Low Down Sound Club V3

[guy n. cognito]

What I will never understand about Talkbass is why if you levy any criticism at all about something it means you are saying it sucks, you hate it, it should burn, etc. You guys need to stop being so borderline and take criticism for what it is...a critique of a specific nature that is not intended to be all-inclusive.

And "you guys" need to realize that, when you put down the slide rule, calculator, and computer programs, having a driver one inch in the "wrong" direction doesn't make a bit of difference to the active, gigging musician that plays on stage with many other instruments, in clubs with terrible acoustics, and a sound guy who owns a Peavey system that thinks we should all sound like Jamerson.........



And you must understand that, while you may be more honest in your criticism, some other fanbois prefer to use passive aggressive insults against anyone who doesn't build the concept EXACTLY to "plan."

Don is a custom builder. With a few compromises (like 3/4 ply), he will build just about whatever you want. Like any cabinet designer, he has his preferences and he makes those known during the design process. Now, of course, there are builders available that will do the "exact" GB specs if that is what you desire........which renders the constant criticism of the fEARful elite in this thread somewhat moot.

 

[Sliderbass]

No. I own a satellite in geostationary orbit 12 miles above the United States, and I covertly tap into people's conversations to extract information I find useful. So, thanks for the great suggestion for this cab stack!

It rocks like no other cab arrangement I have ever had. And with the SVT-VR, it is thunderous.

You are gonna be one happy camper!

I work for a Satcom company & we have a bird in a Geo orbit.

We've been noticing some "unusual" traffic recently.... HHmmm...

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

[I originally posted these in a fEARful thread.]

One. Thou shall have no other cabs before me.

Two. Thou shall not build carved images in my name and call them fEARful.

Three. Thou shall not blaspheme fEARful by adorning this sacred name on any cab not fully compliant with Official Specifications.

Four. For bass players, every day you play is holy so I command you to perpetually worship the sonic propulsion of low tone by never ever using any cab but a fEARful.

Five. Honor your father fEARful (15/6/1) and mother fEARful (12/6/1), for these formats are progenitors of diverse fEARchildren used throughout bassdom.

Six. Thou shall not kill fEARful Official Specifications with bastardized form factors such as round ports in lieu of the sacred full-shelf port. Beware false prophets who proclaim the virtue of a grill covering the entire front side of a cab to keep the critters out; they will lead you astray.

Seven. Thou shall not commit adultery by posting positive comments on TalkBass about a nEarful, for verily it is an unspeakable sin to deprive a single soul the superior audio performance of a fEARful (see Commandment Nine).

Eight. Thou shall not steal. It’s only a fEARful if it precisely follows every specification. (Older fEARful models built with retired specifications or out-of-production components are exempt from this commandment.)

Nine. Thou shall not bear false witness by claiming a nEarful sounds the same as a fEARful. Verily, while such claims are true to the naked ear (especially for drinkers, smokers, and pill-popping dancers rockin’ out in a slammin’ loud nightclub), verification may be possible by professional audio experts operating in a state-of-the-art mastering studio.

Ten. Thou shall not covet professionally built nEarfuls, such as by Low Down Sound, BEARFACED Cabs, LoPHAT, or Avatar. Whilst these quality products may offer a superior appearance to the “rugged” aura of most home-built cabs, I command you to remember always: nothing beats a self-built fEARful (see Commandment Nine).

 

[Sundogue]

And "you guys" need to realize that, when you put down the slide rule, calculator, and computer programs, having a driver one inch in the "wrong" direction doesn't make a bit of difference to the active, gigging musician that plays on stage with many other instruments, in clubs with terrible acoustics, and a sound guy who owns a Peavey system that thinks we should all sound like Jamerson.........

Actually it does make a difference, especially when confronted with a stage full of other instruments, clubs with terrible acoustics and a lousy sound guy with a lousy PA.

That is exactly why they were designed the way they were. Don't believe me? Ask the person who designed it why he did it the way he did.

The only thing that is really up for discussion is whether or not one cares about that. Some do, some don't and that's the deciding factor for wanting one built to plans or just close. Really any fEARful or nEARful is way better than most everything else out there, so it's all good.

 

[guy n. cognito]

Don't believe me?

I believe you believe it.

 

[Sundogue]

I believe you believe it.

If you don't believe it, or don't care one way or the other, that's cool with me. Being condescending to me isn't cool in the least.

 

[Jared Lash]

I'll never understand why these threads always seem to go in this direction and why people get so rankled about things.

I own an LDS 15/6 "nEarful".

Is it exactly to greenboy's specs? Nope. But it is close and incorporates the most important aspects of his design.

And most importantly, it is a cab that wouldn't exist if not for his countless hours of work and willingness to share that work for the benefit of other bass players. Being that it's the best cab I've played through I absolutely appreciate his generosity in that regard. Similarly I appreciate Don's willingness to make a cab based off those plans for an affordable price.


So what's the big deal?

 

[KJung]

[I originally posted these in a fEARful thread.]

One. Thou shall have no other cabs before me.

Two. Thou shall not build carved images in my name and call them fEARful.

Three. Thou shall not blaspheme fEARful by adorning this sacred name on any cab not fully compliant with Official Specifications.

Four. For bass players, every day you play is holy so I command you to perpetually worship the sonic propulsion of low tone by never ever using any cab but a fEARful.

Five. Honor your father fEARful (15/6/1) and mother fEARful (12/6/1), for these formats are progenitors of diverse fEARchildren used throughout bassdom.

Six. Thou shall not kill fEARful Official Specifications with bastardized form factors such as round ports in lieu of the sacred full-shelf port. Beware false prophets who proclaim the virtue of a grill covering the entire front side of a cab to keep the critters out; they will lead you astray.

Seven. Thou shall not commit adultery by posting positive comments on TalkBass about a nEarful, for verily it is an unspeakable sin to deprive a single soul the superior audio performance of a fEARful (see Commandment Nine).

Eight. Thou shall not steal. It’s only a fEARful if it precisely follows every specification. (Older fEARful models built with retired specifications or out-of-production components are exempt from this commandment.)

Nine. Thou shall not bear false witness by claiming a nEarful sounds the same as a fEARful. Verily, while such claims are true to the naked ear (especially for drinkers, smokers, and pill-popping dancers rockin’ out in a slammin’ loud nightclub), verification may be possible by professional audio experts operating in a state-of-the-art mastering studio.

Ten. Thou shall not covet professionally built nEarfuls, such as by Low Down Sound, BEARFACED Cabs, LoPHAT, or Avatar. Whilst these quality products may offer a superior appearance to the “rugged” aura of most home-built cabs, I command you to remember always: nothing beats a self-built fEARful (see Commandment Nine).

Pretty funny

 

[nasr20de]

Ukiah bass that has to be the best post this year. I hope you post that elsewhere.

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

If I may add...

Those who desire a true GB fEarful and appreciate what it has to offer will enjoy it immensely.

Those who have a nEarful will also appreciate what nEarfuls have to offer since regardless of whether or not they are a true GB fEarful, they will still mop the floor with many commercially available cabs.

What I would like to see is a TB Get-together (GTG) with both a GB fEarful 15/6 and nEarful 15/6 available to test with the same amp, and the same bass in the same room. If you had 20 bassists A/Bing the two cabs I'd like to hear their thoughts on what they think about the differences in tone, efficiency and the schlep factor.

THAT would be an interesting read.

 

[Sliderbass]

If I may add...

Those who desire a true GB fEarful and appreciate what it has to offer will enjoy it immensely.

Those who have a nEarful will also appreciate what nEarfuls have to offer since regardless of whether or not they are a true GB fEarful, they will still mop the floor with many commercially available cabs.

What I would like to see is a TB Get-together (GTG) with both a GB fEarful 15/6 and nEarful 15/6 available to test with the same amp, and the same bass in the same room. If you had 20 bassists A/Bing the two cabs I'd like to hear their thoughts on what they think about the differences in tone, efficiency and the schlep factor.

THAT would be an interesting read.

If there was a way to do it BLIND without knowing which one was being used… THAT would be a very interesting conversation!

 

[::::BASSIST::::]

Agreed. A blind test would be better.

 

[Sundogue]

Agreed. A blind test would be better.

A blind test on a gig would be even better. Not knowing which one was plugged in and "live" in that situation would really be cool.

 

[lomo]

A blind test on a gig would be even better. Not knowing which one was plugged in and "live" in that situation would really be cool.

True, and until that happens, how can one claim to know it makes a meaningful difference?

 

[lomo]

[I originally posted these in a fEARful thread.]

One. Thou shall have no other cabs before me.

Two. Thou shall not build carved images in my name and call them fEARful.

Three. Thou shall not blaspheme fEARful by adorning this sacred name on any cab not fully compliant with Official Specifications.

Four. For bass players, every day you play is holy so I command you to perpetually worship the sonic propulsion of low tone by never ever using any cab but a fEARful.

Five. Honor your father fEARful (15/6/1) and mother fEARful (12/6/1), for these formats are progenitors of diverse fEARchildren used throughout bassdom.

Six. Thou shall not kill fEARful Official Specifications with bastardized form factors such as round ports in lieu of the sacred full-shelf port. Beware false prophets who proclaim the virtue of a grill covering the entire front side of a cab to keep the critters out; they will lead you astray.

Seven. Thou shall not commit adultery by posting positive comments on TalkBass about a nEarful, for verily it is an unspeakable sin to deprive a single soul the superior audio performance of a fEARful (see Commandment Nine).

Eight. Thou shall not steal. It’s only a fEARful if it precisely follows every specification. (Older fEARful models built with retired specifications or out-of-production components are exempt from this commandment.)

Nine. Thou shall not bear false witness by claiming a nEarful sounds the same as a fEARful. Verily, while such claims are true to the naked ear (especially for drinkers, smokers, and pill-popping dancers rockin’ out in a slammin’ loud nightclub), verification may be possible by professional audio experts operating in a state-of-the-art mastering studio.

Ten. Thou shall not covet professionally built nEarfuls, such as by Low Down Sound, BEARFACED Cabs, LoPHAT, or Avatar. Whilst these quality products may offer a superior appearance to the “rugged” aura of most home-built cabs, I command you to remember always: nothing beats a self-built fEARful (see Commandment Nine).

 

[rpsands]

If I tell you I might give you a dollar if you're nice to me and you were going to be nice to me anyway, does it make any difference whether I give you the dollar or not? Well, if you order your cab with closer mid and horn placement, I might give you a dollar.

 

[lomo]

If I tell you I might give you a dollar if you're nice to me and you were going to be nice to me anyway, does it make any difference whether I give you the dollar or not? Well, if you order your cab with closer mid and horn placement, I might give you a dollar.

I completely understand, but what if it's worth 10 dollars to me to have it built slightly differently for another reason? Maybe I love the look of tube ports or I want it squat so my wide rack will sit nicely on it. That's 10 bucks of value I KNOW I'll get, so I'll chance missing out on your buck, if you know what I mean, until someone can convince me the differences can be heard and exist other than on the paper. If/ when that occurs, I am completely open to changing my mind.

 

[mntngrown]

It's not a topic I planned to address again, but for those of us not able or willing to build their own, asking LDS to do a similar was a very attractive option. Most definitely for me as I lost everything I owned when a forest fire reduced my home to ash while I was out of town. No basses no amps no cabs.
Only the clothes in my overnight bag. Started out in hotels while looking for a rental property. Serious "miss my gear" syndrome along with miss my mountain home. Got situated and immeadiately paid retail for a bass, amp and cab and hooked up with a band.
When I was settling my insurance claim I realized I could order a 2x15 cab but with the nEarful config from LDS and get full replacement value for my vaporized Mesa 2x15, and still save the insurance company a few bucks from a retail Mesa price.
Now how about all the bass players who have a full time job, and play in a band that gigs a few times a month and helps coach his kids sports teams and....
OK true fEarful guys "your dad can beat my dad up" I will concede it. Let it go. The wonderful funky tight player from AZ who gigs 5 nights a week and loves his Avatar TB153 is transcendant in his lack of need to enter into this scuffle. A lesson for us all. I dig my incredibly reasonably priced LDS 1515/66. And last but not least Mr. Oatman who does not even post on Talkbass was asked to build nEarfuls by potential customers. Dave at Avatar was solicited to raise the bar on his first foray back into 15" cabs by TB members.
Greenboy is the hero for his design and I thank him again.

 

[kesslari]

Well said, mntngrown.
Never knew that about your home and your rig.
Kudos, and may a whole lot of good karma, and all the cool gear you want, come your way.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

Yeah, Greenboy has my vote too even though I modified his design in order to keep critters from crawling into my cab via a wide-open shelf port. Cat brought a live mouse in the other day, which escaped and ran straight for my cab. Grill covers the whole cab front so the mouse had to hide underneath instead of inside. The design "feature" allowed me to catch the petrified mouse and return it to nature before the cat ripped it to shreds. So there - my nEarful is biologically friendly too. All good stuff.