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Low Down Sound Club: V2
- Thread starter Chef
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Hey, that's my Cab!! Sweet (I'm Fred). Thanks Bassplayer7770 for referring Don to me back in my post in October and recommending the M9 as well. Looks sweet and I can't wait to hear it!
Don did some creative work getting that cupholder I sent him, integrated into the cab.
I should have it by Wednesday in time for practice on Thursday. I'll let you guys know how it sounds on my gear!
Don did some creative work getting that cupholder I sent him, integrated into the cab.
I should have it by Wednesday in time for practice on Thursday. I'll let you guys know how it sounds on my gear!
Edit: I was directing this to the wrong TBer! Not sure who is the new owner of this cab!
I'm sitting here with Don and I just had the honor of giving this cab a quick test prior to Don shipping today.
OK, I'll tell you what... I like virtually all of Don's cabs, and love some. I LOVE this one!!! SMOKING lows, very present mids, and plenty of treble (which of course can be dialed up or down with the heavy duty attenuator). And the 'look' is amazing... and not that heavy... 85 pounds (lighter than most 410's).
This is a 2 x 3015LF / 2 x 18Sound 6.5, crossed over at 800hz. Back rails, built in heavy duty castors, amazing 'snakeskin tolex', heavy duty grill, etc.... and a unique option that I'll show in a follow-up post. This cab is BIG sounding, but as articulate as a 110.. no flub, no mud, but it HAMMERS, even with my little Markbass F1.
Here are some pictures:
Chef ... I see you put a new grill on my old 2x12 / 2x6.5. Sometimes I miss that cab, but I'm sure you gigged with it more in the first month you had it than I did the whole time I had it.
I've still got my LDS 1x8 3-way though, and it sounds pretty great with my AI Focus, though it does run out of gas a bit on the very bottom end of my fifths-tuned fretless Jazz, mostly when I'm using the MM humbucker I have in the neck.
I've still got my LDS 1x8 3-way though, and it sounds pretty great with my AI Focus, though it does run out of gas a bit on the very bottom end of my fifths-tuned fretless Jazz, mostly when I'm using the MM humbucker I have in the neck.
I love that 2x12 for vintage sounding stuff; though the 6's contribute a lot more highs than I would have guessed.
Hello Fred! Excellent. It is a very, very impressive cab, and the M9 will just KILL with it. Post up when you have some time with it!
I previously wrote about initial reactions and technical details on my LDS 115/6 and LDS 112/6 cabs.
This is an update after playing the LDS 15/6 for three months and LDS 12/6 for five weeks. The performance of both is exceptional. I’d buy these identical cabs again with no hesitation. At flat EQ settings and same volume setting, the 15/6 is slightly louder with more “girth.” But nudging volume higher along with EQing bass @ 1:00 and low mids @ 1:00, the 12/6 sounds virtually the same. I prefer the 15/6 with my Fender Aerodyne Jazz bass, and the 12/6 with my Tacoma Thunderchief acoustic bass guitar. The 12/6 is more versatile since it’s smaller and lighter. I’ve played both cabs in band rehearsal settings for two new projects, both with very positive feedback from both sets of bandmates.
Last Saturday I used the 12/6 and Fender electric on a gig at the Ukiah Farmer’s Market. Ukiah (pop. 15,050) is the metropolis of Mendocino County. Rural, rugged farm country. Good thing I had the smaller cab as rain forced me to load my bass gear plus PA system into my pickup truck’s cab. There would have been no room for the 15/6. This was our first gig for a new Americana project, guitar, bass and drums. We had rehearsed the songs together only once, the week before. The gig opportunity arose suddenly, so with bravado, we were ready. Our “stage” was a tiny area just inside the market area’s awning at the front. The rain line was two feet from my cab/amp. And it was cold – in the mid-40s, so our fingers were numb. The three of us were about two feet from each other, and three feet from turnips, potatoes and lettuce. Good thing it was happy music as we played 29 songs over three hours!
I recorded the performance with an previously wrote stereo microphone fed into a Marantz PMD661 solid state field recorder. There was barely enough room to hang the mic behind the FOH mains, just above and in front of the singer. His voice is from a combination of two floor monitors and live sound. Consequently, vocals are a bit quiet and you can hear him “off mic” queuing me to song sections as he happened to change the order of many on the fly. Nevertheless, the recordings give a fair representation of how the LDS 12/6 sounds on stage in the live mix of a variety of song genres. Overall band volume was moderate.
Songs with asterisk were written by Andrew Robertson, who sang and played electric guitar. He played some ripping solos, by the way.
Link to the set of songs
Slow Country I’m Troubled
Fast Country Jesse James
Bluegrass Midnight Special
Traditional Solidarity Forever (union song)
Gipsy What’s the World Coming To* (righteous angst)
Ska Whiskey Pete* (anti-war)
Spaghetti Cowboy Mule* (drinking song)
Rock What Does It Take* (disbelief)
Latin Waltz Home On the Strange* (indescribable)
Slow Blues Rising Sun Blues
Folk If I Had a Hammer
And the obligatory photos...
This is an update after playing the LDS 15/6 for three months and LDS 12/6 for five weeks. The performance of both is exceptional. I’d buy these identical cabs again with no hesitation. At flat EQ settings and same volume setting, the 15/6 is slightly louder with more “girth.” But nudging volume higher along with EQing bass @ 1:00 and low mids @ 1:00, the 12/6 sounds virtually the same. I prefer the 15/6 with my Fender Aerodyne Jazz bass, and the 12/6 with my Tacoma Thunderchief acoustic bass guitar. The 12/6 is more versatile since it’s smaller and lighter. I’ve played both cabs in band rehearsal settings for two new projects, both with very positive feedback from both sets of bandmates.
Last Saturday I used the 12/6 and Fender electric on a gig at the Ukiah Farmer’s Market. Ukiah (pop. 15,050) is the metropolis of Mendocino County. Rural, rugged farm country. Good thing I had the smaller cab as rain forced me to load my bass gear plus PA system into my pickup truck’s cab. There would have been no room for the 15/6. This was our first gig for a new Americana project, guitar, bass and drums. We had rehearsed the songs together only once, the week before. The gig opportunity arose suddenly, so with bravado, we were ready. Our “stage” was a tiny area just inside the market area’s awning at the front. The rain line was two feet from my cab/amp. And it was cold – in the mid-40s, so our fingers were numb. The three of us were about two feet from each other, and three feet from turnips, potatoes and lettuce. Good thing it was happy music as we played 29 songs over three hours!
I recorded the performance with an previously wrote stereo microphone fed into a Marantz PMD661 solid state field recorder. There was barely enough room to hang the mic behind the FOH mains, just above and in front of the singer. His voice is from a combination of two floor monitors and live sound. Consequently, vocals are a bit quiet and you can hear him “off mic” queuing me to song sections as he happened to change the order of many on the fly. Nevertheless, the recordings give a fair representation of how the LDS 12/6 sounds on stage in the live mix of a variety of song genres. Overall band volume was moderate.
Songs with asterisk were written by Andrew Robertson, who sang and played electric guitar. He played some ripping solos, by the way.
Link to the set of songs
Slow Country I’m Troubled
Fast Country Jesse James
Bluegrass Midnight Special
Traditional Solidarity Forever (union song)
Gipsy What’s the World Coming To* (righteous angst)
Ska Whiskey Pete* (anti-war)
Spaghetti Cowboy Mule* (drinking song)
Rock What Does It Take* (disbelief)
Latin Waltz Home On the Strange* (indescribable)
Slow Blues Rising Sun Blues
Folk If I Had a Hammer
And the obligatory photos...
I feel like two 15's are a little overkill, but I wanted a similar speaker configuration with a bit more high end, so I picked the 12.
With the crossovers, the whole cab is going to flow a lot easier between speakers, rather than having one or two overworked ones, and one or two that never kick in.
Who's waiting right now? My order, placed before Christmas and initially promised for the first week in February, is scheduled to start next week.
I'm in line for the identical 15-6 as Ukiah except for metal corners. Should be starting very soon (I hope).
Buying a custom cab from Don is not like buying a box off the rack at Guitar Center. It's a process. And there's always a wait for good, in-demand craftsmen. Demand appears to be growing; two-to-three months is a good estimate for the whole process. He's just one guy, so patience is essential. Don has come through twice for me, and has my unqualified recommendation.
Your tone goals are very similar to mine.I previously wrote about initial reactions and technical details on my LDS 115/6 and LDS 112/6 cabs.
This is an update after playing the LDS 15/6 for three months and LDS 12/6 for five weeks. The performance of both is exceptional. I’d buy these identical cabs again with no hesitation. At flat EQ settings and same volume setting, the 15/6 is slightly louder with more “girth.” But nudging volume higher along with EQing bass @ 1:00 and low mids @ 1:00, the 12/6 sounds virtually the same. I prefer the 15/6 with my Fender Aerodyne Jazz bass, and the 12/6 with my Tacoma Thunderchief acoustic bass guitar. The 12/6 is more versatile since it’s smaller and lighter. I’ve played both cabs in band rehearsal settings for two new projects, both with very positive feedback from both sets of bandmates.
Last Saturday I used the 12/6 and Fender electric on a gig at the Ukiah Farmer’s Market. Ukiah (pop. 15,050) is the metropolis of Mendocino County. Rural, rugged farm country. Good thing I had the smaller cab as rain forced me to load my bass gear plus PA system into my pickup truck’s cab. There would have been no room for the 15/6. This was our first gig for a new Americana project, guitar, bass and drums. We had rehearsed the songs together only once, the week before. The gig opportunity arose suddenly, so with bravado, we were ready. Our “stage” was a tiny area just inside the market area’s awning at the front. The rain line was two feet from my cab/amp. And it was cold – in the mid-40s, so our fingers were numb. The three of us were about two feet from each other, and three feet from turnips, potatoes and lettuce. Good thing it was happy music as we played 29 songs over three hours!
I recorded the performance with an previously wrote stereo microphone fed into a Marantz PMD661 solid state field recorder. There was barely enough room to hang the mic behind the FOH mains, just above and in front of the singer. His voice is from a combination of two floor monitors and live sound. Consequently, vocals are a bit quiet and you can hear him “off mic” queuing me to song sections as he happened to change the order of many on the fly. Nevertheless, the recordings give a fair representation of how the LDS 12/6 sounds on stage in the live mix of a variety of song genres. Overall band volume was moderate.
Songs with asterisk were written by Andrew Robertson, who sang and played electric guitar. He played some ripping solos, by the way.
Link to the set of songs
Slow Country I’m Troubled
Fast Country Jesse James
Bluegrass Midnight Special
Traditional Solidarity Forever (union song)
Gipsy What’s the World Coming To* (righteous angst)
Ska Whiskey Pete* (anti-war)
Spaghetti Cowboy Mule* (drinking song)
Rock What Does It Take* (disbelief)
Latin Waltz Home On the Strange* (indescribable)
Slow Blues Rising Sun Blues
Folk If I Had a Hammer
And the obligatory photos...
Excellent!
I placed my order about 2 weeks ago, and was quoted an ~8 week time of completion. He's supposed to call before he starts, so I assume it hasn't started yet.
I thought I recognized that cab based on what you told me about it a couple months ago.
I'm sure you'll be very happy with it, and I look forward to reading your review!M9 plus that LDS cab will just slay...
I think I placed my order for a 15/6Tube the day after you placed your order. I added a couple of matching rack cases as well. When I placed my order I knew Don was getting busy and that the holidays would intervene, so I haven't expected to hear anything before now.
Setbacks do happen, but I don't think it takes too long once he gets started.
Hmmm, with the box volume and tuning they show in the specs, there's a big dip in power handling between 50 and about 110 hz. Looks like the driver exceeds xmax with only about 110 watts between 60 - 80 hz, which are very important: first harmonic of the low B and E strings.
This is just going by the max power chart in WinISD Pro (I entered the T/S parameters from the spec sheet and made a sample project).
Ken, it might be worth having Don play around with the cab volume and tuning. I'm not sure how he designs or optimizes his cabs. And also, I'm a complete amateur with WinISD, so don't take my word for it!
Cheers,
Liam
I placed my order at the end of November... Beginning of December... Somewhere in that two week stretch, I can't remember the exact date.
I got a call from Don about two weeks ago with some final questions he had regarding form factor and crossover design. I assume that means he's started building mine, but given the amount of work he's seen lately, I don't expect mine for at least a couple weeks.
This is noticeably longer than the duration he quoted me initially, but as is the opinion of a lot of other people waiting, I truly don't mind. Don has got a lot of new work lately, specifically in the 15/6 market. I'm glad that he's getting so much business because he does turn out a very high quality product and does a good job of staying in touch with the people that have placed orders (at least that's been my experience).
When my pair of reverse baffle 15/6/1's get here I'll definitely post some pics... Along with a picture of the building they knocked down when my band hit the first low E of Spencer Davis Groups' "Gimme Some Lovin'"
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