Double Bass GR Bass AT110 / Small Cab Shootout

[Ben Rolston]

As a few people have noted (@flatback @Ric Vice) I've been on a tear recently trying to find a cabinet for my specific use case. I live in Brooklyn without a car, so weight is top priority. Next on the list is something that can cover mid / higher volume gigs. I tried a few of the tiny options but found that the situations they were useful for were also the ones I could cover acoustically. Next on my priority list was something that played nicely with Felix, as I've found that the most helpful piece of gear for the amp du jour gig life here in NY. Since I've tried so many cabs recently I thought I could reconstruct a bit of a shootout. Of course this is a case of personal taste, so no offense if I don't like the thing you're currently loving

Tiny options:

• Phil Jones Double 4 -- Truly too quiet to be useful for me
• MAS mini powered 16 -- Barely too quiet, beautiful sound until higher volumes, then a bit muffled / claustrophobic

Acoustic Image:

• New Style Coda -- An upshot + 5" mid speaker, for its size too quiet, especially vs. the doubleshot, the upfiring style is rough on outdoor gigs
• Doubleshot -- Seems like the perfect cab, but in practicality didn't work for me. The omnidirectional sound meant I was too loud for other band members / the audience while still not getting what I needed. Additionally the combination of the Doubleshot + the Clarus SL had some really untameable low end -- even with the hpf up and the low knob down. Generally didn't respond to EQ well (unfortunately classic AI in my experience). Puts out enough volume but it's definitely not very efficient -- same volume as the Barefaced and GR Bass which are 8ohm cabs.

Other options:

• MAS powered 18 -- I had this cab for a long time, perhaps the best sounding cab I've owned. When fully loaded with Felix + cables, about 33lbs, too heavy! The commute home from a gig at 3am was brutal, up a big hill, up 3 flights of stairs -- left me about ready to quit bass
• QSC CP8 -- Brilliant sound at home, but really not designed to pump out bass frequencies, had some port chuffing and limiting on the gig. Nice size, but only medium weight, 21lbs
• Barefaced 110T -- Borrowed this one thankfully Great fat electric bass sound, but the voicing of the 10in speakers brings out a bit too much of the piezo quack. The port (or resonator) on the bottom made me worried about room to room sound differences.
• Trickfish 110 -- I didn't try this one, but some of the features are great -- dome tweeter, kickback stand. Perhaps would be like a flatter sounding Barefaced? Heavier though at 21lbs

What I landed on:

• GR Bass AT110 -- Initially I thought I wasn't going to be able to get this cabinet as the US distributor isn't stocking them, but I was able to order it from bassdirect in the UK. Sound is great, more like a backline cabinet (Aguilar 112 or a 410) than the MAS / AI stuff -- a range of comfortable volume, plush fat low end, clear sounding mids, the added definition of a tweeter (vs a mid driver). ONLY 11lbs !!!! That's actually also the downside, it feels a little too light, almost like a toy, but I think I'll be able get used to it Pricewise the other GR bass stuff is sort of hilariously expensive, though now I'm inclined to think its worth considering if it fits your needs. I got this for $650 ish shipped from the UK -- cheaper than the Barefaced, Trickfish, same price as a passive MAS 18 (when they were available), and only slightly more than the Doubleshot. Added bonus, it sounds great with my old P-Bass, not too hifi. I'd love to try the combo that you got @kerrycares at some point.

Pics with Felix for size

 

[bassmanbrent]

Cool! What are you using for power in your setup?

BTW I'm not a fan of the Trickfish 110 for DB, in case you are ever tempted. Love 'em for EB but they sound too mid scooped for my needs.

 

[brianrost]

Won't be very loud with just the Felix driving it

 

[Ben Rolston]

Ahh I knew I’d miss something. I’m using a Jule Simone 500, which is the same size as the Clarus SL and I liked the sound as a power amp slightly more. But it’s a bit awkward with Felix on top of the cab AND I bought it before Jule’s price increase, might be hard to justify it now.

 

[Eyermann]

I am super happy with my AT110 too!
Its the 4 ohm version. Nice sound both on doublebass and electric bass.
Most portable setup ever with the TC Bam 200

 

[basss]

Interested to hear how the at110 works out for you. I was eyeing that one myself. It looks like an awesome cab. The only thing that keeps it from being ideal for me is the size. It's certainly small but bigger than the micro cab offerings. I like to use a shoulder bag for small cabs when I can and it seems like it would be a bit big for that. Hard to say for sure though until you see it in person.

As we discussed, we've been through a lot of the same gear and I have similar findings. I recently picked up a doubleshot and so far it's been great. I am hearing the spread out sound but so far it hasn't been a problem. I did have one gig with a loud ten piece band and would have liked more punch but it might have been the amp as much as the cab.

 

[Ric Vice]

Ben,
Those GR cabinets look incredible, I'm fairly sure that they built the wooden cabinets for Schertler's Combos and powered speakers. I have a Jule Monique M700 that I've used with the Grace Felix and it was pretty incredible.

I also considered getting the Simone 500 but it cost more than I purchased my M700 for and that's a three piece system, vs a two piece system with a powered MAS 1/8. I realize that you are in New York city and trying to schlep a Double Bass and amplifier around on public transportation. I think for your situation the BAM 200 GR 110 will be ideal and less complicated as long as you don't need a lot of volume. Jule's power amplifiers are remarkable
as well, they're so clean and articulate, when combined with the Grace. It's such a shame that we all have to deal with this expensive, cutting edge technology when all we really want to do is make music. For now I'd just be happy to have something more like a toaster than the high tech convection oven, I'm currently using.

 

[Matt Ides]

Oh man I sold 2 composite crazy 8's a few months back. They come in at 9 LBS each and sounded great. My wood C8 works great with the BAM200. Glad you found something that works for you.

 

[Matt Power]

Hey all...I have one of the old Clarus Series 2 heads. I love that little guy. Old reliable! Are you folks putting your cabs up off the ground/on a speaker pole or chair?

I am looking to nail down a single cab, and I would love some suggestions. I have a fantastic 1x12 Darkglass cab and a Schroeder 2x8, but the Schroeder box is HIGHLY colored for DB, and the 1x12 is lovely and round, but I need something a bit "tighter" in the mids.

Ben, I am not doing subways etc (although I was on stupidly-crowded subway trains a LOT in Shanghai...I feel ya!), but I am looking to settle down on a cab that I use exclusively for DB that I can put up angled toward me, but still sound as quack-free as possible....LOL

Are you guys settled on 1x10s, or are 12s also a flavor for y'all?

 

[Ben Rolston]

Cool! What are you using for power in your setup?

BTW I'm not a fan of the Trickfish 110 for DB, in case you are ever tempted. Love 'em for EB but they sound too mid scooped for my needs.

Oh dang, thats too bad, though a bit of mid scoop with the Yamahiko isn't the worst thing Curious to hear it at some point.

I am super happy with my AT110 too!
Its the 4 ohm version. Nice sound both on doublebass and electric bass.
Most portable setup ever with the TC Bam 200

I love the idea of a 4ohm! If they had had it in stock at bassdirect I would've gone with that.

I think for your situation the BAM 200 GR 110 will be ideal and less complicated as long as you don't need a lot of volume.

Perhaps! And maybe I'll pick one up later on. My alternate super lightweight idea is fdeck -> simone -> cab. The Simone is only slightly heavier than the BAM, and covers a wider variety of situations. Obviously the big difference is price, but I don't know if I'd be comfortable having the BAM as my only amp option, leaving it a bit redundant.

 

[Ben Rolston]

Ben, I am not doing subways etc (although I was on stupidly-crowded subway trains a LOT in Shanghai...I feel ya!), but I am looking to settle down on a cab that I use exclusively for DB that I can put up angled toward me, but still sound as quack-free as possible....LOL

你好！上海一定人太多了!

I'm also curious what people would recommend for this purpose these days, but you'll probably get as many recommendations as there are people I actually don't think all that many people are using 10s, as the options aren't that plentiful.

 

[Eyermann]

The AT110 carbon cabinet is surpricingly loud and nice sounding even with a 5 string Electric bass.
Two minor minusses for me are that it maybe could be more fragile with the carbon sides than a traditionel cabinet.
And secondly I would have have prefered a less futuristic look. But I guess that with carbon structures and alu fittings a retro look is not the way to go.

 

[Ric Vice]

[QUOTE="Ben Rolston, post: 25941742, member: 78704"


Perhaps! And maybe I'll pick one up later on. My alternate super lightweight idea is fdeck -> simone -> cab. The Simone is only slightly heavier than the BAM, and covers a wider variety of situations. Obviously the big difference is price, but I don't know if I'd be comfortable having the BAM as my only amp option, leaving it a bit redundant.[/QUOTE]

That's a very cogent point. I have three different Preamps for the MAS powered cabinets. A Grace Felix, a Headway EDB-2 H.E. (backup), and the 3 Leaf Enabler for EB alone. There's no question that Jule's pre and power amps are among the best sounding and well built units around.

Wow! you are one brave bassist, so, only you're using a HPF/Buffer Preamp directly into the Simone 500, correct? I would never be brave enough to try that minimal tone shaping setup. I just assumed that you were going with the Grace Felix -> Simone 500 -> Cabinet.

The HPF/Buffer Preamp only boosts the signal by 2 DB.

 

[Ben Rolston]

Huh, I hadn't actually tried that signal chain before I wrote it BUT I just did, and it sounds great
I often forget how much of a game changer the hpf-pre was for me when I first got it.

 

[Antonio Abete]

Has anyone compared GRBass cabs with Genzlers (DB only) ?
I'm thinking about the GRBass AT112H since it's front ported, in my experience rear port cabs aren't ideal for DB
Thanks

 

[Alain Bass]

My question may be surprising and is not only about the GR AT 110, but also for all the others cabs that has the possibility to be in 4 or 8 ohms.
To your opinion, is there a difference in sound between the same cab in 4 or 8 ohm?
I do not mean in terms of loudness of course, but for example in terms of the range of use.
Has a 8 ohm one more range than a 4 ohms, and could sound better or different ?
I’m also giging by subway, and for the moment I use a Barefaced 10 and a TC Bam 200.
To get all the juice of the TC and have a set up that can hold louder gigs than cafe one, a 4 ohm cab would be a better option.
Thank’s to share your opinions.

 

[Eyermann]

The sound should be exactly the same.
8 ohm cabinest are maybe a better choice if you plan to pair to two of them.

 

[Ben Rolston]

The sound should be exactly the same.
8 ohm cabinest are maybe a better choice if you plan to pair to two of them.

While I haven’t had a chance to compare directly two cabinets that are the same other than impedance, I’ve generally had a preference for 4ohm. I feel they’re generally more blooming / effortless / natural feeling. Even though the Cabinet might be the same I wonder if there are other differences on the amp side other than the wattage. I found the explanation of power damping in this manual (pg 8) super interesting but I don’t know if it applies here / I don’t fully understand it https://mesa-boogie.imgix.net/media/User Manuals/Subway-TT800-web.pdf

 

[Alain Bass]

[QUOTE=" I’ve generally had a preference for 4ohm. I feel they’re generally more blooming / effortless / natural feeling. I found the explanation of power damping in this manual (pg 8) super interesting but I don’t know if it applies here / I don’t fully understand it https://mesa-boogie.imgix.net/media/User Manuals/Subway-TT800-web.pdf[/QUOTE]

Thank's, I red it, not sure I understand every thing, they seems to say what you feel also with the 4 ohms.

 

[DoubleMIDI]

Amp 200 watts at 4 Ohms
4 Ohms cab 200 watts is full power,
8 Ohms cab 200 watts is half power.
Two 8 Ohms cabs each 200 watts are both half power.

The sound difference results from the 4 Ohms cab driven harder than the 8 Ohms cab. It is also louder.
Two 8 Ohms cabs together are as loud as one 4 Ohms cab, but each driven half as much as the 4 Ohms cab.
If the output of the amp is 4 Ohms minimum, only one cab at 4 Ohns can be used, but two 8 Ohm cabs (with 100 watts each for getting fully driven) can be connected. If only one is connected, it can be 100 watts too to get fully driven, but is quieter than the 200 watts 4 Ohms cab.