Tactician

[quote name='Bass-ic' post='742004' date='Feb 11 2010, 12:58 PM']I'm sure the OP said smallest! 'course, the smallest may not be the loudest. So I read that as a maximum of a 10" speaker or something two 5" aka PJB. There's scope in there for someone, but I'm no expert. [/quote] I guess you can always fall back on small can't be loud as far as bass is concerned. And generally bass player are quire resistant to being seen with small systems however louyd they are. I'm sure anyone who markets a small system has to live with the sceptics who say it can't be done. The Phil Jones Bass company must live with that every day. "How can a system that small be serious?" But with new neo magnets (more powerful and lighter) and new designs for drivers developing small is possible. It's just difficult to convince players who look at 50 years of huge cabs and say it must be that way, it's always been that way. But the history is intersting. When I first started playing the most powerful speakers were about 25 watt - hence the 4x12 and 2x4x12 stacks. Now we can outperform those speakers with a single driver. (Ask anyone with an old 60's Marshall 45 watt bass amp and 4x12 who's A/B'd it with new equipment - nostalga is a great enhancer of reality.) A small cube speaker cab with a small comapct , but powerful amp is a reality. They are out their to buy and to build. But I don't see many bassplayers I teach, or others I see around, wanting to be seen in front of small systems. They want to stand in front of 2x2x15", 2x4x12" and 8x10" cabs and plenty of them - at least whatever mum and dad can buy. When did you last see a bass player at a concert standing beside a couple of 14" cube cabs and an amp smaller than micro hi-fi?

[quote name='stevie' post='741491' date='Feb 10 2010, 09:35 PM']Perhaps you could go back to your model and ask it how close to 130dB your recommended system would be at 40Hz, or low E.[/quote] OK ...109 db at 40hz. Thought we were talking little bass cabs? If you use a 3015 in a bigger 4700 cu inch box I can get you up to 114db at 40hz on 300 watts. Any good? Of course if you are going bigger then the front horn cab comes back into play with all the gian you get from the horn / flare. These new Neo's are powerful.

Err. OK I just modelled it up - without the horn - that could add something like 3-5db - it would be 122db - so there you go - not far out. But an even smamler box of some 2000 cu inches. About 14" cube external dimensions. I'd estimate that would wiegh in at less than 20 lbs - the speaker is just over 7lbs of this.

I think it would have to be a cab with a 3012HO and front horn. So that would be about a 21" cube. And a nice little 300 watt into 8ohm head amp - a MAG 600 would do that job. You'd chuck out about 130 dbs with that pair.

[quote name='lonestar' post='533268' date='Jul 5 2009, 07:04 PM']£109 is an awful lot of money for an Ashdown branded Jensen speaker. The celestion BL400 that I paid £59 sounded so much better.[/quote] Yes I agree. I can't imagine wanting to buy another Sica when you could have a variety of Eminence or Precision Devices speakers for a tenner more.

Don't make the mistakes I've made over the years - mistaking wattage for power. The 3015, 3015LF, the Kappa Pro, 3012HO are the best speakers to consider. I made a big mistake (and was told by BFM as well) when I bought a couple of Deltas for bass duty. Yes they did distort at about 100 watts below 150hz. Big problem with a bass speaker. Just replacing them now with 3015s - huge improvement but twice the price. Would have been even cheaper if I hadn't bought the deltas first. You need to mess with Win ISD in its many forms to check out what you are building and how it's going to perform. Don't mix up SPL with Max power and cone excursion.

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='682129' date='Dec 12 2009, 01:13 PM']I'm looking for a really small, lightweight head for practice & small gigs - not terribly loud. I'd be playing it through a smallish cab with a full-range Eminence 3015 (8 Ohm) full range. For my full rig I couple the aforesaid cab with a larger 250W 15" Celestion (8 Ohm), and my UK built MAG400 - more than adequate for what we do. I'd have in the region of £200 to spend, providing I sell my Crate Powerblock & the John East U-Retro I have in the drawer. My Ampeg Walkabout with a 12" Beyma 250W may also be added to this. Looking around, I find the amp in my price range which fits this bill is the Ashdown Little Giant 350. Using the Search Facility(!) I've seen that there are varying opinions of this, especially at lowish volumes. So, what are your experiences, if you've used it and, can anyone suggest an alternative at the same price point? I'm looking for lighter gear as I'm 63, with 5 stents in my heart & diabetes! Big stuff is no longer an option. Geoff[/quote] Well if you already have a 3015 how bloody loud do you want to play. A single 3015 will handle 300 watts - which most players haven't ever heard through a speaker like a 3015 which won't distort at all. Why don't you just get a Roland bass Cube for practice - the 3015 seems a bit big - albeit light? Can't believe the Celestion can out perform the 3015 or add much either. Wattage means nothing for bass, its Xmax and sensitivity that counts. Wattage just emasures the point where the coil burns out. My Sica's in the Ashdown 4x10"s can't hande much more than 40 watts before they exceed Xmax and they are 91.5 sensitivity.

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='682129' date='Dec 12 2009, 01:13 PM']I'm looking for a really small, lightweight head for practice & small gigs - not terribly loud. I'd be playing it through a smallish cab with a full-range Eminence 3015 (8 Ohm) full range. For my full rig I couple the aforesaid cab with a larger 250W 15" Celestion (8 Ohm), and my UK built MAG400 - more than adequate for what we do. I'd have in the region of £200 to spend, providing I sell my Crate Powerblock & the John East U-Retro I have in the drawer. My Ampeg Walkabout with a 12" Beyma 250W may also be added to this. Looking around, I find the amp in my price range which fits this bill is the Ashdown Little Giant 350. Using the Search Facility(!) I've seen that there are varying opinions of this, especially at lowish volumes. So, what are your experiences, if you've used it and, can anyone suggest an alternative at the same price point? I'm looking for lighter gear as I'm 63, with 5 stents in my heart & diabetes! Big stuff is no longer an option. Geoff[/quote] Well if you already have a 3015 how bloody loud do you want to play. A single 3015 will handle 300 watts - which most players haven't ever heard through a speaker like a 3015 which won't distort at all. Why don't you just get a Roland bass Cube for practice - the 3015 seems a bit big - albeit light? Can't believe the Celestion can out perform the 3015 or add much either. Wattage means nothing for bass, its Xmax and sensitivity that counts. Wattage just emasures the point where the coil burns out. My Sica's in the Ashdown 4x10"s can't hande much more than 40 watts before they exceed Xmax and they are 91.5 sensitivity.