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Double Bass light weight speaker?

N

notabene

Sep 20, 2010
676
654
SF Bay area
#1
Age and injury have made lifting my 35 pound EACLX10 something I dread. I have a nice carved Czech bass, erlund pu and preamp and a (wonderful) Walter Woods green light (400 watt) amp. I have recently heard, and was impressed by, a Phil Jones Cub, but I really don't need combo amp. The Mike Arnepol
MAS-25.5 looks to be light enough and probably sounds great, but is a bit pricey, especially not being able to hear it beforehand. Does anyone have any experience with the "Gallien-Kreuger 112MBX Extension Cab for Micro Bass"? I could live with the sound of the GK MB150 if the extension, with the Woods would sound as good. !5 pounds I could manage. Also the Genz-Benz STL-8T looks possible (14 pounds). Anyone have any experience that might help me out.

Thanks,

Steven Schuster
 
#3
I've only heard 2 amps that were just made for high impedance piezo upright bass: the Gallien-Krueger MB150, and anything by Acoustic Image. Both are great stage only/rehearsal/practice amps, but can't carry a small room without an extension cabinet. Extend either with a lightweight Neo 12" cabinet, and you can carry a medium to medium-large room. PA support needed beyond that, In my opinion.
 
#5
I also have a Walter Woods green-light amp and have used a GK 112MBX cabinet for years. First of all the 112MBX sounds very different with the WW amp than it does with the GK MB150, which is specifically designed for use with this speaker. The 100 watt rating of this speaker is somewhat misleading. The 112MBX easily handles the power of the green-light WW, however it is limited in how much sound it can deliver (particularly in the low end). As the 112MBX reaches its volume limit, it begins to compress, and doesn't get much louder, just more mushy. While the GK 112MBX is a compact and light weight cab, the only way to tell if it is the one for you is to play through it.

BTW these days I usually use a GK MB150S combo. If I need to play louder or double, I use my WW amp with a light-weight, custom cab with an Eminence neo 15-inch speaker, which I like very much.
 
#7
See if you can find a used Flyte or Raezer's Edge 112 cabinet and maybe switch to the AI head, it's a couple of pounds lighter than the Woods. When I absolutely HAVE to use an amp, I use the Woods LoPower with an MB112X, but I just don't play loud music.
 
#8
I own a GK 112 MBX which I use infrequently--mostly in situations like an Edinburgh Fringe Festival show where I need to leave an amp in an unsecured storage area for the duration of a show. If someone steals it, I won't be too upset, and the likelihood of it being nicked are low. When I do use it, I drive it with one of the original Acoustic Image Clarus SL amps that Rick no longer makes--not to be confused with the newly released version of this amp. I wouldn't recommend it as your primary light weight speaker because I don't think it is full range enough for upright bass. It also doesn't get very loud. I just finished a 14-day run with this speaker in a trio with piano and muted trumpet at a Fringe show and I couldn't wait to put it back in the closet when the show was over.

For a very light weight cab, I have one of Mike Arnopol's fibreglass Crazy Eight speakers that is stupidly light at about 12 - 13 pounds. Mike no longer makes them however and the ones that are available are done in wood and are heavier. This is a good speaker if used with an amp with a high pass filter--without one it will fart out. You might be able to find one of the fibreglass ones available in the used market.

My favourite manufacturer of bass speakers is Barefaced Bass located in Brighton, England. They are not that well known outside of the UK although they will gladly ship anywhere in the world. They make terrific cabinets that are light, sound great with both double bass and bass guitar, well made and can get incredibly loud if needed. I have been using either their Big Baby 2 (29 pounds), their Super Midget (23 pounds), or both of them together. They sound great individually, and together are a stack that is fantastic for doubling or any large venue where there is little or inadequate PA support. I have used both together in theatres seating 500-plus with crap PA support and have had no problems filling the hall and keeping up with vocals, drums and 5 horns.

I just received Barefaced's latest cabinet, the One 10 (16 pounds), and I think it may be exactly what you are looking for. Here is a link to their webpage--http://barefacedbass.com/product-range/one10.htm I have used it on one gig over the past weekend, but haven't had a chance to really test it out since it was the wrong choice for the gig. (I had been told it was a quiet jazz quartet playing background music during cocktails at a wedding when it turned out to be a full-on, neo-swing band for dancing. I should have brought both my Big Baby 2 and Super Midget. Fortunately there was good PA support and the One 10 made an excellent stage monitor--and there were no monitors provided.)

The One 10 is incredibly full range, is impossible to fart out, and I can get that super punchy sound I look for in swing gigs. I haven't used it with a bass guitar yet since most of my work is on upright, but it sounds great on double bass. The build quality is also very high, and the weight of 16 pounds is plenty acceptable to me at least although YMMV.

There is more information about Barefaced on the BG side of the Forum, and a lot more about them on the British version of TalkBass--Basschat.co.uk When I get a gig that is right for the One 10 I will post a more complete review on both the BG and this side of the Forum. Barefaced makes really high quality cabinets however and they deserve to be better known. I wish they had been available when I still living in Los Angeles since it would have saved me tons of money trying way too many speakers that didn't really work out.

Erik Hansen aka Lownote
Scotland
 
#12
A $25 rolling cart / "dolly" from Home Depot lets me carry my bass in one arm, my amp cables and misc in a small backpack and then stack two (!!!) ACME cabs on the dolly and carry everything five or six blocks from the parking garage to my gig all in one single trip. that is a lot easier solition than searching out a new cab. If you must get another cab, I also use an Acoustic Image ten2 that packs a surprising amount of volume in a small light package.
 
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#13
I've had two MB 150 combos, a 112MBX, composite Crazy 8, AI Contra and ......................
Nothing sounds as good as the ACME B1, except two of them! The B1 is the best sounding box I've tried and it is still very portable.
If 31 pounds is too much to carry, do what James and I do; buy a folding dolly.
 
#14
Thanks to all who answered. As to the dolly, I have always used one. It is the simple lift into and out of the car trunk, and up and down from a chair or milk crate that is felt at the end of the day, not the several sets of playing. 35 pounds with a handle that makes one bend, and the necessity to set it down gently are hard on my back, bad shoulder, and recently broken femur. I'm getting some idea of what's out there now, and I appreciate the input you've given me. I wish I could listen to some of the contenders.

Steven
 
#15
LowNote said:
I just received Barefaced's latest cabinet, the One 10 (16 pounds), and I think it may be exactly what you are looking for. Here is a link to their webpage--http://barefacedbass.com/product-range/one10.htm I have used it on one gig over the past weekend, but haven't had a chance to really test it out since it was the wrong choice for the gig. (I had been told it was a quiet jazz quartet playing background music during cocktails at a wedding when it turned out to be a full-on, neo-swing band for dancing. I should have brought both my Big Baby 2 and Super Midget. Fortunately there was good PA support and the One 10 made an excellent stage monitor--and there were no monitors provided.)

The One 10 is incredibly full range, is impossible to fart out, and I can get that super punchy sound I look for in swing gigs. I haven't used it with a bass guitar yet since most of my work is on upright, but it sounds great on double bass. The build quality is also very high, and the weight of 16 pounds is plenty acceptable to me at least although YMMV.

There is more information about Barefaced on the BG side of the Forum, and a lot more about them on the British version of TalkBass--Basschat.co.uk When I get a gig that is right for the One 10 I will post a more complete review on both the BG and this side of the Forum. Barefaced makes really high quality cabinets however and they deserve to be better known. I wish they had been available when I still living in Los Angeles since it would have saved me tons of money trying way too many speakers that didn't really work out.

Erik Hansen aka Lownote
Scotland
Click to expand...

Erik, I'd love to read an update, including what the limits are. I play mostly quiet trio gigs myself, but occasionally have a drummer that gets a little louder than I'd like.

Thanks,
 
#16
rickwolff said:
Erik, I'd love to read an update, including what the limits are. I play mostly quiet trio gigs myself, but occasionally have a drummer that gets a little louder than I'd like.

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Rick,

I continue to love this speaker and have found it to be the best small speaker I've ever owned for double bass--at least for my double bass which is a LaScala Hybrid with Evah Pirazzi strings, and a Rev2 Solo pickup played through either an AI Focus S. III or an older AI Clarus XL. It is compact and fits easily in a Deluxe Cajon bag with an amp, and weighs only 16 pounds. It has a fat, quite traditional sound and I often take a little off the bottom with the HighPass filter of the Focus or my HPFPre when using the Clarus XL although there is plenty enough top end in the single speaker to put some air in the double bass. It sounds particularly good when you want just a little amplification to fill in the bottom notes, like when playing with an unamplified acoustic pianist. However, it can put out plenty of volume and I've used it as my only piece of equipment playing with a reasonably loud, 17-piece big band. I've also been rehearsing with a three-horn, 4 rhythm band being put together by the vocalist/guitarist leader that plays a mixture of swingy stuff (think Michael Buble) as well as older rock & roll like Gerry Rafferty for which I play bass guitar. The One10 is plenty loud enough for the rehearsals and I've been asked to turn down--which actually kind of bugged me. Assuming we have PA support at the performances the One10 should be plenty for performances as well.

This past weekend I had four Rat Pack theatre show one-night stands and while I have used the One10 as my on-stage monitor with this group before, this weekend I wasn't confident about the quality of the sound crews we would be using and I elected to take my Barefaced Big Baby 2 instead. The BB2 has 1 12-inch speaker and a horn tweeter in a ported cabinet that weighs 29 pounds and is relatively easy to handle. This ended up being a good decision as the sound monkey lost all of the monitor mixes between the sound check and the performance so that I had no sound in my monitor, and I was playing next to a loud drummer and with 5 loud horn players behind 3 high volume vocalists with side-fills. I had the volume knobs on my Focus set at about Noon and 1:30, and needed this much power to hear myself and not overplay. I think the One10 might have been pushed a bit too hard for this. BTW, God only knows what the people in the audience were getting?!!

Previous small speakers I have used include a couple of Wizzy10's, the really early Euphonic Audio speakers whose numbers I can't remember, a Schroeder 110, a GK MB150X, a fibreglass Crazy 8, an Acme B-1 (the BF One10 puts out way more volume than the Acme) and my AI Ten2EX speaker that I still own and use occasionally for duo or trio gigs with no drummer although the much lighter weight of the BF One10 keeps drawing me back to it.

Hope this is helpful.

Erik Hansen aka Lownote
Edinburgh, Scotland
 
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#18
rickwolff said:
Thank you Erik,

WOW! Great review and testimonial (and quick response!). I think I will have to ad this speaker to the thread for the Ultimate DB Cab shootout.

At 16 pounds and $500, with your ringing endorsement it sounds almost like a no-braniner.

Thanks much,

Rick
Click to expand...

I got a One 10 about a month ago and am loving it. Louder than the EA CLX10, slow to feedback, and very, very light. Musical. Pretty amazing.

Steven
 
#19
I'll just have to try harder then, because I get such a dark sound from a Lifeline with a One 10. My new bass has a FS so I'll get round to trying that. One thing I've found is that the small cabs, Crazy 8 included, are quite thumpy. They seem more eager than a lazy 12 for instance. My Genz STL 3.0-10 combo is working well though, it's quite forgiving with an FDeck HPF in the line.

I'll go back to the drawing board on the One 10 so watch this space perhaps.
 
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#20
I have a Barefaced One10 also (thanks to Erik's recommendation), and it's become my go to cab. Incredibly light, and my GK MB800 head can push it hard if needed. Wonderful warm sound, and incredibly well constructed. I also have a Greenboy fEARful 12/6 cab which I'll use for big gigs (I have one coming up.... outdoor, 2000 people), but 95% of my gigs will be with the Barefaced. It's the last cab I will ever buy.
 
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