The Best Rig I've ever had !!

[Kukulkan61]

Nice rig....I am a long time Walkabout lover.......for me it's best with a lot of cone area.....3X12 was perfect, but now I have 2 SW 115s under it and the rig is the best sounding I have played....BUT it's even better with an HPF (I use the Broughton with my Walkabout)......more clean (ish) headroom!

I hear great things about the hpf with the amp!

 

[SJan3]

Hi @SJan3 ! The HPF will give you more headroom eliminating the sublows you're not hearing and maybe are mudding your tone, and gives for sure more live to your speakers. Maybe you have read some long posts here where people discuss this. But, if you're going ampless don't worry about that, probably the soundguy is hi-passing you already.

Thank you

 

[Kukulkan61]

I think I'm gonna invest in a hpf!

 

[Stumbo]

In all the decades I’ve been playing I never used a hpf lpf, did quite fine without any added pedals was always bass to amp, I’ve just recently started experimenting with effects and I really like what the compressor does but my rigs are all great without anything!

HPF is a specialized eq. If you haven't tried one then you really don't know the effect. And, it's not really an "effect pedal". I use the Broughton Always-On, so tiny it resides next to my amp head or on top of my combo, not on the floor. Pro audio have used them for decades.

A variable HPF while able to be part of a tone shaping or voicing approach is mostly a utility piece for me. It helps with acoustically challenging rooms and tames heads that lack a good internal HPF or has one set at a point that is too low for me/my speakers.

An adjustable HPF does its work to improve the venue FOH mix by taming room boom and slotting your bass in the mix better, it also protects your speakers from over excursion, increases amp overhead (can get combos to punch above their weight), AND, by reducing unneeded frequencies, it allows your amp bass tone control to boost/cut frequencies that you actually use.

YMMV.

I think I'm gonna invest in a hpf!

Best investment I've ever made (cost to benefit). And, it would have been extremely helpful about 50 years ago when I was gigging a Sunn 2000s and the big Sunn 2x15 JBL cab along with my '64 Jazz bass. That was a great sounding rig that no one ever complained that they could not hear it but I remember having to keep the volume down to prevent speaker distortion.

 

[Kukulkan61]

HPF is a specialized eq. If you haven't tried one then you really don't know the effect. And, it's not really an "effect pedal". I use the Broughton Always-On, so tiny it resides next to my amp head or on top of my combo, not on the floor. Pro audio have used them for decades.



An adjustable HPF does its work to improve the venue FOH mix by taming room boom and slotting your bass in the mix better, it also protects your speakers from over excursion, increases amp overhead by it not working as hard (can get combos to punch above their weight), AND, by reducing unneeded frequencies it allows your amp bass tone control to increase frequencies that you actually use.

YMMV.

Best investment I've ever made (cost to benefit). And, it would have been extremely helpful about 50 years ago when I was gigging a Sunn 2000s and the big 2x15 JBL cab along with my '64 Jazz bass. That was a great rig that no one ever complained that they couldn't hear it but I remember having to keep the volume down to prevent speaker distortion.

Those HPFs are hard to find, no luck...

 

[Al Kraft]

Those HPFs are hard to find, no luck...

IMO the fdeck (a TB member) HPF-Pre Series 3 variable HPF is top tier and doesn't take up much room at all (it's not even close to being a typical pedal). It runs on a 9 volt baterry or external power from something like a 1Spot.

 

[Stumbo]

Those HPFs are hard to find, no luck...

Here's one with a switch, a bit more expensive: https://www.broughtonaudio.com/product-page/high-pass-filter

Usually Josh has the Always-On in stock. I'd check back in a few days.

The one I'd get now is the HPF/LPF because it has gain boost and does the same for the highs as it does for the lows. Cuts hiss, clank, buzz, etc. and lets you boost the highs you want from your amp treble control.

 

[Kukulkan61]

I would sure would like to get a little more headroom from my Walkabout it’s tone is special, but it’s been hanging in there when I use it with a 5 piece, I alternate it with my GK Legacy 800..

 

[Al Kraft]

I would sure would like to get a little more headroom from my Walkabout it’s tone is special, but it’s been hanging in there when I use it with a 5 piece, I alternate it with my GK Legacy 800..

IME the WA is more in control/focussed and not quite as loose/over-blooming down low at higer voulmes with the HPF. The super cool thing is that the rich tonal qualities of the WA aren't lost, you just get some additional headroom and what feels like better control on the low end - that can also result in feeling more low mid punch come through. It's not a miracle box that transforms the head, but it is a noticeable improvement when you need to drive it hard IMO.

 

[Stumbo]

... it is a noticeable improvement when you need to drive it hard IMO.

The louder you play, the more effect an HPF has on your rig.

Based on some replies in the HPF Mega thread, depending on the venue, settings range up to 80-90Hz to keep the FOH mix sounding good.

Even at low volume, I've used my bass with an HPF through guitar amps (Alamo Fury 1x15, Acoustic Control 154, 6x10) with good results.

An adjustable external HPF works especially for amps that have no fixed, built-in HPF. And for amps that do have a fixed HPF, adjustability extends it's usefulness.

 

[SJan3]

Hi @SJan3 ! The HPF will give you more headroom eliminating the sublows you're not hearing and maybe are mudding your tone, and gives for sure more live to your speakers. Maybe you have read some long posts here where people discuss this. But, if you're going ampless don't worry about that, probably the soundguy is hi-passing you already.

No, I never go ampless but I've not had any problems that I'm aware of requiring such a device. When I can go back into a music store, I'll check one out.

 

[Kukulkan61]

No, I never go ampless but I've not had any problems that I'm aware of requiring such a device. When I can go back into a music store, I'll check one out.

I've been playing music for decades and never had a problem where I would need one but I'm curious..

 

[Stumbo]

I've been playing music for decades and never had a problem where I would need one but I'm curious..

That's what I said until I looked into it and picked one it to try out.

Never leave home without it!

 

[Sands]

I’ve got a Rumble 115v3 and a 112v2 with a 112 Kappalite speaker. With the Rumble 200 head + the 115, the whole house vibrates at the lowest volumes, rendering it useless for home play.

Putting the 112+115 was as expected, still too many low end vibrations.

So the 115 took a break, and I set my sights on the WD-800 with the adjustable HPF.

From what I’m told, it is reminiscent of the WA in some respects.

Well, I picked one up about a week ago, and it is so much fun and it sounds so good, I haven’t even tried the 115 yet, but I plan to today.

I have a 74 AVRI JB body, late model neck (light), vintage rewound PUs w round wounds and an all original 95 P Bass body with a thick, almost U, heavy maple Jazz neck by Warmoth running TI Flats. Those TI Flats are still relatively new and haven’t fully been played in. Both basses are spectacular through that amp. I’ve never heard so much (not sure of the word) from TI Flats. I’m going to switch the Jazz over to Sunbeams from Fender 7450s, and start saving pennies for a couple SW 115s.

That’s it.

I’m done. I may try TI Flats on the JB someday. I’m tempted to sell the Fender gear to help fund the first SW115, but I want to keep that 112. It’s light as can be and small enough to sit on my dresser. Perfect.

 

[Jazzdogg]

I've been playing music for decades and never had a problem where I would need one but I'm curious..

I might have said the same thing, despite the fact that, over the decades, I've played in several venues that were extremely boomy, or where the only place to put a bass cabinet was in a corner, or where low frequency standing waves made my bass seem muddy and indistinct, or...