No, i I have a Peavey Mini mega and Traynor sb200. The PJB doesn't sound *bad*. I'm just quite there and wondering whether to try a different head or cabinet.
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Not completely happy with my Phil Jones cabinets.
- Thread starter Bob Coldwell
- Start date
I had the same issues with Phil Jones Bass gear. I found the better alternative was an Aguilar TH500 head (5lb) with the Aguilar SL112 (25lb). Super portable and excellent sound.
I think Phil Jones is quite brilliant. The amps and cabinets I've encountered, are nicely made, and sound great. I have one major issue that is a total deal breaker for me. There really is no other way to put it other than, small speakers, small sound, bigger speakers, bigger sound. I played through a friend's very expensive stack, a combo with four little drivers, and a matching four driver cabinet- at a live gig/ jam night. The owner was playing a Lakland Skyline five string jazz bass with Barden pickups. A nice sounding bass. I was playing the bass in my Avatar- one of my builds from1994, with three Alembic pickups and the Stanley Clarke tone filters. It is a killer sounding bass. When he was playing, I could hear the bass clearly, as if it was in a decent PA. I felt it a little, as well. When I sat in, I didn't change much on the amp at all. I felt like I was playing through a super high quality practice amp- I was pee-ing against the tide. Not an exactly pleasant experience. It did not push enough air to make me feel a convincing, powerful bass sound. My Carvin BX 500 and various 2x10 Carvin and Fender Rumble cabs, are so much better at that it's kind of surprising. My whole career until about 15 years ago, I would have never considered using ANY 2x10 cabinet onstage. Now, the technology, and tuning of these new cabs, is amazing. I also owned an Ampeg B-248 once. circa 1997. In the store, it sounded absolutely amazing, one of the best sounding combos I'd heard. I played a few gigs with it, and sold it. Besides being over a hundred pounds, it was like I said about smaller speakers. One 'legit' gig with some great players, it sounded like a bass kazoo. 4-8's? Nope. Maybe there is a good 4x8, but I haven't heard it yet.
Another friend has one of the PJB tiny 2-driver combos, and uses it for upright. It sounds good, but it isn't a live gig amp if you double, in my opinion.
I have actually, even with all of this, considered a Super Flightcase that I could get reasonably. Then, I spoke to the owner/seller. He told me nearly exactly the conclusion I already had come to. I love honest people.
Another friend has one of the PJB tiny 2-driver combos, and uses it for upright. It sounds good, but it isn't a live gig amp if you double, in my opinion.
I have actually, even with all of this, considered a Super Flightcase that I could get reasonably. Then, I spoke to the owner/seller. He told me nearly exactly the conclusion I already had come to. I love honest people.
Don't underestimate the grill cover. The tweedy covers sound smoothed over compared to the metal grill.
no experience with your cab. i have a c8 also and it is a keeper even if just for the novelty. It handles lows about as well as most of my cabs… but it has to be the heaviest cab weight per volume. good it is small. Looks cool on it's side stacked ontop of a 24 wide cab though.
pjb quotes producible frequency, not usable at +\- 3db. So don't expect magic despite the marketing.
imho get a 1/12, 2x10 or 4x10 to your volume and weight needs.
pjb quotes producible frequency, not usable at +\- 3db. So don't expect magic despite the marketing.
imho get a 1/12, 2x10 or 4x10 to your volume and weight needs.
I owned a PJB 6 driver with the Piranha 5's back in the day. Good for small indoor gigs, but you take it outdoors, and it literally disappeared. This is with a Streamliner 900. After selling my ol' tried and true one last year, I recently went back to the fEARless f112. Light. Loud. Punchy. Clear. The Streamliner gives me all the warmth I need. 37lbs. It surpasses my brand new Markbass 58R104 Energy for clarity. ( and that weighs 36lbs!) and ease of transport ( 4x10 vs 1x12 three way) . If you have the budget, it is a hard cab to top.
Thanks, everyone. This is very helpful. Or should I say validating? I knew going in that these cabs were a different animal. I like them in many ways, but not every way.
Try an Aguilar SL112. A warm sounding cab, very efficient and only 25 lbs.
I have two Barefaced One10 cabs, loud, low and sound amazing. If you want transparency, go for the 12s.
I'm a recent convert to PJB cabs though I have no experience with the 27 box.
All mine are loaded with 5's and have no trouble throwing lows with punch and clarity with the GK or Genz Benz heads I use- (Legacy 500, MB800, Shuttle 9.0.). The 9B, in particular, is a beast. It doesn't bark or roar like the 12's and 15's I've used in the past.
Not what it was designed to do.
If you need to really cut with mids I wouldn't necessarily recommend PJ's but that's just my two cents. YMMV.
All mine are loaded with 5's and have no trouble throwing lows with punch and clarity with the GK or Genz Benz heads I use- (Legacy 500, MB800, Shuttle 9.0.). The 9B, in particular, is a beast. It doesn't bark or roar like the 12's and 15's I've used in the past.
Not what it was designed to do.
If you need to really cut with mids I wouldn't necessarily recommend PJ's but that's just my two cents. YMMV.
I've played a Phil Jones amp/combo amp of some sort here and there- nothing particularly conclusive or perhaps even fair. I would say the amp/cabinet produce a sound that is exacting detail that some might find clinical, and that's fine for me to a point. I generally appreciate that kind of definition at lower volumes. I'm never seeming to forget the speaker size and relatively diminutive size of the cabinets, however, and granted I'm playing some of the smaller models because the biggest ones weren't available to try. But despite power ratings and volume, there seems to be a tonal difference with the smaller speakers and smaller cabinets, that bigger cabinets with bigger speakers don't have. But then again, when the speakers and cabinets are too big, that is ALSO a tonal difference that is hard to correct, sometimes, so... bigger and more isn't always better, either.
I'll continue to check out Phil Jones stuff when I can, but I'm currently a 2X10 or 4X10 with horn/tweeter kind of guy for that balance of size, portability, tone, etc...
I had a stint with playing keys and bass, and I must say the pjb cabs are great for a full range sound that supports Keys to its potential as well. I used it personally with the m300 amp as well.
I actually mixed the 2x10 genzler array with a six pack m500 and it was one of the best sounding mis-matched rig combos I ever heard/played.
But I think that's all his drivers are made to be overall is full range , not extended lows , but if that's what your looking for I've had great experience with the faital pro 5fe120. Has alot more of a traditional "big speaker" feel when there's a couple of them compared to pjb. I think the owners of MAS arnopol cabs with the same faital 5fe120 could attest to that.
The pjb stuff also wants/eats a ton of power and I noticed a big difference running a/b amps with 500+ watts.
I actually mixed the 2x10 genzler array with a six pack m500 and it was one of the best sounding mis-matched rig combos I ever heard/played.
But I think that's all his drivers are made to be overall is full range , not extended lows , but if that's what your looking for I've had great experience with the faital pro 5fe120. Has alot more of a traditional "big speaker" feel when there's a couple of them compared to pjb. I think the owners of MAS arnopol cabs with the same faital 5fe120 could attest to that.
The pjb stuff also wants/eats a ton of power and I noticed a big difference running a/b amps with 500+ watts.
The PJB 27, 47, 67 cabs are the from the more affordable back ported series from PJB and are known not to be as dark voiced as the more expensive C series with the 5" speakers.
After I tried almost any available cab the last 5 years in search of something smaller and lighter I had to come to the conclusion that lighter also means less low, less oomph, less punch. Seems to be a law of nature.
Apart from that, back ported cabs always create issues with placing; in front of a hard wall or a thick curtain or somewhere in a room, it severely influences the sound of the cab.
What came out as the perfect cab - according to my wishes - is the PJB C8.
It is portable because of its size but with 26 kg not light. It blows most 4x10" cabs away with punch and depth (25 (!) - 15000hz). And it is front ported which means all sound and pressure comes out at the front, thus creating the most controllable sound.
After I tried almost any available cab the last 5 years in search of something smaller and lighter I had to come to the conclusion that lighter also means less low, less oomph, less punch. Seems to be a law of nature.
Apart from that, back ported cabs always create issues with placing; in front of a hard wall or a thick curtain or somewhere in a room, it severely influences the sound of the cab.
What came out as the perfect cab - according to my wishes - is the PJB C8.
It is portable because of its size but with 26 kg not light. It blows most 4x10" cabs away with punch and depth (25 (!) - 15000hz). And it is front ported which means all sound and pressure comes out at the front, thus creating the most controllable sound.
the sb with a hi-mid boost at 1kHz shouldn't be that far away. add mids and don't be afraid to cut the treble, as, again, this is a very bright cab, a pair is even brighter.
it's usually possible to make a hifi cab sound old-schoolish with a right head and eq, much harder the way around.
I found small speaker arrays to sound very good and convincing at low volume. They are great for home and playing with small, quiet bands. At higher volumes, however, they tend to sound harsh and thinny, although they project really well. IME, the smallest speaker to properly cover a bass guitar at high volume is 10". For some music, where the bass should sound sharp and clanky (think heavy stuff), small speaker arrays may be appropriate, but in general, cabs with bigger speakers will sound deeper at high volume.
