Virtual 12x18

[Vallin]

I have an "old" (ask Stephen Hawking about the relativity here!) 2004 Korg Toneworks Bass Modeling preamp. It's the brains of my rig. On the cabinet setting I use the 12x18 almost exclusively. I'm so into DSP that I may never buy "real-life" amps and cab's again, but I'd like to know if there was ever a real world 12x18 cabinet and who manufactured it.

 

[BioWeapon]

I'm going to venture a wild guess and say no - something like that could never be portable, practical, or easily serviceable. I'd imagine that maybe a non-moving festival stage could use such a setup but I don't think anybody would ever make a 12x18, more likely just 6 2x18 cabs or 12 18" cabs.
If you're into crazy, some dude turned his basement and part of his foundation into a giant bass horn with 8x15 per side. It's a subwoofer system with sensitivity in the range of 110dB/w/m starting at some crazy frequency like 10 Hz.

 

[agedhorse]

No.

 

[Vallin]

@agedhorse: No...what?

 

[BogeyBass]

I seen rows of more 18" speakers than 12 but lol no not in a single cabinet

likewise in a dsp I don't think they have a reason to model such a thing if it exists. software emulation
includes room response in more aadvanced cab emulation. so it could be a emulation of a 12 foot by 18 foot room.

 

[Vallin]

I'm going to venture a wild guess and say no - something like that could never be portable, practical, or easily serviceable. I'd imagine that maybe a non-moving festival stage could use such a setup but I don't think anybody would ever make a 12x18, more likely just 6 2x18 cabs or 12 18" cabs.
If you're into crazy, some dude turned his basement and part of his foundation into a giant bass horn with 8x15 per side. It's a subwoofer system with sensitivity in the range of 110dB/w/m starting at some crazy frequency like 10 Hz.

I read that article, @BioWeapon! I saw it in a Stereo And Music guide. I subscribed to them way back in the 80's. The system had two banks of 4x12's, a bit like Infinity's Reference System (Genesis revived this idea), and he vented the sound to his living area through floor ducts. I LOVED this. I also read about a guy who had a pair of 18's in separate concrete acoustic suspension [non-vented]cabs. The latter system was an article in the 80's, and the guy used two RAILS of 4 Quad electrostatic speakers for his mid-hi's.

Sting and John Entwhistle used 18" subs. Sting's rig was 2 1x18 subs, 2 6x12's [2 rows of 3], and two horn tweeters.

Back in 1974 Greg Lake had a half-PA with 2 2x15 JBL folded horns. His mid cabs had huge deflecting louvers, so I've never known if they were 12's or 10's (anybody else know?); he also had top tweeter horns. This was just for the bass! He had a rack of four Fender amps for his guitars. I LOVE proggers!

I'd go in that direction with either a coax 12 (like a keyboard amp) or 4x12 with center horn. I at one time was crazy about Hartke's 2x12's-and-horn [discontinued].

Right now I want a Kemper modeling preamp that lets you record a real-life rig of your own design like above in my case.

 

[agedhorse]

@agedhorse: No...what?

No, there never was a real world 12x18, it's purely software imagery.

 

[Vallin]

I seen rows of more 18" speakers than 12 but lol no not in a single cabinet

likewise in a dsp I don't think they have a reason to model such a thing if it exists. software emulation
includes room response in more aadvanced cab emulation. so it could be a emulation of a 12 foot by 18 foot room.

That's what Korg says it is! And it SOUNDS plausible, a massive, gothy, Abbey Road cistern kind of sound. I have full long reverb on it, an just wallow in it.

As I just said, the new Kemper lets you record your own rig in a suitable room, in my case would HAVE to be Abbey Road Studio 1 or Union Chapel (London is a MUST for me!).

 

[Vallin]

Mind you all, as you see in my icon, that is in-deed a Fender Musicmaster short-scale welded to my solar plexus. I use very light Rotosounds or GHS's tuned down to 'B'-'D' [lowest string is 0.95]. So I really need that DSP brain and brawn. I play a lot of multi-stops, and Travis picking/banjo picking, and I bend a lot (almost Van Halen bends).

WHEN (let us pray!) I get a more "conventional" instrument (looking at Music Man and Spector), I will be installing GraphTech super-piezo bridges, so I'll be doing a lot of keyboard and guitar sonorities as well.