never tried the schroeder. wizzy came in the mail today (ordered it weds evening from bob g...talk about fast service!) and will try it out on a gig tomorrow night. let me know if you try out the other cab...curious what you think.
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Double Bass Extension Cabinet for AI Contra
- Thread starter Mingus Fingus
- Start date
Hey, Adam, how did you go with the Contra/Wizzy combo? Is the Wizzy much louder than the Contra, ie you barely hear the Contra? Is the sound much 'bigger' and louder?
Been using the AI Contra with a Wizzy M-Line 12" for about a month now, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is unhappy with the muddiness or low power output of a contra by itself. I am really happy to have not sold the contra because this combo is working really well for me. The Wizzy adds a LOT of definition and a LOT of volume, but never muddy...always a very clear, but powerful sound.
I've used it on outdoor gigs, small group piano trio hits, and most recently in a 6 piece hip hop group and it has been great in all. Highly recommend the set-up. The Wizzy is considerably louder than the contra, but i separate them. Put the Wizzy to my side near the drummer, and the contra on the other side of me so the rest of the band has it. Not sure if its a good thing or not, but everyone in the band can hear the bass now!
adam.
I've used it on outdoor gigs, small group piano trio hits, and most recently in a 6 piece hip hop group and it has been great in all. Highly recommend the set-up. The Wizzy is considerably louder than the contra, but i separate them. Put the Wizzy to my side near the drummer, and the contra on the other side of me so the rest of the band has it. Not sure if its a good thing or not, but everyone in the band can hear the bass now!
adam.
I've been comparing a Wizzy 12 to a Contra EX with a Clarus (series III) head. Quite different cabs! I wouldn't call either "bad" but just quite different in design and best fit for use.
The Contra cab is warm and smooth, great low end, but not a lot of volume. The Wizzy 12 has more midrange clarity and lots more volume.
As a few people suggested, the Contra cab would be tough to hear over the Wizzy, so pairing them together wouldn't be that great, although the Wizzy 12 would add a lot of volume to the combo version of the AI rig.
The Contra cab is warm and smooth, great low end, but not a lot of volume. The Wizzy 12 has more midrange clarity and lots more volume.
As a few people suggested, the Contra cab would be tough to hear over the Wizzy, so pairing them together wouldn't be that great, although the Wizzy 12 would add a lot of volume to the combo version of the AI rig.
I was at a Jazz club last weekend and heard a AI Contra for first time and not impressed. I was wondering if it was how it was setup. First it was a trio with piano and drums. Bass sound was very midrangy little bottom end and I was up front about 10 feet from the amp. The guy had the amp tilted back, but had it up on some sort of small riser covered in a cloth (guess club did it to look good.) Amp was away from the back wall. So wondering if how it was setup that was affecting the sound or these amp are midrange heavy?
IME the AI combos don't typically sound like that. I always had to cut the low-end with my Series I and either a Bass Max or Rev Solo p/u. (Sure wish I'd had fdeck's HPF-Pre.)
If the amp was away from the walls / corners AND tilted back AND raised up off the floor, that would sure cut out a lot of the lows, maybe too much.
The front-firing 5" driver is where a lot of the mids come from (again IMO), and is more directional than the 10" woofer. When combined with that down-firing woofer sitting on the floor as designed, the mids blend with the lows and sit / speak fine, but are not overpowering. I usually think of it as a pretty mellow, smooth and diffused tone, not mid-range heavy. Off-axis from that 5" driver, I think you would sense even less of the mids.
The midrange-iness you heard could've been the pickup they were using too. Or EQ settings. But no, I don't think that's typical.
Just my two cents.
If the amp was away from the walls / corners AND tilted back AND raised up off the floor, that would sure cut out a lot of the lows, maybe too much.
The front-firing 5" driver is where a lot of the mids come from (again IMO), and is more directional than the 10" woofer. When combined with that down-firing woofer sitting on the floor as designed, the mids blend with the lows and sit / speak fine, but are not overpowering. I usually think of it as a pretty mellow, smooth and diffused tone, not mid-range heavy. Off-axis from that 5" driver, I think you would sense even less of the mids.
The midrange-iness you heard could've been the pickup they were using too. Or EQ settings. But no, I don't think that's typical.
Just my two cents.
It could have been many things, but I too have never heard of a Contra or Coda lacking bottom end. The usual complaint is that they have too much bottom and not enough highs (although I find my bass and AI Coda to be very well balanced). The actual problem DocBop heard could be the bass itself, the pickup or how the knobs are set or a combination thereof. In any event, it isn't typical for AI combos.
That is why I asked because I have heard so many good things about AI gear and this didn't sound like what I've read. I have a feeling that whatever the bassist set the amp on was chewing up the sound. I look forward to hearing another AI.
i also added a wizzy m-line to my contra as an extention and am more than pleased with the results. i can easily hear my bass now in loud bars with lots of crowd noise and bad acoustics. i have a rev II solo pickup that i tinkered with quite a bit before finding the sweet spot. i thought the best place for my pickup would be were it had the most output. this was not the case with my bass when i positioned it in a spot with a little less output it really took some of the harshness out of my sound. then i tried something i didnt think would sound good or work. i put a sadowski preamp/di in front of my contra a got a really thick, smooth, pleasing sound. i rolled the bass and tremble back on it and it really seemed to smooth things out even further. when i played it in my house at first i thought it was a little too "electric sounding, then i took it on a gig and it sounded fantastic in the mix. i do play bluegrass music and it worked really well for that thuddy old school sound it was very deep and present. dont know how it would sound playing arco, probably not very good, but if your playing bluegrass and are having a hard time being heard without beating the hell out of your bass, this really worked well for me. thought i would pass this along as i was on the verge of selling my contra and now am really glad i didnt.
Mingus Fingus, bass dan - Where are these Wizzy M-lines coming from? Did y'all get yours new or used? I thought the original limited production run only produced 50 of these cabs. I subsequently heard there were plans to make the M-line part of the regular EA product line. Has that in fact happened, or are these part of the original fifty?
i order mine from gullihur music new. it not one of the originals because the serial # is 062. he had 2 in stock when i ordered mine. shipped it free and fast.
After following this thread, set up my Wizzy with a Contra EX above it and topped off by a Clarus head. It all sounded good together, with a bit of extra clarity from the Clarus. When I unhooked the Wizzy the volume went way, way down...there about a 13 db difference in the efficiency of these two cabs, at least according to specs.
It'd be a handy thing to use a Contra for small stuff where portability is key and then set it on top of a Wizzy (they didn't stack the other way around) when more volume and midrange is needed.
It'd be a handy thing to use a Contra for small stuff where portability is key and then set it on top of a Wizzy (they didn't stack the other way around) when more volume and midrange is needed.
gear update: although i really loved the sounded of the contra/wizzy m-line combo, after about two months of carrying both around i did this [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
disconnected the head from the contra, and am now just using the contra head to power the wizzy. almost all of the volume was coming from the wizzy anyway...i was getting a little more umph with both amps (mainly because of the downfiring speaker). but in the end it will save me a trip to my car on every gig, and makes it much easier to carry amp and bass in one trip. sound is still great and plenty loud for any situation i have encountered. more to come if anything changes. i realized how great AI heads are...the downfiring speaker thing just isn't for me. this was a good fix for me.
p.s.--got my m-line from Link Removed REALLY fast to plug Bob's great service.
disconnected the head from the contra, and am now just using the contra head to power the wizzy. almost all of the volume was coming from the wizzy anyway...i was getting a little more umph with both amps (mainly because of the downfiring speaker). but in the end it will save me a trip to my car on every gig, and makes it much easier to carry amp and bass in one trip. sound is still great and plenty loud for any situation i have encountered. more to come if anything changes. i realized how great AI heads are...the downfiring speaker thing just isn't for me. this was a good fix for me.
p.s.--got my m-line from Link Removed REALLY fast to plug Bob's great service.
Interesting. I was thinking I would end up doing the same thing, since the Contra speaker is so relatively inefficient and relatively heavy. I also thought I could sell the speaker and buy a wizzy 10.
Anyway, I have an m-line on order and will post findings when it arrives.
I've toyed with the idea of pulling the head out of my AI SIII Contra combo. Has anybody done this? My guess is that it will not workout because if pulled out the amp will not have sufficient covering/shielding around it. It'll just be the face of the amp and then the guts of it being exposed to the elements. Any thoughts or experience with this?
-Pat
-Pat
I am sure Rick at AI would answer this for you. But I would almost be willing to bet that the amp is covered all around, being the easiest way to keep it shielded.
You would be wrong on the series III. The amp and preamp are attached to the cabinet, not each (other than the wires connecting them of course). I had a pot go bad in the preamp section and Rick sent me the entire preamp section as a replacement. The preamp comes out without touching the power amp section. There is no box surrounding them like in the series II combos or the Clarus and Focus amps.
I've tried lots of cabs with my Contra. For upright, the best combination is definitely the Contra paired with an Acme Low B-1. You can probably use two if you get the 8 ohm version, check with Rick Jones at AI. There are other cabs that are great, maybe even better for electric, but the Acme B-1 is hands down one of the fattest, warmest sounding rigs you can have. Trust me, I've tried alot of them. I've been to the AI factory on several occasions, and Rick has even suggested the Acme. I do have other preferences for electric, but the Contra/B-1 combo on electric is a great small rig as well--thick and fat sound.
