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Double Bass What to pair with my Crazy8?

flbass82

flbass82

Guest
Apr 3, 2013
403
20
Florida
#1
Looking into another cab to add to a Crazy8 in louder jazz/folk situations. So my questions:

1. I know I could go with an 88, but not sure if I will even need that much (only play DB and godin a4/rob allen), but should I go with another C8?

2. Just curious, but all of you Crazy8 owners, what are you pairing with it?

Thanks guys!
 
#2
I haven't used a Crazy8 (yet) but have used various Genz Benz, SWR, Markbass and a Tannoy V8 is a long time go to cab. My experience is 8's work best with more 8's rather than mixing them. My experience is also that modular systems are well worth the extra cost in terms of versatility.
 
#3
Jeff Bonny said:
I haven't used a Crazy8 (yet) but have used various Genz Benz, SWR, Markbass and a Tannoy V8 is a long time go to cab. My experience is 8's work best with more 8's rather than mixing them. My experience is also that modular systems are well worth the extra cost in terms of versatility.
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My first thought was just adding another 8. A little more cost effective too.
 
#4
This seems to be an extension of your thread on pairing an Acme B2 with a Crazy 8. The principles involved in pairing cabs have not changed since that thread. :) I already suggested there that you might find this link helpful. Cutting to the chase, the best thing you can pair with a Crazy 8 is another Crazy 8. The post to which I linked explains why. If you are going to pair cabs that are not identical, then there is no special advantage in pairing 8s with 8s. Driver diameter doesn't guarantee specific spectro-temporal characteristics. It's the design of the overall system that counts. If you were going to go the route of pairing your Crazy 8 with a different cab, then matching as close as possible the values of the parameters I discuss in the linked post is far more important than matching driver diameter, per se, across cabs. Another cab with an 8 may produce far less desirable results than a another cab with a 10. Again, read the linked to post to find out why. Keep in mind that pairing unlike cabs is a crapshoot.
 
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#5
drurb said:
This seems to be an extension of your thread on pairing an Acme B2 with a Crazy 8. The principles involved in pairing cabs have not changed since that thread. :) I already suggested there that you might find this link helpful. Cutting to the chase, the best thing you can pair with a Crazy 8 is another Crazy 8. The post to which I linked explains why. If you are going to pair cabs that are not identical, then there is no special advantage in pairing 8s with 8s. Driver diameter doesn't guarantee specific spectro-temporal characteristics. It's the design of the overall system that counts. If you were going to go the route of pairing your Crazy 8 with a different cab, then matching as close as possible the values of the parameters I discuss in the linked post is far more important than matching driver diameter, per se, across cabs. Another cab with an 8 may produce far less desirable results than a another cab with a 10. Again, read the linked to post to find out why. Keep in mind that pairing unlike cabs is a crapshoot.
Click to expand...

Let me just add........ YES! Believe what he says. Once in a while different cabs with the same speaker size work together, but usually not. Unless you're bi-amping, using different boxes is a crapshoot. You have to hear the speakers together to know if they work together.
 
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#6
B String said:
Let me just add........ YES! Believe what he says. Once in a while different cabs with the same speaker size work together, but usually not. Unless you're bi-amping, using different boxes is a crapshoot. You have to hear the speakers together to know if they work together.
Click to expand...

I agree about pairing with the same size, so I guess I should have left off the second question, since I found my answer in my acme thread.

My decision comes down to what the power difference between adding another single 8 or an 88? Decisions, decisions....
 
#9
Eric Hochberg said:
Crazy88s are great sounding cabs. I've used it in a jazz context with drums and it had enough volume. I don't think you'd go wrong by getting another Crazy8 to pair. If you only want to carry one cab, just get a 12" and use that on louder gigs.
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My C8 has the pole mount, so in getting a second with a mount, I could bring it up to hear myself, and act as somewhat of a monitor...
 
#14
flbass82 said:
I agree about pairing with the same size, so I guess I should have left off the second question, since I found my answer in my acme thread.

My decision comes down to what the power difference between adding another single 8 or an 88? Decisions, decisions....
Click to expand...
It seems you're missing something or that I am misunderstanding. There's no magic to pairing with the same driver size. There is an advantage to having two identical cabs. Suppose you add another single Crazy 8. What you will gain is twice the power-handling capacity. Ignoring conditions of perfect phase-addition, which you can actually get with two identical cabs, you'll gain 3 dB. What two cabs offers, however, is flexibility with directivity. As you mentioned, you could have one as a monitor and the other as the main. You could face the cabs in different directions to get better coverage. I use a Crazy 88 and nothing else. For what I do, nothing else is needed. I even had the Crazy 88 at an outdoor summer gig by a pool and it did a fine job. Here's my advice. 1) Get another Crazy 8 if you really do need more or 2) Sell the Crazy 8 and go with a single Crazy 88. Option 1 seems the most cost-effective and will give you great flexibility.
 
#15
drurb said:
It seems you're missing something or that I am misunderstanding. There's no magic to pairing with the same driver size. There is an advantage to having two identical cabs. Suppose you add another single Crazy 8. What you will gain is twice the power-handling capacity. Ignoring conditions of perfect phase-addition, which you can actually get with two identical cabs, you'll gain 3 dB. What two cabs offers, however, is flexibility with directivity. As you mentioned, you could have one as a monitor and the other as the main. You could face the cabs in different directions to get better coverage. I use a Crazy 88 and nothing else. For what I do, nothing else is needed. I even had the Crazy 88 at an outdoor summer gig by a pool and it did a fine job. Here's my advice. 1) Get another Crazy 8 if you really do need more or 2) Sell the Crazy 8 and go with a single Crazy 88. Option 1 seems the most cost-effective and will give you great flexibility.
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I gotcha. I like the option to be able to tilt one of the 8's towards me, so going with an additional 8 as opposed to selling and going with the Crazy88 seems like the more logical way to go about it. Thanks for the input! Sorry, I misunderstood what you were saying before...
 
#17
There may be no inherent magic to pairing similar cone sizes but that should not be read as carte blanche to just go pairing any old cabs. Using identical cabs negates the very real possibility of two cabs that don't work especially well together.
 
#18
Jeff Bonny said:
There may be no inherent magic to pairing similar cone sizes but that should not be read as carte blanche to just go pairing any old cabs. Using identical cabs negates the very real possibility of two cabs that don't work especially well together.
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Goodness, that's exactly what I've been saying here and what is spelled out in detail in this post to which I linked in this thread and in the OP's earlier Acme 2/Crazy 8 thread. Have you taken a look at the linked post?

Here's an excert from what I said in post #4 above:
drurb said:
Cutting to the chase, the best thing you can pair with a Crazy 8 is another Crazy 8. Keep in mind that pairing unlike cabs is a crapshoot.
Click to expand...
 
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#20
Jeff Bonny said:
Sorry I'm at work and not researching every link in every thread I'm ducking in and out of while I should be drafting set design details....
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Well, I made that point quite strongly in this thread (post #4). In any case, the good news is that we agree completely. Pairing different cabs is always a gamble-- one that is often lost. :)
 

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