Bass Rigs.........

jps · Post by **jps** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 4:33 am

I can keep up with any drummer I have played with using this rig. The speaker out of a cabinet puts out 98.5 dB @1 watt/1 meter. Even with my Ampeg PB-250 head it keeps up with drummers with no problem; the EV 10BX's impedance is 8 Ohms.

heinpete · Post by **heinpete** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 8:34 pm

I once changed the speaker of a Peavey Combo TNT100 from the original "Black Widow" (98 dB) to an EV-15L (101dB), that was like if I had put an SVT-Top on it. As the physics say, for each rise of 3dB SPL output one needs to double the power output of the amp and a rise of 10dB already is double loudness (noise).

simonmole · Post by **simonmole** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 8:47 pm

this is the range of stuff I choose from, and indeed has given me the nagging back trouble!!!:two trace elliot V8 400watt valve heads, two 4x12 trace cabs, an ashdown rig of a John Entwistle model preamp (the last one they made!), two ashdown 1000 watt poweramps,John's own old *** 2x12 and one ex U2 *** 1x15, plus four Ashdown mini 4x8's stacked up, Or a Gallien Kruger 800rb into two GK 4x10s and a single 2x10, and a hartke kickback combo which (if I'm honest) is probably just fine - and sensible! - for MOST gigs I play!!! Yes I am deaf, can't fit a car in the garage, and while I STILL can't send photos, I suspect if you open your window you'll hear me...........!! (interesting and slightly sad amateur muso fact is that U2's old long throw Ashdown *** bass bin is mainly used as a table in my lounge just now!!!!)

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 1:24 am

Simon, you must have a house the size of Australia,and a very understanding missus....my girlfriend gets irate about the space taken up by my 4 basses and Ashdown ABM500/2xAguilar 1x12 combination!

On a lighter note, how have you found the Ashdown 4x8s?

simonmole · Post by **simonmole** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 2:22 am

nothing light about them Shaun!! (which is again a blow to a bad back if you go to grab one off the ground fooled by the physical size!!) But I bought one secondhand, perhaps ready to be cynical, and was VERY impressed - loud and certainly deep enough for me, BUT brings out the wirewound rotosound edge on a Rick too - all I want in life really! And again in the real world although sturdy=heavy, they all pack in a regular carboot - for me that's SIXTEEN (!!) 8" drivers in one carload - A LOT of speaker area, so A LOT of volume, and they'll handle all the watts you want - knock up a series speaker lead and they'll all run off one average amphead, too...
The house is certainly more suburbia than Australia, by the way!!!!(no basses in the bathroom or the kitchen, though - that's the one houserule!)

gray · Post by **gray** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 2:30 am

My 68 Sunn 215 is going to be either a table or a cabinet of a different kind very soon.

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 2:38 am

Thanks for the reply Simon. I've only ever tried one of those 4x8s in a shop in Denmark Street using a 4003 with an action you could've driven a bus under, so I didn't get a really good idea of what they were capable of. Still, if they're heavy, they're no good to me. I used to have a Trace V-type 4x8 combo; my 72 sounded pants through it, but my first CS sounded incredible. Strangely, through the normal Trace gear, the 72 sounded comfortably better than the CS IMHO. But the V-type was really heavy, and because it was so low to the ground, was almost impossible for me to pick up with my disc problems.

Soon, I hope to come by and check out your veritable cornucopia of bass delights....as usual it's about available time at the moment.

rikk · Post by **rikk** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 6:28 am

If I could justify the expense I would get an Orange AD200B head and an Orange 4x10 and 1 x 15 cab.

gray · Post by **gray** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 12:48 pm

Okay, I've got a question for anyone and everyone. For some time now I've been working up the cash to get a new rig to replace my old, crumbling, awful rig. Finally, the majority of the pieces are together. I have an Ampeg SVPCL preamp, a Crown XTi1000 power amp and an Ampeg 215 Classic cab. I'm also sure I have the Crown set up to run bridged mono. However, it really isn't that loud, and with a minimum of 1000 watts going into that 215, you'd think it'd be plenty loud. What am I doing wrong? I need to have an amp that I can dial around, not just turn everything all the way up to make sure I'm even heard. I'm frustrated and broke, and I spent all day yesterday running around to and from music stores for cords and calling people up for help. Does anyone have any ideas?

thx1955 · Post by **thx1955** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 1:19 pm

A few points to double check:

1: That the Crown is indeed set up for bridged operations, your speaker connection should be to center red + connections.

2: Make sure you're using channel 1 for the input for Mono operation.

3: Check that you've "configured" the amp properly for Bridged Operations (see pages 21-22 of the of the operations manual.

4: Check to see if the "LIM" setting is set too high

5: Make sure the output wiring and signal from the Ampeg is correct and connected to "Channel 1" on the Crown, double check that the Ampeg is in fact sending a decent output signal.

6: Verify the speaker's impeadance, I think the Ampeg 2x15 is 8 Ohm, but double check.

7: Double check your speaker cables for shorts or poor connections

8: Double check the output from your instruments, and also that your connection cables are clean.

I'd also suggest giving Crown's technical folks a call, and review things with them, I've spoken to them in the past and they were great.

dluxe · Post by **dluxe** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 1:28 pm

I use an SWR400S head bridged mono into a Goliath III 410 cab. Plenty of power for both rehearsals and gigs plus the cabinet has casters. I use a Boss TU-2 for tuning and run custom cables made by Pete Brunelli. My main gigging bass is a '94 Yamaha TRB5...........(sorry!)

gray · Post by **gray** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 6:19 pm

Thanks guys. The cab is definitely 4 ohms. It's currently bridged w/ a brige-mono speakon cable, but we're going to try it using the post method as well and see what the difference is. Otherwise, I might just make my own speakon as well.
I probably will call Crown, too, though. It's a fantastic amp, and the whole setup really does my 4003 well, it just needs more headroom, I guess, especially for dialing it in. It's pure SVT sound, though.

thx1955 · Post by **thx1955** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 6:28 pm

Dang,
At 4 Ohms it should be putting out nearly 1400w and should be shaking the foundations !!

I've thought about using the SVT Preamp but coupled to a Crown K1 or K2 ...

gray · Post by **gray** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 2:39 am

"Dang,
At 4 Ohms it should be putting out nearly 1400w and should be shaking the foundations !! "

That's exactly what I said! I'm going to try bridging it the old fashioned way, on the two positive posts rather than through the speakon connection and see how that does. If that doesn't do it, I'm going to call Crown and see if they can walk me through it or something.

thx1955 · Post by **thx1955** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 2:52 am

Good idea Robert, I hope you can get that Rig working as it should be.

I assume the cabinet has been used with another amp in the past so you know that it's ok ??

The other thing you could try is verifying that the amp is configured and the configuration saved properly.

The only other thing I can think of is to turn the amp up full, and use the output from the Ampeg to control the final volume.