A pair of Genz Benz 212t as PA Speakers?

[jimcroisdale]

Hiya all,

I play bass in a 60s/70s three piece covers band.

I currently use a GB212t with a Streamliner600 amp and it works great for me.

However, I want to buy a sportscar (mid life crisis probably) and it won't fit the bass cab in.

One thing I thought that might work would be to get hold of another identical cab and use them as PA (which the singer transports). They're probably much better speakers than the Carlsbro 1x15" PA cabs we use now, and i would imagine that they would take my bass DI'd from a Sansamp VT Bass, along with some kick drum, and have headroom to spare.

I would use a small combo (something I could fit on the passenger seat) for close stage monitoring.

Does this sound feasible?

Cheers,

Jim

[stingrayPete1977]

Thats £1600 worth of cabs to end up playing through a little combo for your own sound! A good pair of powered 15 PA cabs would cost a lot less then sell your 2x12 and buy the Genz 1x12t instead

[jimcroisdale]

Well, If I can find one, a used GB212t cab costs about £400.

The singer would probably go halves with me, as ultimately we would have a more compact, light yet powerful PA rig IF the cabs are suitable.

So for £200 and the cost of a little amp, I get to drive to gigs in my new car.

I know it's a mental way to do stuff, but needs must.

[stingrayPete1977]

Im not sure about it, what about stand mounting points too? I have owned various sports cars (MX-5 and MGB GT) the genz 1x12 with a shuttle 6 or 6.2 head would fit in the car and cover most gigs that your current Carlsbro pa is dealing with?

[Twigman]

I had a Triumph Spitfire for years and managed to get a 1x15 cab, a carlsbro head and my bass in it....(the bass was actually in a hard case bungeed to a boot rack )


oh and after a while I took the passenger seat out so the cab was a bit more stable....but i managed, for 9 years like that!!!

[LawrenceH]

Hmm, I would not be very happy with that deal if I was the singer! The Genz use nice cast-frame woofers... so the cost compromise comes somewhere else less critical for bass guitar, ie the 4kHz crossover point, too high for a 12" driver without seriously compromising dispersion and increasing distortion right in a critical register for vocals. Plus, these speakers are OEMs voiced for bass guitar - I'd be very surprised if the cab's output was near flat.
Having said that, the Carlsbros are probably not great either and could be even worse, but my opinion is that the money would be far better spent on smaller speakers designed with vocal reproduction in mind. After all, the voice is normally most important in 60s/70s pop!

[Lozz196]

I think LawrenceH has it there - the Genz cabs will be voiced for bass - ever tried guitar through a bass amp, yuck.

Get a small but powerful combo - unless you`re playing a very large venue, most of the upper-brands small combos now are plenty enough on their own. DI it through the PA, and roll some low end off, that way you`ll have bass presence in the PA, and your amps sound for the bass - plenty enough.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='jimcroisdale' timestamp='1369934528' post='2094692']
One thing I thought that might work would be to get hold of another identical cab and use them as PA.
Does this sound feasible?
[/quote]No. Most bass cabs don't have the flat frequency response nor wide dispersion required for PA. Some are OK, mainly 3 ways, but this isn't one of them.

[xgsjx]

Get a sports car with a decent boot.

[jimcroisdale]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1370017394' post='2095641']
No. Most bass cabs don't have the flat frequency response nor wide dispersion required for PA. Some are OK, mainly 3 ways, but this isn't one of them.
[/quote]

So a couple of Barefaced Big Babies would be the ticket then?