I'm still trying to find Italian Poplar in the Chicago area to no avail. One caveat with the IP---it's pretty soft and dents pretty easily. I'd recommend carpet or Tolex or something like that. I've got a Duratex cab in IP.
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fEARful part 13: the bad luck's done, son
- Thread starter greenboy
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I posted this in the fEARful club thread as well. Just thought I would share.
I decided to do a little update on my Cab over the weekend. When I built it I didn't have a proper sander and the bondo on the edges left some nasty ripples. They were somewhat covered by the corner protectors but I really didn't like the protectors. The big black plastic pieces didn't really go with the orange and white theme so I decided to lose them. Since I now have a proper sander, I was tired of looking at the blemishes and decided to sand the edges down and re-work them. I also filled the screw holes from the corner protectors and touched up the Duratex. The driveway was covered with orange dust. It looked like a Cheeto's truck had exploded.
I love it now and it will stay like this.
Finished
Duratex is still drying in this pic:
The process. It's a Road Worn cab now...
Here is was before:
I decided to do a little update on my Cab over the weekend. When I built it I didn't have a proper sander and the bondo on the edges left some nasty ripples. They were somewhat covered by the corner protectors but I really didn't like the protectors. The big black plastic pieces didn't really go with the orange and white theme so I decided to lose them. Since I now have a proper sander, I was tired of looking at the blemishes and decided to sand the edges down and re-work them. I also filled the screw holes from the corner protectors and touched up the Duratex. The driveway was covered with orange dust. It looked like a Cheeto's truck had exploded.
I love it now and it will stay like this.
Finished
Duratex is still drying in this pic:
The process. It's a Road Worn cab now...
Here is was before:
And also over here: Please meet Germany's probably first 12/6. (crosspost from the fearful forums)
benja-man said:Yesterday at 3 I started finishing the cab. First I put in batting. Cutting a gazillion pieces of polyester batting was a pain and took a lot of time. I ended up using an entire small can of spray adhesive. I didn't feel like was using too much but whatever. I doubled up the batting in the back and started doubling the lower halves of the sides but only got to the left (non-mid) side before running out of glue.
Wiring von benja-man auf Flickr
Then I went about the wiring and quickly learned that the 16 gauge wire my local electronics store carries is MUCH nicer to work with than 14 gauge speaker wire. I just didn't have enough for the entire cab.
Crossover in place von benja-man auf Flickr
I mounted the crossover onto the batting since the zipties made for an uneven back. Had to remove some batting under the screws as they were twisting the poly off the shelf.
Ready to accept drivers von benja-man auf Flickr
When hooking up the Speakons i noticed I was out of shrinking tube of the correct size. After some attempts at improvisation i rushed off to the electronics store to grab some only 15 mins before closing time. Close call.
Then I hooked up the drivers without installing them to see if I messed up somewhere. This being my first cab you can imagine that it was a pretty amazing moment when suddenly I had those expensive drivers on my table, producing sound and waiting to being put into the cab I built over the course of the last two months.
Then I quickly mounted the drivers and tried my plan for mounting the grills. I love the look of circular grills but hate the fugly clamps. So I had the following idea: Use some strong wire, mount it under the screw heads and tie the grills down through their mesh. I put washers between the wire and the driver as to ensure a proper and even mounting force even with the wire under the screw head. First I tried paper clips but they were too stiff. So I had to improvise. Having ordered many an electronics device over the past decade, I accumulated a large collection of plastic coated tie wraps. I managed to find 12 of the nice black ones with circular crosssection, and they worked fabulously. I tucked the ends under the rubber gasket so they are close to invisible.
Grill-o-ties® von benja-man auf Flickr
Then I was finally done:
Front von benja-man auf Flickr
Side1 von benja-man auf Flickr
Side2 von benja-man auf Flickr
Back von benja-man auf Flickr
I marked one Speakon with red tape. The red input has HOT on +1 and GND on +2 to accept the bridged output of the Behringer power amp. The second Speakon's +1 and -1 are hooked up in parallel for standard inputs. I made myself a 4-conductor Speakon cable to use both bridged and standard input with the same cable.
Had a quick spin today but the neighbors didn't appreciate it very much. The cab has to wait in my flat for another week as my power amp was delivered wrong, NU1000 instead of NU3000, and I don't want a piece of gear that is being shipped back sitting in the practice space.
The cab still needs feet, handles and maybe corners. But I love it already. Great transparency, real thump, and killer attack.
Thank you greenboy!!!!!!!
I can't help but notice some similarities to the one just above my post 
Particulary now that you took down the corner protectors, too.
Originally, I wanted to go with a more colorful color than black but I set out to use wax as a finish and couldn't find a nice color (the original plan was to go green and white).
Particulary now that you took down the corner protectors, too.
Originally, I wanted to go with a more colorful color than black but I set out to use wax as a finish and couldn't find a nice color (the original plan was to go green and white).
The one neg thing with your ingenious mounting method is that it seems to pull the mesh grills out of round. Noticeable against the perfect circle of the speaker frame.
Bardley, I have to admit the look of my 99% completed 15/6/1 is based on your awesome orange/white combo.
I was also thinking about the black corner pieces. I painted the grill and mounting hardware white, but I think that probably won't work well on the corners, and white corner pieces might look strange anyway.
Are you going to be gigging your cabinet? If so, aren't you afraid of banging up your corners?
I was also thinking about the black corner pieces. I painted the grill and mounting hardware white, but I think that probably won't work well on the corners, and white corner pieces might look strange anyway.
Are you going to be gigging your cabinet? If so, aren't you afraid of banging up your corners?
NicJimBass
Flossin'? I thought your name was Munson!
I've recently been running a GK 1001RB-II into my fEARful, but, despite having used and loved GK since I began playing, I'm finding 2 things that i don't like.. 1. I have to keep my Gain down around 9:00 or else I start getting preamp distortion when I dig in. This also seems to cut my potential volume down... I've been having to turn up the Woofer to like 3:00 to get good volume. 2. The GK is sounding a bit sterile to my ears.
So, my question is, what head out there can sound like a warmer version of this head, and has headroom to spare? I tend to play very dynamically- very soft one moment, and very hard the next, depending on the song. Any suggestions are appreciated!!
So, my question is, what head out there can sound like a warmer version of this head, and has headroom to spare? I tend to play very dynamically- very soft one moment, and very hard the next, depending on the song. Any suggestions are appreciated!!
NicJimBass
Flossin'? I thought your name was Munson!
I played one last year, but it was through a pair of Avatar SB112's. I LOVED the power of that thing... seemed like it had more than ever necessary, but through those cabs, even with the mids all the way up (which is flat for the mids, IIRC) it didn't seem to cut through the way I'm used to the GK doing. Granted, it'd likely be way different through a fearful.
NicJimBass
Flossin'? I thought your name was Munson!
On the same note... has anyone played a Fender Bassman 300 through a fEARful? There is one locally at a killer price, but I'm not sure I wanna lug around an amp that's 25 lbs heavier than the cab!
Bardley, I have to admit the look of my 99% completed 15/6/1 is based on your awesome orange/white combo.
I was also thinking about the black corner pieces. I painted the grill and mounting hardware white, but I think that probably won't work well on the corners, and white corner pieces might look strange anyway.
Are you going to be gigging your cabinet? If so, aren't you afraid of banging up your corners?
I looked at many options for the corners. I thought the ones I have are just too big for my taste. I am not all that scared of getting the corners banged up. I've used tons of PA cabs that don't have corners on them and they are treated far worse than my cab. I'm pretty gentle when moving my cab and I don't really have all that many travelling gigs right now. If anything, I would probably go for a small corner, possibly the small metal ones. That way they wouldn't cover up as much color. Also, the duratex is is so easy to touch up, I don't mind doing that every so often.
funny you bring this up. i was at two events this weekend where they had high power PA systems. i was listening to them and imagining the bass sound that would be produced playing through them. i know greenboy designed these cabs to sound like the input signal they get from the amp, and i've never been a fan of DI sound. i also stumbled across an ampeg video on YT with a guy playing both direct and into a mic, and then demonstrating each sound, along with the blend. the direct sound was much more "sterile" and not interesting to me at all, though the mic sound was tasty. i also tried sending my bass direct into my mbox last night, and it reminded me that i'm not a fan of that sound. it made me wonder if the accuracy of the cab might actually be something i might not like.
anyone in the Los Angeles area willing to let me take a taste of the kool-aid before i dive into a pool of it?
LOL no, the grills are very sturdy and perfectly round, it's the rubber gasket under which the ends of the wires are tucked that makes the imperfect circle. Much better look than clamps for my taste, and if you're really into a clean look and are not likely to take out the woofer in the forseeable future you can cut the wires short.
Maybe there's something up with your GK. Or something isn't right elsewhere. I'm running the same amp, and if I turned the master (woofer) up to 3 oclock, I wouldn't be able to stay in the room. I run the input at about 10 oclock, and the master at 9 or 10. Is the clip light coming on? Any compressors in the line? Is that input pad switch engaged? (the active passive thing?)
The GK can sound cold, especially at lower volumes. It's my only gripe with this amp. I run a MXR M80 bass di as a pre eq and di out to FOH. The di out on the GK sounds terrible. With the M-80 I get an exact representation in the PA and in the GK/fEarful. So exact that I might not notice the amp being muted if I have the monitors back near me running right. Great full range sound everywhere.
I think the usual passive di set up, which takes the signal straight from the bass, you know, the "plug your cord in here" Di falls short in a lot of ways. The MXR sends my flavor. As an added bonus, it runs on phantom power from the PA. No batteries or power source issues.
I went on an amp hunt recently, and after a bunch of messing around, gave up and decided to call it good and keep the GK for straight bass stuff. I want to run multiple input signals, (drum machines, vocal, looper, and synth, so the evolving system is a Yamaha mixer into a Carvin HD 1500 power amp, with a pair of fEarfuls. Or I can chain the fEarfuls together and bridge the amp for massive power at 4 ohms.
Honorable mention to the Carvin bass amps, the BX 500 was a ton of amp for the money, and the BX 1500 looked great.
I'd test the GK on some other cabs, and some other amps on the fEarfuls.
As far as bad bass sound in the FOH with a massive system...happens all the time, there's yet another sound guy who can't or doesn't bother to get the bass right. I supplied my fEarful 15/6 as backline at a blues jam at a club with large PA, and in house sound guy. The FOH bass sound was not at all like the bass sound on stage. On stage, the usual crisp, clear, and full fEarful sound. FOH, remarks on bass sound, from most of the bassists in the room, was "muddy, maybe you need some 10's" They all changed their tune once they had their turn on stage.
You can buy em books and send em to school, you can send a good signal to FOH, but you don't always get what you want.
The GK can sound cold, especially at lower volumes. It's my only gripe with this amp. I run a MXR M80 bass di as a pre eq and di out to FOH. The di out on the GK sounds terrible. With the M-80 I get an exact representation in the PA and in the GK/fEarful. So exact that I might not notice the amp being muted if I have the monitors back near me running right. Great full range sound everywhere.
I think the usual passive di set up, which takes the signal straight from the bass, you know, the "plug your cord in here" Di falls short in a lot of ways. The MXR sends my flavor. As an added bonus, it runs on phantom power from the PA. No batteries or power source issues.
I went on an amp hunt recently, and after a bunch of messing around, gave up and decided to call it good and keep the GK for straight bass stuff. I want to run multiple input signals, (drum machines, vocal, looper, and synth, so the evolving system is a Yamaha mixer into a Carvin HD 1500 power amp, with a pair of fEarfuls. Or I can chain the fEarfuls together and bridge the amp for massive power at 4 ohms.
Honorable mention to the Carvin bass amps, the BX 500 was a ton of amp for the money, and the BX 1500 looked great.
I'd test the GK on some other cabs, and some other amps on the fEarfuls.
As far as bad bass sound in the FOH with a massive system...happens all the time, there's yet another sound guy who can't or doesn't bother to get the bass right. I supplied my fEarful 15/6 as backline at a blues jam at a club with large PA, and in house sound guy. The FOH bass sound was not at all like the bass sound on stage. On stage, the usual crisp, clear, and full fEarful sound. FOH, remarks on bass sound, from most of the bassists in the room, was "muddy, maybe you need some 10's" They all changed their tune once they had their turn on stage.
You can buy em books and send em to school, you can send a good signal to FOH, but you don't always get what you want.
NicJimBass
Flossin'? I thought your name was Munson!
I've run the amp with other cabs, and not had the same issue. I currently have an Ampeg 610, and don't have to push the amp as hard to get the same volume, or so it seems. The clip light is not coming on at all, no compressors, and the input pad is disengaged. I'm striving to get as clean of a signal as possible, whereas in the past, I played mostly in rock bands, so the extra distortion was either unnoticeable or worked well in the band context.
Tested the fEarful with any other heads?
Seems like something isn't right. Weird.
Where are you running the boost? What about the contour?
There's a few other guys running the GK 1001 rb 2 with fEarfuls, getting enough volume doesn't seem to be a problem. The "sterile" I get, these amps are kind of cold sounding at lower volume. The "boost" flavor of dirt isn't for every one either. Still, the GK has been a work horse, solid reliable, and once you start testing it against other amps it holds it's own. I couldn't justify making a change.
On the other hand, big wattage power amps have lost tons of weight and become very affordable. The Carvin HD1500 I just bought was $300. Running one fEarful per side at 8 ohms and 300 watts is very loud. I have yet to try bridging the amp for a taste of 1500 watts.
Seems like something isn't right. Weird.
Where are you running the boost? What about the contour?
There's a few other guys running the GK 1001 rb 2 with fEarfuls, getting enough volume doesn't seem to be a problem. The "sterile" I get, these amps are kind of cold sounding at lower volume. The "boost" flavor of dirt isn't for every one either. Still, the GK has been a work horse, solid reliable, and once you start testing it against other amps it holds it's own. I couldn't justify making a change.
On the other hand, big wattage power amps have lost tons of weight and become very affordable. The Carvin HD1500 I just bought was $300. Running one fEarful per side at 8 ohms and 300 watts is very loud. I have yet to try bridging the amp for a taste of 1500 watts.
When I had my GK 700RB-II I found it would start clipping the amp well before the speaker stressed. It was pretty friken loud though. (12/6-12/sub) But still the distortion was enough that I sold the amp. I also found I preferred the sound with my Sansamp BDDI in front on something close to the fat tube setting. It just gave it a little flavor. I think I'm still having a little issue with gain structure as I'm now clipping my HD1500 in bridge mode. Maybe my wife is right and I'm am deaf.
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