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Facedown Bass Cab - good or bad idea?

#41
JettBlaq said:
Subwoofer is the only way to get the sound you can feel...and that's going through the PA system. BTW, the subwoofer needs to be on the ground (I went to a church where they had the subwoofers suspended in the rafters; could not FEEL that bass!!)
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I used to play for a church that had TWELVE(!) 18" subs under the stage. When it was new I stood on the stage playing bass while they tested the system and dialed in the PA delay. Even though it didn't seem super loud, my whole body shook. My daughter was sitting outing the main area and said it would literally knock the breath out of her on some notes. While I already had a healthy respect for high SPL's and physiological damage... I dialed my respect and awareness up a few more notches after that day. Even with great hearing protection and the sound engineer watching the levels carefully to keep us safe it really got all of our attention.
 
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#43
I haven’t checked to see if anyone else mentioned it but Victor Wooten had an Ampeg signature cab that was an absolute monster with a down firing 18” two tens, and then I think 2-8”s or tweeters pointed up. It was amazing. Weighed a million pounds. Never owned one but remember playing them in GC in the 90’s.
Also, Leslie cabs have a down firing woofer.
 
#47
Low frequencies are essentially omni-directional. They go on all directions. If your cabs are out on the stage you are losing significant dB in bass energy going to the back and sides where it is not needed and then perhaps reflecting back and cancelling out some of your front wave.

If you want the MOST out of your subs or bass cabs, back them into a corner. That makes the room a big horn, forcing all the lows to go in one direction instead of all over the place. The giant Cerwin-Vega horns used for the movie "Earthquake" did just that - they used the room walls as the final part of the horn, magnifying their efficiency. I can use my tiny MarkBass 12" in ANY indoor venue by doing just that. The amount of level gain is surprising.
 
#49
You want the bass to be felt by who? You? Your bandmates? The audience? That answer will determine what level of success you might even hope for.

And wouldn't your desired result be largely determined by how resonant the "ground" you're playing on is? This will run the gamut from a hardwood floor a century or more old, to more modern and stiffer materials, to probably occasionally concrete-which of course won't allow any bass at all to be felt.

Then there's all the other technical reasons already noted by folks much smarter than I.
 
#53
vvvmmm said:
Would it be a sin to wanna join that church just to check that out?
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Any church with stadium seating, smoke, lasers, a mixing board the size of a swimming pool, and suspended line arrays that seem to disappear into the vastness of space probably has the same setup. I highly recommend experiencing it at least once.
 
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#54
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#55
logdrum said:
Technically different because that's a passive radiator. The AI combos and the Ten 10 speakers and I think one of the Ampeg cabs have a down firing woofer that is powered by the amps speaker outputs. Radiators speakers do not have a voice coil or magnet.

Passive radiator (speaker) - Wikipedia
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While true, not a speaker, it still functions as one by moving/pressurizing air. Also same as a port. When the relationship of a passive or port and the floor under it is taken into account can increase air coupling, not unlike what a horn does.
 
#56
6thplanet said:
While true, not a speaker, it still functions as one by moving/pressurizing air. Also same as a port. When the relationship of a passive or port and the floor under it is taken into account can increase air coupling, not unlike what a horn does.
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Yes, but that's not what the OP is attempting.
 

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