Members Sixgun77 Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 My beastly 4-12 is beastly. I love it. However, I'd love more power in the 65Hz and below range. So I called my Cab guy and have requested that he build me a 2-12 cab and a 1-18 cab matched up to run together bi-amped. By getting an 18 that has good response at 30hz and below I can boost the freqs that you can feel but barely hear. That along with compression ought to allow me to really shake the floor while playing at low volume. I can have all my Fender mids while shaking the room without overpowering the band at parties and practice. This will also be a rig I can move up and down stairs all by myself. Any thoughts on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SpaceGhost Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 Sounds like the making of a kickass rig. I'm a 4x12 fan, post a review if ya can after everything is assembled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members phatster Posted August 3, 2005 Members Share Posted August 3, 2005 I would recommend a good quality crossover to achieve your plan.I use Two 18" cabinets and a 2-12 as well,I have tried many connections....the crossover got that sound your looking for...be sure you got enough juice to push that air! Plz give us appropriate updates,and pics too.Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sixgun77 Posted August 4, 2005 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 A good crossover is definitely a must when bi-amping. Right now I have a QSC RMX 1450 I'm using to power the 4-12. The cab is rated at 2000 watts RMS(1000 per pair of speakers), but the amp is 300 per side, not 1000 per side. Still, it's way more juice than I've needed. I'll be buying a second power amp after I get the new rig. I'll probably use the 1450 for the 2-12 cab and I'll buy one matched to the 1-18. Power will not be an issue. I like the 4-12 I have, but I want more low end and I'd like to have a rig I can move myself. 2 12's and an 18 sounds like the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oldivor Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Sounds like a killer rig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mudbass Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 What are you planning to use for a crossover? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sixgun77 Posted August 4, 2005 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 I'm not sure who I'm going to go with on that yet. I'll probably follow the recommendations of the guy building the rig as he's been building speaker systems, running live sound, and playing bass all for 20+ years. After it gets close to completion I'll start looking for power amps and a good crossover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mudbass Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by Sixgun77 I'm not sure who I'm going to go with on that yet. I'll probably follow the recommendations of the guy building the rig as he's been building speaker systems, running live sound, and playing bass all for 20+ years. After it gets close to completion I'll start looking for power amps and a good crossover. Take my advice and start thinking about it now and save yourself some surprises later on. The type of crossover you use is more important than the brand. PA crossovers use a -24db per octave slope. The steep rolloff is necessary to protect high frequency drivers from too much lows. They don't sound very good in a bass rig however because the steep rolloff curve makes the top and bottom cabs sound disconected from one another. There seems to be a audible black hole at the rolloff point and the two cabs don't sound like they're part of the same system. The best bass preamps (Alembic, Eden, etc.) use crossovers with a -12db per octave slope. The gentler slope retains the continuity between the top and bottom cabs and they sound like one unified speaker system. There's no black hole at the crossover point. The problem is, nobody I know of makes a stand-alone active crossover with a -12db slope anymore. You might dig one up on ebay, I don't know, but they're getting pretty scarce these days. I tried a dbx 223 crossover in my rig. Great crossover, but I didn't like the results of the -24db slope at all. I went with an F-1X preamp which has a -12db slope and it made all the difference in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members speddling Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 I ran a EV loaded Kustom 4x12 and a Yamaha 1x18 PA sub biamped as my rig in the 80s 18" drivers can be cool (I wouldn't give up my current rig to go back to it though... I get as much depth and air pressure with a more even response) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sixgun77 Posted August 4, 2005 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by Mudbass Take my advice and start thinking about it now and save yourself some surprises later on. The type of crossover you use is more important than the brand. PA crossovers use a -24db per octave slope. The steep rolloff is necessary to protect high frequency drivers from too much lows. They don't sound very good in a bass rig however because the steep rolloff curve makes the top and bottom cabs sound disconected from one another. There seems to be a audible black hole at the rolloff point and the two cabs don't sound like they're part of the same system. The best bass preamps (Alembic, Eden, etc.) use crossovers with a -12db per octave slope. The gentler slope retains the continuity between the top and bottom cabs and they sound like one unified speaker system. There's no black hole at the crossover point. The problem is, nobody I know of makes a stand-alone active crossover with a -12db slope anymore. You might dig one up on ebay, I don't know, but they're getting pretty scarce these days. I tried a dbx 223 crossover in my rig. Great crossover, but I didn't like the results of the -24db slope at all. I went with an F-1X preamp which has a -12db slope and it made all the difference in the world. Ok. You make some very good points. I coulda sworn active crossovers are the expensive and (IIRC)inefficient type that are run (usually inside the cabinet) AFTER the power amp. I'm planning on using one that sends 2 seperate signals to 2 different power amps. That's a passive crossover isin't it? Are you sure the "black hole" wasn't caused by phase differences? That's another thing I'll have to consider and get with my builder to find out how to remedy. I figured I'd ask him about crossovers because he's used to running seperate cabinets for different ranges of the sound spectrum simultaneously. Not that I'm blowing your opinions off at all, but I want to pick his brain on the subject too. He usually runs subs, midrange cabs, and high freq cabs all at the same time and has experience with the crossovers and fixing phase differences. Plus he's a bassist! Have you ever had to correct your sound for phase differences? Is 2 12's and an 18(front loaded ported bass guitar type of cabinet) going to be enough of a phase difference to cause a problem? This will be 2 seperate cabinets, with the speakers and boxes slelcted and tuned to match up with eachother. edit: just read up a bit, the type I want IS an active crossover, you're right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 311IncubusCKY Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 not to hijack, but i thought i would share what my rig of doom will be as of friday. Sunn1200s into avatar 2x12 (4 ohm) avatar 1x15 (8 ohm) avatar 2x10 (8 0hm) GK 1001RB mk2 into Musicman Audiophile 2x12 (8ohm) Trace Elliot 1x15 (8ohm) 1900 watts and 98 inches of speaker surface. AH! -todd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members oldivor Posted August 4, 2005 Members Share Posted August 4, 2005 Originally posted by 311IncubusCKY not to hijack, but i thought i would share what my rig of doom will be as of friday. Sunn1200s into avatar 2x12 (4 ohm) avatar 1x15 (8 ohm) avatar 2x10 (8 0hm) GK 1001RB mk2 into Musicman Audiophile 2x12 (8ohm) Trace Elliot 1x15 (8ohm) 1900 watts and 98 inches or speaker surface. AH! -todd Kill some brain cells. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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