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Double Bass the new AI Ten2

#23
Just spoke to AI this afternoon. They received the final pre-production Ten2 cabinet today and approved them for the initial run. That means they should have sufficient components to allow production to begin in around 15-20 days. Keep in mind that Acoustic Image is a small company that builds these units in the US and tests them completely before shipping. As a result, don't expect the market to be flooded with a bunch of units. But at least they will start to flow around that time.
 
#24
Wilbyman said:
I am not really expecting it to replace a big electric rig (2x12's), that is unreasonable IMO. However, if it has a more direct upright sound and enough volume to do a small/medium electric gig (i.e., close to what a Markbass 121P 1x12 combo will put out), I think it will be a nice small rig. With the Cabrio setup, you could have the Ten2 and a cab for kill volume (I dunno, Schroder 2x12 or Epi 3x10) and that's it.
Click to expand...

I know I'm a little late to the party here, but I figured I'd pipe in since I've tried the Ten2 and I own a Markbass 121P myself... and I'd say that the Ten2's "girth" and volume comfortably matches - if not exceeds - that of my black 'n' yellow combo.
 
#27
I am the happy owner of a Ten2EX cabinet with the serial number 0001 that I have now been using as my main amp, driven by a Series III Focus, for about the last six weeks. I know this is not a Ten2 combo but it is certainly close enough for me to have reached some firm conclusions. First, let me re-state what I said in an earlier thread:

...I've played in a Rat Pack stage show in an auditorium for 1500 people (with PA support), and then a bunch of pub and hotel gigs of varying volumes with guitar and piano trios, sometimes with a tenor sax. This cabinet gets loud, and if the stage is too boomy, in addition to the HiPass filter (which I feel should always be used anyhow) there is a switch on the cabinet to reduce the amount of sound going to the down-firing woofer while increaseing the sound to the front-firing woofer. I'm very happy with the cabinet. I've also used it in my practice room with a Wizzy10 as an extension cabinet. I found that this produces tons of volume and yet the full power on the very bottom of the Ten2EX enriches the mid-range sound of the Wizzy in a way that is quite special. I'm playing a LaScala Hybrid Flatback with Evah Pirazzi strings and using a RevSoloII pickup.

William Hoffman
Quote:

how does the output of the Ten2 Ex (used by itself) compare to the other AI Contra Ex or to the Wizzies 10 and 12? does it have as much or less more mid-range? more details, please!

Good question. The Ten2Ex sounds very much like the "Acoustic Image Sound" as exemplified by the ContraEX in that it has the same even and flat response through the entire audio spectrum with no drop-off on the very low notes. However, because there is also a forward facing speaker, it is much more "forward", more like a traditional loudspeaker married to the spreading sound that comes from the down-firing woofer. Another way of saying this is that there is considerably more punch from the Ten2EX than from the ContraEX. On hard swingers, I've gotten a lot of compliments from the guys in the band that the pulse is clear and firm. I find it easier to lock up with the drummer.

While getting the full frequency response requires lower efficiency, and it is not as loud as most bass guitar 2X10s, it is considerably louder than a single ContraEX or even two ContraEX speakers together. I have only been playing jazz through it at what most people would call moderate volumes. However, it has been plenty loud enough, even for good size rooms. I haven't had the volume knobs past Noon yet, and this is with a fair amount of HiPass Filter dialed in so that the volume has been reduced by this. I have also found myself dialing the bass down to about 10:00 with this speaker, on top of the HiPass reduction.

The Ten2EX has replaced a single or pair of Wizzy10 speakers that I've been using for the last 18 months with the same Focus head. While I haven't given up on the Wizzy's, particularly because they are so incredibly lightweight and easy to carry, their sound is very different with their major mid-range emphasis. With the Wizzy10, I was boosting bass to 3:00 (still using HiPass) and reducing the mid knob to 9:00 to try and thicken up the sound a bit. While this EQ adjustment helped, I wasn't able to get as woody a sound as I've been with the Ten2EX. The first time I get a gig that I think is going to require some higher volume--maybe a doubling gig--I intend to bring a Wizzy10 to pair with the Ten2EX. I have only tried them in my practice room, and so far like what I've heard. The Ten2EX gives me the incredibly thick bottom end while the Wizzy mid-range boosts the punchiness. The efficiency difference doesn't seem to be that important since a little "fat bottom" goes a long way when the volumes get up.

Hope this is helpful. This is always so subjective and difficult to describe. In a posting a few years ago, I described the sound I was trying to get (on quarter notes) as "cubes with eased edges." I don't want them to sound like "spheres" or "blobs." In other words, I want the notes to be fat but hit hard. I've been able to do this with the Ten2EX.

Erik Hansen
Scotland
Click to expand...

Since writing these two postings to another thread on extension cabinets, I've had a lot more experience with the cabinet although I have yet to get a doubling gig. In particular, I've taken it to two loud, 17-piece big band gigs in the main jazz club in Edinburgh. I normally use the house backline--POS Fender bass guitar amp fortified by house PA--but after hearing a recording of the big band made on a simple handheld stereo recorder with me into the Focus/Ten2Ex one week and the house Fender the next, I'm now bringing in AI amp all the time even though it makes the load-in more work. The combination of really fat bottom end with incredible punch has made for a better sound and a better time feel for the band since I'm now heard so much better by not only the rhythm section but the entire band. I also continue to love the sound in low volume gigs, e.g., I played a wedding cruise of about 40 people with a guitarist backing a vocalist on a small boat on Loch Lomond over the weekend and the sound was incredible. Both the guitarist and the vocalist, who I've worked with before with other equipment, were complimentary of the sound.

Sorry for the length of this posting, but I have been a fan and user of AI equipment since the very first Contra, and this is my favorite piece of equipment that Rick has turned out. Hopefully he'll be able to get a bunch of them out to the market soon.

Cheers,

Erik Hansen
Scotland
 
#33
Does the AI combo still put out the same amount/kind of sound when sitting on top of the Ten2EX? Does the speaker still load properly, or does most of the sound come out of the Ten2 with the down and front firing speakers? I'm looking into getting an extension for my Contra, and I'm thinking I'd rather pay the extra money for the Ten2Ex instead of the regular AI extension.
 
#39
Pat Harris said:
Does anybody know if the Ten2 plus the SIII Contra would be a good match for more high volume electric bass gigs? ...
Click to expand...


I'm also wondering about this. I have an SIII Coda R and play electric bass and keyboards. Despite not being in a loud band, I can run out of clean volume with the Coda in some rooms, particularly marquees. To get enough volume in the room (checked by moving out and playing with a long cable, as opposed to on the stage) with the electric bass or with a bass-y patch on the keyboard, turning up the level causes the low register to become muddy then distorted. I've added a 4ohm Schroeder 110 (light) and this helps a lot both in terms of projection and because it is very efficient - but the sound is not as transparent, with a midrange emphasis on the electric bass and reduced sparkle on pianos.

If I bought a ten2 (and they're costly in the UK - £795 - so it's a major decision), would it be best to stand the SIII Coda on top or separately? It would then be a 3x10, with only one firing forward.

Has anyone tried this arrangement? The combo is the same shape so it would just sit on top.

Nigel
 
#40
If it's exclusively an electric gig, the Ten2 head removes easily with two thumb screws. Put it atop a 410 cab and you're in business.

There is even a set of rubber feet stashed in a little well on the bottom of the case...unscrew them from their storage holes, attach them to the set of holes on the four corners with a screwdriver and you're ready to go.
 

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