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I have a MarkBass MB58R 102 cab that is rear ported at rehearsals the hall is large often meaning my cab is several metres away from a back or side wall If the same cab was placed near a rear wall say 12” away would this increase the low bass tone IE make it sound deeper ?

That was partly the plan 😁 Si

Yup! I can't lift it without getting someone to come and help, and I did it despite the blind testing that @Phil Starr organised at the SW bass bash, but I recently bought my first 15" and the sound is glorious. Of course (for me at least) how much that is a placebo effect because it looks so awesome, dominating the room from its corner, I don't know.

Ahhh, Dobbies...one of those dinosaur venues with a power-mad Conc.Sec. and everything*...you can get a reaction out of the crowd, but with pliers and gritted teeth. For the majority who don't know the place but will know many similar (still), there's total silence** for the bingo but they talk through your first set unless (metaphorically) grabbed by the collar, and the general vibe from the management is 'Why can't you be Matt Munroe? I liked him.' Last time we were there I gave Herr Conc. Sec. the hairdryer because as soon as we'd finished some fool on their side hit the smoke machine onstage about eight or ten times as we were packing down, it was four feet deep and you literally couldn't see the floor, I nearly walked off the edge. I lost 75% of my sheet, went to his table and gave him a bollocking, he tried to laugh it off till I pointed out if someone did fall on (or worse, off) the stage he'd be hearing from lawyers (and I'd taken pictures) about breaching H&S, and he shut up. We haven't heard back from them, but to be honest it's no loss. * Where you're referred to as 'The Turn'... ** The sort of silence only encountered in the bleak chill of deep space or Northern Club Bingo sessions, it's uncanny, unnerving and something I think CERN should have a look at...

BTW if you decide to listen to these samples, just try to identify the speaker size you have a preference for, don't try to identify all of the variations.

I did a totally unscientific comparison with some cabs (which is probably more relevant going off some comments here, than the science numbers). I can tell you that of those who messaged me after I did this, 'nobody' identified the cab that had a 15" driver! I actually conducted this test again with two bass playing mates + my wife who is relatively new to actually playing bass but has heard every cab/amp I've ever used in the last 38 years; we had to adapt it so that the directionality [position of driver relative to the ear] was taken out of the equation and in the blind test it was concluded that identifying the correct driver size was pot-luck! When writing down notes, the descriptions were likewise so random that one person's tight response was the other person's wooly sound! LOL

The Reardrop explodes

Like any mass produced instrument, there are always good and bad examples, but there is something odd about the Stingray sonically. You can tell it's definitely designed as an evolution to the Precision, as it's pickup placement fits into an almost perfect sonic space for the listener, but it's often a struggle for the player. If you're running a 'Ray balls-out like Flea, it rises magnificently to the occasion, but as an accompanying instrument it does tend to get sonically buried. It's almost as if the sound lacks the necessary body in a live situation. Even my fantastic sounding thirty year old 2eq model can seem to get a little lost [to my ears], but audience members regularly say it sounds fantastic, that they can clearly hear every single note. Maybe many of us have on-stage hearing difficulties and the Stingray is just fine?

So it’s fair to say a 15” speaker cab won’t sound deeper if the low frequency is increased compared to say a 10” speaker assuming both can handle the low bass ? im aware they may sound the same flat but what if you say boosted mostly the 80hz upwards which normal driver would cope better ? IE why do we use 15” or 18” subs with PA surely it’s because they handle very low hz better and sound deeper ?

My experience of festivals is that there is either a supplied (good) backline that you are required to use as a condition of playing, or that everything is on movable platforms that can be wheeled off to a backstage area for setting up and packing down. I think the sorts of gigs people are talking about here are those in sub 500 capacity venues where there is often no backstage area and the green room is already full of all the other bands and their kit. My attitude at these gigs is, the moment we have finished playing, to get our gear off stage as quickly as possible, find a quiet corner and then pack it down. However, some musicians still don't appear to have got the message and can take up the whole 15 minutes on stage packing their guitars and pedals away whilst chatting with their fans.

Agreed 👍

Isn't there other factors too, from a striictly playing point of view, other than just what it can handle - speed of driver/cone response, feel (flappy, tight etc), the 'slam' you get from them... Apologies for the non scientific terms just describing in a very basic way terms from a playing point of view.

A great way in for me has been the Soul Jazz Presents Studio One series https://soundsoftheuniverse.com/sjr/browse/c-music/i-studio-one/o-all/v-grid/s-hide All great compilations showing the best of studio one from all eras. The x00% dynamite series is particularly good if you're unsure where to start.

Why do we still think that the size of the driver cone is the most important factor in describing a cab? Every cab will sound different, I've owned cabs with the same driver configuration but completely different sounds. Not surprising when you consider that just about everything else to do with the cab - size, construction, driver specifications other than the cone diameters - was completely different. If I was still using backline the diameter of the driver would be the least important factor in choosing a cab.

Que Seurat Sera - Doris Day

Veeeeery nice! Congrats! I'm still very very happy with both my USA JOs. They balance, playability and sound are INSANE. I always get compliments on my sound when I bring one of them.

Blimey. That must be some intense slapping action going on there. I suppose those roller saddles are quite fiddly little things but he must have really been hammering it to make that happen with the strings under tension. I can't shift them, despite my best efforts. Still, it must have been serious for the owner at the time to get what must have been a fairly expensive mod done. Thanks for clarifying!

That’s lovely Si! Matches thr gold PJ!

I ran sound at free festivals in my 20's. Turnarounds averaged 15mins but were very band dependant. You never knew what you were getting but the pro's were always easiest to work with. Steve Winwood turrned up with Traffic refused to go on stage 1 because of the sound and wandered across to our stage listened to the band I was mixing and asked to come on. Are you kidding me! . A total gentleman, no fuss: "I'll play and you make it sound as good as you can" The easiest band I ever had to mix for. They knew what they were doing, the onstage sound was great and all I really had to do was make it loud out front. They even said "thanks" at the end. Sometimes it isn't the sound guy.

Oh yes, if you are using a tube/valve amp, I'd recommend a 2x10" or 2x12", where elements are 16 ohm and connected in parallel. If the other element would break, there would be another left as a load. This could save the transformer.