Mr.T

I have had a good, loud play through the BigOne, albeit only in the comfort of my frontroom. (Many thanks for the loan Alex). First impressions: As you may have gathered, I was very disappointed with the Compact, but... This thing is in another league, it is everything that I was (maybe unrealistically) hoping the Compact would be, i.e: Truckloads of smooth bottom end (More than I would use). Nice aggressive, but clear mids (If that makes sense). Sparkly highs (And not a tweeter in sight). Kind of like having everything in one box.... which I guess it has with a 15 and a 6.5! If I am right in thinking that it uses the same 15" driver as the Compact, all I can say is that it seems to much prefer living in the larger environment the BigOne offers.... It seems as though it can really breathe. Ok, so how does it compare with my Aggie 1x12 & Ashdown 2x10 neo set-up? Very favourably actually. Certainly much more bottom end... about a truckfull... (If anyone reading this needs 'bottom', buy one of these). I have never played through a cab with quite so much ability to shake the room! The midrange doesn't sound as smooth as the Ashdown... which may (or not) be a good thing in a live setting. The Ashdown has more top end available, as it has a tweeter... although I don't often use it. So... Am I in love? Hmmm... The main thing putting me off is the size. Those few extra inches make quite a difference (as someone once told me). At around 50lbs on the bathroom scales, it is only 5lbs heavier than the neo-loaded Ashdown, but not what I would call a one-handed lift... and getting though doorways would be a no-no without using the built in wheels. Ahhh, the wheels... Ideal for manouevring around at home on on stage, but I wouldn't want to trust them 100yds across a rocky Cornish carpark. I think a trolley/spare pair of hands/young back would be required. In conclusion... I think the BigOne is a sonically excellent piece of kit (Well done Alex), and without doubt the best 'single' cab I have tried. Will I keep it? Not sure...

I bought an ABM500 from Richard. It arrived quickly, in the original packaging complete with the manual, etc.... absolute minter! Thanks for a painless deal.

[quote name='charic' post='565159' date='Aug 10 2009, 04:55 PM']yeah how are you getting on with the big one?[/quote] Just arrived.... I will report back later.

.... Sounds like 2 @ 2x10's to me! They won't 'interfere' with each other. (vertically stacked). ... and you could use one or two depending on how much loudness you need.

I am going to guess, based on all the knowledge i have acquired of the past week, that they have done that design: a). To save space. and... . Because it looks nice.

[quote name='Mr.T' post='563556' date='Aug 8 2009, 04:27 PM']So, It sounds like we are back to a rig with different size drivers for different frequencies... Although a single size driver system would be easier to set-up.[/quote] p.s. I should have added.... 'For those of us that want a full range system, with sparkly highs, etc.' (I appreciate the fact that is NOT what we are all chasing).

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='563548' date='Aug 8 2009, 04:15 PM']You must also consider the frequency in question. Dispersion is not a static figure, it varies with frequency as well as the size of the radiating source. But your question brings up a good point, that being why high frequency sources are smaller than low frequency sources. One of those reasons is dispersion. The higher the frequency the smaller the source must be or dispersion will be unusably narrow, as in using eighteens for guitar.[/quote] So, It sounds like we are back to a rig with different size drivers for different frequencies... Although a single size driver system would be easier to set-up.

[quote name='bassman2790' post='563533' date='Aug 8 2009, 03:51 PM']2. When's your next gig...I gotta see that [/quote] It would leave you emotionally scarred!

[quote name='bassman2790' post='563495' date='Aug 8 2009, 02:31 PM']While I believe that what Bill is saying to be 100% true and that one of Alex's Compacts could probably knock my 4x10 into the middle of next week in terms of sound quality and dispersion, ................it's also about image, otherwise we'd all wear the same things on stage because it was the most practical or efficient clothing for performing in.[/quote] 1). Sound quality is purely subjective. 2). Does that mean the leopard print spandex jumpsuit is a no-no?

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='563523' date='Aug 8 2009, 03:18 PM']Tweeter above, as tweeters have narrower dispersion than woofers.[/quote] Forgive my ignorance here.... I thought you said "The wider the source, the narrower the dispertion pattern" ????

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='563465' date='Aug 8 2009, 01:51 PM']You've made one of the most common mis-assumptions about how speakers work, which is that they radiate sound in the same fashion that light bulbs radiate light, ie., proportionally to their dimension. The opposite is the case. The wider the source the narrower the dispersion, the higher the source the less the dispersion on the vertical plane. This means that a vertical 4x10 also has half the vertical dispersion as a standard 4x10, which at first glance may seem counter-productive, but it's not. At the distance you're standing relative to the cab getting the upper drivers closer to your ear level still allows you to hear them much better than you can with them down low. At the same time farther away from the cab the narrowed vertical dispersion puts more sound into the audience, where you want it, and less into the floor and ceiling, where you don't. So not only does the vertical array give more uniform audience coverage, it's also louder within the audience for a given amplifier output.[/quote] Thanks for that. These are concepts that I have never (had to) consider before. So, in effect, my band mates would find it easier to hear a 4x10 column than a traditional 4x10. Am I right in assuming (based on your comments about a wider source), that in general a 10" speaker in a 'traditional cabinet would have a wider dispersion than a 15" in the same style of cabinet?

[quote name='SteveO' post='563349' date='Aug 8 2009, 10:22 AM']I think it's got something to do with interference paterns (like those double slit experiments we all did in science class at school) and because we have two ears, usualy aranged horizontaly. I also think it has something to do with the speakers being too close together - you don't seem to get those 'dead spots' from the PA speakers either side of the stage.[/quote] Thanks, Can someone elaborate?

[quote name='Stewart' post='563251' date='Aug 8 2009, 01:19 AM']Placing multiple drivers vertically might be expected to extend the coverage vertically (ceiling to floor), but it actually greatly extends the coverage left to right.[/quote] Can you help me to understand this concept? I can see that having multiple drivers vertically would extend the coverage vertically, but not how having two rows of drivers (traditional 4x10 or 8x10) would then make that coverage horizontally narrower.... am I missing something?

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='563107' date='Aug 7 2009, 10:01 PM']Since the vertical 4x10 would be the same height it would share many of the same acoustic properties, though by being narrower it would have even better dispersion.[/quote] Interesting... Could you please explain (in laymans terms) what is a better dispersion pattern, and why it is better. (I am sure I am not the only person reading this that doesn't know the answer). Thanks.

[quote name='lateralus462' post='563049' date='Aug 7 2009, 08:38 PM']trust me - it's a wise choice![/quote]

[quote name='lateralus462' post='563038' date='Aug 7 2009, 08:32 PM']It doesn't matter whether it's a Ford a Yugo, a Ferrari or my mother in law - someone out there will enjoy riding in them.[/quote] I'll take the Ferrari please ... and that's without even having a proper look at the mother-in-law!

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='562786' date='Aug 7 2009, 02:21 PM']Don't build a 4x10. It's the poster child for how a speaker cabinet should not be built. Do a pair of 2x10, stack them with the drivers in a vertical line.[/quote] .... Unless you like 4x10's obviously!

[quote name='alexclaber' post='562661' date='Aug 7 2009, 10:59 AM']I tend to put my rig in the place that seems intuitively best for me, plug in and play. Add some bass boost if necessary and that's it. Fastest soundchecks ever! Alex[/quote] That the place I want to get back to! The only tweeking I ever did with my Trace (If any) was the rather superb 'tilt' control on the SMX amp. I got to the point with that rig that I would just say to the g**tarist "How loud are you", adjust my level to suit (while he let a chord hang)..... and we would play!

[quote name='charic' post='562508' date='Aug 7 2009, 08:07 AM']And yet headroom is also an engineering term. And with your bike the important question in your example is "could honda make a bike you would prefer" not if they already do [/quote] No, although if I gave my bike to them they could copy it. (Not that they would want to). I handbuilt my bike to my specification without compromises, so it is exactly how I want it to be.... 'till such a time my tastes change. For me, happiness and contentment are not about attaining perfection (and whatever that meaning I attach to that), it is more about being comfortable with where I am at any given point in time.... I might choose to move on, or I might choose to stay where I am! The Japanese factories have had many attempts to build 'Harley Custom' type motorcycles. They are obviously superb engineers, but there products (IMO) always lack 'soul'... because they are too sanitised (perfect?), which misses the point of what 'Custom' bikes are all about. Some people understand and relate to that, and some people just don't... which I think is Ok. I am not knocking Japanese motorcycles, and I think the Yamaha VMax is an exception. I think the same applies to music... We can/could get so hung up on attaining perfection that we lose the 'soul'.

.... and so did I. Thanks Chris.

One advantage of having a bigger glass than is needed (half full), is that more can be added.... = Headroom. On the subject of perfection... I am sure that a Honda (In the eyes + mind of an engineer) is closer to 'perfection' than the Custom bike in my avatar, but guess what....!!!

[quote name='thodrik' post='561561' date='Aug 5 2009, 10:38 PM']Despite being started as a statement against lightweight amps, this thread has just made me just want a Compact![/quote] It wasn't intended to be a 'statement against lightweight amps', more of a statement about me not being able to consistantly get my sound right. If you want lots of loudness in a small and light package... buy a Compact... You can buy mine if you like, and avoid the waiting list!

Stick with it, a great amp (IMO). Might just need a service.... 10 years of dust, etc.