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fEARful™ Part Twelve (12)

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#481
Hey folks. It's been a long day but I wanted to update you to say ALL IS WELL. This was a user error...or as we say in my business (network administrator) a PEBKAC. (Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair).

I had the coil on the mid crossover wired incorrectly. :o Totally my fault.

100% credit for the fix goes to SPACEMAN who saw the pics in my build thread and caught it. I had one of the leads for the coil in the wrong place. I would've bet a hundred bucks that I wired it 100% correctly. I'd have lost. :( I really don't know what happened. I was slow and methodical about the whole build process.

But now I'm in fEARful heaven. Man is this thing LOUD! The sensitivity for the cab has got to really high b/c I can play at bedroom practice levels and the fan on the amp doesn't even come on. The fan does come on w/my Avatar B212.

Of course, a 15/6/1 isn't a B212, so I've got to redo the EQ on my preamp. That'll take a few days. Ear fatigue sets in after 15 minutes of critical listening, so little by little I'll get there.

So far I'm absolutely, positively, totally STOKED over my fEARful. I hear my playing and my bass (not necessarily a good thing, LOL!) and not the cab. If it weren't for the fact I've got crap vibrating all over my house (two rooms over, stuff on shelves moves) it would be like there was no cab at all. This cab really is all that and a bag of chips. It's LOUD and CLEAR and puts out whatever sound your fingers, bass and amp put into it.

Here's the page over at GB's forums where my malfunctioning cab was first reported and the subsequent fix actions. It's an educational read, actually.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#482
::::BASSIST:::: said:
Yeah, that low-end was incredible. Just waves of pure, clean deep bass. Love it!.... bandleader, not so much. :cool:
Click to expand...

I have yet to come across anyone who doesn't love that low end, no matter what instrument they play, because those frequencies don't conflict or interfere with any other instruments...save for a heavy handed keyboardist. Most players haven't heard true low end (cleanly) and thus have no experience with what the issue with the bass tone really is.

Band leader play keys? ;)

I think once you mess around with the EQ more, you'll find the sub 100Hz content isn't the issue with mud or with any other players. Most issues, like I said, are around 125Hz. It is very typical that with other cabs that can't produce deep lows with clarity, that when those players try to push the low end more, that upper bass content goes up with it, and it is still the upper bass frequencies that are the real issue.

I think alexclaber has an article on that phenomenon on his barefaced website somewhere. Good read.
 
#483
mikeddd said:
Hey folks. It's been a long day but I wanted to update you to say ALL IS WELL. This was a user error...or as we say in my business (network administrator) a PEBKAC. (Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair).

I had the coil on the mid crossover wired incorrectly. :o Totally my fault.

100% credit for the fix goes to SPACEMAN who saw the pics in my build thread and caught it. I had one of the leads for the coil in the wrong place. I would've bet a hundred bucks that I wired it 100% correctly. I'd have lost. :( I really don't know what happened. I was slow and methodical about the whole build process.

But now I'm in fEARful heaven. Man is this thing LOUD! The sensitivity for the cab has got to really high b/c I can play at bedroom practice levels and the fan on the amp doesn't even come on. The fan does come on w/my Avatar B212.

Of course, a 15/6/1 isn't a B212, so I've got to redo the EQ on my preamp. That'll take a few days. Ear fatigue sets in after 15 minutes of critical listening, so little by little I'll get there.

So far I'm absolutely, positively, totally STOKED over my fEARful. I hear my playing and my bass (not necessarily a good thing, LOL!) and not the cab. If it weren't for the fact I've got crap vibrating all over my house (two rooms over, stuff on shelves moves) it would be like there was no cab at all. This cab really is all that and a bag of chips. It's LOUD and CLEAR and puts out whatever sound your fingers, bass and amp put into it.

Here's the page over at GB's forums where my malfunctioning cab was first reported and the subsequent fix actions. It's an educational read, actually.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

Good to hear you got the issue resolved. That can be very frustrating.

You are now hearing what so many have been saying for so long (and what others still refuse to believe).

Enjoy! I still get a huge smile on my face every time I play through it and I've been gigging with mine for about a half a year now.
 
#485
Yep, I couldn't be happier. Well, actually I could and will be. That will happen when I get my EQ dialed in. The sound is definitely there, as you well know. I just need to strip away a little of this, add a little of that and I'm there. :cool: Can't wait to get home tonight and play.

It was frustrating and scary at the same time to experience the issue I had. From the get-go I knew something wasn't right, but when I realized how hot my amp got and saw point-eight-ohms at the jack I panicked. I thought for sure I'd toasted the mid itself, or the crossover or damaged my amp. I'm so relieved that none of the above happened. I got lucky.
 
#486
At the end of a long frustrating gig, outdoors, I got a little testy.

All night with ear plugs because the guitard was super loud, PA stupidity, and my very capable drummer frustrated to the point of throwing sticks....they want to play some funk. Uh oh, let's just say it gonna be stretch for them, but it was like letting bad dogs off the leash for me and Mr Drums.

I gave the master on the GK 1001 a twist into uncharted territory with the 15/6/1 and the 12/6 cube paired up. Talk about loud! I got your Shakey Ground! That got some booty moving!

Perfectly clear and amazingly powerful! I'm glad I had my earplugs in.

About half way on the GK, so there's even more to be had, not that I'd ever need it.
 
#487
Mwuahahahaha! There's nothing like putting the pedal to the metal and letting the horses run wild. I like having more rig/amp than I need. It's reassuring to be able to say "I can play a lot louder if I need to...don't make me crank this thing up." :D

I'll bet you just killed it last night, Singlemalt. :bassist:
 
#488
I may be adding a 15/sub to the family. I did not build my 15/6/1 with the midrange l-pad defeat switch. Is it really necessary when adding a sub to defeat the padding on the mid? I'd imagine that's a somewhat subjective question and might be dependent on what type of music you're playing. Reggae=probably not so much. Modern slappy sounds=most probably

Thoughts?
 
#490
mikeddd said:
I may be adding a 15/sub to the family. I did not build my 15/6/1 with the midrange l-pad defeat switch. Is it really necessary when adding a sub to defeat the padding on the mid? I'd imagine that's a somewhat subjective question and might be dependent on what type of music you're playing. Reggae=probably not so much. Modern slappy sounds=most probably

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

You can always try it without before you decide to make that change. or you could just consider EQing to adjust for the padding and add some of those mids back in from the amp.
 
#491
Glad to hear you resolved the issue Mike. I know chasing down problems with a cab that was home made can be frustrating. Mine was similar to yours but turned out to be lack of power and the amp clipping.

SingleMalt,
my 12/6-12/sub with a 700RB-II is pretty damn loud. I bet your 1001RB through your 2 fEARfuls was just insanely loud. Must of been pretty cool though.
 
#492
mikeddd said:
Is it really necessary when adding a sub to defeat the padding on the mid?
Click to expand...

Hey Mike ~ I'm still working out some kinks in my 6NM410, but to answer your question, I'd say no.

The sub will have the same x-over for the 3015LF as the 15/6 ... I think the 6nm410 will be able to keep up with both.

Plus, the sub is sort of a different animal. It's a deeper box, so having a 15/15/6/6 is going to be a bit different than having a 15sub + 15/6.
 
#493
Nothing is different about the low end response of the 15sub vs the 15/6 without a mid driver, as long as you don't adjust the shelf depth, at least as far as I am aware.

* the difference of a 15/sub + 15/6 compared to a 1515/66 is the extra mid driver, mainly.
 
#495
BurningSkies said:
You can always try it without before you decide to make that change. or you could just consider EQing to adjust for the padding and add some of those mids back in from the amp.
Click to expand...

You have the switch, right? You play most reggae, I believe. Did you find it necessary to unpad the mid? I play a little reggae but I'm definitely more of a rock and roll/80's metal type player...with some Motown thrown in.
 
#496
Thanks for the good wishes and kind words. I'm just happy (and LUCKY) that I didn't fry anything. While I was unscrewing the woofer to get into the cab, I was thinking for sure I would find a burnt-up mid crossover and possibly the other two as well. Luckily, The Creator spec'd out beefy parts that resist ham-fisted attempts to explode them all over the place. :D
 
#497
mikeddd said:
I may be adding a 15/sub to the family. I did not build my 15/6/1 with the midrange l-pad defeat switch. Is it really necessary when adding a sub to defeat the padding on the mid? I'd imagine that's a somewhat subjective question and might be dependent on what type of music you're playing. Reggae=probably not so much. Modern slappy sounds=most probably

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Mike,

I do not have the switch in my 12/6. When I add my 12/sub it sounds great with a little EQing. However at the last Seattle GTG we used my head (700RB-II) on the same settings through my fEARful 12/6-12/sub, a Genz Benz Neo212T. and a Genz Benz Uber 212. It did seem like the GB cabs put out more in the mids. That could probably be EQ'd in to my fEARfuls(the EQ was set flat for testing purposes) but I may put the switch in just to see the difference. The fEARfuls to me had more lows (flat EQ) and highs (12/6 no tweet) than the Genz Benz cabs. At least to my ear. So I think since your X-over is working well now I would build the 15/sub and play with the two of them, then decide if you want to put in the switch.
Just my opinion.
 
#499
mikeddd said:
Thank you for the detailed reply, cableguy. I'm in the data gathering/pondering process over the sub right now, and along w/the the pondering over whether to build it is the switch.
Click to expand...

I think the 1st order of business is to order the 3015LF. My 3012LF for my 12/sub cost twice as much as the 1st one I bought for my 12/6 just 6 months later. If you don't build the sub you could easily sell it for what you paid. Just speaking from experience.
 
#500
cableguy said:
I think the 1st order of business is to order the 3015LF. My 3012LF for my 12/sub cost twice as much as the 1st one I bought for my 12/6 just 6 months later. If you don't build the sub you could easily sell it for what you paid. Just speaking from experience.
Click to expand...

Done. :D Check the "3012LF/3015LF not available anymore" thread. It may be a misprint but on Amazon, 6Ave is selling the 3015LF for $217. Everyone else wants $325+. I bought one. We'll see if they honor the price. As you said, even if I don't build it, I can most probably sell it...for more than I paid for it.
 
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