Handle Bass output?

[badg3rdog]

Hey guys, this is exciting to see this new offering! I love my Helix and have been looking at multiple flat response options to have that "amp in the room" feel. I will definitely look forward to checking it out once they start shipping. My question is whether this unit would also handle the bass offerings in the Helix with enough low end to satisfy acting as a bass cabinet?

 

Thanks!

[TexasStrat]

Following......

 

I use the Helix mostly for guitar, but I do use it a lot for bass as well. I have already pre-ordered the 112 Plus.

[TheEd]

I also ordered the 112 plus. I know the frequency response isn’t the best for bass, but I want to make sure it won’t damage the cab if I play bass through it at mild to moderate volume. 

[philkaye]

I'm also interested in this question - hope someone from L6 can comment.

[Guest Line6Will]

It won't damage the PowerCab if you run bass thought it at a moderate volume.  But saying that, it's not design for bass usage and may not produce a desirable sound as it's built to have the best results with guitar.

[Embo20910]

Can you reveal if there a plans for a future PowerCab model that would be bass friendly?

[TheEd]

On 5/2/2018 at 5:00 PM, Line6Will said:

It won't damage the PowerCab if you run bass thought it at a moderate volume.  But saying that, it's not design for bass usage and may not produce a desirable sound as it's built to have the best results with guitar.

 

What about beyond moderate volume? I play guitar and bass about 50/50, and I'd like to be able to crank the PowerCab if needed. My old bass cab was a GK NEO112-II which, according to their spec sheet, could only reach 122db, 51Hzto19kHz. That cab was plenty loud for me. I am not concerned with the extra 28Hz or so of low-end, or having the absolute best bass tone. I just don't want to blow it up by playing bass through it. 

 

Thanks,

-Ed R.

[BigJayBrian]

Let's hope the powercab line will also get the "get low" update just like the helix did ;)

 

In the meantime I'll have to buy a headrush 112. to my knowledge it is the only FRFR solution aimed at both bass and guitar (even if by definition every FRFR should be able to do it!)

[badg3rdog]

So I was going to try this out at the local Guitar Center. Unfortunately, there was a guy already doing a demo with it...using a Headrush board instead of the Helix. Which Guitar Center didn't have to even use as a demo. I'm pretty sure he bought the HR, too.

 

To BigJayBrian's point, an FRFR should really have the necessary range to handle both. While it seems to have the same relevant handling of a small Bass combo (eg. Fender), it does make me question using it when Line 6 says it's not designed to handle it. I view that as a bit of a feature gap when you're intended target for this speaker is multi-effect boards like the Helix that have modeled bass amps and cabinets. I know the primary users of the Helix are guitar players, but many guitar players I know use a bass a fair amount, too. Just sayin'.

 

For my personal purposes, I'll be using it 95% of the time in the studio. However, the opportunity does arise for me to sit in and play bass sometimes. Having one rig that's the same and covers all this ground is ideal. Right now I'm still on the fence or looking at the competitor offerings.

[zivdud]

http://www.worshipmusician.com/18-8-line6-revisted/ 

 

Here is a video and article where a guy runs a bass into the Powercab plus and various other cool setups. 

[badg3rdog]

2 hours ago, zivdud said:

http://www.worshipmusician.com/18-8-line6-revisted/ 

 

Here is a video and article where a guy runs a bass into the Powercab plus and various other cool setups. 

 

Great info here, thanks for sharing this! I want more info from him on some of these lush sounds! LOL

 

[zivdud]

Not a problem. I have been curious myself. Glad I found it and could share it. I am going to say it again, “lush!”  

[feffa86]

I know some bass amps/cabs have 15" speakers. How common are 12" speakers in bass cabinets? If the answer is "very", then the answer to the thread should be "yes". The Powercab emulates a 112 cab. The coloration of the sound is done by the amp, which in this case would be handled by the modeler. Using an amp model through a 112 emulated cabinet should be the same for bass as for guitar. The size of the speaker will however constrain how good it may ever sound in any case. It won't sound like a 15".

 

I also doubt that many bass cabs have tweeters. Maybe the LF Raw mode would be good for bass. And I don't know which type of speaker element is common for bass cabs, but whichever speaker mode corresponds with that should be worth trying? I have a bass, but no bass experience, so I could hook it up and tell you it sounds awesome, but I wouldn't know what to listen for lol. I can hook it up and play some bass notes and then record it with an SM57 if that helps you get an idea of how it sounds lol. A mic recording a speaker emulating a mic in front of a speaker playing a Kemper profile made with a mic in front of a speaker. Where's Xzibit when you need him? 

[TheEd]

33 minutes ago, feffa86 said:

I know some bass amps/cabs have 15" speakers. How common are 12" speakers in bass cabinets? If the answer is "very", then the answer to the thread should be "yes". The Powercab emulates a 112 cab. The coloration of the sound is done by the amp, which in this case would be handled by the modeler. Using an amp model through a 112 emulated cabinet should be the same for bass as for guitar. The size of the speaker will however constrain how good it may ever sound in any case. It won't sound like a 15".

 

I also doubt that many bass cabs have tweeters. Maybe the LF Raw mode would be good for bass. And I don't know which type of speaker element is common for bass cabs, but whichever speaker mode corresponds with that should be worth trying? I have a bass, but no bass experience, so I could hook it up and tell you it sounds awesome, but I wouldn't know what to listen for lol. I can hook it up and play some bass notes and then record it with an SM57 if that helps you get an idea of how it sounds lol. A mic recording a speaker emulating a mic in front of a speaker playing a Kemper profile made with a mic in front of a speaker. Where's Xzibit when you need him? 

 

12" Speakers are common in bass cabs. High Freq. horns are also common in bass cabs, but it isn't as simple as saying bass cabs have 12s and guitar cabs have 12s so everything should be fine. There are other speaker parameters that need to be considered. Mostly excursion. However, I am not an expert, which is why I asked the question in the first place. 

 

In the end, I ended up getting a dedicated bass cab as the Powercab did not provide the sound I needed for bass using either raw or flat to allow the Helix to shape the sound with Cab emulation, or IRs.

 

Thanks for the help, everyone.

 

-Ed R.

[enjalt]

I don't think it would be great for bass (even if i would love to try it too)

 

we can read in the specs : Frequency response: 70 - 20000 Hz

 

low E on bass is about 41 Hz and low B (for 5 and 6 strings players)  is about 31hz ...

 

 

[jwoertz]

PowerCab did NOT work for bass in my case. It was awful. For those saying "well if a 12-inch speaker and tweeter make up bass cabinets, then this will work" you are COMPLETELY wrong.

[OmniFace]

Most of this thread is super old, but to add:

 

I own two of the PC212+.  These do not do well for more modern bass tones where lots of low end is desired.  You could get away with classic bass tones from say the 60's that were mostly midrange though.

 

Even with two of these it's missing most of the low end oomph.  As Sub would be very helpful.

[badg3rdog]

Really appreciate the continued comments on this thread. For my situation, I finally had an opportunity to play a bass through the PC112 at a local Guitar Center and was not horribly impressed with the sound. Could I have likely gotten away with it? Maybe. But ultimately I don't like investing in gear only to get rid of it a year later because it's not bringing me joy or providing the necessary features I need. While I think Line6 has done a great job out of the gate with the PowerCab offerings, ultimately I decided to go with a Friedman ASC-12 to get the clean responsive tone I wanted and it did a much better job with the bass frequencies.

 

Don't worry, Line 6...I'm still a huge fan of your products and will continue spending plenty of money with you. :) 

[OmniFace]

The PC212+ is supposed to be flat down to about 70 Hz.  I'm sure the roll-off after that is significant.

It's really not designed for bass, which is fine.  But like a said, a PowerCab Sub would be really cool to fill that low end in to make it versatile for guitar and bass.

[sonjc182]

I want to necro this to let anyone know that’s still looking…

 

Tech 21’s Deuce Deluxe is a powered cabinet for guitar and bass. The stock speaker is just fine. Probably easily on par with the Powercab. I personally put in a Celestion F12-X200 to try that out, and it leaned the setup more toward excellent guitar cab vibe, but still handled bass. If you’re genuinely doing both seriously I’d keep the Deuce Deluxe’s stock speaker in. 

 

I saw really no drawbacks. It’s a powered bass cab that can do guitar just fine.