Why stack cabs on their side...

[mikeswals]

Just for looks. And when I do it I'll leave the head on the floor standing on it's side.
I've had people come up after the show and ask if I was trying to make some sort of statement. Um no, just being different.

 

[lbanks]

Robbie Harrington, BP for Dierks Bentley, used to have a dummy 810 cab on stage that was a beer fridge.

This may be the SINGLE GREATEST IDEA, EVER!!!

 

[mikeswals]

Yeah, much better than a chicken roaster.

 

[JimmyM]

Why are people assuming they were dummy cabs? Seen a lot of bassists use a rig like that for real.

 

[GeneralElectric]

I do it sometimes with my 2x15. Most of the time my cab is back by the drummer and I've got guitar amps and players between me and it. I like being towards the front of the band, and when on a small stage, being vertical doesn't make much of a difference to me. I like standing towards the front of the band so when its upright, I can hear my bass but I still mostly hear guitar. When I lay it sideways, I can feel the floor pumping to what I'm playing.

 

[countrybassist]

When I played the Kenny Chesney "Pirates and Poets" tour a few years ago, Jerry Flowers, BP for Keith Urban" Stacked his Ampeg 810's on their side. I got a first hand look at his rig and both cabs were functioning. I tried that once and made the mistake of putting my 85lb SVT head on the cab. It almost vibrated off. That woulda sucked. lol

 

[NKBassman]

I saw Stratovarious here in Winnipeg last year, and their bassist had two 810s stacked sideways with an SVT-CL and an ESP 5 string jazz. It was definitely not a venue that needed two 810s either. Fairly small place, very tight stage for their setup, but I'll be damned if that wasn't one of the best sounding Ampeg rigs I've ever heard. Plus it looked cool with the two super wide cabs and an SVT parked right in the middle of them.

 

[Absentia]

SO you can set your drink on it.

 

[ehque]

Hrmmm I think the best setup for 2 8x10s is to have them vertical and then stacked vertically.

A clamping system, a heavy base plate, and a crane would be helpful in this case, but it would provide the best sound projection.

 

[rummy]

I've seen P-Nut do that a lot at 311 shows.

 

[Bob C]

Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Sonically the result is almost exactly the same. Unless you're using an ESP power cord...

That's right. Either way gives you a 4X4 configuration.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Years ago manufacturers of amps like the tweed Fender V-Front Super and the Magnatone 280 used to claim that their products offered a wider dispersion. Fender mounted their speakers in the V. The Magnatone offered a stereo vibrato that provided the illusion of a wider dispersion. A neat trick that is used in recording. Not true that these amps offered a wider dispersion out in the audience but both these amps do sound great.

I've seen single bi-amped 810's on their side. Maybe they are trying for the same sort of "stereo" effect. People like to experiment. If it helps you play better, it is worth it.

I've also seen 810's on their side for visual reasons. They don't want to block props behind the cabs.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

Not true that these amps offered a wider dispersion out in the audience .

Yes, they did, but they also resulted in HF comb filtering worse than a flat baffle. This is why:
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The example shows what happens with two cabs, but the same thing happens with two drivers.

 

[rockstarbassist]

I remember seeing Pantera once, and Rex had his 8x10s stacked sideways. SIXTEEN of them, lol. 4 up, 4 across. I'm sure most of them were prolly dummies, but with that band, who knows?

Randy

Nah with Pantera they were all on...
He was running SVT-2 non-pro's and then had however many as necessary Crest 9001 power amps to drive the rest of the setup.
Zakk ran his 8xMarshall 412 setup with Ozz and IIRC Gus G does as well. I know Blasko has his full Mesa rig on. Not everyone necessarily goes the "dummy" route.

 

[rockstarbassist]

Also I just watched that very CMA Fest show and honestly for the few bands that did it, it was strictly for staging purposes you could tell. The way the other members were set up around the bassist, it was to have a "cleaner" look for the backline and not seem as cluttered. I think that's why you see more 2x410 or 212 cabs side by side instead of one big cab sticking up behind everyone.

There were some great tones had too. Best I heard were the Stingrays though, followed by Tully and his Sadowsky PJ5 through the always nice 750+DB810 rig... :love: x1000

 

[doomdude]

It MIGHT be (and don't quote me on this, I know very very little XD) something to do with the dispersion characteristics of the speaker cone. I remember seeing an article in the back of bass guitar magazine about it (there's a regular tech related article, written by the guy who runs barfaced). Something to do with on axis and off axis performance differences between vertical and horizontal dispersion.

As I said, I have no idea whether this is anything to do with it, so if there are any sound engineers on here, I'm sorry if I'm talking rubbish XD

 

[billfitzmaurice]

It MIGHT be (and don't quote me on this, I know very very little XD) something to do with the dispersion characteristics of the speaker cone. I remember seeing an article in the back of bass guitar magazine about it (there's a regular tech related article, written by the guy who runs barfaced). Something to do with on axis and off axis performance differences between vertical and horizontal dispersion.

Read the original post. It refers to two ways of getting the same 4x4 driver configuration, so there's no difference in the result.

 

[LiamPodmore]

Eric does this with his Hartke 810s also, last time I saw them.

Actually, Erics are halfway inbetween, they have new stands that put their cabs on a 45 degree angle, as can be seen in their video for Diamond Eyes. A little strange, but it looks pretty good.

Back on topic, i think its to add a little bit of floor coverage, and really just an aesthetic thing. I think it looks better than side by side, but thats just me.

Liam

 

[rockstarbassist]

Actually, Erics are halfway inbetween, they have new stands that put their cabs on a 45 degree angle, as can be seen in their video for Diamond Eyes. A little strange, but it looks pretty good.

Back on topic, i think its to add a little bit of floor coverage, and really just an aesthetic thing. I think it looks better than side by side, but thats just me.

Liam

you know right after I posted that I meant to go back and edit that b/c Zack does the same thing with his Diamond cabs on his side of the stage and you are indeed right!

 

[onosson]

Maybe the bass player or the stage manager (if they were backline) didn't want anyone to move the cabs anywhere!