Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
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- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
Sounds like.
Nice cab BTW. Mike's a cool dude and it looks like he's doing some sweet builds.
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Fearful Part 14: one better than 13!
- Thread starter Chef
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Sounds like.
Nice cab BTW. Mike's a cool dude and it looks like he's doing some sweet builds.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,348
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
I remember an early show I played with my fEARful and it was distorting like crazy...turned out that all the bolts for the 3015LF had loosened and the whole thing was vibrating against the cab. I went back and tightened them down much more aggressively.
Also, I had been very happy with my LMII and the other cabs I had been playing (a Berg HT115 and a Schroeder 1212), but once I had the fEARful, I could hear the shortcomings of the amp...distortion in the mids when I was at a good volume, a shyness in the lows when hitting the lower notes on my B string and power compression was kicking in, etc. The drawback of having a clean wide cab is actually hearing what you're sending it.
The hiss in the highs/mids make sense. My previous cab was a Mesa PH115. It hisses when the tweeter is turned up, but not when it is turned off. Since I'm not getting any hiss from the 115 in either, it sounds like a mids/highs issue.
As for agresive bolting, I'm not too eager to ham fist, since I have a history of breaking things (insert neck joke here), and the fiberglass cab is a new material to me. I'll keep an ear on it.
As for agresive bolting, I'm not too eager to ham fist, since I have a history of breaking things (insert neck joke here), and the fiberglass cab is a new material to me. I'll keep an ear on it.
I have the same round grills on my fearful as well (I built the cab). The larger grill resonates with the 3015lf on some frequencies, most notably around C on my A string. It's not so much a rattling of the grill as the movement of the waffle material creating an air disturbance much like an actual speaker.
Your problem may be completely different- but watch the grill at angle while playing your open A.
Besides that mine sounds wonderful as well. Enjoy your new fearful- they are awesome!
Your problem may be completely different- but watch the grill at angle while playing your open A.
Besides that mine sounds wonderful as well. Enjoy your new fearful- they are awesome!
The mid driver on a mid driver loaded cab will reproduce at least some of the hiss that most amps have, but probably not as much as your tweeter on your previous cab (as you suggest). 'Hiss' is typically above even the frequencies covered by the 18Sound mid. That is one of the reasons that people hate piezo tweeters, since they extend much higher than even a traditional compression driver loaded tweeter.
I wouldn't worry about it too much. The downside to a fixed mid driver versus a variable tweeter is that you have to totally control your top end with EQ. That isn't bad in and of itself, but can take a bit more work if you aren't enamored with a lot of energy in that 1-3k 'gank' area (or if you have a particularly noisy amp up top).
Nice cabinet, Adam! I approve of the almost-orange, and the flat front is very cool.
Somewhat related question:
I have intermittent rattle problems with my grill (a full Reliable Hardware). I didn't put in wood standoffs, instead it is entirely supported by 10 or so rubber standoffs (the Reliable grill kit stuff). I have to periodically tighten the grill screws or certain notes (low Eb or Bb) will buzz. Do I need to put in wooden standoffs to get rid of the rattle permanently?
Somewhat related question:
I have intermittent rattle problems with my grill (a full Reliable Hardware). I didn't put in wood standoffs, instead it is entirely supported by 10 or so rubber standoffs (the Reliable grill kit stuff). I have to periodically tighten the grill screws or certain notes (low Eb or Bb) will buzz. Do I need to put in wooden standoffs to get rid of the rattle permanently?
I would expect that the stand offs would add support to the grill, thus decreasing the stress on the existing screws holding the grill in place. More area/screws to hold it in place the lower the force on each screw.
thanks! your cab was an inspiration. if you are going to be in the hollywood area, drop a line and you can plug in.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,348
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
My wooden standoffs have a thin foam gasket tape between the grill and the wood, which damps the grill. The grill doesn't touch the sides of the cab at all (around the edges), and I've never had problems.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,348
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
I went to a car supply place and bought foam tape that was thin but dense...A roll was cheap and I still have more than half of it. They listed it as camper insulating tape.
I don't understand your reasoning, here.
How is it more work to bump an EQ knob or slider than to turn an attenuator?
I keep my amp waist high beside me. Much easier to change EQ on it than to walk back to my cab and change the attenuator position. Actually, the easiest method is to use the semi parametric mid control on my bass.
or just buy gank-free #onepercentgear gear?
the waist high 15/6 form is nice for grabbing the EQ knobs easily.
i'm looking at a Tecamp Puma 900 to complete the lightest/loudest rig setup:
35lb cab - Mike's 15/6
2.2lb head - Puma 900
7.5lb bass - Dingwall ABZ 5
An attenuator will evenly and gently take your top end out of your tone if you choose. It is almost like having a lo pass control for your top end. My comment involved the OP's confusion on why he was hearing more hiss with his new cab.
If you have EQ (for example if the Q on your semi-parametric EQ allows you to sculpt the upper mids adequately), that can work fine, of course, with a fixed mid. This is more of an issue with the 18Sound mid driver for me than a 'mid driver issue' in general.
If you dig all that presence in that 1-3K region, of course, then it is a moot point.
My primary point was if the OP turned his tweeter mostly off in his previous cab, by definition, he would not have heard the hiss. That is no longer an option for him. Not a 'good or bad thing', but since he seemed a bit confused about the source of the hiss, I guess I again made the mistake of trying to help explain what he was hearing. If 'his tone' is basically that Mesa cab with the tweeter turned mostly off, the top end of the 18Sound with the fEARful crossover will be quite different, in a lot more ways than just hearing more hiss. Again, might be a good thing, might not.
thanks for looking out Ken.
i have been playing with the tweet settings and the crossover points on the Mesa, and since i'm newly playing again, with new basses, "my tone" isn't a set-in-stone thing. i just never thought about the hiss being part of the sound from the amp, since it only would show up when i turned on the tweeter. i didn't think of it as opening a gate that let the hiss through. instead, i thought it was something in the wiring of the tweet (and thus the mid-driver with the 15/6). faulty logic and guilt by association.
i have been playing with the tweet settings and the crossover points on the Mesa, and since i'm newly playing again, with new basses, "my tone" isn't a set-in-stone thing. i just never thought about the hiss being part of the sound from the amp, since it only would show up when i turned on the tweeter. i didn't think of it as opening a gate that let the hiss through. instead, i thought it was something in the wiring of the tweet (and thus the mid-driver with the 15/6). faulty logic and guilt by association.
It again shouldn't really be a problem. I think you are using an M6, is that correct? If you are, that is a MAGNIFICENT match for the 15/6. If you dial down the treble to around 9 o'clock, you should be fine (that head puts out a LOT of 2K+ volume), and the nice 'crunch' that tube pre puts in the tone sounds awesome through the 18Sound... warms it up a bit. I spent quite a bit of time with an M6 and a friends fEARful a while back, and it was pretty darn smoking.Also, the 3015LF is the only driver I ever heard (at least in a bass cab) that could handle the low end of the M6/M9 in true fashion. That head has seemingly no hi passing at all (massive sub bass coming out of that thing), and will destroy 'normal' mid range woofer loaded bass cabs if you push it (or at least compress the heck out of the drivers). You can run that thing full out with the fEARful. And, the M6 300 watts into 8ohms sounds like about 1000 watts.
Enjoy... awesome looking cab.
Edit: Per the EQ discussion in the previous posts, the Mesa shelving treble control is set with quite a bit lower start point than many amps. Can't quite remember... maybe 3K or something around there. So, it works perfectly to take the top end sheen off the mid driver and given you a more 'top of the driver' crunch that many really dig. GREAT match-up with that cab again. That treble control is almost like having an attenuator on the top range of the mid driver to my ear.
One more comment about the M6 treble control. I just checked the manual, and it states that when cut, the treble control reduces frequencies from around 750hz to around 3.5K. So, that control almost acts like an attenuator for the mid driver in the fEARful cabs (an oversimplification, I know, but relatively accurate according to my ears and their published specs on that control).
So, that is a wonderful head for having a powerful, simple control over the top end of the tone of the fEARful. Really sounds 'sweet' at about 9 o'clock, which basically seems to take the 18sound down about 3db in the upper mids, and still lets a bit of top end definition while reducing the 'clank' that cab happen with some basses, etc.
So, that is a wonderful head for having a powerful, simple control over the top end of the tone of the fEARful. Really sounds 'sweet' at about 9 o'clock, which basically seems to take the 18sound down about 3db in the upper mids, and still lets a bit of top end definition while reducing the 'clank' that cab happen with some basses, etc.
the nice thing about the M6 15/6 combo is that the 15/6 shows how well it can handle that bass output. if you look closely at my pic, you can see my settings, including the pull bass shift engaged. that normally turns my tone into too-open/wide/deep, but this cab eats it up. i'm not gung-ho about another amp, just because this cab sounds so good with it, IMHO.
If you hadn't taught me, directly and indirectly, how to tame my Genz Benz Shuttlemax, I'd be gassing for a Mesa for my 1212/6.
In fact, I just might gas for it anyway.
At any rate, taming the upper mid from 1 to 3 Hz has been the key for most of my cabs, with the exception of the 15's I was once obssessed with. With the 18 Sound mid, it's critical.
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