• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Reiner Amplification Megathread

#1,121
Saturday I played a new room that had a small stage: barely enough room for keys, drums, bass, guitar, lead vox. So, it wound up being the first gig in some time where I didn't use a pedal of any kind in front of the 1200 (I typically use one or two overdrives, depending on which band). I was a little disappointed -- but only because my top goal of the evening was to give my new-to-me OmniCabSim pedal a gig test: I knew the 1200 would sound great by itself.

I played my passive faux Fender fiver and pushed a single Berg CN210. The cab sim has an HPF and LPF and my goal would have been to trim excess rumble and sizzle from the CN210. My passive bass has a Stellartone Tonestyler which I used to voice the high end (as well as cutting high-highs). However the stage was 16" or so tall, wood, and hollow underneath, so I was most concerned about rumble: not only because I didn't wire up the cab sim, but also because I forgot to bring my GRAMMA (the standard one I use beneath the cab). However to my surprise the room had nice acoustics so all I did with the EQ was boost high mids a little.

Before the gig the keyboard player who was also running sound informed me that he didn't hook up subs because there wasn't enough room, but he could run a DI if I really needed it. I said nope, my rig could cover the room: a smallish restaurant/bar that had once been a church. Sure enough, it did just fine... my concern was that the CN210 would be too strong in the lows but it was just right for this place. Again, all I did was boost some mids, which is S.O.P. with that cab.

TL;DR: still loving the 1200, got no interest in anything else!
 
  • Like
Reactions: JGR
#1,125
silky smoove said:
I saw that on Facebook. @JGR referenced moving the tall format into a 310 arrangement that dips all the way down 2.7 ohms. Sounds like a perfect match for the Studio 1200.
Click to expand...

I plan on building a 310 as soon as I get a bigger table saw. The 310 should pair very well with th 1200, and facilitate a nice tilt and roll design. FWIW, I hooked up both of the 210's yesterday and it was pretty crushing - the 1200 does fine with the 2 ohm load thermally, but it will go into protect with current limiting circuitry (momentarily cut out for about a half second) if you drive it into clipping at 2 ohms, which is why I spec'd it at 2.7.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aubassity, monsterthompson, Fuzzbass and 2 others
#1,126
So I got to spend the day in the Lab with Jon this past Friday. Got to hear/play all of the current cab designs(my ears are still ringing!). There is definitely something for everyone. The 2x10 cabs(three different designs) offer either smooth and deep or aggressive and punchy depending on driver and x-over configuration. The 1x15 was... stellar and my favorite. We tested all the cabs with a mix of my Studio 1200 and a Reeves 225. BOTH arms sounded very nice through all of them but the 1x15 really stood out with the Reeves. I hope the Jon can actually get these cabs into production any of these will be a one cab solution for most if not all players!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fuzzbass and JGR
#1,128
I got to spend Saturday with the Mad Scientist. It's always a blast, time just flies by when I visit. It's so cool to listen to all of JGR's ideas and research methodology, even if most of it goes right over my head. Plus, he has some amazing basses. His new Warmoth vintage PJ 5 is amazing! I especially loved the neck: roasted maple with asymmetric profile, light wax finish, reverse tele headstock. I think my next bass will be a Warmoth build.

As for the speaker cabs: I agree, the 1x15-plus-mid was the most impressive cab of the bunch! Crazy loud, but still sounded great at volume (yeah, I wear earplugs).

Other cabs I tried were a sealed 2x15-plus-mid, hi-fi 2x10-with-mid, "rock" 2x10 (plus 1x10), and the tall 2x10. No surprise, I liked the aggressive edge of the rock 2x10. JGR is contemplating a tall 3x10 that would be the same height as a Berg NV, and the rock version would be #1 on my wish list (I believe it could also be done with the hi fi drivers).

Again, the 1x15 had great tone and totally slammed, volume-wise.... I know that the single speaker shouldn't have any off-axis issues, but still, I play a number of small stages where I stand right in front of my rig, so I prefer taller cabs. I'm thinking the 3x10 could give me nice height without looking as scary (to my bandmates!) as either my NV610 or vertical CN210 stack.

The sealed 2x15 sounded great too -- much more balanced than the Berg NV215 -- but I didn't spend much time with it because the NV610 is my big-cab-for-life.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JGR
#1,129
For you guys that have been in the room with @JGR's cabinets: How would you compare the hi-fi/mid cabs to the rock cabs? At this point in my career I'm basically done with tweeters up top as well as uber-deep bass extension down low. I'm more of a "slot in above the kick and not get so high that I start interfering with female vocals and cymbal wash" kind of guy. Does this sound more like the mid-loaded cabs or the rock cabs to you? I tend to like it punchy and articulate without losing too much down low. I also prefer my cabs to be more of a sound reproduction device than something that's going to be delivery the snarly overdriven components to a tone I'm trying to deliver. Recently I've owned a Bergantino NV412T and still own an HD210. I preferred the tone of the HD210 with the tweeter rolled almost all the way off to the NV412T.

Rambling over... Thoughts? Preferences?
 
#1,130
kringle77 said:
The sealed 2x15 looks interesting. A bp1525 maybe?
Click to expand...

I've used several different drivers over the years, but this cab was built as a proof of concept for some interesting things internally that allowed me to NOT use any lining/stuffing, which is somewhat atypical for a sealed cab (bass anyway), without sounding boxy/harsh like you'd expect from an unlined cab, especially a sealed one.
 
#1,132
kringle77 said:
That's pretty wild! Really man, do you have a lab at work where you are slipping in all these projects in company time? There is only so much time in a day.
Click to expand...

Ha! No, just ask all the folks patiently waiting for amps! I've been largely ineffective at getting anything done for the last seven months since our second child was born. Having a 7 mo and 2 year old is definitely challenging! They were visiting family last week so I took some time off to turn some of the concepts into reality so my head doesn't explode (and get a little work done on amps).
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: monsterthompson
#1,133
silky smoove said:
For you guys that have been in the room with @JGR's cabinets: How would you compare the hi-fi/mid cabs to the rock cabs? At this point in my career I'm basically done with tweeters up top as well as uber-deep bass extension down low. I'm more of a "slot in above the kick and not get so high that I start interfering with female vocals and cymbal wash" kind of guy. Does this sound more like the mid-loaded cabs or the rock cabs to you? I tend to like it punchy and articulate without losing too much down low. I also prefer my cabs to be more of a sound reproduction device than something that's going to be delivery the snarly overdriven components to a tone I'm trying to deliver. Recently I've owned a Bergantino NV412T and still own an HD210. I preferred the tone of the HD210 with the tweeter rolled almost all the way off to the NV412T.

Rambling over... Thoughts? Preferences?
Click to expand...

I think @Sliderbass and @Fuzzbass both had different impressions of the 210 variants so it will be good to get their takes. I'll give it a shot and they can correct me if they don't agree.

The "HiFi" variant goes lower and higher but it is smoother and more even sounding, and while it has good extension up to about 10k, the response curve is such that it still works with fuzz and overdrive. The low end goes very deep, but the response is still tight/fast. It however has lower sensitivity, is heavier, and more expensive. I'm not sure if it's worth offering but I can use close to the same cab design for both so I won't rule it out at this point. With some watts behind it, it can easily fill a room.

The "rock" version comes across as brighter overall and more aggressive, but I don't think they are colored to where they would mask your tone/provide inaccurate reproduction. They are designed to growl when pushed, but they are fairly balanced if you back off/aren't digging in. The hybrid reflex design gives them nice beef down low, and the driver has a really nice even response up to about 6k, useable up to about 7k. Also nice and even off-axis. And they are loud.
 
#1,134
The rock version sounds more like what I'm after. As long as it has the goods down low to about 60hz (i.e. right on top of most modern kick drums), does not have stratospheric top end that I have to dial out to suit my taste, and can fill a typical small to medium bar gig without PA support (talking about the 310 tall format here) I would be very very VERY happy.
 
#1,136
JGR said:
The "HiFi" variant goes lower and higher but it is smoother and more even sounding, and while it has good extension up to about 10k, the response curve is such that it still works with fuzz and overdrive. The low end goes very deep, but the response is still tight/fast. It however has lower sensitivity, is heavier, and more expensive. I'm not sure if it's worth offering but I can use close to the same cab design for both so I won't rule it out at this point. With some watts behind it, it can easily fill a room.

The "rock" version comes across as brighter overall and more aggressive, but I don't think they are colored to where they would mask your tone/provide inaccurate reproduction. They are designed to growl when pushed, but they are fairly balanced if you back off/aren't digging in. The hybrid reflex design gives them nice beef down low, and the driver has a really nice even response up to about 6k, useable up to about 7k. Also nice and even off-axis. And they are loud.
Click to expand...

Sums it up nicely. If you value flat response then the HiFi is the way to go. As JGR said the Rock version is still transparent, but has a noticeable bump somewhere in the high mid/low treble area. I'm impressed with the HiFi version, but the Rock version better fits my tone goals.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back