Low Down Sound Club, Part Four

[KJung]

I'll take some pictures of my LDS 2x8 Three Way and perhaps the discussion can now move on to some of Don's other builds. They are really exceptional cabinets.

Ric

Excellent idea! That is a killer cab!

 

[lomo]

Thanks, I will definitely try the horn off test...It seems like everyone here loves their LDS cabs...so hopefully this 8*8 will be good for me.

....eager to hear your impressions.....

 

[jnewmark]

I'll take some pictures of my LDS 2x8 Three Way and perhaps the discussion can now move on to some of Don's other builds. They are really exceptional cabinets.

Ric

In the spirit of posting LDS cabs :

 

[makohund]

Good design is often about compromises and if there is one thing we see here, it is that no 2 designers quite agree on what gets on the train and what gets left on the platform design-wise.

Absolutely. Two different cabs, differing only in details, are still different cabs. I would hope nobody would claim them to be "basically the same thing, the small differences don't matter". But it happens.

One of the 4 others complained because his project was not the one that was chosen.

I didn't think this was the nature of the complaint. And we (nor he) don't really know if his was chosen or not, the only available information is ambiguous on that point. The cab in the pic could pass for one... and when talking freely available (or for-purchase) specific cab designs, choosing the cab design and choosing the builder are separate steps. But it could just be very similar, with slightly different dimensions, port depth, crossover, etc, like a few other LDS builds. One almost needs a measuring tape, screwdriver, and access to the cab to tell.

Anyway, if this thread is going to be about the issue that Chef bought a cab and somebody doesn't like where he bought it, well then that's too bad. We can end the discussion here then.

Wasn't meaning that. Don't care where anybody buys cabs. Just commenting on the unfortunately blurry lines between certain multiway LDS cabs and fEARfuls. The phenomenon seems perpetuated primarily by customers/users, more so than GB or LDS themselves, IMO.

That's all I've got... stepping out to leave it be. I certainly don't want to get the LDS owner's thread squashed.

 

[lomo]

....a bit blurry, but clearly an LDS 15/6 with a cherry on top...

 

[kringle77]

NICE man! What pedal is on top of the mesa?

 

[lomo]

NICE man! What pedal is on top of the mesa?

Greets Chris. It's just a Planet Waves pedal tuner. I'm not running anything in front of the M9.

 

[deb]

My LDS 2 way cab (the rainbow bass makes me look taller ... or is it wider, I can never remember). Ken posted better pics and a soundclip way back when. This was the prototype. 3012LF based. Don did a mini "bake-off" to test which mid-driver sounded best. The Faital mid won. Exceptional workmanship. Beautiful tonally (wine tolex with grey-black grill cloth) and aesthetically. This is one of my all-time favourite cabs and I miss it dearly! Something I've never said about bass gear. At some point, I'd like to have another one made.

 

[P. Aaron]

Good old fashioned tweed.

That's furniture quality. Is it ever going to see a biker bar or Honky-Tonk?

 

[guy n. cognito]

That's furniture quality. Is it ever going to see a biker bar or Honky-Tonk?

It's seen it's share of grimy clubs. About 100 gigs so far.

 

[BillyB_from_LZ]

It's seen it's share of grimy clubs. About 100 gigs so far.

That's incredible! How do you keep it so clean?

I originally asked if it was real tweed because I recently bought a (very) used Fender Blues DeVille and it looks (and smells) like it's been to hell and back.

I gotta figure out how to clean the tweed without ruining it. I am half-way considering finding one of those companies that uses dry ice to blast away mold, but have no idea what something like that might cost.

 

[guy n. cognito]

That's incredible! How do you keep it so clean?

I originally asked if it was real tweed because I recently bought a (very) used Fender Blues DeVille and it looks (and smells) like it's been to hell and back.

I gotta figure out how to clean the tweed without ruining it. I am half-way considering finding one of those companies that uses dry ice to blast away mold, but have no idea what something like that might cost.

I'm the only one who handles it. I never set drinks on it and it gets covered when it's in my vehicle.

 

[Thor]

The problem with LDS building nEARfuls is that he has not contributed anything in development, support, or marketing but he is profiting. Greenboy's builders have an agreement for royalty payment, but also they provide a great deal of support to the community. In fact, there are a number of LDS nEARful customers who take full advantage of the "free" support put forth by these experts.

When people buy "nEARfuls" it is because of the fEARful brand. A lot of hard work and expense is put forth by Greenboy and the builders to create the brand. Although LDS has legally found a way to sell around this, it is wrong that he is profiting off the fEARful brand without contributing to the royalties and continuing support.

This is not about the originality of the LDS cabs but rather someone cashing in on "the brand" without investing. It's not fair to the builders who are all honest, hardworking craftsmen who put countless hours into the development and support of the fEARful line.

Well, with GB's original posting of the original designs here they were offered for free. His situation seems to have morphed after that ship sailed and he began to develop a commercial builder network, so that first argument doesn't really fly. Don's business of building cabs has a very long history and certainly precedes the publishing of these designs. Don does not sell under a nEARful badge, that term was coined here by a TB member, and he is certainly within his oeuvre to design and build products with any available components in the industry. Just because someone published a popular design later does not obligate him to pay anything to anyone.

And, if royalties are paid by the fEARful builders to the designer of this particular specific design, that is their business. They don't have to agree to that, but if they want to market it as such, I see no problem there. Actually, I do see a problem as they are then all Commercial Users and subject to CUP disclosure and the CUP rules posted on the site. I will check to see if that change has been reflected now that this has apparently morphed into a 'for profit' business enterprise. Thanks for the heads up on that.

What's not fair? Don now has 8 or 10 new competitors based on being handed a ready to go design. It's business, there will be competition, and the Apples will sue the Nokias for infringement if there is any and try to beat the crap out of them if there isn't.

Anyway, I just wanted to comment on that because, based on what I know about the circumstances IT IS MY PERSONAL OPINION that Don doesn't owe a living to anybody. He has made his rep by being an excellent builder and good at customer service. Let the others do the same and stop whining.

And with that said, I will bow out here.

 

[Ric Vice]

Of course it's not a "fEARful design." None of the fEARful designs use 8" drivers.

I just thought you'd be interested. This cabinet was designed by Mike Arnopol and Greenboy is building a version with a tweeter. So, no it's not a fEARful, but it is Greenboys's build.
You're looking at the prototype.

Ric

 

[jnewmark]

I just thought you'd be interested. This cabinet was designed by Mike Arnopol and Greenboy is building a version with a tweeter. So, no it's not a fEARful, but it is Greenboys's build.
You're looking at the prototype.

Ric

I believe he calls them, " Crazy 8's ".

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

I believe he calls them, " Crazy 8's ".

[OT] This is, indeed, the name. GreenBoy and Mike Arnopol co-designed the cab. GreenBoy said he has tested many iterations of this cab and crossover since last Fall. It's mainly intended for acoustic bass players but can also serve electric players in a coffee shop setting. Mike is making the cab body out of a composite material, so with the woofer and tweeter, weight is about 12 pounds. Discussion is on the "other" side of the house:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f4/acoustic-cab-shootout-845758/

[/OT]

 

[Zooberwerx]

No idea who's contributed to the design but I still have my LDS 8 X 8.

Riis

 

[makohund]

Well, with GB's original posting of the original designs here they were offered for free.

Yep. The following statement is on the plans: "speaker enclosure plans for personal use only - commercial use prohibited". Whether it was there from day one/first post, don't know.

As for how one would go about qualifying "commercial use", or how it might or might not apply to something that may or may not be fork... who knows? More fuzzies.

 

[JxBass]

It's been awhile so I thought I'd repost the pic of the beautifully built 12/6 I received from Don in 2010.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[mntngrown]

That this topic had already run it's course
So I should just move on to the Hot Deals thread right?
Nah! I ordered my 1515/66 from Don when I was really interested in the fEARful cabs but had no time to build one.
He told me right up front that if I wanted an exact copy I should build it myself, because the plans were out there.
So I countered that I wanted the same general form with the big ol shelf port and the same drivers and cab size.
He came pretty close, and I could not tell you today if it sounds exactly the same, or grossly inferior to the spec built cab. I may be able to AB soon as I am gonna build one. However I already put the CBG GB crossover in the LDS, so it won't be a direct shootout.
What I will say is LDS took 7 months to deliver which "suggests" he had a big boost in business on the tailwind of the fEARful phenomena. Whether he morally owes GB a paypal contribution which Chef, me and others have made is up to him. He no doubt thinks he is perfectly able to run WinISD when a client asks him to build any cab such as this and come up with his own optimal cab design.
I am pretty sure he did get a flood of orders based on the Talkbass Fearful heat though.
Thor is right. Now that there are authorized builders this should all settle out. There are excellent builders in that lineup. My LDS 1515/66 cab brings the thunder to local clubs and I can't wait to hear if mine, (crossover by Anchak cause I'm a soldering iron numb n__) will be better. Greenboy and Don both rock.