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Double Bass Would this rig sound good for upright?

#3
Thompas said:
http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/msg/3143132740.html


Hi, I was just wondering if this head and cab would sound decent enough to put my bass through it. I'll be playing both electric and upright with it, and going through different styles. With my upright I'll only be playing jazz and with my electric it would mainly be funk/groove stuff. Thanks for the input!
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The combined weight of this cabinet and the 700RB is 95.5 pounds. That's the deal breaker for me, way to heavy to cart around, especially if you include, your instrument, and the load in and out. For years, I used a B-15N(C). Those older Portaflex amps weighed nearly 85 pounds. Do yourself a favor, take a look at the Genz Benz 6.2 and 9.2. Shuttle series. They sound great with both instruments and weigh a lot less. The head might be just fine, but that cabinet is just to heavy.

Ric
 
#4
Lots of upright players seem to love the 700rb amps...Ampeg 15's are also popular...

The price is decent and it's an ok rig...you can do better, but I'm not sure you could do better for that price :)
 
#5
It's not what I would choose for an upright. First, I think it's more than you want to lug around. Second, I would not use a 15" as my only speaker on upright. I'm not expert on how to express this, but you will get a bigger low end than you want and not the defined mids and even highs that make an upright sound good through an amp.

I'm not saying you can't make it work. Just wouldn't be my choice. At $650 you might get a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0-12T that will be powerful enough for most gigs and has a great DI out into the PA if needed.
 
#6
chuck3 said:
It's not what I would choose for an upright. First, I think it's more than you want to lug around. Second, I would not use a 15" as my only speaker on upright. I'm not expert on how to express this, but you will get a bigger low end than you want and not the defined mids and even highs that make an upright sound good through an amp.
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That's a very fair point, though I use mostly 15 based cabs for upright on everything from small gigs to outdoor fests...depends on the 15 and the enclosure...I typically use a 3 way cab with one or two 15's, a 6" mid driver and a high quality horn...that is a dream upright cab as far as I'm concerned :) Sometimes for small to medium sized gigs I use a 12, 6 and a horn...smaller, lighter and an easier load in.

Couldn't agree more on Genz amps for upright. I have a ShuttleMax 12.0 and love it, esp for doubling gigs
 
#7
dukeorock said:
That's a very fair point, though I use mostly 15 based cabs for upright on everything from small gigs to outdoor fests...depends on the 15 and the enclosure...I typically use a 3 way cab with one or two 15's, a 6" mid driver and a high quality horn...that is a dream upright cab as far as I'm concerned :) Sometimes for small to medium sized gigs I use a 12, 6 and a horn...smaller, lighter and an easier load in.

Couldn't agree more on Genz amps for upright. I have a ShuttleMax 12.0 and love it, esp for doubling gigs
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Lest the OP be confused regarding the enormous difference between the fEarful 15/6 type cabinets you're using and the one he/she is considering - a standard direct radiator cabinet based on a 15" driver is not typically considered ideal for double bass amplication, at least in my view, because of the smaller angle of dispersion of the upper mid and high frequencies the larger the driver diameter. In order to hear yourself with any clarity, the speaker must be directed right at you, and therefore right at your bass, resulting in a greter chance of feedback. The 3-way designs like dukeorock's leave the higher frequencies to a 6" driver (+/- a 1" tweeter) with a broad dispersion pattern, meaning you can hear yourself without having to stand right in front of it.
 
#8
GrowlerBox said:
Lest the OP be confused regarding the enormous difference between the fEarful 15/6 type cabinets you're using and the one he/she is considering - a standard direct radiator cabinet based on a 15" driver is not typically considered ideal for double bass amplication, at least in my view, because of the smaller angle of dispersion of the upper mid and high frequencies the larger the driver diameter. In order to hear yourself with any clarity, the speaker must be directed right at you, and therefore right at your bass, resulting in a greter chance of feedback. The 3-way designs like dukeorock's leave the higher frequencies to a 6" driver (+/- a 1" tweeter) with a broad dispersion pattern, meaning you can hear yourself without having to stand right in front of it.
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Another very fair point, Growler :)

I had pretty good luck with B15's early on, but you're right about the limitations of most full range single 15 cabs. Getting an upright loud is a real moving target...took me quite a few years.
 
#9
dukeorock said:
Another very fair point, Growler :)

I had pretty good luck with B15's early on, but you're right about the limitations of most full range single 15 cabs. Getting an upright loud is a real moving target...took me quite a few years.
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+1 I still have my B-15N(C) and it has a distinct voicing that can sound quite good with a Double Bass and the Realist or Full Circle. It's unique as it was designed by Jess Oliver who was a Double Bassist himself. There are no other amps, I know of that had he Double Baffel Reflex Porting system Jess Used. On the other end of that spectrum, are the modern cabinets, designed by Acoustic Image, Euphonic Audio, Audiokenisis, and Fearful, that have more incommon with studio monitors than bass cabinets,and expensive. Most players don't have the resources to buy either of these setups. I think that the Genz Benz amps are a good middle ground, if you need a doubling rig. There have been several Shuttle 6.0's showing up on the used market, as players replace them with the newer 6.2's. That's what I'd reccommend. Just my take though.


Ric
 
#11
I seem to be in the minority here, but for me...tons of clean headroom makes upright so much better sounding...I'd go ShuttleMax 9.2...lots of eq, great features, great for doubling gigs, and lots of clean power on tap. As far as B15's go...seems hit and miss...haven't heard any recent ones I truly love, which doesn't mean I've heard 'em all :)
 
#12
chuck3 said:
<SNIP> I would not use a 15" as my only speaker on upright. I'm not expert on how to express this, but you will get a bigger low end than you want and not the defined mids and even highs that make an upright sound good through an amp.<SNIP>
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Depends more on the application than the speaker diameter. For years, I used a 1X15 Polytone amp with DB and electric, and it sounded pretty darned good with both. So did my Ampeg 1X15 fliptop.

I've had fantastic experience with Euphonic Audio amps and cabs with DB and electric. These days, I'm using an EA head with two composite cabs built by Mike Arnopol; a 1X8 (9 pounds) and 2X8 (20 pounds); they're the best sounding cabs I've ever used, and plenty loud for any gig I'm likely to play.
 

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