Yes, the Acme drivers extend lower on paper but I found that extension didn't translate to any improvement in lowend on stage. I don't really care about specs. I'm more interested in practical use.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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.
Speaker size v. Tone: I don't hear any correlation
- Thread starter Kwesi
- Start date
Yes, the Acme drivers extend lower on paper but I found that extension didn't translate to any improvement in lowend on stage. I don't really care about specs. I'm more interested in practical use.
Again, that extreme low end voicing can work for some and not for others, but is a bit of a different topic. I agree, for many of us who play in relatively busy mixes that don't require a bass to rumble the ash trays at the back of the room, upper bass punch and absolute volume in the midrange are more important than being able to reproduce the fundamental of the lower notes on the E string much less the B string.
I agree... but again, in the spirit of this thread, you moved to a larger driver to get less low end (by less, I mean a low end that rolls off higher and quicker than the Acme)
I've learned (and now experienced) from Bill F and others that the absolute low end extension of a cab is much less important than the driver being able to really handle 'mid bass' (i.e., the 50hz thing) well at high volumes without crapping out. You have to turn the volume knob up a little more, but a cab with a driver like that (regardless of cone diameter) can really punch hard!
I agree... but again, in the spirit of this thread, you moved to a larger driver to get less low end (by less, I mean a low end that rolls off higher and quicker than the Acme)
All I know is I had to boost the lows on the amp when using the Acme cab to get the same lows I got with the Flite/EV cab at a setting with less lowend boost from the same amp.
The Acme didn't come through on it's promise of more lowend when I gigged it.
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,348
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
This is because people perceive low mid as low. It tricks the ear by filling out the bottom, but it's really not there. I've played the Acmes as well as some other cabs purported to have lots of lows and the Acmes definitely win.
Don't know how else to say it. The Acme's really do extend all the way down to the low 30hz. Your cab probably rolls off hard at 60hz. That is a fact.
Now, again, what you are saying is that the more mid and upper bass response of your little 15 loaded box sounds better to you. That is perfectly reasonable. But, your cab does not 'go lower' or have more 'deep bass'. As others have posted, it does have a much higher ratio of upper bass to lower bass than the Acme, which to me also sounds 'better', but that has nothing to do with the true voicings of the cabs.. that's just our personal preference.
billfitzmaurice
Commercial User
- Sep 15, 2004
- 16,860
- 278
- 76
- Disclosures
- Owner, Bill Fitzmaurice Loudspeaker Design
It did. The problem lay in your definition/expectation of what 'low end' is, as opposed to what the Acme produced. The average listener is a full octave off from where they perceive a fat bottom comes from versus where it really comes from. That applies to all sources, from electric bass to home theater low frequency effects.
ya, those low freqs are often just barely audible where the audible power range of the bass as i know it starts at about 125 hz. those low low end freqs just give me enough to muddy things up without too much audible effect.
In the real world here it never happened and I gigged that Acme cab nearly two years. That's also a fact. I wasn't the only one who noticed it. Maybe it had drivers that were less than optimal.
We seem to not be communicating, and you seem to be not interested in what I and others are trying to tell you. No problem. Enjoy that Flite cab.
No, I understand what you're saying, and thanks for being so condescending.
Fact is, my Acme didn't work as advertised. Deal with it.
Wow
In an attempt to clear up your apparent confusion...
That remark is condescending and even a bit snide and dismissive.
billfitzmaurice
Commercial User
- Sep 15, 2004
- 16,860
- 278
- 76
- Disclosures
- Owner, Bill Fitzmaurice Loudspeaker Design
The only way you could know that is if you did an RTA to plot its response. If you took a plot of your Flite it would reveal that its response drops like a stone below 80Hz. Comparing the two plots would show that the Flite runs about 6dB more sensitive above 80Hz, while the Acme is a full 10dB more sensitive at 30Hz. What you perceive as deep bass isn't in the 30-60Hz octave, it's in the 60-120Hz octave. In other words:
I find it fascinating when players comment on their experiences with Acme cabinets. I've come to the conclusion that most folk who have not gotten on with the brand are using a single B2. Some have tried unsuccessfully to pair an Acme with another brand. The efficiency difference makes this problematic. For me a pair gives me everything I need. I tend to turn my bass EQ down a tad but mostly a flat EQ just simply sounds incredible.
No argument there and I'm well aware of how it works but all the tech talk in the world won't change the fact that my Acme didn't sound as deep as the Flite wihout extra help from boosting the lows on the amp. I was very dissapointed in it.
It's true that I had a single B2 but after it's lack of performance and very low efficiency I certainly wasn't about to buy another.
Oh, yeah? I like my B-4 so much that I bought a second so, technically, I now have a B-9. I never was very good at math.
In my experience, the Acme is the one cabinet I've owned that responds best when applying the "cut-only" EQ philosophy. Case in point: played out last night and encountered a really nasty 150 hz bump which I dialed out with a narrow-notch. As a result, it really opened up the low-end presence without boosting any other EQ settings.
Riis
