tks.se

These five cabinets have been made for Bass Gear: Two 1126 cabinets (one with tweeter). Beige/brown grille cloth. Two S112 cabinets (vertical, one with tweeter). Black/white "snakeskin" vinyl. One S212 cabinet with tweeter. Standard black vinyl and metal grille. Hoping they will arrive during next week. Bass Gear will try to hold these as a demo stock, so you should be able to go there and try them out as soon as they arrive. [url="http://www.bassgear.co.uk/"]http://www.bassgear.co.uk/[/url]

[quote name='allighatt0r' timestamp='1413277448' post='2576519'] Why is this TKS specific forum under Amps and Cabs instead of Affiliates? Seems a little odd? [/quote] The moderators who set the forum up thought it would be best placed under "Amps and Cabs". It's the same thing as with Innovation Double Bass Strings being located under the EUB and Double Basses forum.

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1413229722' post='2576200'] Did anyone snap one of these up? Serious bargains! [/quote] They're all still left. The first post wil be edited if any are sold.

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1412940838' post='2573475'] I'd be interested in a comparison between the Barefaced Compact and the H115. [/quote] Here's a quote from another thread: [quote name='Conan' timestamp='1386949794' post='2306747'] Well, I borrowed the cabs last saturday (thanks WoT!!) and got the chance to try them on wednesday. First impressions - very nicely made. Good attention to detail and some interesting variations available. The two cabs I borrowed were the H115 and the 1126. The H115 is, in some ways quite similar to my Barefaced Compact. It is a reasonably small, reasonably light 1x15 that uses (I believe) a Neodymium speaker. It also has a tweeter, which the Compact doesn't. Soundwise, I really liked it. Despite disliking tweeters in general, this one sounds really "musical", and can be adjusted to taste. My taste is "off", but when I dialled it in it gave some very usable sounds. The overall sound is kind of "tight". No sloppiness, woolliness or any other the sounds that are deemed to be typical of fifteens! Very clear and very full-range. No shortage of anything really - but not as prominent in the midrange as my Compact (with which I compared it). I would be very happy to own one of these cabs. At current conversion rates it would cost £515 (before shipping), which makes it broadly similar to a BF Compact. (...) Conclusion? I would be happy to own a H115. Great sound, and easily portable with the side mounted, recessed metal handles. The tweeter is a very useful addition, even though I would not use it with my current set-up. A few inches taller than my Compact, making amp adjustments easier. The 1126 does not suit my taste and style (if I have any!). It looks great, but the sound was just "wrong" for me. Great for guitar though! Price-wise, these cabs are still quite pricey I would say. Maybe not in the Aguilar/Bergantino/Vanderkley type of bracket, but certainly up there with the "equivalent" Barefaced cabs. I like the variations that are available, and it would be nice to see BF go down this route in the future... It would have been nice to have another bass player there to get some more objective views, but within the scope of this test I think I was pretty fair [/quote]

We have a few cabinets ready for shipping that we're offering a deal on for all Basschat members. Only 1156 left (H115 sold, H112 on hold for local collection in Sweden). All three feature high excursion neodymium magnet speakers. They have the standard look: Black vinyl covering and metal grille. One of each in stock. All prices include shipping within the EU. [b]H112: £360[/b] (On hold!) [b]H115: £450[/b] (Sold!) [b]1156: £540[/b] It's possible to add the optional tweeter if needed. More information and sound samples can be found at the website: [url="http://www.tks.se/"]http://www.tks.se/[/url] As you can see from the website, these models are to be discontinued. The reason for that isn't that the cabinets have any shortcomings, just that we aim to keep a small stock of finished cabinets for the entire product range, and that wouldn't be possible with the number of models available today, so the least commonly ordered cabinets unfortunately had to go, for us to be able to offer better service in form of shorter waiting times.

[quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1412441898' post='2569005'] I'm looking to get some better cabs later this year / early next year and would really like to hear these. Any plans to come down London way ? [/quote] [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1412442994' post='2569012'] Bassgear, ..??? [/quote] Just about to write something a little more cryptic, but guess the information is already out Yes, Bass Gear will get a batch of cabinets sent to them, probably during next week. You can contact them if you're interested in going over and test a few cabinets. More information about this is coming next week.

[quote name='Leslie77s' timestamp='1412417412' post='2568715'] Wateroftyne what finish is that on your S212 mate it looks great, is that just the grill cloth? Fancy one of these or the S2126. What made you decide on the S212? They really do look like excellent cabs for the sound I'm after. Thanks for joining us Tommy! [/quote] Exactly, the only extra on WoT:s cabinet is the grille cloth option, he chose to have a black grille cloth frame, and the grille cloth isn't a standard stock item, it uses a white thread where the standard one has a beige one. You can see the difference in this picture, compare the grille cloth of the S212 with the S112:s in tweed. If you were to order, and prefer the look of WoT:s cabinet, there's some of that grille cloth left, so no extra waiting time, just the standard 2-3 weeks manufacturing time.

Sorry for spotting this a bit late, but glad you like them, nice pictures! [quote name='thebassman' timestamp='1401367237' post='2462841'] So, the cabs in the picture, are they the standard option? I can see there are lots of different vinyl/ grill cloth options available. They do look very nice!! What's the total shipped cost for these? [/quote] Glad you like the looks as well! These were around £700 in total, including shipping and the optional extras (grille cloth, vertical configuration). The cheaper standard option is a metal grille.

Phil is right, The measurements is an indication only, the intention was to look at the distribution of harmonics, compared to the fundamental. The test was done with an electric bass (Ibanez SR900) plugged in to a spectrum analyser through a simple mixing board (set flat). I can't say what the reference level is, and it isn't really relevant, since the difference in dB between the harmonics was the interesting thing to look at. The test was done quite quickly and a long time ago, before my first DIY project, when I wanted an answer to the exact thing Phil was looking about - should you assume that everything goes out through the fundamental (31 Hz in this case)? I popped over to the electrical engineering department at the university, borrowed the equipment while it was available for a short while, plugged in the bass and did some testing. The results were consistent, regardless what note was played, plucking style, bass eq settings etc, there were always harmonics that measured above the fundamental, often 4-5 of them. Data was just recorded for one note, the open B-string, as pictured. Again, disregard the reference level. As mentioned before: other basses/playing styles etc would shift the distribution, but the thing to focus on is still that it's not a single 31 Hz sine wave that goes out when you play a low B, which is what many bass players seem to believe, I used to be one of them (before educating myself). The test with the 10" speaker was separate from the measurement, but that test confirmed the same thing, it's easier to get a lot of excursion from the harmonics than the fundamental. Picture a chart plotted from excursion vs frequency. If you start at the higher frequencies, the excursion rises as the frequency gets lower, but is shifted downards again when you get close to the tuning frequency, and then sharply up when you've passed the tuning frequency. The "hill" you get above the tuning frequency (highest excursion per signal strength, disregarding frequencies below the tuning frequency) is what the test with the 10" speaker described before refers to. In that case, the excursion of the fundamental (34 Hz in that case) was calculated to be higher than that of the ~68 Hz harmonic. Let's assume that it was the fundamental that made the voice coil former hit the back plate. Playing even lower notes would mean even lower fundamental frequency, which means even higher excursion, as we move further below the tuning frequency. However, going lower made the problem go away: less excursion. This means that the fundamental couldn't have been responsible, since when playing lower notes, the fundamental requires more excursion, while the harmonic is shifted to a frequency requiring less excursion. Wow, don't know if that made any sense, keep in mind that English is my third language, and trying to explain anything technical becomes a challenge, I don't know how well it translates. This is relevant for the SM212 as well. We've had two prototypes based around the SM212, so we have real life experience of it too, hence the earlier "nice speaker"-comment. Everything written in this thread was only meant as a friendly tip, not in any way telling you how to run your project. I'm sorry if any of you took it that way.

[quote name='tks.se' timestamp='1412160565' post='2566219'] When playing a low B, most of the tone consists of harmonics to the fundamental. [/quote] A quick correction to this as well, all tones on the bass consist of fundamental/harmonics, with more energy in the harmonics, not just the low B. Not brilliantly expressed there, just commenting on it to avoid any misunderstanding.

Just a comment about the testing procedure - in the workshop a lot of things start to sound like distortion when turning the volume way up. Voice coil former hitting back plate gives off a noise you can't mistake, so in that environment it's a much faster way to examine where the highest excursion occurs than other methods. Not a recommended method though! The speaker used was a cheap 10" speaker, it's much harder to push a high quality, high volume displacement speaker to those limits.

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1412163364' post='2566270'] Thanks That's great information, do you have a link? I suppose I'm designing for worst case, because someone somewhere is going to think they have a 350W speaker that can reproduce anything they throw at it, add 12dB of bass boost from a traditional tone control and the wattage distribution would look very different and my suspicion is that someone, somewhere will do this. I suppose the possibility of designing this hazard out was worth a look, in the end the compromises weren't worth the gains and I'd advise anyone with a fiver who wants to drive at extreme sound levels uses at least two speakers and preferably a filter like a Thumpinator. [/quote] Only in Swedish unfortunately. Here's a promise to have it translated to English, but it could take a while, much to do! Designing for the worst possible scenario is always a good idea, but measurements like the one above puts a little more perspective on things. It's hard to get all the energy out through the fundamental. We've done some workshop experiments focusing on "worst case". That means using a speaker with a small xlim value in a cabinet we know how it affects the excursion (size/tuning), and experimenting on what tone that in the real world gives you the most trouble, by adjusting EQ and volume until repeated "voice coil former meets back plate" occurs (does not destroy the speaker instantly, but is of course not recommended at all). This particular testing setup had the most excursion (above the tuning frequency) calculated around 69 Hz. When using the B-string, all EQ settings att min, except bass, which was on max (+12 dB) the problem centered around C# on the B-string. Lower or higher made it gradually go away. The fundamental of that tone is around 34 Hz. Double that (go in to the harmonic range) and you're awfully close to the 69 Hz of calculated maximum excursion. When going lower, the problem went away, detuning to A meant no problems, even though the calculated excursion around 34 Hz and lower should be higher than that around 69 Hz, which means that less power goes through the fundamental than the harmonics, even at those settings. Still, it's up to the user to have a bit of common sense and not actively try to mistreat the equipment - an octaver would probably make things even worse in the above case. It's easy to list, say car analogies of what not to try with your car or expect a car to manage without damage that would mean comparable circumstances.

Thanks everyone! [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1412161444' post='2566237'] Since you are here, maybe post a price list of your models, including covering options, PLUS shipping to the U.K. I know you publish in SEK on your site, I've been looking at your s112 cabs x2 with horns in a custom covering option. I could e-mail you directly on your site, of course, if you'd prefer. [/quote] The SEK/GBP rate is changing every day (currently to your favour - things priced in SEK are getting cheaper), not long ago it was approximately 10 SEK = £1, that's a good start when looking at the website, the total would be less, which would be a pleasant surprise if you calculate say 1x S112 for 2900 SEK = £290 and it turns out to be slightly less. We actually have something interesting on its way for all you UK bass players, a UK store will soon receive a few cabinets, and if things work out well, they will probably stock the entire product range. That would mean that they carry the whole shipping cost Sweden-UK, and only add a small premium for their service, so you would be able to (if you live close by) go over there, try the cabinets out, and take them home, for a price that would only be a few percent higher than ordering directly. Shipping within the UK (if you don't live close by) would probably also be cheaper than sending from Sweden. For this reason, let's wait with publishing prices in GBP, hope that's ok. We'll probably know more next week. When it comes to custom covering, except for the standard black, we keep a few colours in stock, while others must be ordered separately, and the shipping cost for these orders is what drives the price up. Currently for the S112, the custom colours we keep in stock is 200 SEK (£20 or slightly less) extra per cabinet, and other colours 500 SEK (£50 or slightly less).

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1412149582' post='2566052'] Low B is 31Hz. This means the speaker won't handle 300W of low B fundamental if we tune it to 50Hz. [/quote] When playing a low B, most of the tone consists of harmonics to the fundamental. Here's the result of playing a low B and running the signal through a spectrum analyser: If we "translate" those dB (logarithmic) values to watts (voltage swing would be better, but using watts makes it a bit more intuitive for most) and use say 200W as a total, you get the following "wattage distribution": Different basses, fingers, plucking style etc give different responses/harmonic distribution, and this also changes over time (the harmonic distribution of a ringing note differs from that of the attack). The main thing to focus on is that a low B is never a 31 Hz only tone, most of the "energy" is distributed in the harmonics. Because of that a 50 Hz tuning doesn't mean a death sentence for a SM212 (nice speaker by the way!) even when playing a low B at full power. Great initiative with the design diary!

Hello everyone! Welcome to the tks Engineering sub-forum here on Basschat. In many ways thanks to WoT here on the forum (who last year even registered on a Swedish bass forum to ask his questions there and got all the Swedes writing in English, before deciding on ordering two cabinets), there has been an increased interest in our products, so we're trying this approach and hope it's a good way of answering the questions you might have. This account (tks.se) will probably only be used by me, Tommy, who started the whole thing 2008. I've done all the technical work behind the designs, and I still take care of most of the manufacturing, so I'll be able to answer any questions you might have. English is however my third language, and sometimes it's hard to answer technical questions when you don't know the English translation for all the words, but I think we'll manage! We're a small company in Sweden manufacturing speaker cabinets for bass guitar. Some brief history of how it all started: It was in the beginning of 2008, I was studying mechanical engineering (MSc in mechanical design) at the Linköping Institute of Technology, and music took up a large amount of my spare time. I joined a band that presented a new set of challenges compared to the bands I've played in before: 1) They were unusually loud 2) Low B tuning was used (guitar players as well) 3) The rehearsal room was at the top floor in a large building: 8x flights of stairs, no lift. I discovered that much of the gear I used earlier wasn't up to the task of being loud and low at the same time. The equipment that did a good enough job was most of the time too heavy to carry up/down the stairs. I also had some other gripes, mid range clarity to mention one thing. When learning more about how speaker cabinets actually worked (which had never crossed my mind earlier), I was amazed by how much could be improved over certain designs. I decided to develop my own speaker cabinets, and much of the engineering education helped. Proper engineering was used in the design process, to get better technical qualities as well as lower weight. The initial plan was to only make a set of cabinets for myself, but after using the finished cabinets at a couple of gigs, local bass players took an interest, which led to a very small production run. This led to even more interest, so in 2009, a web site was put together, and bass players all over Sweden started ordering their cabinets. The product line up has changed a bit over the years, but the first cabinet design from 2008 (the one that filled all my needs): the 2128, still lives on today, slightly updated, now as the S2126. Up until last year, we mainly sold our cabinets within Sweden, and the website was only in Swedish, so it's only for the last year or so we've been "international", mainly thanks to the interest here on Basschat! Hope that background information was interesting. If you have any questions, just post them here in the forum and you'll get a reply as soon as possible.

[quote name='TheButler' timestamp='1379329631' post='2211241'] [i]2126 - 4 ohm, 900W, 26 kg, 9200 SEK[/i] [i]Yes. Please.[/i] [/quote] That 2126 is what today is called the D2126. There are sound clips on the website and some basic information (only in Swedish at the moment, Google Translate will have to be your friend until the English website is done).

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1379273567' post='2210736'] Thanks for the dimensions.... I may want to run one with a DB750... so if I need/want that power, then 2 would the requirement. On some stages I do, I need to factor in a loud stage sound where the soundman 'forgets' to put bass in the monitors. [/quote] A DB750 puts out around 400W @ 8Ω, which isn't a problem for a 1126. If one is loud enough is harder to tell, but if two is needed, there's also the option of the 2126 which uses the same 12"-speaker (different 6"-speaker to match the dual twelves in loudness) and sounds very close to the 1126, but louder. The same capability as two 1126 cabinets, but a bit cheaper. Might be an option if you don't need to be able to take half the rig to the smaller gigs.

Wow, that's lots of comments in a relatively short time. Let's try to answer all the questions asked since last time: [quote name='Thunderpaws' timestamp='1379081044' post='2208479'] Hello, Is the power rating 250 watts for the 112? And for the 12/6? And is the power handling a conservative estimate or bang on? Cheers, g [/quote] The standard 112 (the cabinets WoT has) is rated 250W. The updated 112 cabinets will be called S112. There will also be a L112 (extra light, 150W), and an H112 (high excursion 12"-speaker, 400W). There's a short and a long answer to that question. The short one being: Power handling is conservative or very conservative for most cabinets, while some are slightly conservative/bang on depending on playing style. If a cabinet is rated 500W you can use a 500W amplifier and use all the 500 watts without the cabinet giving up. The long answer: Power rating is a measurement of how much signal the voice coils in the speakers can handle before damage might occur (when the temperature gets too high). This doesn't say how hard you can push an amplified bass guitar through the same speakers before they start sounding bad. More low end and higher volume means that the speakers have to move more air, and they do this by moving the speaker cones further. When pushed far enough, you will reach a limit when the speakers start distorting. This is not at all directly linked to the power rating, three different 12" speakers all rated 250W can have very different performance when pushed hard. Cabinet design also affects this. The interesting question is instead: how powerful can your amplifier be without making the cabinet sound bad when pushing the amplifier hard? A speaker rated 500W that can't be pushed with more than 200W before distortiong has (in our view) insufficient excursion capability. For that reason, all speakers used can be pushed to the rated power and still sound good, some can be pushed even harder; sounding good with a 1500W amplifier even though being rated at 900W. If you want to push a cabinet hard with lots of power and low frequencies: It all comes down to excursion capability/cone displacement, which is listed on the website together with all the other specifications. [quote name='Thunderpaws' timestamp='1379116455' post='2208972'] Give over, we all want quality products at decent prices. Seems like they are delivering. Y'know, in this country it's like, oooooooh it's raining, wish it would hurry up and be sunny. Then the sun comes out fir a fee weeks and everyone is like, oooooh, I wish it would rain. Budget not. Value for money yes. Kind you, the 12/6 is the one that would interest me but I can't afford it. [/quote] Since the cabinets are sold "factory direct", the price covers the cost of material/components/hardware and labour, no other middlemen are getting their share. This leads to very much value for money. Compare this to if manufacturing of cabinets were to be moved to Asia and sold through a normal chain of distributors: *Price of components etc *Asian factory getting their share *"Manufacturer"/brand adding their percentage *Shipping to distributor *Distributor adding their percentage *Shipping to store *Store adding their percentage In that case the part of the price which are actual components is much smaller, hence not nearly as much value for money. Factory direct gives the opportunity for better components as similarly priced gear. [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1379244663' post='2210152'] Can't seem to find Dims very easily, but the 1126 seems about right for me. Just need to get my head around weight, size and what the Ceramic option might be. I'm guessing, but a cab roughly the size of a DB112, with ceramic drivers ..PLUS 6" and horn..?? that does in excess of 300w..?? [/quote] For the 1126, there isn't really an option with ceramic magnet speakers. Performance near the 1126 without the use of neodymium magnets would result in a too heavy cabinet, and it still wouldn't match the 1126. The 1126 is rated at 450W and gladly handles more. Also, don't be afraid of the neodymium magnet speakers The tone of the 1126 isn't what people generally consider "neo" cabinets sounding like. There are some sound samples on the website, new ones coming up as soon as all the new/updated models are done: [url="http://tks.se/tks.se/ljudklipp_spl.htm"]http://tks.se/tks.se/ljudklipp_spl.htm[/url] [quote name='pietruszka' timestamp='1379269994' post='2210662'] The 1126 I borrowed is 450w, and in the real world are you going to NEED more than that? Really? I've never had a problem hearing my 400w Markbass and have been asked to turn down on the odd occasion! I really like the range TKS do, which is basically an options list! The 1126 is so even across all notes. I don't think it had a horn, but it really doesn't need it! Dan [/quote] The one sent to the Bass Bash doesn't have the optional horn/tweeter, but it has much more top end than the standard 112/212 cabinets without tweeters. Measured directly in front of the speaker you get about one octave more of top end, but the real difference is when measured off-axis (where you usually have your ears in relation to the cabinet when on a gig or rehearsal), the 6"-speaker has better dispersion of the mids, so much more high mids/top end reaches your ears instead of blowing past your knees. [quote name='Thunderpaws' timestamp='1379272150' post='2210702'] Finally, how would the 12/6 compare against a barefaced and also a Ffearful? [/quote] Hard to tell! Don't think we have any of those speakers here in Sweden. Have to do some research and get back to you!

[quote name='pietruszka' timestamp='1378817482' post='2204990'] Welcome to the forum! Thank you once again for sending some cabs over for us all to try. Are you possibly doing a 210 at all in the future? I loved your 1126, and it sounded amazing with the band (ill send a link for the video it will be in) but I'm just too attached to 10's! I look forward to the English website to! Dan [/quote] Thank you! Depending on how much time the new website will take, there might be just a translation of the old one, together with an update on all the new/updated cabinets. There's currently no plan for a 210 within the foreseeable future. However, speaker diameter doesn't decide on how a cabinet sounds, Sure, there are many 10"-equipped cabinets sound quite similar, but that is probably more of a choice from the designers, trying to achieve a certain goal tone-wise, and not an inherent quality/sound to 10"- speakers. There are lots of examples when different cabinets with tens do not sound the least alike. People who "prefer tens" often get a surprise when they try out a cabinet like the 1126, they sound nothing like the more traditional 112. Because of that it's hard to say if a tks 210 would have the sound you're looking for. That's not saying that a 210 would be a bad thing, but at the moment it's not possible to include such a cabinet in the upcoming product range. Glad you liked the 1126, looking forward to the video! [quote name='TheButler' timestamp='1378914551' post='2206455'] That is brilliant. Might be able to get in cheaper if I can use a friend's UPS business account, though these prices look far from retail, so probably not much of a saving. I'll have a more thorough look at the spec of these. Ideally something that could handle the Mesa, for larger gigs, would be an advantage and ultimately mean I could have a rig that ticks all the boxes Cheers again. [/quote] The prices WoT quoted above are estimates for future shipping costs, the current costs are a bit higher, but getting shipping prices lower is a high priority. Sweden is unfortunately one of the most expensive places in Europe to send parcels from, mainly due to being a quite large country (roughly 3-4 the size of the UK with by comparison hardly any people living there ), standard price with the Swedish Postal Service is about £70 for sending a small cabinet to the UK, so £20 would be brilliant indeed! Hard to tell if using an import service from the UK could cost even less. Also, thanks to WoT for the video and pictures!

Hello everyone on Basschat! Just registered here and will try log in once in a while and answer questions. Thank you WoT for the review of your 112 cabinets, and for bringing the new cabinet prototypes to the NE Bass Bash! [quote name='Markolinni' timestamp='1378714796' post='2203428'] Inicially, i was seen the TKS 112 setup, but i think they will be changed for a new model, the L112, with neo drivers (i guess i understand that). [/quote] There will still be a ceramic 112. It will be called S112 and be very similar to the old 112 cabinets. Same 12" ceramic magnet speaker as before, but slightly different dimensions, and the port has moved to the back of the cabinet. [quote name='pietruszka' timestamp='1378760237' post='2204472'] I have the 1126 neo cab on loan at the moment. It's very kind of Michael, and of course TKS to let me try it out. All I can say is wow! It is amazing! The first 112 I have liked! It has to be tried to be believed, and the finish is outstanding. I have a feeling we'll be hearing a lot more about TKS in the near future. Definitely a company to watch out for. [/quote] Happy to hear that you like the 1126! [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1378765920' post='2204569'] Love the look of the pics above but I think the website is a bit out of date and all in Swedish..? Assume the white tolex cab is NEO only..? [/quote] A new website (in English!) is on it's way, but it will take a while, much to attend to at the moment with getting prototypes of all the new cabinets done. All updates on Facebook are in English, and that will be the main source of information until the new website is done (together with all the new cabinets). All cabinets can be ordered with white (or whatever colour you want, as long as it's available to order) vinyl. The ceramic speaker S112 mentioned above has the same dimensions as the L112 but weighs about 10 kg instead of 8 kg.