$2000 to dump into Bass rig

[Rusty the Scoob]

I run 2x10" when I can't run 2x10" and 1x15" for some reason. 10" speakers punch harder than 15"s in general and they sound better at close range - 15"s don't really come into their own until 20' away or more. You do tend to sacrifice the fundamental on notes below low D or E but you just have to trust that the PA is handling those. The Eden XLT series delivers some of the best extreme lows for a 2x10" so it's a great choice if you're only running one cab.

[unnbrokenchain]

Your right about the 15"s. I think that goes for 12" speakers too, or that may be my personal preference. When I play guitar with my 2X12 cab with E120's I generally like to stand 25 to 35 feet away. I get to hear the full sound projection along with the kind of bounciness effect which comes with my playing style and dynamics. Of course that's really only possible during practice.

[zambiland]

Your right about the 15"s. I think that goes for 12" speakers too, or that may be my personal preference. When I play guitar with my 2X12 cab with E120's I generally like to stand 25 to 35 feet away. I get to hear the full sound projection along with the kind of bounciness effect which comes with my playing style and dynamics. Of course that's really only possible during practice.

Where do you get to practice that you can stand 35' away from your rig?

I used to think that about 15s too, but I'm not so sure. I've been playing through the Talkbass fEARful cabinet recently and it's got plenty of punch up close and far away. I think a lot of it has to do with dispersion more than how far the low end gets "thrown" which some would argue is a myth. These days I tend to agree with them.

I did get to play through a pair of 4x10XLTs last month and it did sound great, however the fEARful is every bit as good and it's much smaller and handles a lot more power. The other guys on stage said they've never heard me so clearly and deeply without it being overwhelming.

[Rusty the Scoob]

I've been intrigued by those fEarful designs since I have some carpentry skills... which one did you build and how are you powering it?

[tigerstrat]

You guys are going to make me google fearful+cab+bass aren't you... yep...

[tigerstrat]

interesting... inspired by PA designs. I'd love to get an earful of fEarful!

I've gone the opposite route creating my "bass cabs" (using my $0 bass budget): two Yorkville Elite 400 PA cabs (2x10+horn; 400w/8ohm), running them with the tweeters unplugged from the crossover... they sound thick and meaty to me for "primal"/slightly overdriven bass, but not for modern sounds. They don't fart out for the extended low notes, but they do grow some hair...

[KCJones]

This Carvin NEO 4x10 stacks up against any cab nearly twice its price; and sounds better IMHO, I've tried many including Eden and Ampeg of the same class. Get Casters whatever you get. I love mine .... Philbombs galore.

http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/s ... BRX10.4NEO

I also have no complaints about my BBE BMAX preamp. Paired with any decent power amp yer ready.

http://www.bbesound.com/products/instru ... /bmax.aspx

[Rusty the Scoob]

I had a Carvin 1x15" that I thought was great - deep, clean, and also nice and light. They didn't do anything fancy, just gave the speaker enough cubic inches of space to speak properly.

Part of me suspects that bass and PA speaker cabs rattle themselves out of spec after a while, and that a clean & new Carvin rig would be a lot better than my abused & roadworn gear that's from supposedly "better" brands but is now 8 year old technology...

[zambiland]

I've been intrigued by those fEarful designs since I have some carpentry skills... which one did you build and how are you powering it?

Well, I didn't build it myself. I bought it from the Talkbass classifieds, but it's the 15/6/1, ie. it's a got a 15" woofer, a 6" mid and a 1" tweeter with a waveguide. I power it with a Crest CA9 (1600 watts bridged mono into 8 ohms! Yeah, baby!) or an Eden WTX-500 for small gigs and rehearsals. It seriously cranks and I'm thinking of selling all my other cabs and building a 12/6 with a student of mine who's a professional carpenter and calling it done. The 12/6 is probably not necessary, but it would be good to have a small cabinet for smaller gigs and for really big outdoor gigs I could use both.

I highly recommend this design. The bottom is huge and effortless (and the rest of it doesn't suck) and the thing weighs hardly anything for what it does. Casters absolutely not required. If not for the size, it would be an easy one hand carry. Anyone in Colorado is welcome to come by and check it out.

So, to get back on topic:
For $2000, I'd build a fEARful 15/6 ($5-600), get a used Crest CA9 ($500) and a SMS Classic pre ($700, less if you can find it used) and have some cash left over. If you want to save some weight, I hear some people are using the new peavey IPR3000s with fEARfuls with good results and it saves 50lbs. Still I find it hard to believe that any power amp really gives the oomph that a Crest does.

[cosmicbass]

I run 2x10" when I can't run 2x10" and 1x15" for some reason. 10" speakers punch harder than 15"s in general and they sound better at close range - 15"s don't really come into their own until 20' away or more. You do tend to sacrifice the fundamental on notes below low D or E but you just have to trust that the PA is handling those. The Eden XLT series delivers some of the best extreme lows for a 2x10" so it's a great choice if you're only running one cab.

Hey Rusty. Try out Eden's D210XST. The XST cabinet -- not the XLT.

You lose absolutely nothing on the low end fundamental with that box -- all the way down to the low B (the box is voiced down to a full 30Hz). I'll throw that 210 up against any comparably powered 15inch cabinet any day of the week. AND, still get the faster speaker response of the 10's.

Everyone looks at the 210XST is Eden's secret weapon.

[glocke12]

Hopefully you did not buy anything yet.

Id stay as far away from Eden as you can. They do sound fantastic, but the quality just is not there anymore. Two years ago I bought a brand new WT800 and a 2x12xlt. The WT800 has been back to the factory twice. The first time I shipped it back because it died on the first ever gig i took it out on, the second time it went back because of a hum that developed overnight.

The 2x12 cab showed up with a non functional horn (not that a horn belongs on a bass cab anyway). They sent a replacement, than six months later on of the 12" speakers blew, I had to get that reconed on my own dime. Now the other 12" speaker is going and I will have to send that out to get reconed. After I get that taken care of I plan on dumping this shit rig.

If you have 2k to spend Id get the following.

Alembic F2B preamp or Demeter VTPB 201S preamp
QSC power amp
Alembic Sf2 Superfilter
BagEnd cabs, either a 2x12 and a 15" or 2 15"s/

I am rocking the demeter, sf2, and the bagend S15 and S15BD on this recording. I'll probably be unloading the demeter in favor of the F2B later this year because the alembic is much more versatile.

http://www.archive.org/details/TheMysteryCats2009-09-18

[ndrewoods]

Your right about the 15"s. I think that goes for 12" speakers too, or that may be my preference. When I play guitar with my 2X12 cab with E120's I generally like to stand 25 to 35 feet away. I get to hear the full sound projection along with the kind of bounciness effect which comes with my playing style and dynamics. Of course that's really only possible during practice.

Wow it seems I need to practice when I am playing with a 2x12 cab. And I am guessing you are practicing in your basement or your own training room . Well for me, I would go for a 4x10 and a 15".

[Phil Lesh101]

I run a 4x10 and a 18"

[Todd GT5]

I know that this is a rabbit trail on an old thread but....

I'm using a GK MB212 with a VT Bass pedal and I'm really loving the tones I'm getting. I usually feed direct(after my VT pedal) into the PA for the slightest bit of sound reinforcement. I've actually been fine without PA support on several outdoor gigs where the smaller PA speakers couldn't handle the lows. I've rarely turned up above half way.

-Todd