Thunderbird Club

[Gaolee]

And @kat888, the invite goes to you as well.

Careful what you wish for. She's on a plane headed your way right now. Make sure you have everything breakable put away!

 

[JJR58]

Careful what you wish for. She's on a plane headed your way right now. Make sure you have everything breakable put away!

Very cool, i'm prepared!

 

[Drestakil]

Geezers! (I can say that, I'm a youthful and immature 57.)

Get off my lawn!

 

[theFixer]

I lug a 360 up and down stairs. It's a slow, methodical process, but it's not physically taxing if you do it right. There's no way to lug a 410 cabinet up and down stairs in a slow, methodical, untaxing way. If I was going to be stuck with a 410, it would be two 210 cabinets instead.

Just out of curiosity... which is heavier... the Ampeg 8x10 or the Acoustic 361? I spent a few years movin' the SVT rig around, but have never had the "privilege" with the mighty 360 rig

 

[Gaolee]

The 361 is a powered cabinet. So you have the power amp, with all the iron and capacitors the size of a large can of tomatoes in the cabinet. Plus, it's got about an acre of plywood in there making up the folded horn. A 'Fridge has eight speaker magnets, and those are heavy. But the 361's single speaker magnet is about the size of a Volkswagen. The physical dimensions of a 361 are slightly smaller than a 'Fridge, but my guess is that it outweighs a 'Fridge by a fairly significant margin.

The biggest bass cabinet I ever had was an Acoustic 408. It had four vintage 15s in it and was plenty heavy. By comparison to the 361, it was a lightweight.

When you really get into serious size and weight is old PA speakers. The scrounged PA from hell has a pair of speakers that have four front firing 15s in a massive cabinet, with midrange and treble horns in separate cabinets that sit on top. Those are silly to move, but they sure look the biz, and they sound great.

 

[JJR58]

The 361 is a powered cabinet. So you have the power amp, with all the iron and capacitors the size of a large can of tomatoes in the cabinet. Plus, it's got about an acre of plywood in there making up the folded horn. A 'Fridge has eight speaker magnets, and those are heavy. But the 361's single speaker magnet is about the size of a Volkswagen. The physical dimensions of a 361 are slightly smaller than a 'Fridge, but my guess is that it outweighs a 'Fridge by a fairly significant margin.

The biggest bass cabinet I ever had was an Acoustic 408. It had four vintage 15s in it and was plenty heavy. By comparison to the 361, it was a lightweight.

When you really get into serious size and weight is old PA speakers. The scrounged PA from hell has a pair of speakers that have four front firing 15s in a massive cabinet, with midrange and treble horns in separate cabinets that sit on top. Those are silly to move, but they sure look the biz, and they sound great.

The good ole days, the glorious A7's.

 

[JJR58]

Last band i was in we had A5's, you can barely see them, one behind me, and another behind the cymbal.

 

[Gaolee]

This is what my scounged PA from Hell speakers look like. Mine are a little rattier, and are missing the logo strips. But you get the idea.

Getting a sense of scale is a little tough. The whole stack is around four and a half to five feet tall.

 

[theFixer]

The 361 is a powered cabinet. So you have the power amp, with all the iron and capacitors the size of a large can of tomatoes in the cabinet. Plus, it's got about an acre of plywood in there making up the folded horn. A 'Fridge has eight speaker magnets, and those are heavy. But the 361's single speaker magnet is about the size of a Volkswagen. The physical dimensions of a 361 are slightly smaller than a 'Fridge, but my guess is that it outweighs a 'Fridge by a fairly significant margin.

The biggest bass cabinet I ever had was an Acoustic 408. It had four vintage 15s in it and was plenty heavy. By comparison to the 361, it was a lightweight.

When you really get into serious size and weight is old PA speakers. The scrounged PA from hell has a pair of speakers that have four front firing 15s in a massive cabinet, with midrange and treble horns in separate cabinets that sit on top. Those are silly to move, but they sure look the biz, and they sound great.

H O L Y cuh-RAP!!! I have a whole new respect for you 361 guys! Talk about a labor of love... OY!!! I know the sound of a 360 rig, but I've never been around one. I grew up in a small town that was shoehorned in between cornfields. If you were a bass player in my neck o' the woods, you had Ampeg or Peavey... that was IT... and you only used those when Maw was usin' the wash tub & Paw hadn't emptied the jug yet! I reckon "Acoustic" was for high-fallootin' city folk!

I had no idea the 361 was a powered cab! So the 360 head is pretty much just a pre-amp???

 

[theFixer]

This is what my scounged PA from Hell speakers look like. Mine are a little rattier, and are missing the logo strips. But you get the idea.

Getting a sense of scale is a little tough. The whole stack is around four and a half to five feet tall.

GOOD LAWD!!! I think my spleen just ruptured!

 

[bylar13]

I really like this a lot @bylar13!

Thanks!

 

[bylar13]

sounds amazing

Thank you!

 

[Gaolee]

GOOD LAWD!!! I think my spleen just ruptured!

I use a refrigerator hand truck to move them. It's not too bad, actually. Your spleen will rupture if they ever get turned up, though. The rupture setting comes right before liquify on the control panel.

 

[Gaolee]

I had no idea the 361 was a powered cab! So the 360 head is pretty much just a pre-amp???

Yep. From a weight standpoint, there's hardly anything in there. It's all in the cabinet.

 

[JJR58]

This is what my scounged PA from Hell speakers look like. Mine are a little rattier, and are missing the logo strips. But you get the idea.

Getting a sense of scale is a little tough. The whole stack is around four and a half to five feet tall.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to cool!

 

[Gaolee]

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to cool!

The crazy thing about all the Acoustic Control equipment I have and have had over the years is that I didn't originally set out to be so brand loyal in such a quirky way. Whenever I decided I wanted some piece of equipment for some purpose, the exact right Acoustic Control equipment turned up for a good price. I just assumed there was lots of it floating around, and that's why it was inexpensive. Like all the bomb proof Peavey stuff from the '70s that's still being put to good use. So, I would buy that piece of equipment, and it would be the last one like it I ever saw. The power amp that pushes those enormous speakers is an Acoustic Control 400, which is basically two Acoustic 370 power amp sections in one chassis. I have only seen one of those, and I own it. There are other bits and pieces I either own or have owned over the years that have a simlar story. I figure it's like having a puppy follow you home.

 

[theFixer]

Yep. From a weight standpoint, there's hardly anything in there. It's all in the cabinet.

Was that a common practice for Acoustic back then, or was that unique to the 360 rig?

 

[Gaolee]

They put the power section in the head in 1972 or whenever they stopped making 360/361 stacks and started making 370 heads and unpowered 301 cabinets. The 361 is the only powered cabinet they ever made, to the best of my limited knowledge.

 

[JJR58]

The crazy thing about all the Acoustic Control equipment I have and have had over the years is that I didn't originally set out to be so brand loyal in such a quirky way. Whenever I decided I wanted some piece of equipment for some purpose, the exact right Acoustic Control equipment turned up for a good price. I just assumed there was lots of it floating around, and that's why it was inexpensive. Like all the bomb proof Peavey stuff from the '70s that's still being put to good use. So, I would buy that piece of equipment, and it would be the last one like it I ever saw. The power amp that pushes those enormous speakers is an Acoustic Control 400, which is basically two Acoustic 370 power amp sections in one chassis. I have only seen one of those, and I own it. There are other bits and pieces I either own or have owned over the years that have a simlar story. I figure it's like having a puppy follow you home.

Kind of the same scenario with that pic of the A5's.
There was actually another pair of the A5's buried in a corner because we hadn't finished the studio as of that time.
But we were Altec hounds, also really dug the older Urei and Hafler stuff.
Also had an old Altec 1220 board.
There was no Acoustic gear to be had at all, (or barely any when in Portland), circa 2003.

 

[theFixer]

The crazy thing about all the Acoustic Control equipment I have and have had over the years is that I didn't originally set out to be so brand loyal in such a quirky way. Whenever I decided I wanted some piece of equipment for some purpose, the exact right Acoustic Control equipment turned up for a good price. I just assumed there was lots of it floating around, and that's why it was inexpensive. Like all the bomb proof Peavey stuff from the '70s that's still being put to good use. So, I would buy that piece of equipment, and it would be the last one like it I ever saw. The power amp that pushes those enormous speakers is an Acoustic Control 400, which is basically two Acoustic 370 power amp sections in one chassis. I have only seen one of those, and I own it. There are other bits and pieces I either own or have owned over the years that have a simlar story. I figure it's like having a puppy follow you home.

Sounds somewhat akin to the infamous "'bird call" y'all talk about... but with amplification equipment! You are the chosen one!!! (hope ya have a strong back!)