FRFR Bass Cab Recommendations in 2023

[DonaldR]

@imjmb here's my question again (from Fractal forum):
Was he using a cable with speakon or TS connector?
If TS connector, possible he used a guitar cable instead of a speaker cable?
Possible the cable gauge was too small?
Did he plugged/unplugged the cab while the amp was turned on?

 

[imjmb]

@imjmb here's my question again (from Fractal forum):
Was he using a cable with speakon or TS connector?
If TS connector, possible he used a guitar cable instead of a speaker cable?
Possible the cable gauge was too small?
Did he plugged/unplugged the cab while the amp was turned on?

Apologies my friend. Completely spaced the Fractal forum today.

It's a TS connector, but it is much thicker than his normal instrument cables he says, and very short, leading me to believe it is in fact the correct speaker cable.

He says he's never plugged it in or unplugged it with the amp on.

 

[InkCow]

I may try to have him take the amp in to be looked at, as you said, just in case. Though, at 500W, perhaps it might be worth him getting something beefier anyway?

Mmm, possibly. There will be no shortage of affirmations on that regard on this forum. Personally, I think 500w and an efficient cab or two should probably work fine.

Lastly, someone in my area has a set of Peavey Headliner cabs for sale. A 4x10, a 1x15 and a 2x10, all for $500.

I don’t know what the other blown cab is, but it’s probably also worth seeing if it and the GK are reparable along with the amp. This is a pretty good deal, but more cabs than he needs and probably won’t sound as good as the broken ones. But, they will definitely make sound!

 

[KJMO]

I think the Helix is best used through a good PA. To get gig levels of bass with an FRFR (which I think is marketing speak for a PA speaker), it's basically going to have to be a capable PA. And if your PA can't handle bass duties, your "bass amp" is going to outshine your actual PA ;-) . A bass amp is optimized for bass since it doesn't have to reproduce a bass drum, vocals, etc. so it is a lot more efficient than a PA, for bass.

 

[Synh]

I'm hesitating between taking a Yamaha dxr15 and an RCF T 12-SMA mk2. I have read a lot of positive things about these 2 models. It will serve me as a cab for home and back for gigs. An opinion?

 

[agedhorse]

Running a helix through an 810 would defeat the purpose of the helix. Fridges color the tone a lot. If that is the tone one wants, go for it. The OP specifically asked about an FRFR cab which the fridge is definitely not. Something like a pair (use one for smaller venues) of Barefaced BB3s or a single Big Twin will faithfully reproduce the helix with very little coloration. They will be easier to move than a fridge, lighter and out perform a fridge in nearly everyway.

If you use a colored cabinet like the SVT, simply turn off the cab sim module in the Helix and you are good to go.


I’m thinking that a simpler and more effective way to go for your bass player (not you) would be to get a suitable bass amp and cabinets that meet the tone and volume needs of the player. It will certainly be more convenient to your bass player unless you plan on doing all the programming and troubleshooting work for him all the time, even when it’s inconvenient for you.

 

[vokain]

There are few power amps for bass
(you'll find several threads on the topic) and even less affordable ones.

To the point that many of us use regular amp, and plug in the Fx loop return

Look for GSS Sumo

Crown XLS is a line of power amps that are fairly good value for the wattage. 2U but they are only like 8-10 lbs

 

[vickerekes]

I have this... you absolutely will not blow the speakers.

WJ 2×10 1000 Watt Powered Bass Cabinet - Wayne Jones AUDIO

 

[jeffb28451]

Using Quad Cortex. Have gone through lots of high end cabs and amps over many years. With the QC, I've been using my Puma 900 power section and a 44 lb. fEarLess 115 for a while. Just got a 32 lb. f112 yesterday for smaller jobs. I'm done unless and until something blows up.

I've looked at and tried many cabs before and esp. since getting a modeler (QC is not my first modeler). These included regular boxes, passive and powered PA cabs and others. Two of my favs were Acme and Accugroove, but the fEarless designs seem to be much more versatile than almost any of the others I tried and can handle power and still sound like a bass cabinet should (whatever that means).

Nothing wrong with plugging a P bass into a simple Mesa M3 and not touching a knob all night long! I did not get rid of "real" amps and cabs, so I can do that if I want, but with a modeler I can keep my soundman guessing all night long! (I don't).

Frankly, I almost gave up the search. I found it difficult to find really good sounding powered cabs that sounded like a good passive.

I did not try any powered PA cabs over 50 lbs, because that would have just defeated my purpose of versatility and light weight, since I'm an older guy.

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

Using Quad Cortex. Have gone through lots of high end cabs and amps over many years. With the QC, I've been using my Puma 900 power section and a 44 lb. fEarLess 115 for a while. Just got a 32 lb. f112 yesterday for smaller jobs. I'm done unless and until something blows up.

I've looked at and tried many cabs before and esp. since getting a modeler (QC is not my first modeler). These included regular boxes, passive and powered PA cabs and others. Two of my favs were Acme and Accugroove, but the fEarless designs seem to be much more versatile than almost any of the others I tried and can handle power and still sound like a bass cabinet should (whatever that means).

Nothing wrong with plugging a P bass into a simple Mesa M3 and not touching a knob all night long! I did not get rid of "real" amps and cabs, so I can do that if I want, but with a modeler I can keep my soundman guessing all night long! (I don't).

Frankly, I almost gave up the search. I found it difficult to find really good sounding powered cabs that sounded like a good passive.

I did not try any powered PA cabs over 50 lbs, because that would have just defeated my purpose of versatility and light weight, since I'm an older guy.

This one?

Greenboy Audio Fearless F112 Cabinet review

 

[Jack]

Have to agree with the sentiment here. I'm very much down the ampless train and it's great if you can do it. Hey, I am 100% guaranteed to not blow my cabs, I don't have any! But I don't think this is the answer here. There are plenty of clues as to what's going on.

A few years back, however, he blew one of his bass cabs (a Gallien-Krueger NEO410/4). Well, he just blew another cab using the same head (not sure which cab this one was).

Either way, I talked him into buying a Helix a few years back, and he's neglected to use or learn it because it's overwhelming for him.

Well, now that he's blown a second cab,

He plays predominately hard rock, with a little metal here and there, and will be playing local bars/clubs, generally with no PA support for the bass, so whatever he uses will have to be able to stand up to being loud enough to fill a decent sized bar without falling apart.

I may try to have him take the amp in to be looked at, as you said, just in case. Though, at 500W, perhaps it might be worth him getting something beefier anyway?

Truthfully, he's not the tone monger that I am, so I imagine how he sets his EQ depends on his mood.

Unfortunately, during our recent audition, his cab was farting on occasion. Not all the time, but definitely enough to be noticed, and more frequently as the day went on.

Something worthy of note, playing at a place with 1,000+ people is kind of a dream in our case. Reality is, throughout the year the places we play will probably have a maximum occupancy of 300 people, give or take.

what I've taken from this is that it would be a good safety measure to HPF 50hz or so, in an effort to protect the life of the cab. Do I have all of that correct so far?

Dude plays hard rock, loudly, in medium sized venues without pa support. He seems somewhat insensitive to things like cabinets farting or how to use eq/hpf to stop that. We've all been there! I just think the answer here is more, better speakers coupled with a little more thought into gear care and use.

Those Eden heads have an inherently scooped tone and the possibility to put out some extreme lows. Neither of which is really useful for cutting through a mix. Add in the 'enhance' control and the fact that (sorry if I'm over-assuming here) your friend sounds like maybe he could use a little help with the parametric eq and it could just be that the 500W from the head aren't going to the right frequencies. I'll bet a re-eq coupled with a quality pair of 4x10" cabinets would have this solved.

I mean, the real answer here is to get the band to turn down, but I think we can rule that out.