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Has anyone compared a BF BB2 with a Vanderkley 115MN6?


dave_bass5
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I agree about the cutting through bit, but I think it that's open to interpretation. For me I want to cut through and not be buried, but I dont want to stand out in the mix if that makes sense. In fact with the current band I need to fill the mix more, and the 115VMN6 does this well.

The overal tone of the bass does seem to change when the band start playing. I've heard really good bass tones when bands are sound checking just the bass, yet it becomes more generic in the mix and they lose some of the nicer points.
I even find this at home playing along to CD's etc. Great solo tone but once it's blended in some of that just disappears.

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it could be simple to think about a great tone that remains the same when mixed with other sounds. Unfortunately, It's not true. Every bass tone changes quite dramatically, from an audience point of view. It may seem the same when you have your cab pointing right at you onstage and you hear it as the loudest instrument, but it IS very different up front and in different parts of the room.
It's our course. We are all damned and obliged to work hard to compensare for this phenomenon.

Regarding cabs, I own a BB2, and I have not decided yet if it is my holy grail. It needs some babying sometimes because it points light on a useless tone like nothing else I have tried, but it can reward if you and your amo sound right for the band/venue. The fact that is light is pleasant, but the most important thing is the quality of reproduction. Dispersion is so good that I cannot use it onstage with a songwriter I work with. He is not used to hear bass clearly, he is not used to hear bass, and the BB2 cannot be silenced even at extreme offaxis. last gig I played behind the cab and I heard my bass wonderfully. The tone was appropriate up front too.

If I thought that a cab that sounds good every day,venue or with any band ...I would not esitate to buy it, regardless of price. But that cab is chimeric, it does not exist. It's the nature of our instrument and role.

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Minor update. OT again - but relevant to the above as I don't think I can stomach the Ashdown combo for every rehearsal.

It looks like a fairly early 4x10 combo. I had some time with it again last night, and still, despite hearing the difference the EQ was making, it felt like it had zero clarity.

I think I might still consider a BB2 as I'm using a 5 string all the time now, and it would be nice to have some depth. I'm just worried it is going to be far too much low bass for me.

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[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1464431276' post='3059396']...
The overal tone of the bass does seem to change when the band start playing. I've heard really good bass tones when bands are sound checking just the bass, yet it becomes more generic in the mix and they lose some of the nicer points...
[/quote]

I think it's less 'lose some of the nicer points' as all that. We only have one pair of ears, and they can't pick out, in isolation, anything at all. Our brain does that, to a great extent, but the sound waves coming in are much more complex with the whole band than the bass alone. Think of a symphony orchestra. A solo trombone is clearly heard, at appropriate moments. When the hole lot are wading in, however, it's almost impossible to single out their 'solo' contribution. If it wasn't there, though, something would be missing. Same with bass; take away that refined, honed, tone and the whole texture is changed. It's not the same as in isolation, but adding a good tone to the mix must surely be better than adding a duff one, no..?

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Yes, i agree but i also think you can EQ your bass it ensure certain freq's or a cert in part of the character still comes through. This might involve boosting a freq that wouldn't sound good on its own but does sound better in the mix.

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[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1464431276' post='3059396']
The overal tone of the bass does seem to change when the band start playing. I've heard really good bass tones when bands are sound checking just the bass, yet it becomes more generic in the mix and they lose some of the nicer points.
I even find this at home playing along to CD's etc. Great solo tone but once it's blended in some of that just disappears.
[/quote]

You only have to hear the soloed feeds of people like JE and GL to hear how very very harsh their tones are to produce that cutting tone in a band setting, once they're up against guitar and drums. One of the reasons those angled Schroder cabs work well in a band environment is their kinda pokey soloed tone.

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[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1464942584' post='3063903']

I think I might still consider a BB2 as I'm using a 5 string all the time now, and it would be nice to have some depth. I'm just worried it is going to be far too much low bass for me.
[/quote]

It definitely was for my Sire V7 bass. I had to stop using it with the BB2. I just couldn't get on with it with the V7, I found lots of gaps in the freq spectrum that would make it sound like I wasn't actually playing. This was more down to the bass though as it wasn't as bad with my 4 string P bass. Again, this was just my experience.

The 115NM6 on the other hand has got me back in to playing the 5 string agin. Very even response across the board and although the base is only 34"the low notes sound nice and tight.

Edited by dave_bass5
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  • 2 months later...

So now the honeymoon period is kinda over, what are your thoughts on this 115MN6 ? Has anything changed or are you just as pleased with it ? I can't find any other info on this particular cab and am considering one in the future.

Edited by sifi2112
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I really do love this cab. Its definitely the best cab ive ever owned (for me anyway).

Ok, ive said that before with new cabs, but now ive gigged it 5 times (wish we were busier) without any issues or negative thoughts, at venues when i have had varying results before, i can safely say this is THE one for me.

Maybe ive just been looking fro a 1x15 all along, or maybe its just that this one is voiced better to my ears. In fact when i decided to replace my long term 1212L i started a thread asking about a 1x15 to replace it. I got a bit lost back then and neither of the BF cabs really worked out, but now im 99% happy. The other 1% is just that i know if i could go larger i could get something that would be 100%, but space is tight in the car.

The cab has heft that across the board, and this is what i was missing in the other cabs. Not quite as deep as the BB2, but i feel its a more usable low end for social club stages. The thickness seems to translate better at distances. I find the tone on stage is pretty much what im hearing if i walk around the dance floor. This was never the case with the BF or Schroeder cabs. Knowing this makes playing a bit more pleasurable. I know i dont have to adjust my playing to avoid boom or certain notes disappearing. Ok, that might be bad technique etc, but after playing for all these years i know when im happy.
At the same rehearsal rooms ive used for the past year or so with the other cabs in the results have been the same as above. All around the room the full range of the bass can be heard. With the BB2 there was a definite loss of some notes when the band were playing and i was in various places in the room/s. Im happy to admit that the cab is colouring the tone to get this, but if thats what was needed im all for it.
The BB2 had more bite and clarity on the upper strings/notes, but they lacked the power the lower notes had, and could get overwhelmed and lost. Again, i appreciate there are other things in play here but the end result is what counts.

If there was a negative it would be that the tweeter is more like a standard one, so you can certainly hear it when slapping and popping, but otherwise its not making a great deal of difference. The BB2 on the other hand was really nice to use and made a big difference to the upper frequencies.
For me this is a non issue so its not really a negative as such, more of a less useful thing to have.

So yes, the quest is really over for now.

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