Thanks for giving him the link - I forgot that on the last post - silly me.
So back to the story - we are getting ready to go to lunch. While waiting to go I noticed some art on the walls from bands George was once in or from record producing. Pretty cool actually. By the way, for anyone who is visiting him, if he says that there is a little tavern close to the office and lets go the correct answer is Yes. It is a small neighborhood bar where everyone knows everyones name. George mentioned it is the unofficial Acoustic USA boardroom :-> I settle in with a menu and ask whats good. He gives a couple of answers including a fish sandwich. Without looking at the menu I order that and start to nurse a bottle of Bud. Though the two of us have talked on the phone or exchanged email a few times over the years, we have not met in person until now. So it was interesting to exchange stories about what got us into music or how we now manage to get through a day. We chatted for almost two hours before returning. Oh the fish sandwich came and was amazing. This was not your usual processed square. Someone had breaded a filet or two of fish and then did the fryer. The good size pieces sort of curled up and lent themselves as much to dipping and munching. I saved some for the roll. It makes me curious by the way - is that how they do the Fish and Chips thing?
When we got back I started to unload my truck. Time to try some prototype Acoustics! At this point I guess I should describe the way the trials were set up. One needs a Reference Point for comparison. So I brought one of my main battle amps. The idea was to compare the Acoustic cabinets not just to each other but also to the cabinet I brought. This is not to say which is better or bad, but rather for purposes of description. The rig I brought can be found at Guitar Center and other stores. You can go there, set the tone controls like the way I did (pictures included) and in a way get an idea how the new gear sounds. It is the best way I can think of to give a description to something as intangible as describing sound.
The Nemesis
The rig I brought was an Ampeg 6x10 HLF with the Ampeg SVT-4Pro head. For those who are not familiar with the product - a brief description. This is not to Brag about the Ampeg but to rather to give some idea towards the comparison. The head is an animal and puts out 1400 watts clean at 4 ohms and 1600 at 2. The 4 ohm cabinet handles that power well and I have never made it fart (or is that Phart?). This is including the extra punishment since I have the 35hz slider all but pinned and the bass tone control at about 3:00. This is to compensate for the 42hz roll off of the cabinet, I like to have a shaking fundamental of the note. The cabinet is good for small to medium size rooms (up to 250 people) that require competition against Marshall stacks, a strong drummer, and you are not in the PA. The strength is tone and power handling. The Achilles Heal is that it needs to be on a hard floor. Stick it on a carpeted raised stage and you start to lose much of the bottom end.
I purchased this back in 2001 when St. Louis Music was putting out a quality product in both their Ampeg and Crate lines. The one caveat to this is if you go to GC or elsewhere you will be hearing the models now built in Vietnam. I noticed that the head has mysteriously lost 200 watts and lord knows what has happened to the speakers. But such is the world economy
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The Trials
The SVT head was plugged into the switch box and would power which ever cabinet was selected. The 6x10 cabinet was also plugged into the switch box and could be turned on or off. With the switch box it is possible to run more than one cabinet at a time. The volume of the head was left where I used it last job at a medium size room where I played in a classic rock band. So, we are using concert level volumes for the test.
I was about finished setting up when the folded W bin with the 15 arrived. Joe, one of the cabinet guys, delivered it after having just got back in from California and was dead tired. Joe I owe ya a beer by the way. He nestles the 15 cab into the semicircle with the other cabinets and then notices the Ampeg. Loudly and with indignation he states What is THAT doing here? You couldnt help but get a chuckle we explain it.
I started off with the vintage 360. This may surprise you, but I have never played through one before. I was impressed with how warm it sounded. Warmer than my 371 but possibly a bit less gnarly growl. But, that is just a feeling without a true side by side comparison. I can say that I found myself in a bit of awl to try out what many consider the Holy Grail of bass amps! And this thing was like mint! My thanks to George for letting me try it.
Next up were the new 4x10 cabinets. The styling was an immediate YES! with two wide vertical stripes of Acoustic blue in the way of the 260 cabinets. I love it bring on the blue, baby! The 4x10 has a very bright tone with a clear low end. I was impressed with how it threw the sound about you. I guess the way to compare with the Ampeg is when you hear the Ampeg you know exactly where the cabinet is. The new Acoustic 4x10 has a better dispersion and tends to surround you with the sound. It has more high end and tends to remind me of the SWR sound. This is a great rock cab and should also have enough snap for the funk players. Power handling was also excellent. With all the cabinets I did not adjust the volume of the Ampeg head. The 4x10 had no trouble and did not fart or break up. The Ampeg had a fatter dry sound in contrast to the clarity of the 4x10. Considering it was 6 speakers versus 4 this was quite impressive. I could not hear a real difference in volume so the Acoustic was plenty efficient.
I had mentioned earlier that there were two 4x10 cabinets that looked identical. I tried both and was immediately surprised by the difference in tone! The better (to me) sounding of the two is the latest prototype. The speakers are the same but the tuning of the box makes the difference. Once again the attention to detail is apparent. They are not just building a box and bolting speakers into them these cabinets are being tested and tuned. It may take time but it is clear that the end product is worth it.
Another thing I liked about the new 4x10 is that it is taller. Most 4x10 cabs are a simple square box with the 4 speakers set like half an SVT. Compact enough I guess and more than tall enough if sat on top of a single 18 or something. But I never liked using them individually. This is because all the tone is shooting past your feet and you cant really hear the clarity or granularity of the sound. It is possible to set the cabinet on a road case closer to ear level to alleviate that problem, but then you are going to lose the advantageous of using the floor as part of the enclosure and thus lose some bottom end. The Acoustic has the speakers set so that the cabinet is taller and alleviates the problem. In short it will be more fun to gig with! I would think that it should help with projection. The 4x10 also has an adjustable horn so you can control the higher frequencies and fatten the sound some if you want.
And yes I want one.
Well I have typed enough for now. I want to get this posted and will next move onto the 2x10. If you want a pic of how the EQ was set that is on the Acoustic board along with the rest of these posts to date.
