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Big E speakers: Pt 2

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#221
Jazzdogg said:
Have you tried driving the new cab with the Blackface yet?
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Yes it sounds wonderful, true organic bliss... but only low volumes are realistic. I need to turn the amp up past half to get any real volume and that's where the Bassman starts to turn into a Marshall. I'll push it into natural overdrive tomorrow. Not tonight, I don't need the cops here due to bass guitar noise complaints... Again. :cool:
 
#222
moretolife said:
Mike, how is the new 48 with the Puma?
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I gotta tell you---I think they knocked it out of the park with the Puma. (much thanks to my gear mentor---Ken)

The 48 sounds the best I've heard it with the Puma. I must have had it near its limits at a large acoustically dead church. I was worried that the Puma was going to be more analytical rather than warm but I was wrong. It has a rare combination of control and warmth IMO. Very symbiotic relationship with the 48.I was also worried about lack of eq flexibility. Very interesting eq choices that I have to admit---I wouldn;t have thought of. The taste control (I've always hated the broad voicing controls) is super useful. Someone did their homework.

Some waveguide changes--a bit more bass extension and control as I've said.

I felt like it was competing volumewise with a dual 15 Kappalite based cabinet although I didn't have one onhand. I did at home and I felt that the 48 was very close.
 
#223
My early 48 with the multiple tweets has an amazing loud fat output for the size of the package. I will have it outdoors for a gig in May. I usually don't plug into the PA. Should be a fun comparison, as I played the same place with a 1515/66 last year.
 
#224
shrigg said:
Yes it sounds wonderful, true organic bliss... but only low volumes are realistic. I need to turn the amp up past half to get any real volume and that's where the Bassman starts to turn into a Marshall. I'll push it into natural overdrive tomorrow. Not tonight, I don't need the cops here due to bass guitar noise complaints... Again. :cool:
Click to expand...

Cool! Now I'm Jonesing for one of Mike's new cabs even more!
 
#229
The new Pumas are pretty special heads. My 900 is "backup" to Monique but whenever I use it I'm reminded how good it is. Agree with Mike about the eq - they got the points and width right and the taste knob actually is actually useful depending on the bass and the cab/room.
 
#233
Just played the 48 and it is incredible. I'm not an engineer or an expert on cabs, but the 48 solves many problems a bassist may encounter without adding more gear to schlep. I played the cab with a yamaha attitude 3 through a GK mb800 then through a Monique preamp. Very sweet sounding. For me a game changer, honestly I didn't think this cab would sound as good with a passive bass and a tube amp-I was wrong. All the qualities previously mentioned in this thread were applicable, ill add the p bass bark or thump (depending on tone nob operation) was present in spades. Thank you to Mike for letting me come over and hang. Every time I hang with Mike I learn a lot about bass cabs, a lot more about technique (watching him play), and a little about life.
 
#234
In case there are any doubters:
 

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#235
Thanks, man--always a nice hang.

A couple of things to mention. Two times this week I've had guys over trying the 48. What Tom and Steve told me was that the MVW cabs (as we're now calling them) react differently to on the floor/ raised off the ground. Conventional speakers (including the sound from the front of the cones in the MVW's) rely on floor coupling to produce the quantity/quality of the bass we're used to hearing. If you raise them up it takes away boom but at the expense of low end solidity. And when you get 30 feet away the quantity of bass is severely diminished. At least in my experience---if I was in a club and had a hard time hearing myself I would elevate the cab. But then I'd have to boost the low end A LOT to get acceptable bass in the house. And then it would start to get boomy on the stage---a balancing act that I would seldom win. When there was big FOH support--elevating it was a good idea. But not on most gigs.

What T & S said was that the sound coming from the side ports (not really ports) was not nearly as dependent on boundary reinforcement. Which means that the quantity of sound from the back of the speakers (more than 50% of the sound at higher power)didn't care whether the speaker was on the floor or not.

Earlier this week TB'er Bassfran came over. He had a very cool Lakland hollow body with flatwounds.Gotta be honest---I wasn't saying anything---but in my living room when the 48 was cranked it was too boomy for my taste. just for S & G's we elevated it on a chair. Voila. Punchy, focused and plenty of thumpin" lows.

When Thumbs came over yesterday his Yamaha through a GK sounded really nice. We then elevated the cab and it sounded great that way too---just a different tonal balance.The low end just didn't drop out in the way I was used to with a cab elevated. I've had similar experiences on gigs.
 
#236
just to clarify another thing---a bassist who ordered a 45 was under the impression that it would be composite. None of the MVW's are available in composite.

here was my response

There must have been some misunderstanding. None of the Big E's are manufactured in composite. The build is so complicated that it would be insanely expensive. The lightweight poplar plywood I use is only about 15% heavier than composite.(fully loaded box weight) Funny thing is---I built a composite Big E cab. It took forever---but it didn't sound as good. What makes composite sound great for a conventional cab makes it not sound good on a Big E. The entire cab on a Big E is actually kindof a musical instrument. In a conventional cab we want the cab as acoustically dead as possible. And lined with a sound absorbent material. In the Big E there is no sound absorbent material. And with the composite cabs---they deaden the midrange on the Big E's. Make them dull sounding.. Actually the 45's have all been made out of poplar ply. The 29# figure is based on that.
 
#237
Mike Arnopol said:
Earlier this week TB'er Bassfran came over. He had a very cool Lakland hollow body with flatwounds.Gotta be honest---I wasn't saying anything---but in my living room when the 48 was cranked it was too boomy for my taste. just for S & G's we elevated it on a chair. Voila. Punchy, focused and plenty of thumpin" lows.
Click to expand...

This is indeed the case. I had to hear the cabs for myself and was not disappointed. I brought the HB with flats because it's a bit more on the 'tubby' side in its usual range and I was curious to hear how the Big E's would respond to it. Using the coil tap switch cleaned up the low end nicely and would keep the sound person from freaking out on a gig.

The dispersion is amazing from these cabs. I moved around the room while playing and was surprised how well the sound followed me wherever I was- even from behind them!

When we hoisted them up onto chairs they really sounded fantastic- the boom went away without sacrificing clarity in the low end. Mike also demonstrated the translation of the 'B' string on his Roscoe and I was pretty impressed with how it carried, even through the smaller 4X5.

Loud, light, and relatively little. Impressive stuff to be sure.

Thanks, again for the private audience, Mike.
 
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