Double Bass European Speaker Cabinets?

[oystein]

Hi,
I have read the through all the threads regarding EA/ Bergantino/ Raezer Edge etc. cabs with great interest. Unfortunately the availability in Europe is not the best for these cabs. and buying from US is a non-issue due to shipping cost. So my question is: Does anyone know of European brands that come close up to this quality or dealers in Europe with fair prices for a.m. brands?

oystein - Norway

 

[Vunz]

Glockenklang Acoustic art! One 10" plus a 2" tweeter. It is basically a passive studio monitor adapted for stage use. IMHO, no cab sounds more true than this one, and that includes the whole Schertler line, which I finally had a change to try out, and ultimately dismissed in favor of my trusty Glock+Lab.gruppen rig. One problem, though, it costs roughly 1300 Euros a piece (street price), which is a far bit pricier than other brands (for you need a separate power amp)... Well worth the money, though.

Cheers,

Vincent

 

[abaguer]

I think Hevos are supposed to be very good for upright.

 

[oystein]

I think Hevos are supposed to be very good for upright.

So do I but it would have been nice to hear from anyone with first hand experience. Anyone? Tombowlus seem to have tested "everything"

oystein

 

[jannejava]

I heard good things about EBS Neo 10". And it's quite light weight too. I have not tried it by myself on double bass, but I could be worth giving it a go.

 

[Vunz]

Hevos seems to be very good, indeed. But, if the Acoustic Art is too expensive/exoteric, you could always go for other Glockenklang cabs, such as the 1x12" + tweeter Space cab. That one is far more reasonably priced, and, perhaps surprisingly, a lot less heavy than the Acoustic Art.

Cheers,

Vincent

 

[tombowlus]

So do I but it would have been nice to hear from anyone with first hand experience. Anyone? Tombowlus seem to have tested "everything"

oystein

I am really impressed with my Hevos Midget. To me, it sounds very accurate, very full range, and it can get very, very loud. Plus, it's very small. In general, I agree that it is difficult to get more than three of the following: loud, accurate, deep, portable. But, the Midget seems to be the exception to that rule. I do like it with upright, though if the Midget is lacking in anything, it would be midrange character. It can sound a tad "clinical" in the mids. But, if you have good sounding mids to start with, this should be fine. If you need a hint of warmth or added character, then I prefer the EA Wizzy.

I bought my Midget used from Ray Parker. Ray actually preferred his PortaBass cabs with upright (which is why he sold the Midget). I have tried several of the PortaBass cabs with electric, but not with upright, so I can't comment directly, but at least based upon my experience with my slab basses, I wasn't too keen on the Ampeg PB cabs, myself.

Hope this helps, Tom.

 

[oystein]

thanks tom,
Due to availability and price level think I will try a midget. Do you have the one with or without tweeter?

I love talkbass forum

oystein

 

[tombowlus]

thanks tom,
Due to availability and price level think I will try a midget. Do you have the one with or without tweeter?

I love talkbass forum

oystein

I have the tweeter in mine, and I think it is pretty good. If you don't like it, you can always turn it down...

Tom.

 

[pat.p]

Hi,
I have read the through all the threads regarding EA/ Bergantino/ Raezer Edge etc. cabs with great interest. Unfortunately the availability in Europe is not the best for these cabs. and buying from US is a non-issue due to shipping cost. So my question is: Does anyone know of European brands that come close up to this quality or dealers in Europe with fair prices for a.m. brands?

oystein - Norway

Hi Oystein
I'm not familiar with European brands, but I've found European shops with reasonably prices for American gear (Epifani, Schroeder, Acme, AI):
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http://www.woodandtronics.com/

Of course, prices for American equipment here in Europe are insane... :scowl:
I don't understand rules of THIS market...

 

[brianh]

I know Epifani sells a lot of cabinets in Europe. I've been using a NYC112 12-inch cabinet with an Eden Traveler. The Epifani weighs 30 lbs and sounds great. I can't really say enough about it....

 

[oystein]

I am really impressed with my Hevos Midget. To me, it sounds very accurate, very full range, and it can get very, very loud. Plus, it's very small. In general, I agree that it is difficult to get more than three of the following: loud, accurate, deep, portable. But, the Midget seems to be the exception to that rule. I do like it with upright, though if the Midget is lacking in anything, it would be midrange character. It can sound a tad "clinical" in the mids. But, if you have good sounding mids to start with, this should be fine. If you need a hint of warmth or added character, then I prefer the EA Wizzy.


Hope this helps, Tom.

Tom, if you were to choose between the Hevos Midget and Raezers Edge Bass 1x10 what would you prefer for upright? I have both at hand now at basicially same price.

Oystein

 

[tombowlus]

Tom, if you were to choose between the Hevos Midget and Raezers Edge Bass 1x10 what would you prefer for upright? I have both at hand now at basicially same price.

Oystein

For upright, it is a close call. Those two cabs are almost at opposite ends of the spectrum. The RE Bass 10 is actually somewhat "boxy" sounding, meaning that it has strong midrange presence and character, but its response tapers off on the lows and highs (fairly dramatically, actually). But, this allows it to speak with good authority in the dominant frequency range of the upright.

The Midget has quite extended frequency range. It goes quite deep and has all the high end you could ever want. But, as I mentioned it is comewhat "cool" in the mids - they are certainly not hyped. I don't really hear any scooped mids, but by comparison to the RE Bass 10, the Midget might actually sound scooped. The Midget has more clarity, the Bass 10 has more character.

It'd be a tough call, but in general, I'd say that the Bass 10 favors upright over electric, and the Midget shines more impressively with electric than with upright.

I know that doesn't indicate a clear preference, but that's about where I stand!

Hope this helps, Tom.

P.S.
With the unfortunate passing of Rich Raezer, we may be left with a finite number of Raezer's Edge cabs...

 

[oystein]

Hi all,
I have still not settled on a cabinet yet, I have at hand both a Hevos midget and Raezer Edge bass 12, but both of these I have to shop abroad. Recently the option for buying 1 or 2 second hand EA CXL-112L have appeared locally. I have read some good reviews in other threads about them, but would like to hear opinions from people with first hand experience. Are they as good as Hevos and Raezer E. for upright? How do they compare.
Due to availability I have realized that I may have to compromise, I may not get my 1. choice anyway.
I am thinking of combining this with Acoustic Image Clarus or Focus.
Anyone? Tom Bowlus or Chris F.


BTW, on my last gig I used a home made cabinet with the famous EV 15L speaker as an extention cab to the AI Contra series 1 I have. It souded very good indeed and this speaker element behaves more like a 12' speaker than a 15'. The downside is off course the size of the cab.

oystein

 

[evertalbers]

I own a Hevos Midget and it can't be beaten for upright. Make sure you have a strong head to power it with.

 

[tombowlus]

Recently the option for buying 1 or 2 second hand EA CXL-112L have appeared locally. I have read some good reviews in other threads about them, but would like to hear opinions from people with first hand experience. Are they as good as Hevos and Raezer E. for upright? How do they compare.

EA makes killer cabs across the board, IMHO. The CxL-112 is probably their most clear, cutting cab. It has strong, deep lows, and very good volume for a 1x12. But, it is slightly thin in the low mids relative to some of their other cabs (like the Wizzy), and I find its midrange response to be somewhat peaky, and not as "flat" as some of their other cabs. Keep in mind, though, this is relative to other EA cabs. It is certainly less colored than many other cab options out there. Tonally, it is more akin to the Hevos than to the Raezer's Edge.

Here is a little snippet from a post I made some while back concerning the CxL-112 versus the Wizzy:

I think I have discussed elsewhere the general differnces between the Wizzy and the CxL-112 (Wizzy is more full sounding, warmer midrange; CxL-112 goes deeper, though not as full through the low-mids, and has scalpel-precise clarity). If you are talking a single cab, the CxL-112 definitely does a low B with more gusto (and can be pushed harder both volume-wise and bass-boost-wise) than the Wizzy. However, two Wizzy's definitely surpass the single CxL-112 in overall low end, including low B. Somewhat surprisingly, one Wizzy and the CxL-112 does not sound significantly different on the low end, and the mids are not really as cohesive as with two Wizzy's, though you do get some more control on the high end via the CxL-112's tweeter. Overall, I preferred two Wizzy's to the mixed 1x12 combo.

As for upright, the Wizzy has a very warm, musical presentation, with a hint of added bloom to the notes, but plenty of precision, and a nice, earthy fullness. I liked it a lot. The CxL-112 did not have the bloom (which is a good or bad thing, depending on your personal preference and what room you have to deal with), and was not as full sounding, but had a very articulate sound that seemed to emphasize the sound of my left-hand fingers, but not in a harsh way, which I found somewhat unusual. Normally, I consider too much "fingernoise" to be a bad thing, but it was more of a revealing thing than an obnoxious thing with the CxL-112. Two Wizzy's with the upright was sheer joy!

For reference, I was using my iAMP 800, my 5-string is a modified DeArmond Pilot 5 Deluxe (with Bart p/u's and Aguilar OBP-1), and my upright is a late 40's (estimated) Kay, with a Barberra Bridge.

In truth, I ended up liking the CxL-112 on upright even more than I thought I would. I should also point out that the CxL-112 has gone through multiple iterations, and from what I understand, they can sound fairly different (and vary in weight). The CxL-112 with an NL-210 is a fantastic rig, too.

Tom.

 

[Steve Clark]

I am curious about shipping cost quotes that you have for shipping to Europe.

Does the price of shipping and duties end up costing more than a European dealer charges for a US built product? Same cost?

Are there different shipping and duty regs for shipping from US vs. Canada? I don't pay dutied on importing US built EA to Canada because of the NAFTA. Im guessing it all depends on where the gear was built.

I'm sure European built gear costs more over here than in EU.

Steve

Hi,
I have read the through all the threads regarding EA/ Bergantino/ Raezer Edge etc. cabs with great interest. Unfortunately the availability in Europe is not the best for these cabs. and buying from US is a non-issue due to shipping cost. So my question is: Does anyone know of European brands that come close up to this quality or dealers in Europe with fair prices for a.m. brands?

oystein - Norway

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Hi all,
I have still not settled on a cabinet yet, I have at hand both a Hevos midget and Raezer Edge bass 12, but both of these I have to shop abroad. Recently the option for buying 1 or 2 second hand EA CXL-112L have appeared locally. I have read some good reviews in other threads about them, but would like to hear opinions from people with first hand experience. Are they as good as Hevos and Raezer E. for upright? How do they compare.
Due to availability I have realized that I may have to compromise, I may not get my 1. choice anyway.
I am thinking of combining this with Acoustic Image Clarus or Focus.
Anyone? Tom Bowlus or Chris F.

I have no experience with the Hevos cab, but personally I think the RE cabs sound downright terrible for DB - they remind me of the old sealed Polytone combos: at low volumes, they sound nice and warm, but as the volume goes up, so does the "boxiness", to the point where once you get to a certain volume, you'd rather just turn the damned thing off.

I liked my CXL-112 just fine for DB, especially when paired with an iAmp 800 or AI Clarus. Like Tom said, it's a little bright in the mids and can sound harsh if you don't use a little mid EQ, but they cut through like a bastard and can generally handle anything you wanna throw at 'em. The only reason I sold mine was that I was able to get my hands on two of the only cab I've ever played that beats it hands down for DB (the VL208). The other bonus of the CXL-112 is that it puts out a lot of sound without eating up too much power (unlike the 208). Given your choices, I'd try to get a Focus and the CXL-112. HTH.

 

[oystein]

Thanks for valuable feedback, I once plugged into a guitarists AI Clarus with RE 1x12 guitar cab, and as you stated Chris, it reminded me very much of the polytone sound I had 8-10 years ago. I think I have made up my mind.

Oystein

 

[tombowlus]

I have no experience with the Hevos cab, but personally I think the RE cabs sound downright terrible for DB - they remind me of the old sealed Polytone combos: at low volumes, they sound nice and warm, but as the volume goes up, so does the "boxiness", to the point where once you get to a certain volume, you'd rather just turn the damned thing off.

That's a good point, Chris. While I do like the Bass 10 on upright at lower volumes (it's different from my EA cabs, but I find it equally pleasing - again, at lower volumes), it is a cab where the louder you push it, the less I like its tone (which is the exact opposite of the VL-210, BTW).

[Edit: The Hevos Midget sounds great at any volume, and it can get very, very loud. Same for the CxL-112.]