• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Flattest amp & cab set-up?

DannyBob

DannyBob

Guest
Aug 28, 2013
685
191
UK
#1
Just wondering which amps and cabinets anyone has tried that have the flattest response?

Obviously, I know nothing would ever be truly flat, but ones that give the 'truest' tone from the bass? The closest I have found is a Markbass cabinet and head (can't remember which model #'s), which seemed to have really flat output, which changed significantly when a different bass and preamp section was used.

Any ideas to share? :)

Thank you in advance
 
#5
Acmebass speakers are flat enough to use as your home hi-fi speakers. And they are DEEP.

They also need power. They are three way, btw.

If you are looking for flat power, you might try a PA amp. It's what I did when I was in Seattle. I actually used a crown microtek 1200 watt amp and a behringer tube pre parametric eq as my preamp. Ran a GT6B into it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zooberwerx
#6
CL400Peavey said:
Mark bass amps are pretty flat. Their cabs are not.

Flattest rig I have ever heard was my ART Pro Channel II through my Crest ProLite 3.0 in to my fEARful 1515/66/1.
Click to expand...
And this is the only way one is going to get a "flat" starting point. Poweramp with speaker designed to be as flat as possible with studio pre. Most of the rest of the bass amps and cabs have designed-in or not designed in coloring. Most times this coloring is what makes us say "This cab sounds better." or "This amp sounds better".

As far as bass amps go, my Traynor SB200H into a 12 with horn cab sounds uncolored as such can be. I use the bass tone controls and leave the amp untouched.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: MaxJJK and CL400Peavey
#7
RoadRanger said:
..."bass amps" and "bass cabs" aren't supposed to be flat.
Click to expand...

When I first started building bass cabs I kinda figured that, but didn't know what deviation from "flat" would sound good with electric bass. And I figured, if nothing else, "flat" would probably appeal to double bass players, which is often the case. And apparently it also appeals to some electric bass players, as well as electric upright players.

Acme, greenboy's Fearless line, and Barefaced are probably top contenders for a "flat" cab that can handle electric bass comfortably.

The problem with pressing a small PA cab into service is, the more affordable PA cabs may not have the excursion capability needed to handle electric bass at high volume without farting out. There's generally a tradeoff relationship between performance at the bottom end of the woofer's spectrum (where electric bass's center of gravity lies) and performance at the middle and top end of the woofer's spectrum (where PA lives and breathes).
 
  • Like
Reactions: LeonD and CL400Peavey
#8
Flat frequency response is not hard to find - but look at PA or hifi gear for that. Magnetic pickups don't have a flat response for a start and most bass preamps and cabs are deliberately designed to have a particular non-flat response. A LightWave pickup and a PA would get you close but you might be disappointed. "Flat" is overrated - at least in the electric bass world.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MaxJJK
#10
DukeLeJeune said:
When I first started building bass cabs I kinda figured that, but didn't know what deviation from "flat" would sound good with electric bass. And I figured, if nothing else, "flat" would probably appeal to double bass players, which is often the case. And apparently it also appeals to some electric bass players, as well as electric upright players.

Acme, greenboy's Fearless line, and Barefaced are probably top contenders for a "flat" cab that can handle electric bass comfortably.

The problem with pressing a small PA cab into service is, the more affordable PA cabs may not have the excursion capability needed to handle electric bass at high volume without farting out. There's generally a tradeoff relationship between performance at the bottom end of the woofer's spectrum (where electric bass's center of gravity lies) and performance at the middle and top end of the woofer's spectrum (where PA lives and breathes).
Click to expand...

Don't forget that AudioKinesis feller! Hear he designs a cab that is closer to flat than many others as well.
 
#11
kurosawa said:
Audiophiles seek flatness to reproduce musicians' highly shaped sounds accurately.

Reproduction and shaping are entirely different processes.
Click to expand...
Exactly. The way I look at it is this:

A hi-fi REPRODUCES music. You want it to color the sound as little as possible. An instrument and it's amp (where applicable) CREATES music and every part of it is designed to add its own color to the sound. This is why the wood in the body of a stradivarius violin is critical in adding its own "color" to the sound (not to mention volume), but a hi-fi speaker made the same way would sound like crap.

All that being said, if you use an amp modeler (like lin 6 stuff or my Boss GT6B) the effects processor is the "source" and the cab and amp become the equivalent of a hi-fi. You don't want color added to color. It just messes up the whole point.
 
#12
dincz said:
Flat frequency response is not hard to find - but look at PA or hifi gear for that. Magnetic pickups don't have a flat response for a start and most bass preamps and cabs are deliberately designed to have a particular non-flat response. A LightWave pickup and a PA would get you close but you might be disappointed. "Flat" is overrated - at least in the electric bass world.
Click to expand...

I disagree. It is just like any other tonal goal. It works for some. And may not for others.

kurosawa said:
Audiophiles seek flatness to reproduce musicians' highly shaped sounds accurately.

Reproduction and shaping are entirely different processes.
Click to expand...

As long as you are on the end playing the instrument, it is all creation.

Robroy said:
Exactly. The way I look at it is this:

A hi-fi REPRODUCES music. You want it to color the sound as little as possible. An instrument and it's amp (where applicable) CREATES music and every part of it is designed to add its own color to the sound. This is why the wood in the body of a stradivarius violin is critical in adding its own "color" to the sound (not to mention volume), but a hi-fi speaker made the same way would sound like crap.

All that being said, if you use an amp modeler (like lin 6 stuff or my Boss GT6B) the effects processor is the "source" and the cab and amp become the equivalent of a hi-fi. You don't want color added to color. It just messes up the whole point.
Click to expand...

Horsespit. Someone playing an instrument, through any kind of amplification, is creating music.
 
  • Like
Reactions: svtb15 and ScarfFace
#16
CL400Peavey said:
Horsespit. Someone playing an instrument, through any kind of amplification, is creating music.
Click to expand...
I think you missed the spirit of his point on the Line 6 comment. Yes, of course they're still making music, but they have chosen to use a modeler to reproduce a specific tone. While the user can (and usually does) tweak this modelled sound to his/her own specs, the basic tone is kind of pre-determined. So using modelers really blurs the line between creating a tone, and reproducing a tone in a new and creative way.
 
#17
BBEgo said:
I think you missed the spirit of his point on the Line 6 comment. Yes, of course they're still making music, but they have chosen to use a modeler to reproduce a specific tone. While the user can (and usually does) tweak this modelled sound to his/her own specs, the basic tone is kind of pre-determined. So using modelers really blurs the line between creating a tone, and reproducing a tone in a new and creative way.
Click to expand...

Nonsense.
 
#18
DannyBob said:
Just wondering which amps and cabinets anyone has tried that have the flattest response?

Obviously, I know nothing would ever be truly flat, but ones that give the 'truest' tone from the bass? The closest I have found is a Markbass cabinet and head (can't remember which model #'s), which seemed to have really flat output, which changed significantly when a different bass and preamp section was used.

Any ideas to share? :)

Thank you in advance
Click to expand...
I think you're asking two different things here. there's a big difference between an amp that is flat and one that reproduces the true tone of your bass. In my experience, the setup that gives me the "truest tone" of my bass is my JGR preamp thru the pre-eq out. It it just the bass thru the first two tubes and then output. Its amazing. Great tube tone and your bass. Nothing else. Really opened my eyes on a couple basses and made me realize how much most "clear" amps really arent. I prefer both my Warwick and fender jazz thru it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: CL400Peavey

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back