With the voicing of the jbl's, the end result may not actually be all that scooped. They're not hyped in the lowend at all.
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I am Very Stupid
- Thread starter mellowinman
- Start date
With the voicing of the jbl's, the end result may not actually be all that scooped. They're not hyped in the lowend at all.
She says the Fender is "irritating."
I admit that her tone is pretty good. I think the smile eq should smile less on the treble side, because she has more string noise than she should. She is a very good player.
When we share the Fender for tiny venues, or multiple band shows requiring quick set-up, I am set up with two basses that have two wireless transmitters both set to the same frequency, and can be picked up by one receiver.
I will donate one of the transmitters to her, and then just put my strap on the other bass when I use it. Her Ibanez is active, so I set her transmitter to have less output, and get it as close as I can so that when we take turns, we don't have to change the system's volume.
We are definitely going shopping. I just wanted to hear some ideas to make it so I don't have to try every single amp.
I honestly don't think about tone much. When someone says I got good tone, I feel like I just got lucky. That's why the thread title is "I am Very Stupid." I honestly just don't know a thing.
This is alot of amp for its size, I used a B50R for rehearsals with a large band and it did suprisingly well. These days I use one Bag End 15 and a euphonic audio head, its really all I need, keeps up just fine. I have two more birch cabs at home that rarely leave the house.
Personally, I'd go with the following:
1) get a good dolly to save somewhat on actual lugging
2) get a nice A/B/Y box and/or separate preamp if you prefer a different tone and really don't like to use hers
3) put an aluminum grille over the front of the cab so she won't have concern to say "careful" quite so much when others handle her cab.
Maybe even a nice, heavy duty cab cover to protect it further.
This way you only have to bring the one rig.
Really, the outside of the cab doesn't look to have been spared many bumps, and it's really only the speakers she's probably worried about damaging.
From the sounds of things, she REALLY loves her tone, and I don't think it would be wise to try to deprive her of it, as long as you can live with it.
1) get a good dolly to save somewhat on actual lugging
2) get a nice A/B/Y box and/or separate preamp if you prefer a different tone and really don't like to use hers
3) put an aluminum grille over the front of the cab so she won't have concern to say "careful" quite so much when others handle her cab.
Maybe even a nice, heavy duty cab cover to protect it further.
This way you only have to bring the one rig.
Really, the outside of the cab doesn't look to have been spared many bumps, and it's really only the speakers she's probably worried about damaging.
From the sounds of things, she REALLY loves her tone, and I don't think it would be wise to try to deprive her of it, as long as you can live with it.
I've just gotta say that I think it's SO COOL that your wife is so attached to a big old Sunn cab with vintage JBLs. My girlfriend considers all of my gear to be junk, even the stuff used on paying gigs. Granted, she is not a musician.
It it were me, I would be looking for a nice 1x15 cab to load one of those JBLs into. The second JBL can be held onto for backup duty and they can be loaded back into the Sunn for big stage/outdoor gigs where more cab would be appropriate.
Good luck.
It it were me, I would be looking for a nice 1x15 cab to load one of those JBLs into. The second JBL can be held onto for backup duty and they can be loaded back into the Sunn for big stage/outdoor gigs where more cab would be appropriate.
Good luck.
The JBLs are relatively overdamped drivers and can begin rolling off well above 200 Hz if the box is 2.5 - 3.5 cf and is tuned much below 60 Hz. Tuning to the mid 60s brings the response up, for a nearly flat response to about 70Hz. Higher tuning actually causes peaking above reference level. Not sure how these are tuned - it would be interesting to find out.
The bass boost evident in the 'smile' setting of the graphic eq potentially compensates nicely for the shelved response of a low tuned cabinet. It's the cutting in the mids that leads me to believe that a scooped tone is being used. A close look at the pic shows 4-6 db of cut between 250 and 2k (4 sliders), then a gradual climb to some serious boosting at 5 & 8kHz.
Of more importance is that for the OP, tone is incidental, while for his wife it is very important. The difference in perspective will make this an 'interesting' problem to resolve. IME, not just any good 210 or 112 will meet her tone goals. It will depend on voicing. There is also something about the way large cone area sounds relative to smaller more energetic ones. There is a certain sense of power and effortlessness to the sound of the large cone area cabs (all else being equal). I think a 212 with the right voicing will come closer.
the TC BG250 is your deal!
the amp is programmable with various EQ's and effects, so you can both keep presets for your tone on there, and when you switch duties, just switch presets. Done and done!
the amp is programmable with various EQ's and effects, so you can both keep presets for your tone on there, and when you switch duties, just switch presets. Done and done!
Uh - I like the amp - but it really doesn't do all this. Yes, the new ones have two Toneprint slots where you can load various single effects - and only use one at a time. The old ones (mine) have one programmable Toneprint slot and a dedicated "Tubedrive" function. You can engage these both at the same time.
Note that Tubedrive is available as a Toneprint too.
Also - many think you have to have a smart phone to change the Toneprint - you can just do it with your computer via USB too.
- Mar 8, 2011
- 12,232
- 51,187
- Disclosures
- Authorized greenboy designs builder/Owner of BNA Audio
If the missus loves the 215 cab, I doubt any single woofer setup, regardless of quality would satisfy. There is some magic for some in two woofer cabs...I'm on her side there 
Stop Whining! 
Put some casters on that Sunn and get a good padded cover for it.
Get a Sansamp and rack it up along with her Hartke and you wireless units.
Buy a 1x15 cab that can be tilted back monitor style.
Since youu are less particular about your tone you can run the sansamp directly into the PA and get it folded back to you in the monitors or use the 1x15 cab as your monitor. On small gigs you can both go through the 1x15 cab.
Load in/out is simple; set the rack on top of the cab and roll.
Sheeesh, kids theese days!
Put some casters on that Sunn and get a good padded cover for it.
Get a Sansamp and rack it up along with her Hartke and you wireless units.
Buy a 1x15 cab that can be tilted back monitor style.
Since youu are less particular about your tone you can run the sansamp directly into the PA and get it folded back to you in the monitors or use the 1x15 cab as your monitor. On small gigs you can both go through the 1x15 cab.
Load in/out is simple; set the rack on top of the cab and roll.
Sheeesh, kids theese days!
If the missus loves the 215 cab, I doubt any single woofer setup, regardless of quality would satisfy. There is some magic for some in two woofer cabs...I'm on her side there
Amen.
I'll quit using my 2x15 rig when I die!
Hell, I might just request they bury me in it.
So Mellowinman, As far as your wife is concerned size matters.
She married me, didn't she?
Stop Whining!
Put some casters on that Sunn and get a good padded cover for it.
Get a Sansamp and rack it up along with her Hartke and you wireless units.
Buy a 1x15 cab that can be tilted back monitor style.
Since youu are less particular about your tone you can run the sansamp directly into the PA and get it folded back to you in the monitors or use the 1x15 cab as your monitor. On small gigs you can both go through the 1x15 cab.
Load in/out is simple; set the rack on top of the cab and roll.
Sheeesh, kids theese days!
I am not going to do this.
Good points all there.
There is the baked in curve of the amp to consider as well, although, the old Transient Attack 3500 Hartkes I'm used to, they do sound a little "middy" compared to other bass amps, but it really wouldn't surprise me if they were actually closer to "even" and just not have as mch of a built-in curve as other bass amps.
And yeah, small cab just isn't going to have the "push" of that big one, evn if it goes loud ot whatever on paper. Another part is having that top speaker up closer to ear level. According to OP's volume descriptions, plenty of cabs would be plenty loud enough that are much smaller than that one...tone and feel are definitely different from them though, as well as having all the sound hitting you in the knees. They might like a little wedge to put under the front of whatever they get to help direct the sound upwards, especially on the small, tight setups.
If the OP is handy or has a friend who is, they might like a 1/2 size, 115 clone of that cab with one of those jbl's loaded in it and continue to use the same amp.
As far as an entirely different rig or combo, it's just going to have to be something the wife is happy with while realizing none of them are going to sound just like this rig only smaller.
Simply cab shopping may be the answer. The amp is just fine as it is.
You can pick up a good 4 x 10" cabinet used like the ampeg for $200-$300 and power it with the hartke...alot more transportable and good tone.
I can't do any of this until the end of March, but I will let y'all know what I did once I do it. In the meantime, we can try some out. I hope Guitar Center and Sweetwater like hearing bass amps turned up!
This would take a lot of work, but you could build new 1x15 cabs for the JBL drivers. Maybe even make them copies of one half of the Sunn cab, but with 1/2" plywood and modern bracing, thus reducing weight.
That'll be the 4th or 5th time cloning has been suggested. How about it Melloman?
Johnk_10 has some 3015 he put alloy dustcaps on. They had some of the JBL tone. You could probably get one on order via Parts Express. Nice and light to boot.
Johnk_10 has some 3015 he put alloy dustcaps on. They had some of the JBL tone. You could probably get one on order via Parts Express. Nice and light to boot.
