Bass cab/speaker suggestions

miroslav

Cosmic Cowboy
I finally decided to get a high end bass preamp/amp box (Sonic Farm - Tantra) which is probably meant more for studio use (why I got it) since it comes with a slew of options, and not just the typical volume/tone controls.

https://sonicfarm.com/tantra-bass-preamp/

It's stock as just a preamp/DI...but you can get them with an amp module installed...and this one has that...so I'm wondering what to pair it up with...but I'm looking for a cab/speaker that will be for studio use, and I don't need a big, live cab...although the amp module that comes with the Tantra is a 1000W D Class amp, so potentially this can be used for big live gigs too.

The main benefit for studio use is the extreme headroom the 1000W amp provides...so I'm not looking for a cab/speaker that can handle 1000W...just something that will be a solid studio performer sonically, and preferably a more compact cab/speaker.
Not wanting something massive like a 810 cab or some monster 115 bass reflex cab...etc.

I've not looked at bass cabs/speakers in as long as I can remember...since I've been doing pretty much all DI bass recording...but now I would like to at least have a pretty decent bass rig for the studio too.

Anyone got any ideas...? :)

For the time being though...
I do have a couple of vintage Cerwin Vega V34 PA cabs from the late '70s (they were part of a band PA system) that have a 115 speaker, horn and a pair of tweeters. These were those CV cabs that came with like a fuzzy gray carpet type covering instead of Tolex or other stuff.
They are built like tanks...very heavy...all 3/4" plywood construction, with a large bottom port in front.

One of the cabs I added a jack a long time ago, that allows me to bypass the internal crossover, and just go into the 115...so that will suffice for now as a bass cab. Who knows...it might end up being the one I use permanently if it sounds really good with this amp.
Maybe I finally found a good use for these V34 cabs that I've been holding onto for the last 40 years! :p
 
If you are up to building a cab? Celestion PULSE12 - 12 inch Bass Guitar Speake

The 200W handle will be fine since in 8 Ohm* impedance the maximum power is going to be 500W IF! the pre amp makers are not telling porkies. Class D amps anyway have a more rapid drop off in power than linear amps as you move away from the optimum load impedance. Celestion are also noted for being very conservative with their power handling claims.

Whatever cab/speaker you get if its power handling is well under 1000W (and most will be if you want reasonably compact) I strongly suggest you fit an inline fuse. For a 200W speaker start with 3.15A slow blow and if it pops move up to the next value.

Not only is there a good chance the fuse will save the speaker from overdrive but also from the amp going ape-***t and putting a 70 volt DC offset through the voice coil. That would wreck just about any speaker on the planet.

*16 Ohms would be even safer but does not seem common in bass speakers.

Dave.
 
Oh for sure...I would not exceed speaker rating, and would toss a fuse inline. We use to do that back in the band days, having blown some horn drivers on more than one occasion. We installed the fuses, and kept some spare diaphragms for the drivers for gigs.

The old Cerwin Vega V34 3-way PA cab is only rated at like 100W I believe, but the 15" speaker is quite nice for bass. I use to use it for guitar too, just the speaker without the horn/tweeters.

AFA this bass amp...yeah, at 8 ohms it's only 500W...and the high power rating is more about headroom, not so much about trying to push out that much power.
 
Oh for sure...I would not exceed speaker rating, and would toss a fuse inline. We use to do that back in the band days, having blown some horn drivers on more than one occasion. We installed the fuses, and kept some spare diaphragms for the drivers for gigs.

The old Cerwin Vega V34 3-way PA cab is only rated at like 100W I believe, but the 15" speaker is quite nice for bass. I use to use it for guitar too, just the speaker without the horn/tweeters.

AFA this bass amp...yeah, at 8 ohms it's only 500W...and the high power rating is more about headroom, not so much about trying to push out that much power.

Note about speaker fusing: You might think you could not do that for a valve output stage and, on the face of it you would be right, the last thing you want is the load to go O/C at max welly!
However, if you shunt the fuse with a resistor, about 33 Ohms at 10W then the fuse still blows but power into the speaker is greatly reduced and the amp has 'something' of a load and should survive. The sudden drop in volume will announce the fault.

Dave.
 
There is no valve output on the amp in question...it's SS...
...but if you're talking in general how to do it with a valve output stage, than yeah.
 
Hey Miro, hope moving the studio is going well. AFA bass cabs i have been using both a bespoke bass cab with a 15(an ancient low budget Crate) and a couple of 15" woofer and horn driver PA speakers. I have two speaker outputs and split them between the speakers with one going to the horn of speaker "a" and the other going to the woofer of speaker "b" so i can mic them separately and then blend them. I have also used an GK 410 cab of a friend and it works great also but TBH the sound was completely different so i would try various combos by renting if possible to get the sound you like best norrowed down.
 
Hey Miro, hope moving the studio is going well. AFA bass cabs i have been using both a bespoke bass cab with a 15(an ancient low budget Crate) and a couple of 15" woofer and horn driver PA speakers. I have two speaker outputs and split them between the speakers with one going to the horn of speaker "a" and the other going to the woofer of speaker "b" so i can mic them separately and then blend them. I have also used an GK 410 cab of a friend and it works great also but TBH the sound was completely different so i would try various combos by renting if possible to get the sound you like best norrowed down.

I have two of those CV V34 cabs...and I will try with just the 15" in one, and the other leave it with the horn and tweeters...and/or I can also use them together with the amp, and see what that gives me.
For some reason I feel I should get a 410 or something like that, to have that "smaller" speaker bass sound, which is a lot tighter.

I did also pick up a vintage Ampeg Portaflex SB-12 last fall...which I only tested out, and have not had the opportunity to really play/record with it...but even then I was thinking about having a small bass rig for the studio, rather than always going DI...which I will still do quite a bit, but now I many split, and go both cab and DI.
This new amp...the Sonic Farm Tantra...wasn't even on my radar, but a few months back I ordered one of their Creamer 2-channel pres, because I was looking to add a pre with a lot of character to my other pre options. It was purely by chance that I came across the Sonic Farm stuff, and then noticed that their gear was highly reviewed by a lot of pros. I guess because they are out of Canada on the west coast, there's not a ton of everyday buzz...but from everything I read, they make some very high quality products. I'm most likely going to add one of their other preamps, the Berliner, at some point.

AFA the Tantra...I was actually looking at their bass DI box...the 2Di4...but then thought the Tantra, which has all of the 2Di4 built into it, plus more...would be a super flexible bass rig for the studio. Maybe a bit overkill, but I wasn't thinking about a live bass rig...rather more about having something that no matter who came in to play bass, they could find what they needed with it.

After doing some research on Sonic Farm...it turned out that the two partners behind it, are from my old country, the former Yugoslavia (you can read their backstory on the website)...so it was kinda cool. We even exchanged some emails in the native tongue...but I'm not buying their products just because of that.
They make some really good gear...and they are a small, hand-built operation for the most part.
Another company I found doing similar...is Audioscape. I picked up a couple of their compressor units this winter...also very well built, and well reviewed.

Just trying to get things lined up for the new studio...but it seems like all I do these days is physical labor, trying to finish endless projects that were initiated with the studio construction. :facepalm: :D
Speaking of that,...I'm off to Home Depot...AGAIN!...need some sanding/buffing products.
 
Note about speaker fusing...

So I'm curious what you think about the argument that when you fuse a speaker line...you're taking that nice, heavy gauge speaker wire that your signal runs on...and force it to go across a hair-like thin piece of wire in the fuse, and that can affect the signal transmission...limiting the current, etc.?

It's been years since I fused a speaker line...but I recall that being a question that was raised.

And yes...let's just talk about SS amps, so as not to confuse it more.

Anyway...I just got the bass amp...still have not tried it out, was just too busy with outside work, but it's a rainy day for Friday, so I will have time to give it a try.
I may even have a line on a MASoundworks 112 bass cab...which apparently handles about 600W into 4 ohms...but I'm waiting to get the price for it. It was a NAMM demo, so minimal use. Probably way more than I really have need for, more like something a live gig bass player would want...but if the price is good... :)
 
"So I'm curious what you think about the argument that when you fuse a speaker line...you're taking that nice, heavy gauge speaker wire that your signal runs on...and force it to go across a hair-like thin piece of wire in the fuse, and that can affect the signal transmission...limiting the current, etc.?

A very good point Miroslav and be warned! I might go on a bit!

You are quite right that a fuse has some resistance but it is so small in comparison with the DC resistance of even a 4 Ohm speaker that it can be neglected as causing any noticeable loss of signal nor will it affect the 'Damping Factor'* What it will do is cause thermal distortion and because it will heat up and cool down symmetrically with both positive and negative going signals, that distortion will be largely odd harmonics.
But! Said distortion will be around 0.05% even for large signals. Perfectly detectable on even primitive analysers but, I would aver probably less than your average gigging bass amp produces by some way?

You would not however want fuses in the speaker lines of a top line hi fi amp.

In short, no one will be able to tell. The main problem is the fuse value. 100W into 4 R is 5A rms but a 5A fuse would offer little protection, needing twice or more than that to blow. There is little science to this, start low, 1A is perfectly reasonable and work up if you get nuisance blowing.

*The output resistance of VALVE guitar amps is so high, 30 Ohms and more, that 'damping' is virtually non-existant. Even some transistor OP stages have a simulated high OP Z.

Dave.
 
I'll keep that in mind if/when I get to that decision...though TBH, I doubt at this point I will worry about fuse protection.

We got into that back in the day mainly with out PA rig...after we managed to blow a few horn drivers, and even a speaker once.
Since we didn't want to keep tossing money down for replacement parts...we did the fuses, which as I recall, worked out OK at the time.
 
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