Wrote a detailed post but lost it. Will try again...
I picked up a 2nd generation (newest are 3rd gen) 66 recently -- I recall nomatic posting impressions of it prior to getting his 210 Flex (it used to be his cab). Also borrowed a friend's 45 to try it out. I've played the 45 at home and took the 66 out for the first time a few nights ago. The 66 has the Ciare tweeters. The 45 has the Vifa soft domes.
At home: The low end on the 66 is huge and I worry that it will be too much live. The tweeters sound too hot (then again, I'm used to a dedicated mid and no tweets). The 45 sounds more even -- thicker in the mid-mids and upper mids. The 66 is thicker in the low-mids/upper bass and extends noticeably lower. The 45, with a Mesa Walkabout, can get (no joke) this great Motown sound, but cleaner. At home, I like the Vifas better than the Ciares.
Out in the audience: Showed up to a jam with the 66 and a Markbass F500. Came straight from a concert, but I knew the house player and had asked ahead of time if we could try this rig there -- did a quick switcheroo (he'd left space for the cab) on arrival and I got to hear him and another player through it before playing through it myself. Didn't have time to dial things in, but, based on at-home playing, did a slight cut in low mids and a slight boost in high mids (don't remember the exact frequencies). Otherwise, set flat (and the first couple tunes were played w/flat EQ). In order to really hear/test the cab, went without any PA support. Cab was placed a foot or less from the wall on a notoriously difficult stage in a difficult room (spots onstage where your sound either disappears or goes "boom"). The results were striking in several ways:
- The cab was able to carry the room fine on its own. Master on the F500 was up to noon -- don't know how much room was left in the head, but with people playing loud and the drummer hitting hard there were no issues with volume out of this 6 Ohm cab. Folks I talked to went wide-eyed when I told them that the bass wasn't in the PA.
- I walked all around the club. The sound was consistent -- it really did seem to decrease less with distance than other cabs, and sounded almost the same off to the side as out in front. I walked into a storage area off the side of the stage and could hear everyone else's amps (two guitars, keys, electric banjo) darken considerably, but the 66 stayed clear. In fact, the sound was more consistent than when in the PA! There was a slightly weird spot -- a small volume drop-off -- maybe five feet in front of the stage, but it was a minor fluctuation in perceived level, not a dead-zone. Nowhere in the house could you not hear what the bass player was playing.
- Despite what I considered a very low-end heavy sound at home, I heard more mud from the guitar and keyboard rigs than I did from the bass. Compared to the house cab (an enormous old Ampeg Pr-1832), the 66 freed up some room in the mix.
- A "springy couch." Set as it was, the sound from the f500 and the 66 was very smooth and extended down low. (The other guys were on a six-string and a five string -- I played a four). The six-string guy said it definitely had "that comfy couch thing going on." It did! But it was also very articulate. Not an upper-mid articulation, but an articulation in the low end/low mids. You could feel it, even out in the audience. As soon as my six-string friend started playing, he had a big smile on his face and I, in the audience, could feel the lock with the drummer. The bass sounded cushy, but felt quick, if that makes sense. This held with the low B-string, which sounded more clear and even with the other strings than I'd heard from my friend's bass before.
- Drummer said afterward that the bass "wasn't overpowering, but I never had any problem hearing it." The cab was on the other side of the stage (and the big Ampeg) from him.
Playing: The other guys didn't slap, so I didn't get to hear that from the audience. I played mostly fingerstyle, but threw in some slapping.
- Fingerstyle, I had no problem hearing myself (and I've played this stage several times -- it can be a tough one for that). While I didn't move around much (crowded stage), I never felt stuck standing in a "sweet spot", never found myself angling my head to catch my sound, and didn't have to strain or to play hard. The smooth tone encouraged groovy, snaky lines friendly to R&B, soul, Reggae and finger-funk. The low end in a group context sounded big and supportive, but not "too much" or difficult to control (like I worried it would be at home). Similarly, the tweeters didn't sound overbearing or harsh, as I'd anticipated they might be. (I could hear a bit of the "top" of my EMGs on stage, but didn't notice anything like that out in the audience -- sound was smooth and integrated.)
- Slapping, I couldn't hear myself as well as I'd have liked, which was surprising, since this cab seems like it would excel at that (at home, though at low volume, I noticed little-to-no compression thumbing the low strings and the tweeters have a lot of snap - but some more detail in the upper mids would have been more to my taste). Might be due to not having had time to soundcheck or dial in a tone (pretty much plugged-and-played). Don't know how slapping came across in the audience.
Overall: The cab performed admirably in terms of dispersion (the sound seemed to be everywhere), being able to carry a house sans PA support, fingerstyle articulation, and the way it simultaneously managed to sound big and thick and leave room in a mix; it didn't just make the bass easier to hear, it made the whole mix sound better -- or at least more open. It's loud, too don't know that it'll go as loud as the ("Roadie, please!") Ampeg beast (with an 18", two 10"s, two 6.5"s, and a blown tweeter) but, at about 1/3 the size and weight, it's loud enough. Louder than a good 2x12. Slap performance/monitoring wasn't exactly what I'd hoped for, but this was only the first outing with the cab and I spent all of 10 seconds dialing it in. I suspect it can do better in this area.
I typically like a forward and detailed upper midrange, which I find helps a lot with chords and harmonics. Note separation in chords was good on the 66 and harmonics (the few I played) were clear enough, but I'd still like to see if I can get a tighter, growlier tone with more detailed upper mids. On the other hand, getting to experience that big, smooth low end and fluid midrange was cool and I bet a lot of players would like it exactly that way like a quick-footed Barry White.
Overall, I'm impressed with my first Big E outing. The cab made positive impressions on everyone who heard and played it. The sound I got with it in this first trip out wasn't "the sound in my head," but it
was a compelling sound, fun to play and, honestly, probably a more gig-friendly, easy-to-slot sound than the sound in my head. (Or maybe that's just the way the cab behaves -- mix-friendly.) The low end extension is formidable and will take some getting used to. The cab will get another outing before long. I'll see, then, if I can dial things in so that slap and fingerstyle sound more even to me. That accomplished, I see this being a capable cab for about any playing situation.
Anyway, I'm still learning it and look forward to taking it out again.
Note: The 66 I played isn't of the latest generation (which I suspect would sound closer to the 45 in the mids), and the above reflects playing/hearing it at a jam, with no setup time to speak of and no soundcheck. Re. the slap/fingerstyle disparity, the possibility that the F500 is running out of juice and compressing on the transients occurs to me, but I don't think that's it.
