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Double Bass Wizzy-M arrived today

#21
drurb said:
Well, I've tried many times to clarify what is the field of psychoacoustics. Hearing/perceiveing something that is not present physically is not "psycho" acoustics.

From a recent invited essay that I coauthored, "Psychoacoustics is the area of auditory research in which behavioral methods are used to discern and to describe how, and how well, listeners perceive sounds." In practice, it draws on the a knowledge of experimental psychology, communications engineering, electrical engineering, acoustics, and neurophysiology (among others).

In the specific case mentioned, I am highly confident that you perceive more "high end" because the spectral profile of the response physically has a greater proportion of those frequencies.
Click to expand...

Cool, an expert! :D

So, what word or phrase would you say more accurately describes a perceived sonic characteristic that is not directly measurable, or a perception which contrasts with the measured response?

Or (and I think this might be distinguishable), where the highs sound higher or brighter from one box which has a relative midrange scoop compared to another box, but with the actual high frequency output being the same from each box?

Thanks, Tom.
 
#22
tombowlus said:
Regarding the M-line versus the regular Wizzy, it's not a matter of one being better than the other, IMHO. They both have their strong points, and are far more alike than they are different. The M-line has deeper, bigger lows, more refined mids, and slightly more perceived high end (though I credit this to psychoacoustics). The original Wizzy has a more warm, vintagey tone to it, and has more focus and punch through the mids. They both sound great, and actually, one of each makes for a pretty darned good rig!


Tom.
Click to expand...

Tom,
Have you played an Upright through both of these cabinets and had time to A/B them? IMHO the refined midrange response and the bigger bottom may make it a better cabinet choice for Double Bass. That's what I like about the VL 108's and 208's . Great mids with a beefy bottom.

Ric
 
#23
Ric Vice said:
Tom,
Have you played an Upright through both of these cabinets and had time to A/B them? IMHO the refined midrange response and the bigger bottom may make it a better cabinet choice for Double Bass. That's what I like about the VL 108's and 208's . Great mids with a beefy bottom.

Ric
Click to expand...

Not yet, but I am hoping to soon. Playing my Rob Allen Mouse (which in some ways is very upright sounding), though, I am inclined to believe that I will somewhat favor the M-line with upright.

Tom.
 
#24
Tom,

Having just heard M Lines for the first time this week your summary is spot on. I might have to keep them. I'm looking forward to pairing a Wizzy and a Micro.

Steve

tombowlus said:
I believe that photo is quite close to the actual size, isn't it, Bob? Anyway, that Micro is going to be quite the mini powerhouse! :cool:

Regarding the M-line versus the regular Wizzy, it's not a matter of one being better than the other, IMHO. They both have their strong points, and are far more alike than they are different. The M-line has deeper, bigger lows, more refined mids, and slightly more perceived high end (though I credit this to psychoacoustics). The original Wizzy has a more warm, vintagey tone to it, and has more focus and punch through the mids. They both sound great, and actually, one of each makes for a pretty darned good rig!

Now, obviously, they will sound great with EA heads, but FYI, they also sound killer with all-tube amplification!

Tom.
Click to expand...
 
#29
tombowlus said:
Cool, an expert! :D
Click to expand...

Well, it is my day job!

tombowlus said:
So, what word or phrase would you say more accurately describes a perceived sonic characteristic that is not directly measurable, or a perception which contrasts with the measured response?
Click to expand...

Well, let me try to answer this both without writing multiple pages or zooming off into a tangent. One must always be careful to use the right words to describe physical attributes and psychological ones. A case in point is loudness or pitch. Those are psychological attributes. We usually think of them as being directly influenced or related to intensity and frequency, respectively. The truth is that intensity can affect perceived pitch and frequency can affect perceived loudness! Unless we are discussing outright halucinations (maybe from smoking too much of something), there is always a measureable physical attribute or attributes that correspond to changes in perception. Undertanding the relation between the physical and psychological quantitites is the business of psychophysics and has been for literally about two centuries. Auditory psychophysics is reffered to as psychoacoustics.

tombowlus said:
Or (and I think this might be distinguishable), where the highs sound higher or brighter from one box which has a relative midrange scoop compared to another box, but with the actual high frequency output being the same from each box?
Click to expand...

Ah! This is the spectral profile to which I referred. Let's take two boxes such that the physical intensity of the high frequencies is the same from each. One has a scooped response and the other has a flat response. The highs will be more prominent in the first for two reasons. The first reason has to do with masking effects. Lower frequencies mask higher frequencies and not vice versa. This is an effect stemming from the mechanical response of the inner ear. The second reason the highs will be more prominent in the former case is because they are! We basically code the relative strength of the different frequencies and we percieve the "shape" of the spectrum fairly independently of its intensity (notice, I didn't say loudness).

Sorry to derail this thread. We now return you to the regularly scheduled thread. :)
 
#30
Well after almost two weeks worth of a large variety of gigs my pair of Wizzy-M's are proving to be outstanding cabs.
I worked w/ a loud dance band in a very large room (the Copacabana in NYC). They had their own sound system and soundman there and my signal was given to the board from the DI on my Focus.
During the soundcheck and the sets it became evident that the soundman was pretty lame (vocals sounded terrible etc.) and I don't even think my sound was in the mains at all. It sure felt like all the bass sound that the audience was hearing was coming out of my rig and that rig was cutting that room no problem.
I had the AI Focus2R III w/ a pair of Wizzy-M's w/ a Music Man Sterling BG and a Eminence EUB. The MM sounded tight and defined and had a enough fat bottom when you needed it. I seem to need to EQ the Wizzy's less than other cabs. I seem to get more tonal variations w/ varying my attack and technique rather than having to adjust the amp EQ for different tunes and moods. It seems to make the tonal variations more evident and clearer in the mix. This lets me play at lower volumes to get the same presence. Just makes the Eminence sound a whle lot better to my ears. I like playing it more than I used to w/ this rig. The band leader who I know for many years said I never sounded better. He didn't know I had any new gear w/ me. I think he could just 'hear' me better.

In a Jazz sextet setting w/ one Wizzy-M, the Focus and my Prescott bass in a not so great 'rotunda' type room (which often can be frought w/ acoustical peril), the rig was great again. I was not in the house system this time at all and the bass was warm and defined. The drummer was the great Terry Silverlight and together we had an especially good hook up that gig. He seemed to hear my every nuance and responded.
I may forget about the mic shopping I was doing to blend w/ the Realist. It seems practically uneccessary now. The highs seem to have the 'air' already.
A piano bass duo gig in a quiet restaurant. Same rig w/ one Wizzy, low volume. Even better 'my bass only louder' sound. Piz to Arco and back w/ no amp adjustments at all. I'm enjoying the tilt back handle on the bottom. Almost makes me not miss a handle on the top of the box. I think I'll try it out this week w/ my 'ol mid '80's Walter Woods two channel. :smug: Should be interesting to hear the WW mids thru the Wizzy-M.
So far I gotta hand it to EA. What a box. :cool:

BG
 

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