# School me about fEARful cabs



## Hollowway (Sep 24, 2016)

I just got a new bass (NG2), and have it tuned to F#. So now I'm thinking about buying a cab for it. I've played a lot of bass in my day, but never really thought much about the amp side of it. Not as much as guitar, anyway. But I've been reading about these fEARful cabs, and while I understand what they do, what I don't understand is:

1) What is the difference between all the different combinations/speakers? Does one combination favor a particular frequency over another? There are SO many different builds, I can't figure out which I'd need/want.
2) I think it's the port that is tuned to the lowest frequency (right?) so what is the purpose of the different numbers and sizes of the speakers used?


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## eyeswide (Sep 26, 2016)

1) The purpose is different power output/dimensions. They are intentionally transparent and should not have any favoured frequency

2)See #1

Source: I've built one.


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## TemjinStrife (Sep 26, 2016)

Eyeswide has it. The different configurations are for different size speakers (larger = more output) and different shapes (the wider shapes fit better under a wide tube head, for example). I've played a 1515/66 and a 12/6/1. Both were great.

Another possibility, if you don't want to build yourself, is to contact Duke LeJeune of Audiokinesis about his bigger cabs (I think he has one targeted at F#). He builds his own cabs and tends to aim for a slightly different design than the fEarful stuff, of which both are excellent. I went with a small Thunderchild for portability and what felt like a more "refined" sound, and it's amazing. I don't doubt his bigger stuff is as good. Only thing I'm not sure about is Duke's lead time.


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## Hollowway (Sep 26, 2016)

Ok, cool. Thanks fellas. I had checked out the Thunderchild, but the specs list -1 dB at 62Hz, and nothing lower, so I wasn't sure how fast it rolled off under that. I know the advantages of having a fundamental sound on the B and F# are limited, but if I'm choosing between the cabs, it's a consideration. The second harmonic of F# is at 46 Hz, anyway.


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## TemjinStrife (Sep 26, 2016)

Hollowway said:


> Ok, cool. Thanks fellas. I had checked out the Thunderchild, but the specs list -1 dB at 62Hz, and nothing lower, so I wasn't sure how fast it rolled off under that. I know the advantages of having a fundamental sound on the B and F# are limited, but if I'm choosing between the cabs, it's a consideration. The second harmonic of F# is at 46 Hz, anyway.



Duke offers plenty of designs other than the Thunderchild 1x12, including IIRC one larger cab optimized for low F# or thereabouts. It's worth contacting him; he's a really nice dude and absolutely knows his stuff.

There is also a fEARful design that adds low end extension somewhere (I think it's a tweak to the port) but it's been years since I've looked at anything in that realm.


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## Hollowway (Sep 26, 2016)

Thanks. I just emailed Duke. And also Greenboy to ask about that tweak on the fEARful design. 

Any advice on a cheap amp to power these? If I'm dropping a grand on the cab, I would prefer not to go hog wild on the amp, but I do want something that will work well with the cab.


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## eyeswide (Sep 27, 2016)

Hollowway said:


> Any advice on a cheap amp to power these? If I'm dropping a grand on the cab, I would prefer not to go hog wild on the amp, but I do want something that will work well with the cab.



Your options are wide open. You can go with just a regular power amp if you do all your pre stuff on your pedalboard - I use a Peavey IPR for mine. Or, you can get a regular bass head.

If you want to be super portable, you can go with one of those mini heads.


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## Winspear (Sep 27, 2016)

They were designed around that low B which is why the 2nd harmonic is at full volume before the rolloff. I can confirm they are fantastic for E0. Haven't tried any lower.

Crown XLS1500 does me great for guitar and bass. I did find myself wanting a bit more headroom playing bass with a drummer but it was ok. XLS2000 would be fine. I'm running bridged mono into two Fearless F112 (similar to Fearful 12/6/1)


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## Hollowway (Sep 27, 2016)

Yeah, I just talked with greenboy support, and they confirmed that there is a fearful mod to the port where you get a lower frequency goose at the expense of the frequencies right above it. I'll probably go with a fearless F112. I'm not 100% sure I want to sacrifice the those frequencies, since I won't be riding that 23 Hz F# all day. Of course, now I want to commission a 40" scale length bass!


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## TemjinStrife (Sep 28, 2016)

I run my Thunderchild with a Tone Hammer 500, but that's because my rig needs to be able to fit on the subway. It's loud as hell though, can carry bars by itself, shake houses, and the like. Anything bigger I just run out to the PA.







If you're playing at home you don't need mega power, but if you're playing live, the fEARfuls especially can just swallow loads of watts in exchange for SPL. I haven't tried any of Duke's larger cabs in a live situation. The Crown XLS and Peavey IPR models seem to be popular lightweight power amps for driving these bigger cabs, although you'll likely want some kind of preamp.


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## Hollowway (Sep 28, 2016)

OK, cool, thanks. Have you run a guitar through it? It's not a bass cab - it's more of a PA speaker (being FRFR), so I'm thinking it would be great to run a modeler with a cab emulator into. I never see these come up in guitar FRFR talk, though.


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## TemjinStrife (Sep 29, 2016)

Hollowway said:


> OK, cool, thanks. Have you run a guitar through it? It's not a bass cab - it's more of a PA speaker (being FRFR), so I'm thinking it would be great to run a modeler with a cab emulator into. I never see these come up in guitar FRFR talk, though.



I don't own any modelers (just a pile of tube amps) so I can't speak as to how it works in that context. It does sound great for vocals, acoustic guitar, electric cello, and as a mini-PA though!

For guitar FRFR use, these things are probably overkill. You don't need the power or low frequency output for guitar, and they're more expensive than some less bass-oriented FRFR systems. That said, I haven't tried it, so it could be awesome! Seems like it in theory, at least.


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## Hollowway (Sep 30, 2016)

Ok, so next question is should I consider buying a used fearful home build, as opposed to a new fearful/fearless cab? It just seems like there are too many errors to potentially make in a build, but I don't know that much about speaker building.


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## Winspear (Sep 30, 2016)

I'm using mine for guitar modelling of all sorts. I agree it's overkill for just guitar. Especially as it needs a poweramp. Most guitarists may as well go out and buy an active FRFR. I got mine because I also play extended range bass though, and am incredibly happy with them for guitar. First thing I did when I got them was put a familiar song through them to see how they sounded as a PA - absolutely fantastic and not weird in the slightest so yes they are great for guitar modelling. 
If you can afford it I'd just go for an authorized builder yeah, but I shouldn't imagine it's too hard once you've got the components together if it's something you'd enjoy.


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## Hollowway (Sep 30, 2016)

Yeah, I'm not going to build one myself, but I see them for sale by others who have done the hole build thing. I'm just worried about buying one that someone else built, since I'd have no idea if they did a quality build. So I'll probably go new. I'll likely get either a 12/6/1 with the extension shelf or a Fearless F112. I just have to rationalize spending $1000 on a cab just for home use.


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## Hollowway (Oct 4, 2016)

Well, it looks like I'm going to get a MAS-109. I just talked with Mike on the phone. This cab will be driven hard enough for home and small room use, so I won't be "under using" it. And it gets reeeeeally low. Unfortunately, it costs a fortune, and I can't find any used. Well, that was a fast $1000.  There's a decent MAS-112 on TB FS, but I don't think I'd be able to push it enough to get the porting to actually work.


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## Hollowway (Oct 6, 2016)

I'm just going to keep posting in this thread and pretend people are reading.  Maybe I'll run around naked in here and see if anyone notices.

So, after mulling it over, I ended up getting a MAS-112 used. And I got a screaming deal on a Peavey MiniMax. So hopefully I'll have a workable rig to play some looooowwww notes on the F#0 NG2 next week!


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## AlexThorpe (Oct 7, 2016)

Definitely let us know how it is! Especially with guitar. I have an axe that I use with both guitar and bass and I'd love to replace both my bass and guitar cabs with a single FRFR solution.


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## Hollowway (Oct 7, 2016)

Yeah, this (the MAS-112) is more of a bass cabinet, and is not flat of a response as the MAS-109. That one is suuuper flat (and goes a bit lower) than the MAS-112. If you get the super tweeter on that one, it goes for $920 new. I got this one used, which is why I didn't do the MAS-109. But for modeling, that would work perfect for anything.


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## TemjinStrife (Oct 7, 2016)

Well, that's a very different setup! I haven't followed much of the MAS stuff past the initial announcements as I kind of settled on my bass rig. Looks interesting though.


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## Hollowway (Oct 7, 2016)

Yeah, 8 talked with Duke from Audiokinesis, and he said his cabs (thunderschild and Hathor) don't go low enough for my needs, so he recommended Mike's stuff. Duke does Mike's crossovers, so they know each other's stuff pretty well. But yeah, it should be pretty cool!


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## TemjinStrife (Oct 11, 2016)

Sweet. Post pictures and reviews when you get them!


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## Hollowway (Oct 15, 2016)

Got it! I'll post a NGD soon. I'm getting resonance on the super low notes when the bass eq is turned up, so I'm trying to figure that out. I think it might be the room, since my cheapy crate 1x15 does the same thing.


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