Double Bass GR Bass cabs - why would you use anything else?

[james condino]

Most of the time when I chose my carbon vs old pernambuco bow, it is because they sound and respond different, not a weight choice. 'Same idea with cabs.

If weight is the primary concern for your cabs ( gym membership jokes aside), could someone make a cabinet that was fully sealed and pressure rated, so you could fill it with heilium....or be like the hipster backpackers all over youtube and have a giant external helium balloon that would make an 8x10 SVT refrigeratior cab feel like a GR 1x10.

My big question is why are you guys carrying everything on your own? I always ask the fans or folks at the venue to give me a hand. Pass out a T shirt or two or some stcikers and put them on the door as your guests. They become my biggest fans for the next 30 shows, plus we get in few laughs and stories. The bigger and heavier equipment I bring, the less likely it will get stolen.

 

[Jason Sypher]

Most of the time when I chose my carbon vs old pernambuco bow, it is because they sound and respond different, not a weight choice. 'Same idea with cabs.

If weight is the primary concern for your cabs ( gym membership jokes aside), could someone make a cabinet that was fully sealed and pressure rated, so you could fill it with heilium....or be like the hipster backpackers all over youtube and have a giant external helium balloon that would make an 8x10 SVT refrigeratior cab feel like a GR 1x10.

My big question is why are you guys carrying everything on your own? I always ask the fans or folks at the venue to give me a hand. Pass out a T shirt or two or some stcikers and put them on the door as your guests. They become my biggest fans for the next 30 shows, plus we get in few laughs and stories. The bigger and heavier equipment I bring, the less likely it will get stolen.

The fans? What fans? I’ve never had someone carry my equipment for me. Even now when out with Rhiannon Giddens I will not allow stagehands to move my bass. I like to deal with my own stuff. If I ever get a fan I’ll try your method!

 

[JazznFunk]

Most of the time when I chose my carbon vs old pernambuco bow, it is because they sound and respond different, not a weight choice. 'Same idea with cabs.

This.

 

[basss]

I recently picked up a wood 110 and find it voiced very nicely for upright. I find myself struggling with the amp a lot less than other cabs. Not unbelievably light but still very light at 16 lb

 

[Jazzdogg]

The title of the post maybe a little facetious but in truth it's actually the way I feel now after using my GR Bass AT110-350 ACT in a few different situations. Of course I understand that perhaps something like what I got does not have the sound you might want or perhaps its beyond your budget but for me, the sound is great AND the weight is just insane and I actually think that the price of the model I got is extremely reasonable for what it delivers. For the marvel that it is, I was actually expecting to pay more.

Anyway, the weight is just stupidly light. No one who picks it up can believe there is even an amp in there because it because just feels hollow. The only thing for me is apart from just getting used to its particular sound and EQ'ing appropriately, I did find that:

a) Off the floor on a box it sounded horribly nasal. On the floor it sounded great.

b) On one gig I forgot that the ports at the back are putting out some decent sound so you have to be a bit careful where you point the rear. My previous box did have a small rear port but my GR Bass cab has two pretty sizable rear ports. I was on one very loud gig and had it turned up a bit but had it pointing backwards under the piano and the pianist was getting a lot of bass so I put it back towards the drummer and all was good.

Anyway, the sound is not perfect but it's pretty damn good and when combined with the weight, it's fantastic. Sure makes life easier when you are carrying the bass and other stuff as well. If I was to ever to change anything else in the future, the sound or some other aspect of it would have to be ton better if I had to pay the price of carrying more weight.

That's how I feel about my Crazy8 and Crazy88 cabs amplified by my AI Focus.
I'm sure your gear sounds terrific. But now that I'm retired, I don't forsee any major gear purchases in my future.

 

[flatback]

I played a couple concerts this weekend my GR amp was fantastic. Last night I had a 3 block walk to get to my car and my foot is sprained and carrying the GRAC (GR acoustic cube) was so easy and light. It sounds so damn good too.

 

[Adrian Cho]

I am very tempted to try the GR BF Acoustic 8. I played the last 8 years with the Henriksen Bud which is a 1x8 so I know that at least just for DB (and no BG) that a 1x8 is fine for my purposes even with a big band. With the 110 and DB I have a lot of the bass rolled off anyway. Unfortunately the 1x8 is not really that much lighter or smaller than the 110 I got but it does have a pretty decent preamp.

 

[james condino]

The fans? What fans? I’ve never had someone carry my equipment for me. Even now when out with Rhiannon Giddens I will not allow stagehands to move my bass. I like to deal with my own stuff. If I ever get a fan I’ll try your method!

I'll be your fanboy next time you're in town with Rhiannon and help with the load in. The last show I saw with all of you at the Oragne Peel was fantastic!

 

[Endlesssolo]

I use and endorse the use of 3/8in. cabinet grade birch veneer plywood for my small, ultralite bass cab.
Mine is just 11lbs., and contains a very high quality Faital 10in. speaker.
But, I'm old and old fashioned.
Thanks.

I’ve been using 1/2” cabinet grade plywood and the few I’ve made are pretty light. If I wee going to build several of them, or a bigger one with a couple of drivers, I’d look pretty closely at this stuff:

UltraLight Plywood

Stocked in 48" x 96" sheets in 6mm (1/4"), 12mm (1/2"), and 18mm (3/4").UltraLight has an exterior-grade adhesive throughout, minimum core voids, and sanded 220 face and back.

ultralightply.com

 

[Don Kasper]

I’ve been using 1/2” cabinet grade plywood and the few I’ve made are pretty light. If I wee going to build several of them, or a bigger one with a couple of drivers, I’d look pretty closely at this stuff:

UltraLight Plywood

Stocked in 48" x 96" sheets in 6mm (1/4"), 12mm (1/2"), and 18mm (3/4").UltraLight has an exterior-grade adhesive throughout, minimum core voids, and sanded 220 face and back.

ultralightply.com

Yes - I've built (larger) cabinets using 3/4" and 1/2", in addition to my latest made from 3/8" (all birch veneer cabinet grade plywoods.)
I salute your DIY efforts and results.
Thanks for your interest and info.

 

[Don Kasper]

a bigger one with a couple of drivers,

Yes, and...Here was my 5 string slab setup while I was involved in an 8+ piece funk/soul/vocal group - NO PA for the rhythm section(!)
This is (DIY) made of 3/4" cab grade Birch plywood, contains Bag End and Fostex drivers, weighs 85lbs, and can blow out candles.
MBRL (My Bass Really Loud)
(Note HD handtruck in photo.)
I play (almost) exclusively upright these days.
I think for very large & very loud cabinets, 3/4" is the way to go, but I'm Old.
Thanks.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

85 lbs! Don, you are stronger than I thought. But this helps explain the banana mittens.

 

[Fat bob]

@Don Kasper are there any threads you’d recommend for building your own cabinet like this? I’d love to try! Those gr are so expensive. Iam considering making it a powered cab as well to pair with my Felix

 

[Don Kasper]

@Don Kasper are there any threads you’d recommend for building your own cabinet like this? I’d love to try! Those gr are so expensive. Iam considering making it a powered cab as well to pair with my Felix

Hi ...bob,
I built most of my cabinets in the pre-internet days, so I just built my boxes using tried and true woodworking methods, and followed general driver recommendations for port-sizes, etc. I don't place too much Auditory Faith(tm) in the "theoretical" graphs and related statistical discussions - I just build solid boxes using high-quality lumber, and always use very high quality ($$$) drivers. I have been very lucky(?) in that the half-dozen or so boxes that I have built perform at, or beyond, my expectations.
(Over on the BG side of TB you'll find many examples of DIY box-builders - I would suggest starting there.)
(Also,Sorry - NONE of my cabinets are "powered" - I still use my WW Electracoustic, EA Doubler, or SWR SM-400 for power.)
Good Luck and watch those fingers - tools can't tell the difference between Lumber or Flesh&Bone!

 

[klattman]

I have a GR110 and I dropped it on the corner. Had to glue it back and it’s ok but it seems like the edges and corners are very vulnerable.

 

[bherman]

For me, the issue with mine came down to dealing with problems when a company has no US-based service reps. I bought a powered 110, it quickly developed a buzz at certain frequencies. I spent hours doing WhatsApp calls with GR team from Italy - they were very responsive but it was really hard to diagnose the problem from afar. They bent over backwards to try and solve the problem - ultimately sending me a new cabinet with everything but the woofer installed. When I dug further into the old cab, I discovered that the problem was with one part of a brace that had not been glued. That's something that a tech would quickly discover hands-on, but was never even considered via remote diagnosis.

 

[flatback]

Yeah I have done a few months of gigs with it and I have to say I have really trained myself to treat it with a huge amount of careful attention. I move it with intention and set it up where it cannot be messed with. That said it weighs 20 lbs and so I smile every time I walk from the car to the gig. My amp (GRAC12) sounds best when you turn the Master(s) up ALL the way and then have the gain as LOW as possible. As such it sounds great. I have been playing lately with the STAT B and that pickup into this amp sounds just stellar.I have a dual cable and always have the Yama plugged in too...I usually flick the switch between Stat (ch1) Mixed and Yama (ch2) at the beginning of the gig and then so far unless it is REALLY loud (wine bars get loud second set) I just keep it on Ch 1. Sometimes I have it up on a stand (wine bars are glassy hard surface places too...Northern Cali is a lot of that) But always super careful, except that I keep putting my wine glass down on the flat top, what kind of idiot am I? Just asking for trouble.

 

[bass player 53]

For me, the issue with mine came down to dealing with problems when a company has no US-based service reps. I bought a powered 110, it quickly developed a buzz at certain frequencies. I spent hours doing WhatsApp calls with GR team from Italy - they were very responsive but it was really hard to diagnose the problem from afar. They bent over backwards to try and solve the problem - ultimately sending me a new cabinet with everything but the woofer installed. When I dug further into the old cab, I discovered that the problem was with one part of a brace that had not been glued. That's something that a tech would quickly discover hands-on, but was never even considered via remote diagnosis.

That’s, unfortunately, poor quality control. This is a branch of Industrial Engineering, and even in a small company, should not happen. I hope you told them what you discovered.

 

[bherman]

That’s, unfortunately, poor quality control. This is a branch of Industrial Engineering, and even in a small company, should not happen. I hope you told them what you discovered.

Yeah, I did. I was not happy about it. I found out because I decided to "repurpose" the cabinet by pulling out the amp and installing an Eminence driver to use as a practice cab. When the same buzzing occurred, I dug deeper into the cab and found the brace that had one side with no glue on it. I'm a woodworker so it was an easy fix but you are right, a 20 second check inside the cab with a small hammer to check each joint's integrity would find anything like this. I admire what the company is doing with their products, but I wouldn't go down that path again.

 

[bass player 53]

Yeah, I did. I was not happy about it. I found out because I decided to "repurpose" the cabinet by pulling out the amp and installing an Eminence driver to use as a practice cab. When the same buzzing occurred, I dug deeper into the cab and found the brace that had one side with no glue on it. I'm a woodworker so it was an easy fix but you are right, a 20 second check inside the cab with a small hammer to check each joint's integrity would find anything like this. I admire what the company is doing with their products, but I wouldn't go down that path again.

I actually did the same when I stuck a 15” Eminence speaker in my Polytone MB III when the amp died after 20 years. The original speaker was said to be 3 ohms (what I measured too), so I put a 4 ohm in there and sealed up the amp compartment.

GR, at the very least should have an assembly checklist. Even build it your self combo amp kits have that. I even remember Heathkit and Lafayette Radio Electronics kits having checklists.