Al Krow

@mcnach - that's really helpful feedback. Maybe my looking to replace my SC with a BB2 is misplaced in terms of looking to benefit from the horn and higher frequency spectrum 'zing' that should deliver, although I know @chris_b is really happy to have added a SM to his SC to remedy probably exactly the same point as I'm finding with 'just' my SC as a standalone. This one, right? Handles 1200W, which should just about do it! [Aside: must admit I'm a little tickled by the parallel thread currently running on "my Mesa M6 is too loud - help!". I've never found having spare headroom 'in my pocket' for when it's needed to have ever been problematic!]

I'm sure @Bill Fitzmaurice will no doubt be along to confirm that you are correct (assuming that you are) but I'd be very interested to know why his general point about mid-range response and dispersion being overall better with 10" or 12" cones should not apply to all speaker cones irrespective of whether they happen to be inserted into a bass cab or PA cab? At the end of the day we're talking about speaker cones.

Nicely put. But I wouldn't ignore the frequency response differences between the alternatives when deciding on your choice. Otherwise you may be left feeling a little more flat than you expected.

I think you've already sussed the solution - a frequency splitter to send the highs to the guitar cab and the lows to your bass cab. https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/KMA-Machines-Tyler-Frequency-Splitter/282O Trouble is this pedal costs more than the guitar cab you've just bought! But it would be ideal...

Do you know / can you find out what the guitar cab's frequency response is and how low it's been designed to handle? Maybe a spec sheet online? Agreed that cutting the bass should help - although where you'll be cutting most will depend on where your bass EQ is centred on the amp. [Aside: as itu hints at you're actually after a high pass filter (to let only the higher frequencies pass) rather than a low pass filter. The low B is at 31 Hz the low E at 41 Hz but quite a few folk start applying HPFs to start cutting at around 80 Hz i.e. the first harmonic of the low E or even higher. Personally I use a Thumpinator which cuts everything below the low B to get rid of low end 'crud']. So what's the plan - are you going for a Royal Blood set up?

I've been thinking this for years and hoping someone with deeper knowledge of speaker cone size would be able to confirm, but I've had a load of baloney about it doesn't matter these days whether speaker cones are 5" or 18". Sense at last. Thank you! [Apologies that's a complete aside to this thread, but a "yeah finally!" point... ]

Hey Dougie, My experience: Barefaced cabs Interestingly the ST has a very similar frequency response to the SC but both miss out on the 6khz to 20kHz range that can add some high end 'sparkle' to bass tone (particularly if you want to add a bit of slap into the mix). For that very reason, I'm currently looking to replace my SC with a BB2 and I have my SC listed in the FS section VK 210 MNT & LNT So I went initially for the MNT but found it a little too bright with my particular combination of amps and bass pups and ended up trading it for the LNT which for me hits the nail on the head, and would be my recommendation in terms of mix of overall power handling, price and portability. However it's 43 lbs (and I'm not as young as I used to be) whereas the BB2 is 26lbs or 29lbs, so I'm being a bit extravagant in wanting to have both; although I've so far managed to get all my cabs used and in vgc from fellow BC'ers to keep costs down. Wider experience: There's a bunch of very happy ST and SC owners on BC. One other point - for me the ideal cab size is actually 2 x12: 12" speakers (this is personal view**) provide the best combination of tight sound and great lows. The ST delivers that, as would two SCs and the latter give you the added advantage of being modular for smaller / larger gigs. **although Bill F has, I believe, just broadly confirmed my long held "I'm sure that this must be right but have no real proof" point about speaker size on another thread!

"for that thud in the chest without mud" That sums it up perfectly. Yes please!

No need to apologise at all. It's all good stuff! On a related point, I find myself asking the sound engineers to dial down the subs otherwise our sound can become dominated by the low end. In contrast I'm wondering whether a quality sub woofer, used judiciously, might add something to our PA particularly as we just have 10" RCFs and we're thinking about mic'ing up the kick drum / putting the bass through also. Our RCFs are active, so I guess we'd be looking at a powered sub woofer or maybe scrapping our set up and starting from scratch, but that's going to be a major ££spend.

Yeh, but that was probably back in 70s when that sort of thing was compulsory. Fortunately wouldn't happen today. And no, you can't get an exemption for getting a real bargain 😛

Glad you got there before me

If that's the case, I guess that would also facilitate putting the bass through the bands PA? And then the question becomes which are the decent sub woofers to be considering?

Yes absolutely! The other obvious bit I've missed is mic'ing up the kick drum. This seems to be a key area for sound engineers wanting to make use of their sub woofers. I kinda think of that dance beat low end as being "felt" (= separate sub woofer?) whereas what I want primarily to achieve for my bass lines is to be articulately heard (= rest of PA or bass amp/cab depending on venue). Would a sub woofer allow you to get the best of both worlds or the worst? In other words: sublime or ridiculous?! @paulbuzz I think where you're going is that a subwoofer could well add something, but most likely as an addition to the PA.

So sub woofer common with PA set ups if the PA speakers are smaller than 15"? Just also wondering whether for more subby material e.g. reggae they are standard? Or for folk using 'low end' pedals like the DOD Meatbox?

Cheers. I think you've hit the nail on the head. With bass synth it's so much about tight tracking. Without that the sounds are not usable live. The FI does the best job on that score of any bass synth I've encountered so far. The MarkBass SS wasn't too bad, but much more limited in its wave generation / soundscape options and is starting to feel a little outdated these days - and very overpriced new for what it offers (came out in 2011). The Bananana Matryoshka was just wonderfully bizarre Mixed reviews on TB about the EHX Bass Monosynth ranging from pants to really good!

Funny you're getting to the same conclusion on which of your basses to keep / let go. I put flats on my Sandberg too, as the last thing. And then it got sold. Yammys are just ridiculously good value aren't they. Aside over - as you were everyone, back to Dingwall fawning 😂

👍

Clearly not appropriate for your knee - I get that, makes complete sense. In fact I'm the same - I much prefer lugging lightweight gear to rehearsals and gigs. But that's not the same as making ballsy claims that a D class amp, even of the quality of a TF, is going to blow away something like a Mesa M6 for sheer tone.

The only (two) BC'ers who have ever bought a TF Bullhead are either selling them or have sold them. There's a bunch of us who still have and love our M6s. Quad erat demonstrandum

That's a very good analogy - been described that way to me as the way into compression. Being a numpty, I didn't have any real liking (or even disliking come to think of it) for my Cali 76CB, Aggie TLC, MXR M87, Zoom compression sims and most recently my Keeley Bassist which is an awesome limiter, but I much prefer the TC Spectracomp as a compressor. How did I know that any thread with me and @51m0n would eventually degenerate into a discussion on compression. Lol! Night and day I guess...😂

Anyone using a sub woofer as standard in their rigs to enhance their bass or pedal effects? If so which model have you gone for and are you finding it makes a big difference to your bass sound or your pedal board set up?

When it comes to compression "not having a clue what I'm doing" sums me up very well! When it comes to knowing that my M6 is going to comfortably hold its own against your Tricky Bullsh*t Bullhead, now that's a completely different matter 😀

OP: that's the SA Spectrum I mentioned earlier. @GisserD-any sense yet whether it's going to match up to the FI?

In addition you mentioned you wanted a bit of variety in waveform in your OP. The fuzz + octave + filter combo can give you a decent synth sound but with whatever combination of pedals you have, you will be fairly limited in the range of synth sounds you can get from that particular group of pedals.

Here's a track that both our band and audiences love (from a post 2000 formed group!) with a cracking bass line: