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Will this Work?

S

squat251

Nov 7, 2010
31
0
Carp Lake, Michigan
#1
OK, I dont really have a cabinet for my amp, i have been playing through an old home stereo subwoofer and box. Though this *works* it sounds meh and I want an atleast acceptable looking cabinet. but cabs built specially for bass are almost always out of my range and though within budget I simply dont have the time to build my own (perhaps some day) also my friends want to have a PA set up, so i offer this
http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Kustom-KPC15-15-PA-Speaker-Cabinet-with-Horn?sku=600816

now this is a PA speaker but will it not work for practice and small gigs? as far as i can tell they are the same as a regular cabinet without the extra 50-100$ please feel free to chime in.
 
#2
I have used PA cabinets for rehearsals and small gigs in the past without any issues. They may not sound as good as a bass cab, but they are generally usable. You do want to watch that you're not going to blow the speakers with the frequencies that a bass amp can put out. Make sure that the cabinet is appropriate for your amp, or don't push the cabinet too hard by keeping the low end and overall volume down. But IME it can work fine in the right circumstances. I have a small powered (100W) home stereo speaker from the 80s (it's about the size of two shoeboxes) that I use at rehearsals, and even took to a gig at a house concert this evening - you can see footage here, just to give you an idea of the kind of setting I'm talking about: Invalid Link Removed
 
#3
The PA cab you link to is a $100 Kustom.

Do you mean you want to use it for vocals and PA?

If you read http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=192442 you'll learn that your amp has enough watts to easily power a good 2x15 or 4x10 cabinet.

Based on the above mentioned link, the $100 Kustom cab will fart out or blow out the minute you turn the volume past 1.

I suggest you look for a used cabinet on CL that will work with your amp and leave the P.A. cab for another purchase.
 
#5
It's a two hour drive. Damn you're really way up north there! Posted 6 hours ago.



[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]


Hartke VX210 bass cabinet - $125 (Interlochen)
Date: 2011-01-16, 10:14AM EST
Reply to: [email protected] [Errors when replying to ads?]

Hartke VX210 bass cabinet. Like new condition. Works perfectly.

* Location: Interlochen
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#9
Burlington said:
Nothing? You'll have an actual bass cab, as opposed to one meant for a PA.

Buy a real bass cab, or else you will be just wasting your money.
Click to expand...

And further to this, definitely worth not buying the cheapest available - the cabinet is arguably the most important element of the chain. Everything will sound bad through a bad cabinet, almost anything will sound at least OK through a good one.

Edit: Not saying anything against the Hartke, by the way, definitely worth a look/listen
 
#10
i use hartke stuff for my big gigs but if you need something for small practices a combo would be best. Or if you r weird like me and like the old sliced speaker fuzz u can use a karaoke machine (its what i use i get made fun of until i get heard) you can get a 50 watt one for $120 easy and as long as you dont crank it, it holds up fine
 
#13
i guess because I've never had a real bass cab that i just cant imagine the difference but other than possibly the horn what is the difference between a ported PA speaker and a bass cab? don't most modern musicians use a direct pigtail from the amp to the PA system nowadays? if its the crossover they are simple circuits and it would be easy to remove. I've built crossovers before for hi-fi setups but like i said never had a real cab...
 
#15
squat251 said:
i guess because I've never had a real bass cab that i just cant imagine the difference but other than possibly the horn what is the difference between a ported PA speaker and a bass cab? don't most modern musicians use a direct pigtail from the amp to the PA system nowadays? if its the crossover they are simple circuits and it would be easy to remove. I've built crossovers before for hi-fi setups but like i said never had a real cab...
Click to expand...

Some players do use PA cabs for their bass rigs. Just not the $100 Kustom you referred to. It's cheap junk. It only takes 100w rms so your head will over power it. It's only 97db efficient so even when you put 100w through it and don't distort it, it won't be very loud.

It won't work for what you need. Period. You can't put your bass, let alone bass and the vocals through it no matter how much you wish it.

You've stated several times that you've never owned a bass cabinet before. Based on your comments, you've come to the conclusion that you really don't need to own one and can put your sound (with the rig you have) through the PA.

That may be true, but the Kustom amp you referenced won't work for that. Hey, I think I said that already. What you would need to handle bass and vocals with a loud enough clear tone costs a lot more than $100.

Update: just received an email about a Peavy PA cab: Peavey PV115 Passive 2-Way PA Enclosure, 1x15" cab for $220 that might do what you want to do: Invalid Link Removed They also have a blem for $170. Free ground shipping. Also will take payments.
Rated at 400 Watts RMS with 800-Watt peaks, you can fill any venue with music. Peavey PV115's handle a maximum Sound Pressure Level (SPL) of 118dB.

If your amp has more than one input, maybe you can put vocals through one input and your bass through the other. Then adjust your bass tone with your bass tone controls.
 

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