fEARful™ Part Eleven (11)

[allexcosta]

Soundclips...

You can't tell the tone of a cab by listening to it through another "cab".

Bass players do that all the time...

My Bergantino clips do sound similar to what I hear in my living room:

Bergantino HT112:

YouTube - Fodera

A friend playing thru a Bergantino HT210S:

YouTube - Bass Lakland DJ5, Primata testanto...

Even some manufacturers use youtube videos to demo their stuff:

Schroeder "Superior Sound" Cabinets

All the fEARful clips I hear are just plain lifeless and boomy...

 

[Passinwind]

Well, I'm using some Sony studio grade headphones, nothing fancy, but not bad either.

I mean... I recorded this with a cheap amp, an old and crappy Hartke cab into a 20 bucks Behringer mic:

YouTube - Teste M.Laghus slap - Genesis

Nice playing, but no bottom end whatsoever on my Sony cans. A fEARful can cop that sound effortlessly though, if you want it to.

 

[allexcosta]

There's no YouTube clip or mp3 or overwrought description that will adequately convey what these cabs are like. If you need proof before you make the leap, well, it ain't gonna happen unless you know somebody who will let you play thru one.

I need no proof. Will build one of these when I have time. If I like it, I'll keep it, if not, I'll sell it...

I was just curious if no one could record a small video in which these cabs sounded good... By no means I want to experience everything these cabs can achieve with my headphones, just plain curiosity.

 

[3506string]

I believe the point of the fearful design is the faithfully reproduce what is being fed into them without color.

Whatever bass, head, effects, etc you are putting into the cab that is what it should sound like. I like to think of them as bass reference monitors.

 

[allexcosta]

I believe the point of the fearful design is the faithfully reproduce what is being fed into them without color.

Whatever bass, head, effects, etc you are putting into the cab that is what it should sound like. I like to think of them as bass reference monitors.

I understand...

I'm more like "does it sound good?" instead of "is it transparent?" or "does it faithfully reproduce without coloring?"

We're all different though...

 

[GrowlerBox]

I understand...

I'm more like "does it sound good?" instead of "is it transparent?" or "does it faithfully reproduce without coloring?"

We're all different though...

The first question regards matters of taste, so the answers you get will almost certainly be frustrating if not entirely useless. The second and third questions have at least the virtue of answerability in reasonably concrete terms.

 

[Sundogue]

I understand...

I'm more like "does it sound good?" instead of "is it transparent?" or "does it faithfully reproduce without coloring?"

We're all different though...

All three of those questions can be answered "Yes".

Unlike "colored" cabs, if you want to make it sound good, then you can make it sound good.

If you are coming from a world of bass cabs that sound great, but have their own strong inherent tone that is difficult (or next to impossible) to EQ out if you don't like it, then I can understand the desire to get a cab that "sounds a certain way". It's the way most of us have been doing it for decades...keep flipping cabs until we find one that has that inherent tone.

The thing with cabs that are "uncolored" is that you get to color it, any way you want it. Like a good studio monitor or PA, you get the sound out of it that you put into it. Most commercial bass cabs are more colored, thus more limiting. Not good or bad, just more limited.

So does it sound good? It sounds as good as you are. If you suck at EQing an amp you can make it sound like crap too. What goes in, comes out.

Not trying to convince you...just trying to dispell this whole misunderstood notion of what an uncolored cab really is. People hear "uncolored" or "clean" or "clarity" and they call it "sterile" as if it can't cop any tone at all, when in fact it can cop most any tone.

And I agree the sound clips suck (tonally). They are NOT truly representative of the cabs. If I had to base my decision on those I'd probably pass too. They don't sound anything like the tones I get out of my 15/6 and I can get everything from modern slap to old school vintage and everything in between.

What do you want it to sound like? The answer to that is...Yes.

 

[mntngrown]

I believe the point of the fearful design is the faithfully reproduce what is being fed into them without color.

Whatever bass, head, effects, etc you are putting into the cab that is what it should sound like. I like to think of them as bass reference monitors.

This ^
Quality FOH
If you dig Ampeg fridge ferinstance this is not your cab.

 

[Jazzdogg]

Bass players do that all the time...

My Bergantino clips do sound similar to what I hear in my living room:

Bergantino HT112:

YouTube - Fodera

A friend playing thru a Bergantino HT210S:

YouTube - Bass Lakland DJ5, Primata testanto...

Even some manufacturers use youtube videos to demo their stuff:

Schroeder "Superior Sound" Cabinets

All the fEARful clips I hear are just plain lifeless and boomy...

I listened to your clips through a pair of Sennheiser HD590 headphones, and I enjoyed your playing tremendously.

Everyone has different, and completely valid, tonal goals, so my question isn't whether your ideal sound is anything like mine, but whether the sound I heard over my headphones accurately depicts your tonal goals. The sound I heard was severely attenuated in the lower mids and deep bass, and there was a lot of upper-midrange emphasis. Is that the sound you're after?

 

[allexcosta]

I listened to your clips through a pair of Sennheiser HD590 headphones, and I enjoyed your playing tremendously.

Thanks a lot...

Everyone has different, and completely valid, tonal goals, so my question isn't whether your ideal sound is anything like mine, but whether the sound I heard over my headphones accurately depicts your tonal goals. The sound I heard was severely attenuated in the lower mids and deep bass, and there was a lot of upper-midrange emphasis. Is that the sound you're after?

Actually, I find the low-mids (300-400hz) to be the most important range of frequencies in my tone goals and there's plenty of them in my clips here in my headphones.

With this one I was simply trying to cope Marcus Miller's tone.

YouTube - Teste M.Laghus slap - Genesis

Here I was going after Jaco's vibe:

YouTube - Teste M.Laghus pizzicato - Captador da ponte

The recording equipment is fairly cheap. I mic'ed a beaten up Hartke 4x10 with a Behringer SM58 clone, which is a vocal mic. Certainly there's no deep bass, but there's bass... Deep bass (around 40hz) is a PITA in a gig situation. It starts to get boomy and tough to control, depending on the room.

This one was recorded with the same crappy amp, but an IPhone 4:

YouTube - MLaghus Luthieria - Parte 5

I believe there's plenty of low frequencies in this last clip and that's closer to what I could hear while recording those first ones.

 

[wcriley]

Thanks guys. Last question: I used the Schroeder at my last gig. The room was mid sized and filled with 100 ppl. My Carvin BX500 was at around 4. How much do you think I would have to crank the volume with a 12/6/1 for the same amount of volume? If you say around 6, that would mean that the 12/6/1 would be perfect for me, since I would never need louder than that without PA support. From what I understand, with the power handling being better on the fEARful, it would mean that I could probably crank the BX500 full on without getting any fart outs, right?

Knob settings such as "4" or "6" mean nothing to me. But...

As I've written many times in the past: My 12/6 can bury any drummer with the 450 watt (potential) output of my G-K 100RB II.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

Pardon me if this has been covered earlier, but has anyone used screw and glue construction to build 1/2" ply cabs without clamps, using a Kreg jig?

DIY Click: Kreg Jig

I'm thinking that this could speed completion of a flat-pack project. I'm tentatively contemplating doing this, tightening from the centre of each joint where possible...

 

[Sundogue]

Pardon me if this has been covered earlier, but has anyone used screw and glue construction to build 1/2" ply cabs without clamps, using a Kreg jig?

DIY Click: Kreg Jig

I'm thinking that this could speed completion of a flat-pack project. I'm tentatively contemplating doing this, tightening from the centre of each joint where possible...

I use the glue and screw method without any jigs at all. Lots of ways to do it. Just need to make sure things are square and lined up. Use PL Premium instead of wood glue as it will expand and seal gaps if there are any. VERY important that it is air tight.

 

[JdoubleH]

Pardon me if this has been covered earlier, but has anyone used screw and glue construction to build 1/2" ply cabs without clamps, using a Kreg jig?

DIY Click: Kreg Jig

I'm thinking that this could speed completion of a flat-pack project. I'm tentatively contemplating doing this, tightening from the centre of each joint where possible...

It should work fine as long as everything is square. I know it does seem like the joinery specified here and in the BFM builds is pretty inelegant from a woodworking perspective, but you're not building furniture. And the PL adhesive is the key. Not only does it create super strong joints, but like sundogue said, it expands which not only fills all gaps, it can correct for any cuts which arent perfectly square. So while the pocket hole jig is really cool, it is probably overkill, especially since the design calls for 1/2" stock.

 

[WCunha]

I used an 18 gauge brad nailer with 1" brads. I used some clamps to hold things tight while I nailed it together.

 

[dug dog]

I'm getting close to a finished 12/6 and am debating the merits of painting the baffle some color other than the black that the rest of the cab will be done in, but it's hard to get a real good idea of what the finished product will look like. I photo shopped a couple of mock ups and thought y'all might like to have a look see. In the orange one, I was going for a fluorescent color, but it's hard to get the effect. It was also pretty tough to get a good overlay of the grill so, in reality, I think there'd be less of the baffle colour showing through.

 

[Coolhandjjl]

I used an 18 gauge brad nailer with 1" brads. I used some clamps to hold things tight while I nailed it together.

I've built a pair of BFM cabs out of 1/2 baltic birch. Don't over think it. PL adhesive with brads and clamps are fine. And you don't even really need the brads. They just keep the panels from sliding about while clamping as the PL can be slippery when applied. Once the six sides of the 'box' are all in place and fully cured, it is so sturdy, I don't think you could destroy it if you tried.

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

I'm getting close to a finished 12/6 and am debating the merits of painting the baffle some color other than the black that the rest of the cab will be done in, but it's hard to get a real good idea of what the finished product will look like. I photo shopped a couple of mock ups and thought y'all might like to have a look see. In the orange one, I was going for a fluorescent color, but it's hard to get the effect. It was also pretty tough to get a good overlay of the grill so, in reality, I think there'd be less of the baffle colour showing through.

Cool. I am getting my 15/6 with the baffle painted burgundy. I think that will go nice with the grey of my Carvin BX1500.

 

[steve_rolfeca]

I'm getting close to a finished 12/6 and am debating the merits of painting the baffle some color other than the black that the rest of the cab will be done in, but it's hard to get a real good idea of what the finished product will look like.

I was raised with the idea that gigging musicians only buy instruments in natural or dark-coloured finishes. The theory was that you don't want to have a shocking pink bass, and find yourself subbing on a gig where the stage dressings are orange...

Ever since, I've tended to shy away from colourful gear including Orange amps and cabs, Markbass cabs trimmed out in yellow, etc. I know it's silly, but to this day, my instinctive reaction is that colours, no matter how cool, are reserved for rock stars and amateurs..

 

[dug dog]

The theory was that you don't want to have a shocking pink bass, and find yourself subbing on a gig where the stage dressings are orange...

That's certainly something to consider and I admit that it didn't occur to me.