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Double Bass Who wants a VL208?

A

anonymous02282011

Jun 27, 2007
2,132
9
#1
According John Dong at EA, if we can get about 40 people to pre-order a VL208, Euphonic Audio will make them.

I want 3, so if there's 37 of yall who would pre-pay for this cab, chime in.

If the numbers get up to 40 I'll organize a list of names/numbers and coordinate with John at EA.

I couldn't get a price for these as it's still pretty up in the air, but it wouldn't be cheap so think seriously about this before you reply. It would entail pre-paying and probably waiting a little while.

In my opinion it would be totally worth it.
 
#6
If I were ordering a new VL-208, I would want it to be identical as much as possible to the original, and definitely would not want neo woofers.

Hope enough people sign up to make this happen. The VL-208 is certainly one of the all time great speaker cabinets.
 
#7
robgrow said:
If I were ordering a new VL-208, I would want it to be identical as much as possible to the original, and definitely would not want neo woofers.

Hope enough people sign up to make this happen. The VL-208 is certainly one of the all time great speaker cabinets.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I guess that would kind of screw the pooch wouldn't it? They tried to build the NM 208 and there were some concernes and not enough takers to put it into production.
 
#8
It would be great to own one. Cash up front for a product that doesn't exist seems risky these days though. I guess they need the money for materials. It could take a long time to make those 8" drivers, unless they have them in the warehouse already.

And the reason they stopped making this product is/was?:eyebrow:
 
#9
Without giving too much away, the drivers are commercially available, but EA modifies them.

I know this because John Dong told me as much when I sent 8hz through my 208 and had to get new woofers for it.

He was cool about it. He gave me the option of getting the stock driver, unmodified "at cost" or the modded one for very little more. I went for the modded ones that were intended for the cab.

I've spoken to John a number of times (yea, I can be a PITA) and I take him at his word.

When we spoke today, he said he'd price everything out if and when he knew exactly how many they were going to build. They buy woofers, wood, everything in bulk.

They'd also build a few to keep in house as a back stock.

It was a 10 minute conversation, so I don't mean to under or overstate anything, but he said they'd do a small run if they got the requisite number of orders.
 
#10
Not having had any experience w/ playing thru a VL-208, I'd think about signing on for one if you guys who know the cab could answer some of my questions;

1- About how much does the cab weigh?

2- All things being equal, do they have more or about the same volume and 'heft' or headroom to the sound as a Wizzy M-line 12?

3- Is it an 8ohm or 4ohm cab or can it be made in either config?

4- What would be the ballpark cost?

Thnx, Bri
 
#11
bribass said:
Not having had any experience w/ playing thru a VL-208, I'd think about signing on for one if you guys who know the cab could answer some of my questions;

1- About how much does the cab weigh?

2- All things being equal, do they have more or about the same volume and 'heft' or headroom to the sound as a Wizzy M-line 12?

3- Is it an 8ohm or 4ohm cab or can it be made in either config?

4- What would be the ballpark cost?

Thnx, Bri
Click to expand...
It's significantly heavier than the Wizzy M-line. My bathroom scale says 48lbs. It's a heavy box compared to it's size.

8 ohm box sounds more balanced than the rare 4 ohm box which is very bottom heavy so the 8 would be what is produced...I hope. It's a power hungry box but the low end is very efficient and punchy so you end up getting pretty loud with moderate power by using a trimmed off low end with a high pass filter or a bass knob not up so high. The 400w focus does a very nice job getting as loud as you'd want with a DB.

It's louder than the Wizzy M and has more authority and clarity across the spectrum. Although it may not seem so at first because of the Wizzy's 4 ohm load and where you put your knobs as a result. Max headroom is higher on the VL208. The bass is tighter and more focused than the Wizzy M which seems spread out and diffuse to me. The sound is huge for a small box. Two VL208's paired is a ridiculously good sound from any amp. If you saw any of the auditions I did on tube amps with my old Fender bass it sounded as big as an SVT 810. 3 of them together is deafening and 4 of them is almost unusable. With the Reeves tube head and my Fender basses it made us physically ill when cranked up. The Wizzy can't do that.

I played both the Wizzy M and VL208 boxes on gigs and still use VL208s. I never bought a Wizzy M after auditioning them, although they are a fine fine cabinet. If you can't do the weight or the price the Wizzy M remains the best alternative to the VL208.

I'm sure it will be expensive. That and the weight are why they stopped doing them in the first place. They may not be for everyone. Yet without exception everyone who hears the VL208 is stunned at how good it sounds compared to any cabinet of any size. The Wizzy makes people surprised for how good it sound "for it's size".

I don't mind the weight or the price and have yet to find anything else I like better.
 
#12
bribass said:
4- What would be the ballpark cost?
Click to expand...


again, I don't want to over or understate anything; they would be more expensive then in the past because the cost of the drivers has gone up. When I asked John about this I threw out a figure of six fifty and he said it might be something like that.

They'd have to know how many people wanted, then add how many they wanted as a back stock, do all the addition of ordering parts etc, figure out the profit margin . . .

I've played a ridiculous number of speaker cabs and I always come away w the 208. It's got authority down low, and is clean and even all the way through the mids. You can engage the treble to add as much top end as you like.
 
#13
adbass said:
again, I don't want to over or understate anything; they would be more expensive then in the past because the cost of the drivers has gone up. When I asked John about this I threw out a figure of six fifty and he said it might be something like that.
Click to expand...
That sounds a little low but that number would be well worth it.
 
#18
Uncletoad said:
If you saw any of the auditions I did on tube amps with my old Fender bass it sounded as big as an SVT 810. 3 of them together is deafening and 4 of them is almost unusable. With the Reeves tube head and my Fender basses it made us physically ill when cranked up. The Wizzy can't do that.

I don't mind the weight or the price and have yet to find anything else I like better.
Click to expand...

Ah, Phil your gift w/ prose never fails to make me gfaw :D

You're way more macho than I my friend, lifting the weight of tube heads and multiple VL-208's. I'm not looking for big weight with most of my gigs NOT being too stupid loud w/o some front of the house support.

My 2 Wizzy-M's together are more than enough for my loudest gigs and I rarely do that anymore usually opting to bring 1 Wizzy and giving the house a DI signal, but...

I would like to have a single cab that would be good for doubling that has a bit more headroom and presence than a single Wizzy M12. Of course like I always say about cabs, "there's no substitute for mass", so for this I'd have to expect to schlep some more weight than the mere 34lbs. of the W M12.

I've long wondered about the VL-208. Considering prices it seems that if used ones sell between $700-$850, a new one for that or less isn't bad.
 

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