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warwickhunt

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Posts posted by warwickhunt

  1. 11 hours ago, acidbass said:

    I have had the opportunity in the past to directly compare front ported with rear ported, and the front porting always wins.

     

    Were they 'identical' cabs (drivers and physical dimensions) other than the port position?

     

     

    11 hours ago, acidbass said:

     

    ...Also helps massively if a cab is in a 'live in' flightcase when touring, where rear ports would be blocked by the case itself.

     

    That is an all together different matter.

     

    8 hours ago, Bill Fitzmaurice said:

    Quite right. However, consider why some cabs are rear ported. For the most part it's because the cabs are too small to fit the ports on the front. In that case bass response won't be as strong as a larger cab, not because of the port location, but because the cab is smaller. I don't rear port cabs as I don't make them too small to give the best possible result.

     

    Agreed in which case the OP liked the tone of the cab potentially/partly/possibly due to the size as opposed to the porting location.  You could equally get a larger cab that was rear ported and that could/might sound as good OR a front ported cab that was smaller and it might sound worse!   :) 

     

     

     

     

    • Like 1
  2. 3 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

    What i find strange here is that the body colour under the pickguard is different from the visible bodywork. How is that even done. Surely they don't spray it with the guard on.

     

     

    Natural discolouration from daylight; the finish under the guard never sees the light of day.  The extreme of this used to be when smoking was allowed in venues.  Your bass would have a yellowish tinge in no time regardless of finish or colour... and your case stank of it.   

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    • Thanks 1
  3. If I'm honest I play in a tribute band which is 'probably' best known for having a big hit with the poppiest/bubblegum sweet song ever... I Want You To Want Me (Cheap Trick); yet that song is about unrequited love AND that is about as light as that band get! 

     

    They have songs about suicide, STD, murders, sexual grooming, male prostitution, depression, mental illness, drug abuse.  Literally every song is 'dark' if not depressing... and I LOVE playing them!

    • Like 1
  4. I've shared most/many of the experiences of the above @JPJ / @Phil Starr and in a very short 12 month period went from 'old school' backline projecting to FOH for guitar + bass + loud drummer (I've worn custom plugs for 20ish years... still lost a bit of hearing), to silent stage, IEM, PA carrying everything; in the process I've also ran bass/others through monitors +/- IEM +/- backline etc etc (as @Phil Starr suggested).  Some/most of these have 'eventually' worked for me but my main two caveats have been that your IE have to isolate effectively (designs/shapes vary and make this tricky) and more importantly the person working the initial PA/mixer set up has to know what they are doing!  I spent many frustrating months trying to get a sound through my IE that even resembled bass never mind MY bass tone.  I dabbled with all sorts of pedals / DI's et al to no avail, eventually establishing that the mixing desk had some architecture that had (guitar) pre-sets integrated into the desk/interface input I was using.  I was all but ready to say 'stuff it' and I remember reading all the threads and thinking many on BC were putting up with rubbish tone for the sake of the Emperor's new clothes... but it worked for me eventually!  

     

    As it happens I am now happier that I do not have to go down any one route; I now regularly swap between ALL combinations depending on the situation - there is no right/wrong!  ;)

    • Like 4
  5. A little 1x10 or 1x12 cab will work for you.  Don't get hung up on wattage or even ohmage, most manufacturers give half truths and sometimes even tell outright lies. 

     

    A 4 ohm cab will get the most from your amp but tbh the kind of useage you intend (at the moment) it won't make a jot of difference if it is 4 or 8 ohm; an 8 ohm cab that is possibly more sensitive than a comparable 4 ohm will even things out. 

     

    An 8 ohm cab choice will mean that at some point in the future you can add a 2nd 8 ohm cab.  

     

    You may need to go somewhere to A/B a few cabs to find something you like the sound of... all cabs do not sound the same!  

    • Thanks 1
  6. Sadly since Brexit, you can't simply send and/or receive a bass and claim it is swapped/free!  You will need to pay tax on its true market value; whether you can then go about claiming back the tax is another matter (I simply ceased considering a swap when I established this).

    • Like 2
  7. 16 minutes ago, bassbora said:

    Do Thumbs not usually come with black hardware?  Is this a custom option or has it been changed out?  My two '89 Thumbs both have black hardware.

     

    It wasn't a 'standard' for Warwick to have hardware in any particular finish back in the late 80's early 90's.  I've seen gold coloured hardware (knerbs and bridges) as often as I've seen black.  The only other finish was titanium (dull nickel coloured) which was introduced on the Dolphin iirc.

     

    • Like 1
  8. 8 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

    You should try one out with a pedal or three or four. What you put in comes out so unless you go to town on processing it you get vanilla.

     

    I don't generally use pedals at all (one tribute band I do), hence I don't like the uncoloured sound of some cabs inc Barefaced... and by Barefaced I mean I have tried a range of the cabs and not liked any but I can't categorically say I dislike every single one.  

  9. 3 minutes ago, Owen said:

    I used to gig a Berg IP310. I cannot possibly imagine needing more. I often wondered about commissioning a build which put the speakers in a verical 3×10 + horn box with tiltback wheels - but the same internal volume. If I still owned it, I would have done it by now. 

     

    An Epiphany 3x10 rehoused in a box to suit you needs but with the same internal vol? They are lush cabs. 

     

    You are hitting nails on heads mate!  I don't want or need a staggered driver 3x10 (though 3x10 makes sense) as the width of the cab doesn't make sense to me and drivers in a vertical cab are closer to my ears.  If I start buying quality cabs and dismantling them/building new boxes it will be silly/expensive.  :/

  10. 6 minutes ago, JPJ said:

    Same PA I was using on Saturday 2 x EV ZLX15P tops (nominally 500w 128dB) + 2 x Peavey Messenger Pro 15P bins (nominally 400w unknown spl). 

     

    Ah so you certainly have the option of putting bass through to support your 1x15.  Oddly the doubling up on my TC210s is less of an issue on gigs where we take a PA with bigger tops and a bass bin (or 2) because the backline then is solely for me (and the drummer) to hear; PA does the heavy lifting and other band members have IE options.  This scenario is really only relevant when my backline is carrying to FOH punters without PA support.

  11. 7 minutes ago, JPJ said:

    I’d be surprised if a single 15 can’t cut it for you. In my other band (the other one to the one you saw on Saturday night 😎) I’m gigging a 1x15 Neo equipped Ashdown combo rated at 400w so probably putting around 200w through the combo speaker and its more than enough, and drummer Alan is no shrinking violet when it comes to clattering his drums. I bought and then sold a 1x15 Ashdown Neo cab to pair with this as I found the combo on its own was more than enough for that band. Mind, I do trickle a bit of bass through the PA too. 

     

    I don't know enough of the science but I'd have thought a single 2x10 (tall) such as the TC would be able to carry in a small venue (such as the Bebby you played on Sat) without PA support; we'll see how it pans out though.  :)  

     

    re. putting a trickle through the PA - what size PA are you putting a trickle through?  I'm not sure there'd be any benefit trying to put it through the QSC K10 speakers with no sub.  

  12. 29 minutes ago, Phil Starr said:

    An interesting problem for you and I'm not sure what you are looking for exists as a commercial product. That in itself is slightly odd as you aren't really looking for anything very extreme or technically impossible.

     

    Just to summarise:

     

    you find your 2x10 is an ideal speaker in terms of form but they aren't quite 'enough' for the gigs you are playing so not a single cab solution.

    You have tried a TC112 but that isn't 'enough' either.

    You like a coloured cab with a bit of mid scoop. You aren't keen on the 'Barefaced' sound.

    You are finding the majority of 2x12's too bulky and an awkward carry.

     

    So technically you can get better efficiency and a louder sound for the same speaker excursion by increasing the cone area of your cabs or by having long throw drivers and increased power handling. Interestingly to me at least is the high tech long throw drivers aren't reall available in a 2x10 format at the moment. The TC's you are using at the moment are really pretty unexceptional designs but neither are many/any of the rest. You've rejected a 2x12 as too bulky so far and most of them are 500mm+ width.  There are some like the Darkglass that are narrower. Of course carrying anything is a mix of physical dimensions/weight and things like the handle position and balance.

     

    If you go for more speaker then you are left with a couple of 3x10's or you can draw up your own shorlist of 'portable' 2x12's. I simply don't believe a 2x10 is out there that you would be happy with for volume.

     

    I think it might be worth having another look at the 'hi-tech' 12's as there are a feew available. because they use a dedicated bass driver (essentially their own sub) they can be driven much harder and louder. The top end then has to be driven by a horn and they tend to be FRFR but some siple tone shaping by a decent pre amp can soon restore your favourite tone. Because the horns give better dispersion than a large cone you will get to hear more of your own sound. The best of these cabs will go louder than a drummer with the right amp. I don't now why anyone would want to go louder than that as it implies the drummer would be miked up to match you and you therefore have a PA that will also cope with bass. It might be worth asking @stevie if he still has a demo model of his Monaco you can try so you could try it for portability and volume. For me it is my one cab solution and i've sold my second cab as I've never needed one. It's genuinely as loud as any drummer.

     

    The only other solution I can suggest is the original Mk1 Barefaced Super Compact with the 15" Eminence driver in it. It is more properly old school sounding than the tweetered cabs which you don't like and a properly lightweight and portable single cab solution.

     

     

    Well summarised but to clarify a couple of things (and expansion on the last point).  In terms of 12" driver derived cabs, I have owned (I might have owned other 12's years ago):

     

    TC RS112 (x2) - compact to the extreme but boxy sounding

    Aguilar DB112s - tone I like, manoeuvrability awful

    Berg 212 - handles everything but not the tone I'm looking for and I used to blame that on Neo drivers but I realise it is essentially down to design... + it was a little too wide

    TKS 112 (x2) - very light easily manoeuvred but they had that tone which I attributed to 'neo' or lack of cab colouration

    Tech Soundsystem and Schroder 212 - essentially the same design which had excellent dispersal but in certain rooms almost honky/nasal + handles on the side made it awkward

    Genz Benz 212 NeoX - a loud upfront cab which seemed to be less sterile but not quite right and even after I fitted spring loaded side handles it was awful to manoeuvre.  

     

    Of these cabs I've owned I've established the larger heavier cabs tend to have a baked in tone which I like and I've yet to be able to EQ an amp (of which I've owned some very good ones) to get the same tone from featherweight cabs.  NOW... that does lead itself to the point that if I'm going through the PA then the tone of the cab that I am hearing is not the same as punters BUT I am wanting the tone I hear to be pleasing to 'me' which is probably why I don't get on with IEM... does that make sense?  

     

    The drummer is a firm/hard hitter and his kick is invariably mic'd even in small venues. 

     

    The TC RS210 cabs have a form I like (weight is about as much as I'd like but I could take a kilo or 2 more), they sound right for me BUT I have that issue of 1 isn't quite enough in some venues when we have downsized PA (to QSC K10s) but 2 cabs seems almost too much.  Don't get me wrong, I'm only talking about me maybe walking a few hundred extra meters, up/down some stairs 'occasionally' but I'd like to establish if there is a single cab solution right for me.  As you say it isn't a big ask and Ashdown's 310 isn't such a bad idea as a solo cab. 

     

    The final point re. BF 1x15 - I do also own a TKS 115H (under the Aguilars in the pic) which is a very small, light 15" that can be carried 1 handed (14kg top mount handle) and I actually like the sound of it.  I rarely gig it on its own due to 'my perception' that it can't cut it as a solo cab as opposed to the pair of TC 210 cabs (a single TC210 at certain gigs tends to not project and I have tried to elevate it or position to get the most from the room positioning).  However, that is my perception and I've not tested it in anger so to speak... but I am going to this weekend.  I've asked the lads in the band and someone coming along to the gig to see us (who I trust as a musician) to give me an honest appraisal about it's ability to project the bass without PA support (small venue).  Their views on the tone aren't my primary concern (so long as it doesn't sound awful) as I'll judge that for myself.  It could be that I already own the answer to my problem but I've avoided it as I can't imagine a single 15" being able to do more than the 2x10" and almost as much as the pair of 210s.

     

    This was me trying to test a few scenario out recently (I took each rig out to different gigs)... certain cabs are now gone as I eliminated them after trialling in different settings.

     

    Apologies for the long winded reply @Phil Starr but I'm putting stuff down as I analyse it in my head on the hoof.  LOL

     

      image.thumb.png.a928b16e179ef9a0b6f7606b9a8709b3.png

     

     

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