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Double Bass Euphonic Audio CXL112 And Distortion

C

charmicarmicat

May 22, 2005
140
0
los angeles
#1
Hello all.
I've been asked to do some gigs doubling on both upright and electric/slab. The duties playing the electric involves effects such as distortion, wah etc. None of this will be at loud volumes but I am still worried that it might mess with my speaker. Do I have a reason to be worried or can the CXL112 handle it?
Thank you all for taking the time.
 
#2
Gee I hope not. With slab, sometimes I like to peg the 'Drive' dial on my SansAmp to "11" and pretend I'm Mel Schacher.

My 10 year old likes to use it too when he plays my EB's. "Dad, how do you turn on the fuzz?" :p

I could be wrong, but I think I've read that real clipping can be seriously BAD for drivers, esp. tweeters. But fuzz effects and fake tubes like my SansAmp are not an issue. Hopefully someone more technical than me will chime in and confirm.
 
#3
charmicarmicat said:
Hello all.
I've been asked to do some gigs doubling on both upright and electric/slab. The duties playing the electric involves effects such as distortion, wah etc. None of this will be at loud volumes but I am still worried that it might mess with my speaker. Do I have a reason to be worried or can the CXL112 handle it?
Thank you all for taking the time.
Click to expand...
As long as your amp is not actually clipping, you should be OK. The CxL112 should be able to take whatever you give it just fine.
 
#5
robgrow said:
As long as your amp is not actually clipping, you should be OK. The CxL112 should be able to take whatever you give it just fine.
Click to expand...

The damage done to speakers by amps that are clipping results from the spread of energy into higher frequencies and this fries tweeters. That can occur whether the power amp is clipping or if the distortion added by the electronics also ends up spreading massive amounts of energy into the higher frequencies. As a practical matter, AFAIK, electronic effects are not as extreme as clipping, per se. That is, you should be fine but be careful. There is a tweeter there.
 
#7
Mike Arnopol said:
The CXL 12 goes louder without distortion than any 12" speaker and even most 15".
Click to expand...

According to the specs from EA, the maximum acoustic output you'll get is 128 dB SPL. As usual, they say nothing about distortion which is a function of many design parameters. I interpret your statement as based on your experience which I grant is valuable information to have. I suspect you didn't mean it literally as that would be quite an extraordinary claim. :)

I agree that the OP should be just fine.
 
#8
drurb said:
The damage done to speakers by amps that are clipping results from the spread of energy into higher frequencies and this fries tweeters. That can occur whether the power amp is clipping or if the distortion added by the electronics also ends up spreading massive amounts of energy into the higher frequencies. As a practical matter, AFAIK, electronic effects are not as extreme as clipping, per se. That is, you should be fine but be careful. There is a tweeter there.
Click to expand...

I knew you'd chime in :) Since volume will be low and tweeter turned all the way down (which I have anyways, even with my upright) I think I'm safe. Again, thanks for the valuable input.
 
#9
charmicarmicat said:
I knew you'd chime in :) Since volume will be low and tweeter turned all the way down (which I have anyways, even with my upright) I think I'm safe. Again, thanks for the valuable input.
Click to expand...

Never turn a tweeter down ALL THE WAY. You need to turn it down MOST of the way. Having it turned all the way down causes the the L-pad to have to dissipate too much power and work too hard and eventually burn it up. Turning it up just a tad above minimum doesn't work the pad nearly so hard, and you still can't hear the tweeter.


Take the knob, bottom it out, and then crank it back up just a touch.
 
#12
Johnny Atomic said:
Never turn a tweeter down ALL THE WAY. You need to turn it down MOST of the way. Having it turned all the way down causes the the L-pad to have to dissipate too much power and work too hard and eventually burn it up. Turning it up just a tad above minimum doesn't work the pad nearly so hard, and you still can't hear the tweeter.


Take the knob, bottom it out, and then crank it back up just a touch.
Click to expand...

Given the typical design of L-Pads, I don't see why this should be the case at all. The difference between "all the way down" and "almost all the way down" would result in a very small change in the amount of current passed through the series resistor.
 
#13
drurb said:
Given the typical design of L-Pads, I don't see why this should be the case at all. The difference between "all the way down" and "almost all the way down" would result in a very small change in the amount of current passed through the series resistor.
Click to expand...

I think this is true. The power rating for the L-Pad hopefully takes this into account. With that said, a conservative approach to "saving" the tweeter might be to dial down the treble on the amp before going further with the L-Pad. That way you're generating much less heat overall.
 
#14
charmicarmicat said:
I knew you'd chime in :) Since volume will be low and tweeter turned all the way down (which I have anyways, even with my upright) I think I'm safe. Again, thanks for the valuable input.
Click to expand...

Just another side note, if you are never using the tweeter, you could disconnect the x-over altogether, and again, control your treble with the amp.
 

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