FRFR for bass

WillieD

WillieD

Inspired
My bsss player is looking to ditch his amp and cab for an FRFR speaker. Or something equivalent. He's also thinking about using a power amp with his cab. He's using a Helix (though I am close to talking him into team Fractal). Any suggestions or recommendations from the bass players in the group?
 
Red Sound has something new coming for bass.
Accugroove has also been great option in this regard.

FRFR can be somewhat less important for bass where you depend primarily on low end power.
 
WillieD said:
My bsss player is looking to ditch his amp and cab for an FRFR speaker. Or something equivalent. He's also thinking about using a power amp with his cab. He's using a Helix (though I am close to talking him into team Fractal). Any suggestions or recommendations from the bass players in the group?
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what's his current rig, as a reference point for how much sound he needs to push? Is it stage-only with FOH doing the heavy lifting, or is his amp carrying the room?
 
jimfist said:
what's his current rig, as a reference point for how much sound he needs to push? Is it stage-only with FOH doing the heavy lifting, or is his amp carrying the room?
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He runs to FOH and the cab on stage is just for stage volume. We all run in ears. I have an FRFR and do the same.
 
WillieD said:
He runs to FOH and the cab on stage is just for stage volume. We all run in ears. I have an FRFR and do the same.
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Ok. If he's on IEM, then there are a lot of options. As @Admin M@ mentioned, Accugroove is a great way to go, with a lot of product presence in the bass community. Otherwise, I'd safely say that any well-known and trusted name brand speaker based on a 12" or 15" driver, priced in the $800-$1200 range would work well. Is there a price point?
 
jimfist said:
Ok. If he's on IEM, then there are a lot of options. As @Admin M@ mentioned, Accugroove is a great way to go, with a lot of product presence in the bass community. Otherwise, I'd safely say that any well-known and trusted name brand speaker based on a 12" or 15" driver, priced in the $800-$1200 range would work well. Is there a price point?
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Thanks! Good info here. No price point.
 
I crossed that bridge over 10 years ago, and use either Atomic CLR wedges (small stages) or 15" coax (Ciare) drivers loaded into ported bins (bigger stages). They've served well, but were I to do it all over again now? Accugroove would get a very close look.
 
I'm using one or two EV PXM 12. They are very popular here with the guitar players but also work well for bass for monitoring.

Don't expect any crushing low end, though. On stage I often even have them highpassed at around 120 - 160 Hz or so, as I feel there is no point in trying to go against the PA in those frequencies.

I have a backbeat on my strap to get some precise low end rumble, so I still fell like I'm moving serious air.
Also, no IEM.
 
You guys are already on ears so I assume the goal here is just to feel the bass. So I would save my money and just keep the bass cab tbh. For bigger festivals we backline an SVT head and 810 cab even though we’re on ears and most instruments are direct. Works great.
 
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strabes said:
You guys are already on ears so I assume the goal here is just to feel the bass. So I would save my money and just keep the bass cab tbh. For bigger festivals we backline an SVT head and 810 cab even though we’re on ears. Works great.
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That's my initial thought, to go with an inexpensive, practical solution. But evidently money isn't an issue. I also agree that there is value in having FR speakers/monitors since they can be used for virtually any sound reinforcement situation. Again, lots of good options out there (EV, Yamaha, etc.).

@WillieD , what is your FR stage speaker, and would it suffice for bass duties, or does it lack? If it does work, then just get another one or two of the same model as yours. Redundancy is nice.
 
jimfist said:
what is your FR stage speaker, and would it suffice for bass duties, or does it lack? If it does work, then just get another one or two of the same model as yours. Redundancy is nice.
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I use a XiTone active 12" wedge speaker. Not sure that is an option anymore, given the non-response from that vendor over the last year or so.
 
Thanks for all the great feedback! I'm passing this all along to my bass player and now he has some thinking to do. 🤔
 
For me it would be 2x powered Accugroove Latte. Good for guitar and for bass.
For passive cabs, have a look at Barefaced and Fearful/Fearless from Greenly.

I'm using EV ZLX12P with EV ZXA-1 sub at home. Very nice.
But you can use almost any good bass cab with something like a Crown XLS-1502 and get good results with your modeler (for bass).
 
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