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Double Bass Small combo that can reach 120db

#21
Trivolis said:
Because some bands I play with can get over 114 and I want to have the headroom to cope with that.
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How are you measuring that?

True SPL measurements are made with very specific and well calibrated microphones. And that measurement is done in an anechoic chamber to avoid the effects of the room. If you are using a phone app out in the open, then all bets are off for any accuracy. Sure you can "ball park" it with a phone app but the lack of accuracy is going to far exceed being able to make useful comparisons with anyone's published SPL specifications.

I think you are better served to think in terms of just getting a suitable amount of power and an appropriate configuration of speakers. You can always turn down if it's too much. With no PA support you gotta go old school.
Like Jack Bruce (Cream) at the Royal Albert Hall, old school.

Trying to dial this in based on pseudo-SPL measurements is unlikely to yield any useful data.
 
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#22
Old Garage-Bander said:
How are you measuring that?

True SPL measurements are made with very specific and well calibrated microphones. And that measurement is done in an anechoic chamber to avoid the effects of the room. If you are using a phone app out in the open, then all bets are off for any accuracy. Sure you can "ball park" it with a phone app but the lack of accuracy is going to far exceed being able to make useful comparisons with anyone's published SPL specifications.

I think you are better served to think in terms of just getting a suitable amount of power and an appropriate configuration of speakers. You can always turn down if it's too much. With no PA support you gotta go old school.
Like Jack Bruce (Cream) at the Royal Albert Hall, old school.

Trying to dial this in based on pseudo-SPL measurements is unlikely to yield any useful data.
Click to expand...
I am not basing this on SPL measurements from an application. I searched online and from what I've heard on Youtube I think the loudest situation I've found myself into is around 114-117 db so I want a combo that can be that loud without pushing it to its limit.
 
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#24
The Ampeg RB210 gets loud. A wee under 18kg, and makes a nice stand as well
image.jpg
 
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#29
If you come across one a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 worked well for me playing in loud blues and roots rock bands.

That amp also made me realize a class D head and a 1x12 neo cab was only minimally less convenient and opened up a lot more options.
 
#30
Is Gallien-Krueger available in your region? I (as well as many other TBers) have had good experiences with the MB combos. There's the MB210-II (might not be enough for you), the MB212-II, and MB410-II. They all have 1M-Ohm inputs. The Fender Rumble look like a much better value TBH (based on US prices anyway), but in case you want more options.
 
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#31
BlueRock said:
If you come across one a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 worked well for me playing in loud blues and roots rock bands.

That amp also made me realize a class D head and a 1x12 neo cab was only minimally less convenient and opened up a lot more options.
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Genz Benz is impossible to find here, I've only heard good things for these amps. I had a lesson with Nat Reeves when he came here for some gigs and he recommended them. That guy has a great sound and he's been playing with Kenny Garrett in *loud* settings so I would definitely grab one of those if they were available here.
As for the seperate head-cab thing I get why it can be very useful but here in Greece you wouldn't really find any use for the seperate head...Usually if I am playing somewhere where a backline is available I just bring my Grace Bix to send to FOH.
 
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#32
Trivolis said:
Genz Benz is impossible to find here, I've only heard good things for these amps. I had a lesson with Nat Reeves when he came here for some gigs and he recommended them. That guy has a great sound and he's been playing with Kenny Garrett in *loud* settings so I would definitely grab one of those if they were available here.
As for the seperate head-cab thing I get why it can be very useful but here in Greece you wouldn't really find any use for the seperate head...Usually if I am playing somewhere where a backline is available I just bring my Grace Bix to send to FOH.
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If you have a BiX, why not purchase an active speaker such as the QSC K8 or K10 to use with your BiX? I believe they are rated at 1000 watts and sound really nice with bass.
 
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#33
Old Garage-Bander said:
And what was that Internet/You Tube information based on?
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Seny you PM with vide
Vunz said:
If you have a BiX, why not purchase an active speaker such as the QSC K8 or K10 to use with your BiX? I believe they are rated at 1000 watts and sound really nice with bass.
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The few times I've played with active speakers felt that they were lacking bass and had too much midrange( of the bad kind ).Last time was just a couple of days ago, and I was actually using the BIX.I think it was a Jbl Eon 112.
But they were not the ones you talk about which I understand may be more suitable for bass.

Also the BIX doesn't really have a very strong EQ section (not a lot of control of mids,no HPF)so the speaker should have these options available.

It's an option though!
 
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#34
a 12 inch powered pa speaker should produce enough low end for DB use. I mean, tons of us use an HPF to purposefully get rid of those nuisance lows in stage settings.

But respectfully, i'd get the whole "needing 120 db" thing out of your head. It sounds like you just need something high wattage, and there is a plethora of bass heads and cabs available to get you that, alongside the PA speaker suggestion. The real limitation is not going to be your amp, it's how high you can go before your pickup starts feeding back unless you use a magnetic pickup.
 
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#36
sean_on_bass said:
a 12 inch powered pa speaker should produce enough low end for DB use. I mean, tons of us use an HPF to purposefully get rid of those nuisance lows in stage settings.

But respectfully, i'd get the whole "needing 120 db" thing out of your head. It sounds like you just need something high wattage, and there is a plethora of bass heads and cabs available to get you that, alongside the PA speaker suggestion. The real limitation is not going to be your amp, it's how high you can go before your pickup starts feeding back unless you use a magnetic pickup.
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I get what you're saying...however many times the manufacturers give a watt rating for a combo that the speaker of the combo can't handle and you need an extension speaker to get the full power of the amp. Or you read in the forums about how powerful a combo like the Markbass 121 is but if you look at the specs it can only get up to 99db.
So to me it makes sense to look at db ratings.
Yes ,maybe the way decibels are estimated is not always very accurate and also may not be 100% representative of how loud you are going to be able to hear yourself on stage ( feedback is of course something one has to deal with ) but that whole thing is to me less subjective than someone's estimate of what "loud" is on the bandstand.
That's just my view you might as well be right about all this.
 
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#37
Trivolis said:
you read in the forums about how powerful a combo like the Markbass 121 is but if you look at the specs it can only get up to 99db.
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99db cannot be right. Where are you getting that from? Is that a typo?

If you really insist on going by decibel ratings, then one advantage of powered PA speakers is that they actually publish max SPL ratings. However, they don't always specify whether it's a peak rating, RMS, or something else.

I would think that many 12" PA speakers should be loud enough and produce enough low end, and that goes double for 15" PA speakers. RCF, Yamaha, and QSC all make very nice options.
 
#38
No, having a target like 120 dB can be relevant. It is loud, though. I do not know if there is a high power, long excursion, relatively deep extending combo that will do that. Ampeg specify realistic max SPL numbers, and so does Eminence. You could check out the data sheets at Eminence.com, to get an idea about what speaker configuration, cabinet size and input power you should aim for. In reality, most commercial products will have losses here and there, somewhat diminishing the final output.

With my SPL meter (not an app), we got an instant 95-100 dB just from the loud drummer playing an intro alone, before anyone else joined. I left that band soon, as too loud was not their only problem.
I used every available watt from my LMII into an Ampeg SVT-410HLF, and even next to the cab, I sometimes wished I could turn up more. Earplugs was a given, from first beat to last.
 
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#39
bassically_eli said:
99db cannot be right. Where are you getting that from? Is that a typo?

If you really insist on going by decibel ratings, then one advantage of powered PA speakers is that they actually publish max SPL ratings. However, they don't always specify whether it's a peak rating, RMS, or something else.

I would think that many 12" PA speakers should be loud enough and produce enough low end, and that goes double for 15" PA speakers. RCF, Yamaha, and QSC all make very nice options.
Click to expand...

Typically, active cabs are heavily processed, and roll off bass steeply and fairly high up. I do not like the sound if using one as a standalone bass cab.
 
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#40
bassically_eli said:
99db cannot be right. Where are you getting that from? Is that a typo?

If you really insist on going by decibel ratings, then one advantage of powered PA speakers is that they actually publish max SPL ratings. However, they don't always specify whether it's a peak rating, RMS, or something else.

I would think that many 12" PA speakers should be loud enough and produce enough low end, and that goes double for 15" PA speakers. RCF, Yamaha, and QSC all make very nice options.
Click to expand...

Just a note on the Markbass : On Thomann it lists Maximum Power: 99db. I don't know if that refers to something else than what I assumed. It does indeed seem very low.My apologies if I misread that.
 

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