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Post subject: Getting more low end
Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 12:49 pm
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I currently play a Fender MIA Jazz Bass through a GK 700W 1001RB head into a GK 4X10 cab. This is a great rig but the 4X10 cab is showing some limitations if I try to hit frequencies much lower than a standard tuned low E. For example, if I play through an Aguilar octave pedal, the 4X10 cab can't pick up notes much lower than C# below the standard low E.

Would a 15" speaker cab solve this problem? Are there any 5 string players out there that tune their low B string down even further? How do you solve this problem?

I would welcome any suggestions on cabs that would provide much lower notes with clarity.

Thanks.

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Posted: Wed Aug 11, 2010 4:25 pm
I don't know if 2x12 cabs would work for what you're stating. I always like the balance of 12's between 10's & 15's. I think 12's carry the highs of 10's, and the lows of 15's with clarity. The Mesa 2x12 cab I'm using sounds great.


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Posted: Thu Aug 26, 2010 7:54 am
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It could just be the settings you're using. I had the same problem. I found that GK's could be very sensitive and some changes I made, made no sense at all, for example, taking out the mids boosted the low end and increasing the low end actually took out the lows. It was weird. I no longer have the amp, went with Fender and Kustom.


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Post subject: Re:
Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 9:07 pm
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fjbass wrote:
I don't know if 2x12 cabs would work for what you're stating. I always like the balance of 12's between 10's & 15's. I think 12's carry the highs of 10's, and the lows of 15's with clarity. The Mesa 2x12 cab I'm using sounds great.


Probably right on target here. I have had tens and highs were good but lows suffered a bit. I use a 15" now and with an Eminence Kappa Lite LF Neo 15 it gets killer low end but had to put a 6.5" speaker in for the upper registers. Used Horns first but found the small speaker was less harsh sounding to me so I can summize that 12's would be the ultimate happy medium here.

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Post subject: Re: Getting more low end
Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 3:28 am
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Just offering this info as another possibility to explore before you start spending tons of cash to replace hardware.

You didn't mention the location that this is happening in, but also remember that ROOM ACOUSTICS can play a part in the human ear's ability to pick up low frequency sounds. The sound that you get while practicing in a 10 by 12 foot residential music room will not be the same as playing in a 4000 seat auditorium. The cabinets may be producing the low end but in the location that you are playing, your ears might not be hearing the lows due to room configuration. Try changing the angle that the speaker cabinet is facing with regard to walls and sound absorbing curtains, drapes, fabric covered furniture and such. You can also use a Sound Level Meter to set things up for practice or a gig. Most well known bands have an audio tech that sets up the equipment in each venue to get optimum performance from the speaker cabinets and room configuration. The following article was written for the home audiophile, but the general principles are the same...

CLICK > http://www.audiophilia.com/hardware/spl.htm


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Post subject: Re: Getting more low end
Posted: Sun Jul 17, 2011 6:33 pm
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Nylon wound tape strings might work.


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Post subject: Re: Getting more low end
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 5:53 pm
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oxfan wrote:
Nylon wound tape strings might work.


I don't know what music he plays, but if he's playing hard music Nylon covered strings do not sound good. Is the 4x10 the same model as the head. GK has a lot of low end cabs that aren't that good. Their top end line is all quality tho.

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Post subject: Re: Getting more low end
Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:56 pm
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Anytime your amp is producing low frequency energy that isn't being converted to audio by the cab, it has to go somewhere and that somewhere is heat. Unfortunately this heat goes to the voice coils and speaker cables so you are not only just wasting watts, but also risking damage to your speaker voice coils. So it is best to only use the subharmonic effect in a range of notes where you can actually hear it.

Subharmonic effects on bass usually require subwoofers for the lower notes. They also require tons of power on the lower notes. Your amp has lots of power so that isn't the problem. 15 to 18 inch speakers in well ported cabs will help some. I don't know what GK cab you are using, but some of them aren't ported at all and therefore are not going to do much is the sub frequency range anyway. If your band has a major PA with subs, patch out to the PA and use the PA subs.

Often the best solution for subharmonic effects is bi-amping using a crossover to feed two separate power amps that each feed a separate speaker array.

If patching out to the PA subs isn't feasible and if your existing cab is an 8 ohm cab, you can try adding a 1x15 or even a 1x18 8 ohm cab. While your amp does bi-amping, it may already be bi-amping your existing cabinet as some of the better GK cabs bi-amp automatically by design with the better GK heads like yours. Your head won't handle a load below 4 ohms, so you can use two 8 ohm cabs or one 4 ohm cab...but not two 4 ohm cabs and not one 4 ohm and one 8 ohm.

The lower the frequency, the further you need to be from the cab to hear it accurately. If you are too close you can feel your pants legs flap from waves of air pouring out of the cabinet port but you will not hear much of it. Get 15 feet away and it sounds much louder and fatter. I've noticed this effect lots of times. This is often why bassists think they are not loud enough, so they turn up only to get told to turn down because they are too loud out front.


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Post subject: Re: Getting more low end
Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 12:22 am
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brotherdave wrote:
15 to 18 inch speakers in well ported cabs will help some.


+1000!

The gentleman who played this rig knew how to get low end......

Image

"His bass sounded like a bleedin' VC10!"

:mrgreen:

Arjay

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Post subject: Re: Getting more low end
Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 7:25 am
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I have always had great low end response using a 1x 15 and 4x10 cabinet. I also use a BBE 383 Bass preamp to get a nice balance for all frequencies. If I am doing a small gig I will just go with a 1x15.
ABS :D


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Post subject: Re: Getting more low end
Posted: Sun Aug 28, 2011 8:29 am
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airbornestrat wrote:
I have always had great low end response using a 1x 15 and 4x10 cabinet. I also use a BBE 383 Bass preamp to get a nice balance for all frequencies. If I am doing a small gig I will just go with a 1x15.
ABS :D


I went from 1x15 to a pair of 2x15 cabs for years. I didn't start using 10's until about 6 years ago. Now I use 1x15 with 2x10's and a horn on top. Once when playing a gig upstairs I decided to just use the 1x15 and I really missed the punch from the 2x10's.

I might could get by with a 12 cab instead of a 15 since I only play 4 string bass. I'm also using that Neo 15 Eminence speaker. That is the lighter of my two current cabs and it was easier to carry it up the steps. When I play with just 2x10's which I've also done, I miss the 15.

Lately I've just been patching to the PA and letting the subs do most of the work and my rig is more of a monitor than anything else.


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