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Steelsound 2x12 review

#141
Geezerman said:
bump, any head recomendations? i was thinking about the ashdown 300h (its only 300 watts though?) because i like the simple layout, definitley getting a 212

I think thats it because im on a tight budget, and i will upgrade heads later when money is steady, kind of sucks it wont be at full capacity, but i think it will still cut through my band.
Click to expand...

If you can afford $469, you can get a 1200 watt beast (@ 2 ohms, 800 into 4 ohms, and 500 into 8 ohms)......

..........the Kustom GrooveBass 1200

I have one, lots of TB'ers do, and it's a tone monster! Do a search in Amps on the GrooveBass 1200... you'll find about 3 days worth of reading/reviews there :cool:

Call Chad @ Link Removed and tell 'em D.C. sent ya and he'll take care of you
 
#142
Geezerman said:
bump, any head recomendations? i was thinking about the ashdown 300h (its only 300 watts though?) because i like the simple layout, definitley getting a 212

I think thats it because im on a tight budget, and i will upgrade heads later when money is steady, kind of sucks it wont be at full capacity, but i think it will still cut through my band.
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure if you went with an Ashdown Mag 300h and a SSB212L you would be at full capacity. In other words you couldn't add another cab somewhere down the line.
 
#146
I agree 300 watts is plenty but is 2x12 plenty? MY answer is sometimes. Personally I would A) Get a head that can do 2ohms, that's what I did, or B) Get an 8ohm cab now,410 or 210 would be good, and another later. You might want to look around for a used Peavey head. Most of them go to 2ohms and can be had for about the same price as the Ashdown new plus shipping. As of friday the Sam Ash in Buffalo Grove had a Firebass 700 for $349 bet you could talk them down some and be set for a long time. Those things are stupid loud!!!!
If that's to much $ this might not do 2ohms but I think is a hell of a deal for the budget minded.Invalid Link Removed
 
#148
Good to see the site is all ready to go, I got a few questions to ask you regarding some purchases I would like to make in the future:

1. I now realise why you guys pulled those legion sound cases for a while, my handles came right off! Have there been any problems since you switched to using nuts/bolts instead of rivets? Also, have all the cases been switched over, it doesn't say under the 12U model.
2. Will there ever be 16ohm Knight 12's for sale?
3. When?
4. If not, how logical is it to buy a pair of Knights and the 16ohm recone kits?
 
#149
Geezerman said:
Thanks for some opinions! Right now i need it for practices and small- medium gigs, if the cab is ratted at 600w, could i just get better head and add another cab?
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Yes, if you wanted to. The 2x12 will compete with a lot though, especially in the small/medium gig world. We have to be careful with it in our band, because it puts out a lot of muddy sub-bass (I think I'm using that term correctly, I never heard it before I came to this site) if we don't carefully EQ it.

If you feel the need for overkill... Buy a bass preamp and a power amp that will put out 1200W at 2 ohms stereo (for example, the QSC RMX2450 - $600). Then you can push 4 2x12 cabs and kill the front row of the audience.

Heck, you could use your existing amp as a preamp (line out) and drive FIVE 2x12 cabs. All in all, $1200 more (plus a preamp if you felt so inclined), and you'd be in very VERY good shape as far as volume goes.

Or you could just play with a PA that has big subs.
 
#150
The other option would be perhaps to rewire the cab as 8 ohm... I don't know if that would be a viable option or not. You could get a second cab then (and rewire), but each cab would then only be getting 150W at full tilt.

It would still be louder, since the 300W would be moving 4 12s instead of 2, but I think you might be running closer to the top end of the amp... since it would have to work harder with more speaker to push.

I dunno. This sort of thing is rather beyond me.
 
#151
But just to clear the discussion up. It might not be very realistic to try rewiring the 2x12 for 8 ohms. If the drivers are being run in parallel, you've got two 8-ohm drivers for a cumulative 4-ohm load. If you rewire those drivers in series, you'll get a 16-ohm load (if my ohmage math is correct).

I agree with Fletch above that the best bet is to get a good amp head that will drive a 2-ohm load. Then it will be easy to add another 4-ohm cabinet and get the full wattage output of the amplifier head in addition to (more importantly by far) moving quite a bit more air.

OBTW - Dave - what EQ settings do you use for your SSB212? I haven't had many issues so far - I do plug up the unused 1/4 inch jack with a foam earplug as well as set the whole setup on an isolation riser; however, the only thing I've had to do was drop a few db's on 80/100/160 hz just to counteract the boominess of raised club stages. I'd love to have your settings in my hip pocket as well.

Cheers,
Jay
 
#152
I brought my ssb 212 cab home today & will give a quick review. I bought it unloaded and loaded it with eminence delta lites. after a quick listen it sounded pretty d@mn good, but i havent given it any type of workout yet.

i wont dwell on the cons too much since i paid $105 + shipping, but here they are. it may be birch, but it is not anything special, just the type of ply you would use to make a crate. it also is not 13 ply as advertised, its 9 ply... i counted the layers and there is even a "9" stamped inside. the handles are cheap, i immediately replaced them at a cost of about $30. the back jack plate is plastic and i will probably replace that too. i can feel some pretty rough joints under the carpet covering, stuff that would stick out like a sore thumb if it was covered in tolex. the internal bracing is just strips of ply & the inside looks like it was put together with bathroom caulk. but every time i would see a flaw, i would remember that it cost me only $105 + shipping. ;) it looks good when it is all together with the speakers loaded.

now here is the biggest plus you may ever hear about this cab.

i flew home & checked in the cab as luggage packed in same box as was shipped to me. i believe the trained monkeys were on duty today. as it came around the conveyor belt, i noticed that the entire bottom of the cardboard box had been violently torn open (and retaped). upon closer inspection i saw that two of the "feet" were sheared off. clearly it had been mangled in transit. but the cab appears to have held together. there seems to be no cracks inside, no big holes in the wood & it is solid overall. it was a very pleasant surprise to actually find it in one piece. but the "baggage handler test" is a pretty big one & it seems this cab has passed it. i will add kudos to eminence as well since the delta lites also survived the ordeal.

i'll let you all know how i think it performs with the neo's soon, which will be the true test, but i am happy so far.

thanks dawn!
 
#153
8mmOD said:
it also is not 13 ply as advertised, its 9 ply... i counted the layers and there is even a "9" stamped inside.
Click to expand...

If true, that is a dissappointing report. I would hope that someone from the company would jump on and clarify.

Anyway, I received notice that mine was shipped and should be here on Saturday. :hyper: I'll be able to make my own report soon!
 
#154
I just started noticing a buzz or hiss from my 212 when I hit my strings. Does anyone else notice this in theirs? I've only had mine for a couple weeks and played it in maybe 4-5 practices @ low-moderate volume. At first I thought i was my GrooveBass 1200, but I borrowed a Mesa Boogie Walkabout and still have the same issue.

Possible wiring problem??? I don't know, maybe someone out there has a suggestion.
 
#155
Could it be your horn/tweeter? Have you tried it with the horn turned down or off? My SWR did that to me once, I ended up replacing the horn and it cured it.

On the flipside, I had a MusicMan cab have it's 10" driver start to go bad on me once, I was able to get through the gig, but it drove me nutz hearing the cone breakup. Replaced that speaker with a reconed Ampeg and it was fine ever after.
 
#156
I think 8mmOD report bears some explanation (9 ply vs. 13 ply)...although the durability report sounds good.

GSPLBASSDC - hiss/buzz from speakers? If this is coming from the actual drivers, I might be concerned. Is this happening in the same place (or at different venues)? Just wondering if it's a grounding or wiring issue.

If it's happening when you hit the strings...I should probably check your profile, but are you using tubes in your circuit? I wouldn't think this would be the problem as you tried with another amp, but it's worth mentioning (could be sounds from a slightly microphonic tube).

Anyway, I think both of these reports warrant a conversation with Musicsupplycenter (Steelsound's new name) to see what they suggest.

I'm a big fan of their products, and so far my recommendations have resulted in quite a few purchases. However, I'm also a big fan of making sure advertising is correct and problems are corrected. I know Dawn is fairly proactive with issues, and I hope, for Steelsound's sake, that they will continue to work out any "bugs" for the purpose of growing their business.

Just take a look at Avatar's reputation and growth...directly due to Dave's honesty, integrity, and superb customer service.

Jay
 
#157
vicenzajay said:
OBTW - Dave - what EQ settings do you use for your SSB212? I haven't had many issues so far - I do plug up the unused 1/4 inch jack with a foam earplug as well as set the whole setup on an isolation riser; however, the only thing I've had to do was drop a few db's on 80/100/160 hz just to counteract the boominess of raised club stages. I'd love to have your settings in my hip pocket as well.
Click to expand...
Settings? Duh. Bass at 10, mids at 0, Treble at 10. Isn't that how everyone does it? :smug:

Aw, geez, Jay. If we have time, we reset differently for every show. Mainly it's a question of how annoyed I am with my sister's sound, and how willing I am to get over there and re-eq it after I've gone through the same bloody process with my guitar amp, not to mention the rest of the PA.

I like to start flat on EQ and adjust to taste. That way I rarely get too far away from 0dB boost or cut in any frequency. I do usually hit the "low" button on the Behringer. Occasionally, I use the "shape" knob to get that modern sound if necessary. Again, I don't know that I'm succeeding in duplicating a tone everywhere, but I can usually dial out mud.

Tell you what... I'll actually start paying attention to what I'm doing, and I'll keep you updated. It's worth mentioning that she is now playing through a wireless kit that (to my ears) seems to compress her signal somewhat, which will affect the amp settings...

BTW, your isolation riser... is it one of those professionally constructed rigs, or is it a do-it-yourself job? If the latter, can you give me some tips for building it? Heck, if I could do that, I'd slap one under my guitar amp as well.
 
#158
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