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Dr. Bass cabinets

#41
I had a chance to audition a pair of custom Dr. Bass cabs a while back, a 2x10 and 1x15. The material is 1/2" thick, though to be honest, I am not sure if it is MDF or birch ply. I am thinking MDF. The speakers are both Eminence DeltaLites, with the 10's being custom 16-ohm speakers, for a total 8 ohm cab. I compared these to most of the cabs in my arsenal, and took them to a gig. They performed remarkably well for their size and weight, so I had to add them to the "collection." Interestingly, I also had a chance to borrow a ThunderFunk head while I had these cabs, and the two match up very, very well. Of the two cabs, I was most impressed with the 2x10. It had good midrange balance, and strong low end for a cab of its size. Not the smoothest sounding cab, but with respectable articulation and punch. The 1x15 didn't have quite the fullness of the 2x10, and tended to get a bit boomy at times. I am thinking of adding some internal bracing and dampening material to try and address this. The tweeters in both are not bad at all (and preferable to the horn tweeters used by many, many other brand names), but IMHO, the crossovers need some work. The tweeters felt a bit disjointed from the main driver, and didn't present a seamless transition (like, say, Epifani does). At their price, though, they are pretty impressive, though.

Here is a shot from the first gig I took them to. To provide a point of reference, I brought along my Whappo, Jr. to A/B them against. I also got to put the ThunderFunk head through its paces at this gig, and for amp references, I had my iAMP 800 and my rack rig (Eden Navigator, PLX 3002). Sorry about the crummy quality of the photo:
 
#43
Ok...I'm convinved...

After reading thru many posts on Dr. Bass, and speaking w/ Marc Serio, I'm gonna give them a shot.

I inquired about the 1x15 & 2x10 as a combo...and the 2x12. Marc likes either setup, and did mention that when using the 15 and 2 10's, he would put the 2x10 on bottom, and the 1x15 on top to alleviate boominess. After much thought, I ordered the 2x12 in birch yesterday, and if this works out like I hope it does, will probably add a 2x10 later on (I'm being very optimistic here :cool: ).

My current rigs are an SWR Goliath III (4x10) and a Carvin 1x18...powered with an Ampeg SVP Preamp and a QSC PLX3402. The other setup I use is an Acme B4 (4x10) and an Acme B2 (2x10) also powered with the Ampeg/QSC. So I will be comparing the Dr. Bass against these guys. Will post back comments once I recive my 2x12...will be a few weeks though.

Mikey/

P.S. Like everyone here has previously stated...Marc is a great guy to deal with, very helpful and more than willing to spend time talking.
 
#44
This is Marc with Dr. Bass. I've been lurking, and the one thing I am curious about is how tombowlus got those cabs? They were prototypes I built for a gentleman, who at the time was doing marketing for Dave Funk, to go with the Thunderfunk amp using Neo's for the NAMM show. In fact the drivers were custom built for me by Eminence and we had about 3 weeks to come up with the speaker and cabinet designs. Those particular cabs use 1/2" birch plywood as we were going for ultra lightweight cabinets. Unfortunately they were still a work in progress, and you are correct they need more bracing, and some damping material inside. If you send them back I will re-brace (is that a word?) them for you at no charge. And you are also correct about the transition between the horn and the Neo driver, they needed a lower crossover point. One thing I have found with the Neo's, at least for my tastes, is I like them in a 3-way environment. But anyway, if anyone has any questions give me a call or shoot me an email, and thanks to everyone for all of the kind words, and the honest criticisms, it only helps us to improve. Now if only my playing would improve!
 
#46
DrBass said:
This is Marc with Dr. Bass. I've been lurking, and the one thing I am curious about is how tombowlus got those cabs? They were prototypes I built for a gentleman, who at the time was doing marketing for Dave Funk, to go with the Thunderfunk amp using Neo's for the NAMM show. In fact the drivers were custom built for me by Eminence and we had about 3 weeks to come up with the speaker and cabinet designs. Those particular cabs use 1/2" birch plywood as we were going for ultra lightweight cabinets. Unfortunately they were still a work in progress, and you are correct they need more bracing, and some damping material inside. If you send them back I will re-brace (is that a word?) them for you at no charge. And you are also correct about the transition between the horn and the Neo driver, they needed a lower crossover point. One thing I have found with the Neo's, at least for my tastes, is I like them in a 3-way environment. But anyway, if anyone has any questions give me a call or shoot me an email, and thanks to everyone for all of the kind words, and the honest criticisms, it only helps us to improve. Now if only my playing would improve!
Click to expand...
Marc:


I'll PM you as to how I acquired them. I can also provide you with detailed notes on how they compared to my other cabs (and I have quite a collection). The short of it is that I was very, very impressed, and I really didn't want to let those cabs out of my greedy little hands. And your offer to further tweak and improve them is even more exemplary. Truly, I am really impressed at this offer, and hope to take you up on it!
 
#48
Scotius2001 said:
Curious how they performed with the iamp in comparison to the other amps. I have one on the way as well as a Dr Bass 3 way 112.
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While they were a very good match for the ThunderFunk head (everything set flat was about perfect), they also royally kicked with the iAMP 800. I find that with the iAMP, I need to spend some time with the EQ fine tuning it to the cabs in question. And believe me, you can really fine tune with the iAMP (or the ThunderFunk, for that matter). The TF seemed like more of a "natural" match, but I haven't found a cab yet that the iAMP won't interface well with, and of course the headroom of the iAMP 800 is to die for.
 
#50
right i like the sound of these things and that price is awesome. if i get a 2x10 and a 1x15 both rated at 4 ohms and put them into a 300w head at 4ohms will i encounter any problems considering thay are both rated at over 300w and what kind of power will i get. will i get 300w going into both cabs or will the 300w be split between the two cabs?
 
#52
hetsscaryguy said:
sorry just realised that i can only get the 1x15 in 8 ohms so i know the deal that the impedences must match so i have to get two 8 ohm cabs, sorry for not looking closer in the first place.
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Not to mention if you put 2 4 ohm cabs under an amp with a 4 ohm minimum impedance rating, you'll damage the amp (2 4 ohm cabs in parallel will give you 2 ohms). Pairing 8 ohm cabs is the way to go in this case...
 
#53
hetsscaryguy said:
sorry just realised that i can only get the 1x15 in 8 ohms
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Hey hetsscaryguy,

FYI...although on the website the 1x15 is only listed in 8 ohms, Marc will give you any configuration you want...so you could get a 4 ohm 1x15...

but...like Scotius2001 stated, you certainly would not want to run 2 4ohm cabs unless you had an amp that can handle a 2 ohm load...so the 2 8ohms will work for you.

Mikey/
 
#54
Hey hetsscaryguy,

Mikey is correct, we do have 4 ohm 15's available upon request in the BL series. It is a 450 watt 15 with an 80 oz magnet and has a frequency response of 30hz to 2.5khz. Although a 2x10 and 1x15 stack is still one of the classic rigs and one of my favorite. We are running a June special on the stack. You can contact me for more info via my email address on my website. www.drbasscabs.com I don't think it would be ethical to advertise prices via a post.

Marc
 
#58
just recieved my dr bass cab.i went with 4ohm rx1260(a single 12 with a 6in driver and a horn)rated at 650 watts.just like most others here i didnt have the luxury of trying one out and wasnt sure what to expect so this was somewhat of an experiment.i talked to avatar and low down sound as well.all three were more than happy to take my calls and answer any questions i had.however i seemed to hit it off better with mark and i was truely impressed with his passion for anything that has to do with bass.he always had time to take my calls and went out of his way to work WITH me & listen to my needs.no idea too big or small with this guy.he is also from the old school where he will work his ass off until you are satisfied.but how good is his work. nice cab at a great price.too good to be true????

not in this case.my cab arrived literally as i was loading my truck for my gig.(i then got to unload my truck)went in and opened the box.first impression-small,very solid,very well built,and i love the coating he covers the cabs with.(it would take ALOT to penetrate this stuff)overall in the looks dept-very cool vibe.but how does it sound????

my first time to even plug it in was at sound check.run through my stewart and demeter, no tweeking was needed.the sound was very warm and even.i loved the bottom end-im not much for booming lows.the lows were tight just like i like it.plenty of mids and loads of highs.i had my lakland 5-string and proceeded with the gig.a small wedding gig that toward the end got pretty loud.the cab cut through no problem.i turned around a few times looking for a much larger cab only to see this little guy. at the very end we were loud enough that i wish i had a second cab.however this cab covered the gig as well or better than my old epi12 did in similar situations.

i have a few more gigs under my belt with this cab and bottom line-one more very satisfied customer.i will be ordering more cabs from mark.its great not to have to spend a ton on a nice cab.its even better when they sound good as well.

for those who may be worried about taking a chance on these things....dont be.
 

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