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ideas and advice on building a “scalable” cabinet system

B

bcsride

Nov 9, 2011
27
0
#1
I’m soliciting ideas and advice on building a “scalable” cabinet system. I’m thinking a set of cabinets to support small, medium, and “large” gigs. And by large, I mean a small/medium club our outdoors with no PA or sub support for bass.

I want to build it off my current SWR-SM400 head and Peavey PV 8.5 C power amp [550W x 2 @ 2-ohms; 425W x 2 @ 4-ohms; 240W x 2 @ 8-ohms; 800W Mono Bridge @ 8-ohms 1,100W Mono Bridge @ 4-ohms].

I was thinking something like this a - 2X10 with horn, a 4X10, and a 15 sub. Then I could do something like
A) 2X10 with SWR (200W or 400W)
B) 4X10 with SWR (400W)
C) 2X10 and 4X10 with SWR powering the 2X10, using the SWR pre amp through the PV 8.5C on the 4X10 (maybe)
D) 2X10, 4X10 + 15 sub with the SWR powering the 2X10, using the SWR pre amp through the PV 8.5C bridged (or maybe bi-amp?) on the 4X10 and the 15 sub.

No, I guess the large gig setup wouldn’t be light. There is a bit of a method behind the madness. On smaller gigs, the PV 8.5C gets used to power vocals only PA.

I would like to get a “flat” hi-fi bass sound (and use the tone knob to adjust from that). I have some concerns about volume level matching when trying to use both the SWR and the PV as power amps as well as the color of the power amps, but anyway. I’m open to ideas and suggestions including appropriate cab ohms, brands, etc. Mostly 4 string fretted with round wounds, passive pickups. I currently play 1 or 2 Peavey 15’s and I don’t like them. I like my DI sound better.

Yes, this is my first post. I’ve been lurking around here for over a year or two.
 
#3
Why don't you take a look into the Fearful cabinet range? If you want to build a system that offers you tremendous versatility, transparency, clarity down to a low B and easily mixable/matchable in ways other cab configurations can't compare to.

I built myself a pair of 15/6/1/s and have LOTS of flexibility with this setup. Most outstandingly, I can leave one at my house and the other one set up with our rehearsal rig, and give up nothing in terms of sound quality in either application. For small gigs, I just take one out. For anything else, I bring them both out and have the beauty of matching cabinets with mirrored baffles, high efficiency and nice even sound projection. You could play Wembley with this rig if you wanted to.

Lonnybass
 
#4
I'd just go with 2 Goliath III 4x10s (and maybe shoot for a more powerful SWR head if you like SWR). They float around for pretty good prices used these days too. Control the volume on the small gigs. 8x10's should be enough for anything unless you are playing big outdoor shows with no PA often.
 
#5
I have four Acme 4-ohm 2x10s. I built two serial cables, each of which can be used with a pair of the 2x10s for an 8-ohm load on my amp (an Eden WT-800). Completely scalable from one 4-ohm 2x10 to a 4-ohm 8x10, all using the same drivers for a consistent sound. And no one piece is more than 50 lbs.
 
#6
I use a somewhat similar system, based upon the following:

(1) Rack with BBE BMax Preamp + Carvin DCM 1500 power amp (500 watts per side at 4 ohms)
(2) Carvin BX500 amp
(3) Carvin 2x10 cab (4 ohm)
(4) MarkBass 4x10 cab (4 ohm)

For most gigs I use the BBE/Carvin rack amp plus both cabs. I generally keep the volume higher on the 4x10 than the 2x10, both due to sound preference and to avoid running the 2x10 too hard. On smaller gigs I'll usually run just the 4x10 cab with my BBE/Carvin rack, although I sometimes sub in the BX500 for portability.

You could probably get away with running an almost identical system. IMO, trying to run both amps at once will probably be more trouble than it's worth, unless you prefer the sound that way; you can instead just use both channels of the Peavy with a preamp (either the SVT or a rackmount unit like mine).

I play in a loud rock/metal band with two guitarists and haven't yet found the need for a third cab. However, even if you wanted to add a third cab, you could still run all three cabs off the Peavy given the specs you provided. Assuming for illustration they were all 4 ohms, you could run the 2x10 and the 1x15 off one channel (so 550watts at 2 ohms) and the 4x10 on the other (425 watts at 4 ohms), for a total of just shy of 1000 watts through three cabs.
 
#7
Lonnybass said:
Why don't you take a look into the Fearful cabinet range? If you want to build a system that offers you tremendous versatility, transparency, clarity down to a low B and easily mixable/matchable in ways other cab configurations can compare to.
Lonnybass
Click to expand...

+1

The Fearfuls are designed with scalability in mind.

I would think two matching 12/6 Fearfuls would go from coffee shop (bring one) to loud outdoor gig (crank both) with ease.
 
#8
All,
Thanks for the input.

I'm going to check out the Fearful stuff. I have the skills to build the cabinets, but I don't know if I have the time. I do like the notion of the full range cabinet. And, there are no approved builders close to me.

Two 2X10s plus a 4X10 might be a good route too.
 
#9
bcsride said:
All,
Thanks for the input.

I'm going to check out the Fearful stuff. I have the skills to build the cabinets, but I don't know if I have the time. I do like the notion of the full range cabinet. And, there are no approved builders close to me.

Two 2X10s plus a 4X10 might be a good route too.
Click to expand...

I know a few guys that just chip away at them, little by little...and hour here and an hour there until they're done :)
 
#11
The same cabinet, then use more of them as needed.

If you go lower than 4 ohms, or 2 ohms depending on the limits of the head/amp you're using, slave the extra cabs to a power amp.

I've never needed more than 8-10's or 4-12's and usually 4-10's or 2-12's work for my gigs, but the other players are reasonable with their volumes, especially the drummers.
 
#12
Folks have kicked around this idea before, and i wonder why no builders have latched onto it: an 8Ω 4x10 and a switchable 4/16Ω 2x10 of a matching design.

Use the 2x10 at 4Ω by itself for little gigs, use the 4x10 for most everything else, and for the big gigs switch the 2x10 to 16Ω, stick it on top of the 4x10 and have a balanced 6x10 stack, all 6 drivers getting equal power and totaling 5.3Ω.
 
#13
Lonnybass said:
Why don't you take a look into the Fearful cabinet range? If you want to build a system that offers you tremendous versatility, transparency, clarity down to a low B and easily mixable/matchable in ways other cab configurations can't compare to.

I built myself a pair of 15/6/1/s and have LOTS of flexibility with this setup. Most outstandingly, I can leave one at my house and the other one set up with our rehearsal rig, and give up nothing in terms of sound quality in either application. For small gigs, I just take one out. For anything else, I bring them both out and have the beauty of matching cabinets with mirrored baffles, high efficiency and nice even sound projection. You could play Wembley with this rig if you wanted to.

Lonnybass
Click to expand...

Yes, but I'd leave out the tweet personally & do two 15/6s, w/3015LFs & 6ND410s.

Two 12/6s would work, too, but you'd only save a few measly bucks vs. the 15/6s & as great as the 12/6s are (& they are), the 15/6 is just a superior box, plain & simple.

Two 15/6s (especially) would absolutely decimate a 210/410 rig unless you used the very best 10s & then it would likely be a wash for tone/sound/volume but the 210/410 setup would cost about twice the cashola.

And on the subject of "scalable," an amp's volume knob does turn to the left. ;-)
 
#15
Four 2x10s or four 1x12s all 8 ohm

1 cab coffeehouse.
2 cabs for bar/club
4 cabs for outdoor.

Either drive them with a pre + 2 chammel power amp or a single high wattage head connecting the 4 cabinets together via series/paralell config to keep them 4 ohms.
 
#17
Current thinking is leaning a bit toward a fearful 12/6/1 cube + a 15/6/1.
Small = 12/6/1 cube
Medium = 15/6/1
Large = 12/6/1 cube + 15/6/1

So fearful's are supposed to be "flat"
But, does mixing the 12 with the 15 cause the problems associated with typical driver size mixing? I haven't looked at the crossovers to see if they crossover at the same points for the 12 and 15. As well, such subtleties are getting beyond my experience base.

Or maybe two F115s and just be done with it? But do those color the sound more?
 
#18
bcsride said:
Current thinking is leaning a bit toward a fearful 12/6/1 cube + a 15/6/1.
Small = 12/6/1 cube
Medium = 15/6/1
Large = 12/6/1 cube + 15/6/1

So fearful's are supposed to be "flat"
But, does mixing the 12 with the 15 cause the problems associated with typical driver size mixing? I haven't looked at the crossovers to see if they crossover at the same points for the 12 and 15. As well, such subtleties are getting beyond my experience base.

Or maybe two F115s and just be done with it? But do those color the sound more?
Click to expand...

If you are building your own cabs then go with the fEARful's, if you are planning buying through one of greenboy's Authorized Builders, then the fEARless line is well worth a look. The reason I would suggest the fEARful line over the fEARless is if someone was tuning below low A on a 5 string. The fEARless cabs are still pretty "flat" but are less muscular in the mids, and have a switchable mid voicing to bring them down a bit.

As far as pairing the 12/6 and 15/6 goes, these cabs work very well together. The woofers are crossed over at the same point. The two cabs were designed to work with each other.
 

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