Double Bass M-Line Wizzy v. Bergie HT-112

[Wilbyman]

I am a dedicated Bergie HT112 fan for upright, but I am in the throes of "new cab fever" and would like to try something new. Ideally, I would like a cab with bigger lows and a bit more of a low mid push without sacrificing too much of the nice upper mids and highs of the Bergie. I'm using a 30's german carved bass wearing an Underwood and a cheapish Joe Meek condenser mic into a Focus 2 II.

The Wizzy M-Line piques my interest, and Tom B has already told me he likes it quite a bit...can anybody in the quarter-note generation business give me the scoop?

The Wizzy and the Bergie seem somewhat similar in size, pretty close anyway.

Will

 

[bribass]

What I know about Bergies is limited to trying a large set up w/ a 15 and a (not small) 12 w/ Aguilar amp. I was playing BG and the sound was emence an well defined.
Another was when I heard a keyboard player used a 110 driven by a Walter Woods. Incredibly big sounding for a micro set up.
I've never tryed DB w/ any of them, but I'm sure the HT112 would be sweet. I do own a pair of M-line Wizzy's and I think they are simply great. One for DB driven by a Focus III 2r I think has to be atleast one of the best set ups for DB IMO that $ can buy. The Focus loves the 4 ohm environ and the speaker at a mere 32- ish lbs. is the best sounding cab I've ever played thru for DB and I'm not kidding. For BG they're great too. One is plenty loud in small rooms and two is a mini stack of power loud enough for any mid- large size halls, even w/o PA help. At louder volumes I try to not push them real hard because of their relatively lower power rating and low ohmage thus utilizing all of the clean power of the Focus. But that's just it. The sound BIG at modest volumes. Their response and sensitivity is so accurate that you can get larger range of dynamic boosts when digging in even just a bit. So consequently I find myself playing at lower vol. levels overall w/ the sound seeming to be semi omni-directional, the bass blending really well in the mix w/ lots of nuance. Not girth of the two much bigger Bergies that I tried w/ BG, but these are little, light cabs!

W/ DB (and one cab) I find myself using a pretty flat EQ in most rooms, but if you boost the bass just a bit you get a really pleasing fat bigness to the sound. The low mids are warm and defined w/ smooth non-harsh, but present upper mids and even some airiness to he highs.
I'm looking forward to trying newly aquired Audix mic thru this rig for some real air, but honestly, I can't imagine how there can be much room for improvement to this sound w/ the Realist alone on my DB .

The M-line Wizzy is rated at 200-250 watts and is around 32 lbs. I believe. What are these specs for the HT112?

BG

I am a dedicated Bergie HT112 fan for upright, but I am in the throes of "new cab fever" and would like to try something new. Ideally, I would like a cab with bigger lows and a bit more of a low mid push without sacrificing too much of the nice upper mids and highs of the Bergie. I'm using a 30's german carved bass wearing an Underwood and a cheapish Joe Meek condenser mic into a Focus 2 II.

The Wizzy M-Line piques my interest, and Tom B has already told me he likes it quite a bit...can anybody in the quarter-note generation business give me the scoop?

The Wizzy and the Bergie seem somewhat similar in size, pretty close anyway.

Will

 

[sejarus]

I have both. I love the HT-112 for BG. I'm not happy with the sound for URB, but I've never really given it a fair test. It's an 8-ohm cab rated at 300 watts. I have a Clarus III amp which is rated at 250 watts at 8 ohms. The Clarus just can't push the Bergie hard enough, which is one of the reasons I bought the Wizzy M. I love the Wizzy M sound--nice rich bottom end, but still clear mids and highs.

I've tried the Bergie and my BG amp, an Eden WT-800, with URB. It was just okay. I didn't feel like I could get a clean full low end without it getting a little boomy. But that's not a fair evaluation, because I don't think Eden's a good choice for URB.

As far as size goes...the Bergie is basically cube-shaped and the Wizzy-M is a little taller and thinner. And the Bergie is definitely heavier by a few pounds.

 

[bribass]

The Wizzy M-Line piques my interest, and Tom B has already told me he likes it quite a bit...can anybody in the quarter-note generation business give me the scoop?

Will

Used the M-Line W on a Jazz trio restaurant gig last night w/ piano and gtr/vcl. Prescott DB w/ Focus 2r III a Realist and I added the Audix ADX 20i (thanks Chasarms). As I posted before, I didn't think this set up could sound any better w/ just the Realist, but the Audix added that 'air' thing for and even more natural sound. Ran about a 45/55 mix of mic/pu blend most of the night and raised the pu vol. just a bit more for the louder guitar work. Usually any time I've used a mic I favor running it thru the PA which cuts down on feedback problems of having it come thru a bass rig on the floor next to the bass (on tight set ups in NYC), but no problem w/ feedback last night and the hi-fi M-Line Wizzy was killin'. The pianist, Ray Gallon was knocked out by the sound.
This speaker just does eveything I need it to do and does it wonderfully.

I can't see how the heavier, higher ohmed Bergie HT-112 could be any better for DB purposes.

BG



http://www.talkbass.com/forum/private.php?do=showpm&pmid=708285

 

[Wilbyman]

That's alot of terrific info. It sounds like your bass setup is somewhat similar to mine, with the main difference being my Underwood. I also tend to run almost 50/50 mic and pickup. It sounds like a very nice cab, I guess at the moment I'm hesitant because that CM208 is looming on the horizon. However, as used to I am as 1x12's the Wizzy M might still be preferable for me.

 

[bolo]

Can you still buy a new M-line Wizzy? If so, where? I checked eaamps and urbbob last night but couldn't seem to find it.

I thought it was a limited run of cabs, forcing you to now go to the "used" market.

I didn't log on to TB though for about 4 months until recently. I got very, very busy this summer w/ many other things. So please cut me some slack if this is old news and I just plain missed it.

Last night I was musing about a M-line Wizzy 12 and CM208 stack.

 

[bribass]

All Hail Bob had them on his site for awhile , but now I don't see them he must be out of them. Try this... is in the TB DB classified:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=3502174#post3502174

Can you still buy a new M-line Wizzy? If so, where? I checked eaamps and urbbob last night but couldn't seem to find it.

I thought it was a limited run of cabs, forcing you to now go to the "used" market.

I didn't log on to TB though for about 4 months until recently. I got very, very busy this summer w/ many other things. So please cut me some slack if this is old news and I just plain missed it.

Last night I was musing about a M-line Wizzy 12 and CM208 stack.

 

[bribass]

That's alot of terrific info. It sounds like your bass setup is somewhat similar to mine, with the main difference being my Underwood. I also tend to run almost 50/50 mic and pickup. It sounds like a very nice cab, I guess at the moment I'm hesitant because that CM208 is looming on the horizon. However, as used to I am as 1x12's the Wizzy M might still be preferable for me.

I'm sure the CM208 (and the Bergie for that matter) would be killin' as well, but w/ those ceramic magnets it's got almost ten lbs. over the Wizzy-M. And is the CM208 4 ohm or 8?

I'm deffinately enjoying the 25% weight reduction over my old Ag GS112 which is 44lbs.

BG

 

[bolo]

Brian,

The CM208 prototype is 8 ohms, and 41 lbs, according to Bob G.:

Specifications for the prototype CM-208:

Configuration: 2 x 8" Transmission Line
Woofer: 2 Proprietary EA 8" 44oz magnet 2" Voice Coil
Frequency Response: 45Hz to 18KHz
Sensitivity: 100dB @ 1m
Sound Pressure Level: 126dB @ 1m/400 watts
Power Handling: 400 watts
Impedance: 8 ohms
Connection: Two Speakon connectors
Size: 19.5”H x 16”W x 12.75”D
Weight: 41 lbs
Handle: Two integrated custom handles