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Minimum to Support Low B String

#41
ii7-V7 said:
Given the instrumentation (one or two acoustic guitars, ukelele, hand drums) and a noisy room, what kind of wattage do you think I'd need? 40w? 100w? 200w?
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The watts is pretty much irrelevant. You need to look at what frequency range the entire combo/amp sits at, the DB rating of the speakers at the range you want to reproduce and the cab design. they all add together to create the resultant "volume" of the B string. Also adding more speakers does more than adding watts, and how you place them. If the cab and amp are on point you can get away with getting some nice full range or bass woofers (might need a tweeter in the combo/cab if you want some brightly defined highs and are using only bass woofer/s, but especially for an acoustic set thick and dry will probably sound good) for the cab and you'll be sitting pretty. the watts is pretty much an afterthought, you can only really go as high as the watt rating on the speakers anyways, and most of the time, even just approaching the low rating watt wise and speakers start to sound like they're falling apart.
 
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#42
Bassitudes said:
Bro, get yourself a cab that can actually get a decent sounding B (as in gets the correct low frequencies actually audible to make it sound good) then grab a preamp or EQ with a bass knob set at 30hz. Bingo-bango, you can boost that low B all day if you want. i personally use an eden WTDI and it really lets me dial in a good solid volume boost at 30 hz to balance out the Low b-string's volume compared to the A string.
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Bassitudes said:
The watts is pretty much irrelevant. You need to look at what frequency range the entire combo/amp sits at, the DB rating of the speakers at the range you want to reproduce and the cab design. they all add together to create the resultant "volume" of the B string. Also adding more speakers does more than adding watts, and how you place them. If the cab and amp are on point you can get away with getting some nice full range or bass woofers (might need a tweeter in the combo/cab if you want some brightly defined highs and are using only bass woofer/s, but especially for an acoustic set thick and dry will probably sound good) for the cab and you'll be sitting pretty. the watts is pretty much an afterthought, you can only really go as high as the watt rating on the speakers anyways, and most of the time, even just approaching the low rating watt wise and speakers start to sound like they're falling apart.
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The low B through my GK 112 sounds fine, and it does not go down to 30Hz. The harmonics are more important than the fundamental, and I would say that in an acoustical setting even more so. Do you really want a rumbling 30Hz subwoofer sound to mix with hand drums and ukuleles?
 
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#43
Harmonics are only more important than your fundamental if you like that kind of tone. having the actual note to blend in with the harmonics or remove the harmonics altogether, aka OPTIONS and VERSATILITY are the key to good gear. Who are you to be telling this guy how to choose his tone, and what's appropriate and not for which type of show? For me personally, i would say "yes, i want a fat woofer sound at this kind of show" because precisely due to the fact that no other instruments are anywhere near that range that whole space could be mine and i could actually add some depth to something that would otherwise sound tinny, and rather boring. How do you know he's not doing drum and bass music with hand drums and ukes, for example? Just, pls, lay off the nonsense. Too bad your amp doesn't do what it should. No need to start spreading your opinion as disinformation.
 
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#44
This advise is mostly crazy

You can get a inexpensive kickback type combo w/50 watts as long as it's a quality driver or, get a 1x10 or 1x12 cab (using your existing head) for the quiet gigs

<$200 used either way
 
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#45
Bassitudes said:
Harmonics are only more important than your fundamental if you like that kind of tone. having the actual note to blend in with the harmonics or remove the harmonics altogether, aka OPTIONS and VERSATILITY are the key to good gear. Who are you to be telling this guy how to choose his tone, and what's appropriate and not for which type of show? For me personally, i would say "yes, i want a fat woofer sound at this kind of show" because precisely due to the fact that no other instruments are anywhere near that range that whole space could be mine and i could actually add some depth to something that would otherwise sound tinny, and rather boring. How do you know he's not doing drum and bass music with hand drums and ukes, for example? Just, pls, lay off the nonsense. Too bad your amp doesn't do what it should. No need to start spreading your opinion as disinformation.
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Chill_pill.gif

Seriously, I am sorry that my "unknown person from the internet" opinion doesn't match your "unknown person from the internet" opinion.

 
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#47
JACink said:
Chill_pill.gif

Seriously, I am sorry that my "unknown person from the internet" opinion doesn't match your "unknown person from the internet" opinion.
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You shoudl instead apologize for trying to look like you knew what you were talking about and I didn't when in reality you just had a conflicting "opinion". That's the real offense, not us disagreeing. You can go ahead and eat your own silly pill.
 
#48
Bassitudes said:
You shoudl instead apologize for trying to look like you knew what you were talking about and I didn't when in reality you just had a conflicting "opinion". That's the real offense, not us disagreeing. You can go ahead and eat your own silly pill.
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Firstly, an opinion is an opinion, and knowing what you are talking about and having an opinion are two completley different things. Also, there are far more educated ways of making a point, but that is up to the individual to pursue.

If you had any idea of what rigs and setups I use, and what kind of EQ or sounds I produce, then maybe part of you first reply to my posts would have been relevant, but again, who cares.

I have no more authority telling the OP to focus on the harmonics than you do to tell him to focus on the fundamental, so in the end, both are just opinions. You say that without the fundamental it would be "something that would otherwise sound tinny, and rather boring.", does this refer to all 5 string bassists that use cabs that don't go down to 30Hz?

Anyways, keep up the pleasant comments. :thumbsup:
 
#49
I have an old SWR Strawberry Blonde combo made for acoustic instruments - even has XLR mic channel & reverb w/ 1 12" which I replaced with an eminence driver - excellent all the way to the B

But, even that's more than you need
 
#50
Most amps, including the ones mentioned here, do not produce the fundamental to any significant degree. But that is ok. They do well producing the first harmonic and above. Our brain fills in the rest based on these partials. I had a Ampeg B100R combo. Great amp. Not much happening below 100Hz but still a great sound even with my five strings. The funny thing is that when someone actually hears the fundamental B0 at significant levels, they are typically disturbed by what they hear. Its just not exactly what they thought it would sound like.
 
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#52
monkeyfinger said:
Most amps, including the ones mentioned here, do not produce the fundamental to any significant degree. But that is ok. They do well producing the first harmonic and above. Our brain fills in the rest based on these partials. I had a Ampeg B100R combo. Great amp. Not much happening below 100Hz but still a great sound even with my five strings. The funny thing is that when someone actually hears the fundamental B0 at significant levels, they are typically disturbed by what they hear. Its just not exactly what they thought it would sound like.
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I completely agree, but as a bass player, once I heard the fundamental, I HAD to have it. Interesting how your brain fills in the gaps, I wonder how to exploit that?

Imo electrically amplified Music is half science, half magic.
 
#53
Yeah, my current rig uses a Fearless cabs. They do a pretty good job reproducing B0 fundamental at decent levels. Whenever someone hears it for the first time they think that it is so loud. But I am not really playing louder than others. (I could, but I don't.) It's just that the fundamental is so enveloping they hear it that way. Like someone hit the loudness button on the home stereo.
 
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#54
Bassitudes said:
Bro, get yourself a cab that can actually get a decent sounding B (as in gets the correct low frequencies actually audible to make it sound good) then grab a preamp or EQ with a bass knob set at 30hz. Bingo-bango, you can boost that low B all day if you want. i personally use an eden WTDI and it really lets me dial in a good solid volume boost at 30 hz to balance out the Low b-string's volume compared to the A string.
Click to expand...

...I'm not sure if you're serious or if this is just a really great troll job...
 
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#55
ii7-V7 said:
I did a search but didn't quite see what I was looking for.

I am currently playing in two groups off and on. For one I'm using my cousins huge 350w 115 combo. It's a beast to lug around. The other group is an acoustic only ensemble where I don't need anywhere near that power. So, I'm looking for something much smaller. But here's the kicker. I need it to be able to get a decent sound on the low B string (We play alot in Eb and D). Also, I'm the sole provider for a family of six. So, cheap is important.

What's the minimum size amp, and the minimum investment I can make and still get a decent sounding B string? Also, keep it simple for me as I'm basically illiterate when it comes to amps.

Thanks,
Chad
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Any decent cab shouldn't have any problems with an Eb or D, especially at the volumes you're talking about, but if you are having problems with over-excursion (the speakers 'farting out") the FDeck HPF is an excellent option.

I have one as a permanent part of my rig as the DB750 is so powerful and full range I was having over-excursion problems with ALL cabs (even 8x10 and 4x12 rigs), particularly with loud bands on large/outdoor stages.
 
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#56
MDBass said:
Any decent cab shouldn't have any problems with an Eb or D, especially at the volumes you're talking about, but if you are having problems with over-excursion (the speakers 'farting out") the FDeck HPF is an excellent option.



I have one as a permanent part of my rig as the DB750 is so powerful and full range I was having over-excursion problems with ALL cabs (even 8x10 and 4x12 rigs), particularly with loud bands on large/outdoor stages.
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What us a db 7500? I searched and just came up with car audio stuff. Is it the car audio speaker!?!
 

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