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Do all cabs feel like a compromise?

#461
MultiScaleMale said:
With basses and even amps you can buy no holds barred, high end basses and amps that don’t cut any corners on quality or construction. But cabs always seem to be a compromise - heavy weight, rat fur or tolex, Duartex that’s gooped on, no t-bolts, cut corners on the crossover, etc. I guess the closest to a high end cab that I would consider “ideal” is the Greenboy F112, but I dislike the wedge format. It seems like everyone is trying to keep costs down on cabs where that’s not usually the case with basses. And you don’t hear a bass, you hear the notes from the speaker. I’ve found my ideal bass, but the quest continues for the ideal cab.

My definition of ideal is an 8 ohm cab that I can double up on larger gigs and use singly on smaller gigs. Sub 45lbs per cab (using the single weight plate standard), truck bed liner, handles 400-500W, quality construction, real handles - not the silly straps. Tone and low end extension, of course.

I considered Acme 112FR, but they have low sensitivity so you need to pump up the wattage and then I start to need a bigger amp. Dr Bass’ BL115 checks most of the boxes and I have an older RX series that I use for rehearsal and like. The obvious issue is - will I get the cabs.

Everything seems like you have to make more of a compromise than with basses and amps.
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I've found ALL of them have certain characteristics that one would either love or hate. My drug of choice happens to be a home built cab to EV specs (got 2 of them for outside or larger venues). Rock solid contraction with no vibrations. SRO 15 gives plenty of highs and lows. I've been told I was to load at times. I don't like it because I have to lug a head with it (genz benz made it palatable). So then came the Trace Elliot blah, blah, 15 with the tweeter. Combo amp...been told I wasn't loud enough...BS...they were too load! Mic the TE and you got a TE sound. Bottom line with me, as long as the cab is solid with no vibrations, and the speaker handles your tones, its a good cab. Oh well, my two cents.
 
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#463
Working on getting a pair. Just need help in loading these babies. Maybe a place to store them too. And two trucks to haul them.
LOL.....
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#464
MultiScaleMale said:
With basses and even amps you can buy no holds barred, high end basses and amps that don’t cut any corners on quality or construction. But cabs always seem to be a compromise - heavy weight, rat fur or tolex, Duartex that’s gooped on, no t-bolts, cut corners on the crossover, etc. I guess the closest to a high end cab that I would consider “ideal” is the Greenboy F112, but I dislike the wedge format. It seems like everyone is trying to keep costs down on cabs where that’s not usually the case with basses. And you don’t hear a bass, you hear the notes from the speaker. I’ve found my ideal bass, but the quest continues for the ideal cab.

My definition of ideal is an 8 ohm cab that I can double up on larger gigs and use singly on smaller gigs. Sub 45lbs per cab (using the single weight plate standard), truck bed liner, handles 400-500W, quality construction, real handles - not the silly straps. Tone and low end extension, of course.

I considered Acme 112FR, but they have low sensitivity so you need to pump up the wattage and then I start to need a bigger amp. Dr Bass’ BL115 checks most of the boxes and I have an older RX series that I use for rehearsal and like. The obvious issue is - will I get the cabs.

Everything seems like you have to make more of a compromise than with basses and amps.
Click to expand...
Hi Rick. I've been playing through a (Puma 500 &) fearless f112H for a few years now, in monitor position on small stages and vertically when I have the room to stand way in front of it. I love the transparent sound and the portability. The only mods I'd ask for if I had my time over again, would be to pay the extra for the optional lighter wood and ask if they could extend the speaker grill to cover the vents, to stop rodents and large spiders nesting:-) I thought I might need two of them, but one's been plenty loud enough for me to hear myself. In the bigger venues I DI through the PA. The fearless is by far the best all-round cab I've owned and maybe not coincidentally the most expensive.
 
#465
Ian Lewis said:
Hi Rick. I've been playing through a (Puma 500 &) fearless f112H for a few years now, in monitor position on small stages and vertically when I have the room to stand way in front of it. I love the transparent sound and the portability. The only mods I'd ask for if I had my time over again, would be to pay the extra for the optional lighter wood and ask if they could extend the speaker grill to cover the vents, to stop rodents and large spiders nesting:) I thought I might need two of them, but one's been plenty loud enough for me to hear myself. In the bigger venues I DI through the PA. The fearless is by far the best all-round cab I've owned and maybe not coincidentally the most expensive.
Click to expand...

I don’t want to go anywhere near fear****
 
#467
mmbongo said:
Yep the whole Fearful thing appears to have crapped the bed. Such a shame.
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It is a shame. Too bad he didn't just announce his plans and inform the builders and suppliers so everyone could be prepared. He probably would have had a bunch of PP donations roll in. Of course, we don't know what he's going through. He might be having problems he doesn't wish to share with the world and maybe not in the best shape right now for making sound business decisions. Still, his announcement on the forum front end must have been like a bucket of ice water to those that poured their efforts into that community.
 
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#469
HolmeBass said:
By all accounts they sound epic.
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monsterthompson said:
Missed this thread yesterday, and I'm not reading 7 pages of it in a single sitting before responding to this... But...
Two BB2 cabs would be awesome. I'm really happy with one. Though, the handles would technically be a compromise, since they are straps.
So, yes. Every cab is a compromise :)
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I have two BBII cabs. The sound is face-meltingly amazing. The only challenge is the volume - half the time I bring both cabs, I can only use one because I am overwhelming the FOH. At outdoor gigs. With a 100W tube amp. I'll never say "last cab I'll ever own", but they are excellent to use, light, loud, reliable and to my ears sound good no matter what I play through them.
 
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#470
MultiScaleMale said:
With basses and even amps you can buy no holds barred, high end basses and amps that don’t cut any corners on quality or construction. But cabs always seem to be a compromise - heavy weight, rat fur or tolex, Duartex that’s gooped on, no t-bolts, cut corners on the crossover, etc. I guess the closest to a high end cab that I would consider “ideal” is the Greenboy F112, but I dislike the wedge format. It seems like everyone is trying to keep costs down on cabs where that’s not usually the case with basses. And you don’t hear a bass, you hear the notes from the speaker. I’ve found my ideal bass, but the quest continues for the ideal cab.

My definition of ideal is an 8 ohm cab that I can double up on larger gigs and use singly on smaller gigs. Sub 45lbs per cab (using the single weight plate standard), truck bed liner, handles 400-500W, quality construction, real handles - not the silly straps. Tone and low end extension, of course.

I considered Acme 112FR, but they have low sensitivity so you need to pump up the wattage and then I start to need a bigger amp. Dr Bass’ BL115 checks most of the boxes and I have an older RX series that I use for rehearsal and like. The obvious issue is - will I get the cabs.

Everything seems like you have to make more of a compromise than with basses and amps.
Click to expand...

Have you checked out the Vanderkley range of cabs - I use 2 2x10 cabs with a TC Electronics Blacksmith amp - works really well
 
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#474
tree_trunker said:
What?!?! Can someone link to where this has happened? I'm fairly new to TB, and I'm not finding it. I was seriously considering some fEARful or FEARLESS stuff!
Click to expand...

Fearful cut plans

Please keep in mind that nearly everything in that thread is just Interweb speculation.
 
#475
There are some great cabs out there, but I always felt there was something lacking in all that I have come across. I just got frustrated and built my own. I'm extremely happy with what I have now because the sound I have in my head for years is finally coming out. That sound is different things for different people. A couple of local guys heard my cab and begged me to build them one. So I've buit 4 of these and I still don't have one of my own. I think I'll build one for christmas for myself.
 
#476
I don't look at cabs as a compromise - I look at them as doing what they are designed to do. If you want something different than what you're getting in your current cab, buy one that's designed to do what you want. I have a Genz-Benz Shuttle 6.2 docked on a 12" Shuttle cab. It does everything I want it to do, and it performs as per its design. It doesn't sound like an SVT on a 6-foot stack of speakers, but that's not what I want or need.

There is also a need to be realistic. You won't find a cab that weighs under 40 pounds, has a 15 inch speaker plus tweeter, handles 1000 watts, and has selectable impedance.
 
#477
mmbongo said:
I have both the 112 and two of the 115's, I have not personally heard the 210. I much prefer the 115 over the 112, as it's deeper and clearer sounding. The 112 has more of an upper midrange spike and it's fatter in the lower mids. I've read that the 210 is a bigger sounding version of the 112, so I have no desire to replace either of my 115's. If you're looking for rich, deep, clear, and articulate you'll like the 115. If you like the bottom a little rounder, low mids a little thicker, and high mids a little sharp, you will like the 112. There is a pretty large difference in their voicing, you will never mistake one for the other. But they do work splendid together. I still prefer two 115's though :)
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I have a 2X15" cab and a separate 4X12" cab. I like the deeper sound of the 15's much better. The reaction of the 15's is slightly slower but hardly noticeable. The weight of the 4X12 is nearly the same weight as the 2X15 due to the neo speakers and the housing design, but still prefer the sound of the 15's for any gig.
 

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