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Double Bass non-purpose built cabinets

CTForde

CTForde

Oct 9, 2012
340
148
NWOhio
#1
is anyone of you routinely using non-purpose built cabinets for your bass?
i know of some upright players that were using iterations of the Bose 802 as their main cabinet, w/ Walter Woods heads for example.
seems like most have since migrated to AI and EA heads and cabs since.
is anyone still using PA speakers or other non bass-specific speaker cabinets?
i am wondering about 12 cabs specifically.
 
#2
Can't comment on any 12's but I've used a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] 1x8" cab for several years with my acoustic instruments. It's still my benchmark for clarity and true reproduction of what's coming out of the instrument acoustically. Before that I used a Mackie SRM450 powered 15+horn that I liked the sound of but it was too big....serious overkill for a restaurant gig.

There are a lot more great reference type bass specific cabs out there than ever before but I still think that general purpose sound reinforcement type boxes are still well worth considering for amplifying any acoustic instrument.
 
#4
Jeff Bonny said:
Can't comment on any 12's but I've used a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] 1x8" cab for several years with my acoustic instruments. It's still my benchmark for clarity and true reproduction of what's coming out of the instrument acoustically. Before that I used a Mackie SRM450 powered 15+horn that I liked the sound of but it was too big....serious overkill for a restaurant gig.

There are a lot more great reference type bass specific cabs out there than ever before but I still think that general purpose sound reinforcement type boxes are still well worth considering for amplifying any acoustic instrument.
Click to expand...

My SRM450 has a 12" speaker (I measured the speaker, not the grill).
 
#5
My 901's from 1974 still make my bass sound great when powered properly. I got the cabs free but needed to have the tiny drivers re-coned, and have had subsequent breakage when playing too loud. I wouldn't recommend buying them new for bass amplification, but if you have one or two available, they are truly punishing in a small room.
 
#7
robobass said:
My 901's from 1974 still make my bass sound great when powered properly. I got the cabs free but needed to have the tiny drivers re-coned, and have had subsequent breakage when playing too loud. I wouldn't recommend buying them new for bass amplification, but if you have one or two available, they are truly punishing in a small room.
Click to expand...
Interesting... you'd need a bunch of tone-shaping for that as was incorporated in the original design. I refer to the 901s as nine $1.50 drivers with massive EQ. As you likely well know, the accompanying circuitry provided a huge bass boost at the cost of large amounts of amplifier power and low efficiency. While I can understand them working in a small space, their design is rather antithetical to providing sustained high sound-pressure levels at low frequencies using a reasonably sized and powered package. After all, you can only have two of the following three:

1) Small size
2) Efficiency
3) Extended low-frequency response
 
#8
drurb said:
Interesting... you'd need a bunch of tone-shaping for that as was incorporated in the original design. I refer to the 901s as nine $1.50 drivers with massive EQ. As you likely well know, the accompanying circuitry provided a huge bass boost at the cost of large amounts of amplifier power and low efficiency. While I can understand them working in a small space, their design is rather antithetical to providing sustained high sound-pressure levels at low frequencies using a reasonably sized and powered package. After all, you can only have two of the following three:

1) Small size
2) Efficiency
3) Extended low-frequency response
Click to expand...

Well, the thing is that I think bassists get too hung up on the lows. I run one cab straight with almost no EQ. The original EQ box died years ago, actually. For me, a severe low end roll-off is what makes a UB compete in a loud room with a loud drummer.
 
Last edited:
#9
robobass said:
Well, the thing is that I think bassists get too hung up on the lows. I run one cab straight with almost no EQ. The original EQ box died years ago, actually. For me, a severe low end roll-off is what makes a UB compete in a loud room with a loud drummer.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'm hung up on the lows for sure. :) That's why I play the DB. For me, rolling off the low end substantially is quite unsatisfactory because then I feel like I'm playing a DM (double midrange) as opposed to a DB. I've been able to keep the low end in fairly large rooms but I sure don't play super loud gigs.
 

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