. The 5" based cabs are 21" wide and the 6.5" cabns are 26" wide. With the 85 it only goes up in height.
As far as PA guys---about 1/2 of my gigs have PA support. There is a learning curve with these cabs. Most PA guys realize that the bass coming off the stage is tighter, less boomy and generally less problematic. They usually add just a bit of mids and highs in the mains unless the venue is really big and then the ratio of stage to house is less of an issue.
I find that I use less stage volume with the MVW's anyway---I get the function of sound at a lower volume.
One group I play with has a bit of a control freak sound guy. I just put my cab on a chair which gives less bass coupling (albeit with a fuller sound that I'm used to from a cab on a chair). I stand pretty much at pants flapping distance and get a nice sense of presence.
The sound guy issue was my initial trepidation as far as these cabs.I was anticipating it being a bigger issue than it turned out to be.
And while you're here 3rd curve---your 85 should be out by Friday.
I was just at Tom and Steve's (the madmen). We just tried a new version of the 48 that I just build. I'll post some pics. Probably the best horn and driver I've seen in a bass cab. Faital's
biggest and best sounding (and priciest) 1" compression driver in a 1/4" thick custom molded waveguide horn. More present highs with no wanky aggression. Not that there's anything wrong with wanky aggression. Some changes to the cabinet to yield more low end control and extension. New Duke crossover. Better integration of the horn and woofs.
Oh--I just realized that I might sound like I'm dissing the high frequency drivers others are using. Not that at all. It's just that to get away with a 2 way system and not using a mid driver I had to find a driver that went low (the 8's don't go as high as the 6.5's) and loud. Unfortunately my choices were limited to a pricey driver. On the previous 48's we used 2 drivers in an integrated horn. So I guess it's a wash---the one driver costs the same as the previous 2.
biggest and best sounding (and priciest) 1" compression driver in a 1/4" thick custom molded waveguide horn. More present highs with no wanky aggression. Not that there's anything wrong with wanky aggression. Some changes to the cabinet to yield more low end control and extension. New Duke crossover. Better integration of the horn and woofs.
Oh--I just realized that I might sound like I'm dissing the high frequency drivers others are using. Not that at all. It's just that to get away with a 2 way system and not using a mid driver I had to find a driver that went low (the 8's don't go as high as the 6.5's) and loud. Unfortunately my choices were limited to a pricey driver. On the previous 48's we used 2 drivers in an integrated horn. So I guess it's a wash---the one driver costs the same as the previous 2.
lelandcrooks
Commercial User
There is an acoustic guitar cab. Prototyped about 2 months ago. Just got put on the back burner.
I did some preliminary living room testing using my P Bass with flats, G&L 5 string L-2500 with rounds and Larrivee dreadnaught equipped with a K&K Pure Mini pickup and the K&K onboard pre. I can give a resounding YES, the 85 sounds great with acoustic guitar! The clarity and articulation is magnificent. By far the best my acoustic has sounded plugged in anywhere. I also highly recommend using the fdeck hpf v3, it perfectly removes any handling noise/rumble inherent with an acoustic instrument.
It's wonderful to hear my instruments more fully than ever before, and I've owned a lot of nice cabs. Even the P Bass with flats came alive and new subtle voicing differences were noticeable along the range of the passive tone knob. I'm still assessing the sound with my basses (my house vibrates WAY to much to do any critical listening) but the immediate reaction was "Oh yeah, there's the magic: PUNCH with articulation, just what I wanted." I need to get my jazz bass put back together as that's kinda my standard for slap tone, but the G&L sounds great played this way.
I sold my Thunderchild 115 for this cab and I'm confident it was the right decision. So "punchier and clearer" is my two word intial observation, I will report back as I get it into a better listening environment.
-Darren
Thanks for the review! I look forward to hearing more as you spend more time with it. How would you describe the low end in comparison to the Thunderchild?
It seems just as big on the bottom but without the slight boominess the 115 had. Really need to get it on a soundstage to fully hear it without destroying the house.
Sounds very promising!
The ability to use these as more than dedicated bass cabs really adds value. From what Mike says, I should be finding out first hand shortly.
The ability to use these as more than dedicated bass cabs really adds value. From what Mike says, I should be finding out first hand shortly.
I have a 2x6 running as my PA cab right now and it does a great job. I needed to curb the lows though.
A look inside the testing chambers!
This is a good size comparison for the 85 next to a Fender Bassman with small 2x12 standing upright.
This is a good size comparison for the 85 next to a Fender Bassman with small 2x12 standing upright.
And lets not forget my Eko violin bass that wears the TI flats in the family.
Here's a more head-on comparison shot for judging scale. I like the size of the 85.
Definitely looks the part of a bass cabinet but is totally manageable. The 11 inch depth makes it easily load right into a back seat.
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
- Status
