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Epifani Club! I've seen the "light"!

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#681
I'm loving my Series 1 UL-310 with my Thunderfunk. I've been really happy with the pair. I'm just practicing at home right now, so I normally can't get past 3 before I start hearing from the wife...;)

Please sign me up!
 
#683
KJung said:
In my world, I'm constantly in these large ballrooms on those hollow, temporary stages, and that can be just a rig killer when the rig is voiced wide and pure.

I have much less trouble with the 410UL compared to the 310UL I used to use. That was a VERY frustrating cab in some rooms, since you not only had that 'wide and pure and a bit scooped' to deal with, but also the compression that happens with a smaller cab when really pushed.
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Very well said - as always, Ken. And...echo, echo! Sounds like we play in very similar rooms, and those are tough. In fairness, they're tough for the other guys too. A keyboarder I play with quite frequently shares my grief, most often with his Motion Sound rig. We know it'll be a longer-than-usual gig when neither of us can find our sound in a boomy/hard room. :)

FWIW, I've been thinking about this a little bit, and wanted to add that I had just as many issues when I was experimenting with AccuGroove Tri-112's over the past two years. When the room was right, they sounded terrific, but under the same type of conditions mentioned over the last page or two of this thread....the boominess was very difficult to dial-out without taking gobs of sonic happiness with it. I did use the Epi 502 through both brands of cabinets, for whatever that's worth.

Interestingly, I find that I have fewer issues with the UL310. I just love that cabinet, but granted I do tend to use it in smaller rooms, so trying to compare/contrast is really unfair. I would be curious to hear two 310's vs the 410+210 I use when a bit more air needs to be pushed. Anyway...
 
#684
VroomVroom said:
Very well said - as always, Ken. And...echo, echo! Sounds like we play in very similar rooms, and those are tough. In fairness, they're tough for the other guys too. A keyboarder I play with quite frequently shares my grief, most often with his Motion Sound rig. We know it'll be a longer-than-usual gig when neither of us can find our sound in a boomy/hard room. :)

FWIW, I've been thinking about this a little bit, and wanted to add that I had just as many issues when I was experimenting with AccuGroove Tri-112's over the past two years. When the room was right, they sounded terrific, but under the same type of conditions mentioned over the last page or two of this thread....the boominess was very difficult to dial-out without taking gobs of sonic happiness with it. I did use the Epi 502 through both brands of cabinets, for whatever that's worth.

Interestingly, I find that I have fewer issues with the UL310. I just love that cabinet, but granted I do tend to use it in smaller rooms, so trying to compare/contrast is really unfair. I would be curious to hear two 310's vs the 410+210 I use when a bit more air needs to be pushed. Anyway...
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And one more comment per the above. The Epi amps (502 in my case) make this issue MUCH worse. Those amps have an unfortunate combination of huge, forceful lows, very limited mid control, and a rather dark voicing. Per your comment, in good rooms and solo, I TOTALLY dug my 502/410UL. But man, talk about getting into BIG trouble in other rooms... dial the bass control down, and those amps thin to nothing (lot's of frequencies controlled by that control, not just deep bass like other amps), try to bump up the lower mids with the single semi-parametric mid, and all your upper mid definition and sparkle disappers, etc.).

The Epi amps and a large Epi cab are IMO and IME the ultimate nightmare in a difficult room. Per you point, given the 'less big low end' or the 310UL, I would imagine with the 502/902, this issue would not be quite as bad... so +1 there.

As I've posted previously, if you like that creamy, fat, warm, sophisticated tone of the 502, you REALLY need to try the TecAmp Puma amps with the UL's. Similar voicing and output as the Epi amps (the Puma500 will do about 80% of the output of the 502 IME), but with BEAUTIFUL control of the low end and lower mids, and the capability of MUCH more sparkle and definition up top. The Puma500 with a 4ohm 410UL is a thing of beauty. The deep shelving bass control is perfect for controlling boom without sucking upper bass and low mids, the low mid control is in that perfect 'wide Q 250hz' punch area for the UL cabs, the upper mids are perfectly voiced at around 800hz to remove 'gank', and the treble control is in that 4kshelving 'sweet spot' for the Epi crossover and tweeter.... all at around 6 pounds and less money than the 502. Whoohooo!

Just FYI... and sorry for the bit of 'semi OT'.
 
#685
Ken, I really appreciate the information. As has become the norm, you've described the peculiarities of my tone better than I could...to a tee. I've never experienced a more sensitive 'bass' knob than on the 502. The slightest change from flat generates amazing differences in sound, none of which are positive. This seems to be exacerbated when I add a second cab. NYE was the perfect example - 502 & 410+210, and I struggled until the last set, where the sheer tenacity and volume of the full band (six horns + four singers + Tower of Power tunes = joy) either canceled the issue or simply masked it.

I do roughly six-eight gigs a year with a band of this size, so it's enough of an issue to warrant more research. I hate rolling the dice to find out what the room dynamics will be, and would obviously love to take any bad variables out of the equation. You've got me thinking seriously about trying a TecAmp, and I just sent an email to Osiamo. I'm not sure about a good combo since my cabs are all 8ohm, but that Puma 1000 looks intriguing. :D

Thanks again for the great information! And just to reiterate...no bashing Epifani on my end. I bought - hook, line, & sinker - into their stuff back in early '04, and when the acoustics are right, I giggle like a school girl at the sound.
 
#686
KJung said:
And one more comment per the above. The Epi amps (502 in my case) make this issue MUCH worse. Those amps have an unfortunate combination of huge, forceful lows, very limited mid control, and a rather dark voicing. ... I TOTALLY dug my 502/410UL. But man, talk about getting into BIG trouble in other rooms... ...The Epi amps and a large Epi cab are IMO and IME the ultimate nightmare in a difficult room.
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Big +1

Slight caveat: I had the Quest II preamp with a power amp, but I figure that's pretty darn close to a 502/902 tone, if not identical for all intents and purposes anyway...

Personally, the Epi amp tone didn't work for me more often than it did, and I was constantly frustrated by the lack of ability to "fix" it.

In short, love their cabs, hate their amps. :)

IMHO of course, so you 502/902 fans, put the guns away. :)
 
#688
Vic said:
(...)

IMHO of course, so you 502/902 fans, put the guns away. :)
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aww...

well, i'll just say, i had to play a PS auditorium (high ceilings, wooden flip up seats, concrete walls everywhere, crayon banners everywhere, bad soundman, et al.) over the holidays, and yea, the room was awful. turned back the bass knob on the 902 helped to focus down my overall sound. that knob is usually my "make cab bigger" knob, but that day, realized its also the "make cab fit that flippin' horrible" room knob. also, helped that i added a nice bit of lower mids to give the attenuated lower end a bit more thickness.

but as we always say YMMV...
 
#690
jokerjkny said:
definitely,

then again, the Eden EQ works across a variety of cabs i've owned. just a terrific product from a true innovator.

cant wait to see/hear about dave's next move.
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Yeah, even tho I'm really smitten with another amp at the moment, I have NO plans to sell my WT-405. Tonally, for my tastes, I put it well above all their other amps. IMHO that amp pairs fantastically well with every Epifani cab I've plugged it into.

I know, I know, now I gotta' tell all the WT-800 folks to put their guns away... :D :D :D :D

Yeah, I'm also VERY curious to know what Dave N. is working on right now... maybe something with Dave F.? :) Dunno, but that's off-topic here anyway. :)
 
#693
getting back into the epifani cabs as of tonight...im buying an ul 1x12 to go with the markbass F-1 that i bought last night(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

if anyone has seen one of the diagonal ul2x10's around (must be 8ohms) let me know....i want one to make this a sick little stackable rig.

-grady
 
#694
gkbass13 said:
getting back into the epifani cabs as of tonight...im buying an ul 1x12 to go with the markbass F-1 that i bought last night(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

if anyone has seen one of the diagonal ul2x10's around (must be 8ohms) let me know....i want one to make this a sick little stackable rig.

-grady
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The F1 and Epi combination is superb! Congrats!

I'm not aware of a diagonal UL210. I had the old diagonal T-210 years ago that weighed a ton. I'd stay away from that one!

I'd strongly recommend another of the 112UL's to finish your stack. There's something very even and beautiful about stacking two identical cabs. That will kill. IMO!
 
#696
Sign me up too, please!
UL212 and UL112. 212 for "bigger" gigs, rock, blues, etc. 112 for acoustic bass and rehearsals.
Saved my back and sounds amazing for sure.
For preamps, you need to check out Mike Pope's MPP series. I'm a little biased, but the pre and my Crown amp really make those cabs sing. This combo is all about the preamp as the amp will pretty much do what it's told...
David
 
#697
epifani makes what they call the "ul 2x10 AP" its essentially an ul 2x10 on its side with the logo placed appropriately...i mioght just get an ul 2x10 and switch the logo for stacking purposes....lovin that f-1....sweet, sweet amp.
 
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