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I just checked the *new* bass models on the HD 500 and thought:
Hey, what about using the L3t as a bass amp?

The L2t is no good choice because of the missing low end, right?

 

Has anyone out there tried this already and likes to share the experience?

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Hum ...

 

-> any videos or material about Abe Laboriels setup? 

-> any plans for more bass amp models in the pipeline for the HD Pods?

 

Sorry, but for now its just a teaser on the website with a quote linked directly to the product L3t.

In the summer picnic video Abe Laboriel seems to play a LowDown 400 -> Link to the video

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  • 1 year later...

I really want to know if Abe plugs his bass directly into the mixer input of the L3t or if he uses some sort of preamp.

 

My wife is really contemplating this type of system to reduce the weight and size of her bass rig. We play 60s and 70s rock music in local bars and private events.

 

-Max

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The only worry I would have is if the L3t could handle high levels without damaging the woofers. It all depends on how loud your band plays. If you begin to hear any "distress" in the woofers---the "farting out" distortion---then they risk damage.

 

I suspect Abe Laboriel always plays with PA support, so his rig is just used for stage volume and not to fill the house with bass.

 

What is your wife's current bass amp system? I use the Aguilar ToneHammer 500 (weighs four pounds) and one or two DIY 1x12 cabinets. These 17x17x15 cabs weigh 21 pounds each, and I often use only one for indoor gigs. I also have a pair of TC Electronic 1x12 cabinets, each of which weighs 31 pounds---but I prefer the smaller DIY ones. (Each of these DIY cabs gets very loud when it maxes out at about 235w.)

 

An L3t is about the same size as my pair of stacked 1x12 cabinets, and it weighs 15 pounds more than the pair. And you have to lift and load all of that weight at once---it's easier to use two smaller cabinets.

 

FYI: http://www.talkbass.com/threads/another-diy-cab-thread-loud-small-and-cheap-22-pounds-that-pounds.1095329/

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I don't think you'd want to consider a single 2x10 speaker of any kind when she's using a 410 already. There's no way a 210 will keep up with a 410. She'd need at least two of the StageSource cabinets, which seems to not solve the problem of size/weight/price. (Now, if the 410 is overkill, that's a different story---perhaps a 2x12 or 210 will work for her.)

 

And there's always the issue that the StageSource system isn't designed as a bass system. It's designed for clean and clear PA use, not musical-instrument use. The drivers are quite different.

 

One solution is to switch to a pair of 210 cabinets, then only carry one to smaller gigs. Use both when needed. Switch to a lighter head---the Mesa heads are very nice but they are neither small nor light.

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Rick,

 

I am not sure I buy your number of speaker argument. In my real life experience an L2 speaker (my current amp rig with HD500) produces more sound volume than a 60 watt tube amp with a 4 X12 or 2 X12 speaker cabinet. If the number of speakers were such a large consideration I would think that that one 10 inch speaker would have no hope of ever keeping up with a 4 X 12 speaker cabinet.

 

We are going to buy a couple of L3 speaker for our P.A. mains anyway, so I will probably have her test one of them out at a band rehearsal.

 

-Max

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I think the L3t would work reasonably well; running it vertical seems like it would get nice sound coverage.

One thing to consider will be the effect of the tweeter / full range sound of the L3t vs a 'bass voiced' bass cabinet.

 

From a perspective of weight, this next idea is terrible but, here goes anyway:

Get an L2 or L3 as the 'top' and get an L3s (sub) for the low end. I am guessing here; not sure how the Line6Link works when connecting from an L2t/L3t to an L3s if an M20d is not involved. It does have the dual L6Link in / out connections, so presumably if you L6Linked the two speakers together, and used the L2t as your front input it would work reasonably well. Not sure though.. I suppose there could be other ways to get the two to 'connect'; but like I said, terribly heavy idea! 

 

They should make an L3b; combine the L3t with the L3s for bass players. :)

 

For bass though, in general, the # of speakers matters less than the wattage. MarkBass makes a powerful little 1x12 combo that can easily power a big 4x10 or 4x12 cab; but used by itself, the little thing is thunderous. Has an outstanding DI out. In that regard, the L2 or L3 are similar, since they offer a ton of power; and a quality DI  XLRout. This Markbass is 300w, or 500w with an 8 ohm cab connected. The L3t 2x10 is 1,400 watts... At 57.5lbs, that's not bad. Get the bag with the wheels, and you are good to go!

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I am not sure I buy your number of speaker argument. In my real life experience an L2 speaker (my current amp rig with HD500) produces more sound volume than a 60 watt tube amp with a 4 X12 or 2 X12 speaker cabinet.

Are you running this for guitar? If so, then it's an apples-and-oranges situation---skip to the next section of this post.

 

Most of the loudness for bass depends on the efficiency of the speaker cabinet design. Perhaps your existing cabinets are inefficient. A 60w bass amp seems rather small given the typical efficiency of many commercial bass cabinets. The 1x12 DIY cabs I built are very efficient, producing more usable loudness than the TC Electronics 112 cabs they replaced. [Disclaimer: They aren't my design, so I'm not taking credit for that. They are, however, very loud, light and easy to build.] Commercial manufacturers use 3/4" plywood because it's cheaper than building a lighter cab from 1/2" ply with internal bracing. They only lift it once when it goes onto the truck---you lift it at every gig!

 

Get an L2 or L3 as the 'top' and get an L3s (sub) for the low end.

This depends on where the sub is crossed over. Most bass guitar is way above subwoofer frequencies. Sure, you get some boom from a sub, but that isn't what you want onstage. (I'm not talking about a large house PA system, where the subs can be properly located and controlled.) Most of us tend to play varied venues with acoustics ranging from decent to downright miserable. Having a sub onstage is often a recipe for disaster.

 

Remember that a 4-string electric bass has a lowest fundamental at about 41Hz; a 5-string will go down to 30Hz. Much of the sound of electric bass is in the harmonics, of which almost all are well above the subwoofer zone.

 

And, since one of the original objectives was size and weight, I think that adding the 85lb L3s sub to a 40- or 57-pound L2 or L3 trends to make the situation worse.

 

Seems to me that changing to a pair of 210 or 212 lightweight bass cabs is a better solution. They would be voiced appropriately for bass guitar and would have adequate xmax/xlim to deal with the heavy cone excursion required for bass.

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Rick, I currently use a HD500 into a L2 speaker for my guitar rig and can verify that it can get much louder than my collection of tube amps and guitar speaker cabinets. The L2 has only one of those 10 inch speaker and it can kill most tube guitar amps as far as volume and projection goes.

 

My wife's current rig is an 800 watt Mesa hybrid amp and an ampeg classic 4 X10 cabinet which is overkill in most cases.

 

My question was why would bass be any different from guitar as far as using a FRFR powered speaker, with something like a sansamp bass preamp? Worth noting is line 6 has an endorser Abraham Laboriel that uses the L3 as bass amp http://line6.com/news/general/1465/

 

I also know that a small Markbass combo with one speaker fills the rooms we play real well ( the bass player in a friends band uses one of those and it amazing how loud it is).

 

I am going to try a test sometime this weekend by putting her bass into a preamp and running through one of the L2 that I already have. This should tell if the tone is going to suffer by not using a speaker specifically designed for bass guitar. We can quickly and easily  compare her current with the L2 (I expect the L3 to do even better).

 

-Max

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I also know that a small Markbass combo with one speaker fills the rooms we play real well ( the bass player in a friends band uses one of those and it amazing how loud it is).

 

 

 

Yeah, my buddy is a working bassist; he plays alot of different styles of music, with a few different acts around Chicago area, not the least of which being Math Games with Fareed Haque. That MarkBass has served him quite well! I actually bought his old Mesa Boogie 1x15 bass cab because he wasn't using it anymore; the MarkBass slays! In that same thinking, I would imagine the L2/L3 options would also be quite excellent.

 

Good point that Rick made, which I had overlooked - the L3s would not be soo good of an option, if not for the weight, but mostly due to the crossover frequency range - too low for stage use of the bass - unless you like dropping your low B open string down an octave!

 

Keep us posted on how the L2/L3 works for bass.

 

For example, when my band rehearses, our bassist uses my old Ampeg 1x15 'rocket bass' copy. I use a passive DI right after his bass guitar, send 1/4" to the Ampeg, and send the XLR out of the DI to my M20d mixer, and the monitors we use are the L2t StageSource. When I get his signal up in the monitor mix, it cranks through those L2t's! You do have to work with the EQ somewhat since you are getting a broader range of tones through it; if he has his treble set too hot, it still sounds fine through the Ampeg, but ends up sounding 'clanky' and a touch harsh in the L2t's.

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maxnew, it sounds like a good plan to test with some type of preamp and see how the bass works. Just be sure to listen for the speakers farting out at normal playing levels. If this happens, reduce the bottom end and/or the overall level.

 

The Aguilar ToneHammer pedal is very nice; sounds much like the head itself.

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  • 2 months later...

I've used L3 as bass amp when in a small area.  I also have a lowdown studio 10 amp and placed it on top with preamp out to L3m. The studio 10 can also send another speaker emulator out to M20d. Worked great and fit in tight spot which was the main advantage. 

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Thanks for the reply. How would you describe the L3 when handling bass duties? Can it get loud before farting out? When you say "small area" are you speaking about maybe a coffe shop gig or ~50 person pub/bar? trying to get a sense of what realistic expectation I should have as I'd have to buy-to-try these as they are not stocked in my local stores.

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I'm interested in this as well. Athough I'd prefer an L2M or L2T for bass. Was there ever a result of the above comparison posted somewhere? Anyone else with experience in using the L2-series for bass? Thanks

 

I use an L2t with my Fender Jass Bass but only at a bluegrass jam. It works great. I would assume it'd be fine for smaller areas easily, depending on what kind of volume you need.

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Thanks for the reply. How would you describe the L3 when handling bass duties? Can it get loud before farting out? When you say "small area" are you speaking about maybe a coffe shop gig or ~50 person pub/bar? trying to get a sense of what realistic expectation I should have as I'd have to buy-to-try these as they are not stocked in my local stores.

i've never heard it fart out but yes just small restaurants and sports bar areas - lower volume

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We ran a test with an L2 on Saturday. It was a Fender Jazz bass into a PODHD500 set to the ampeg flip top model into the L2m. We found that it was able to get quite loud and I did not hear the speakers farting out.

 

In the end my wife decided that if she could get the L3t with the mixer inputs that she could probably run her bass straight into a mixer channel and get a sound that she would be happy with. It was really punchy (could be due to the amount of power it has).

 

We play 60s and 70s classic rock in mostly small bars and clubs, so we don't need massive amounts of volume.

 

-Max

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We ran a test with an L2 on Saturday. It was a Fender Jazz bass into a PODHD500 set to the ampeg flip top model into the L2m. We found that it was able to get quite loud and I did not hear the speakers farting out.

 

In the end my wife decided that if she could get the L3t with the mixer inputs that she could probably run her bass straight into a mixer channel and get a sound that she would be happy with. It was really punchy (could be due to the amount of power it has).

 

We play 60s and 70s classic rock in mostly small bars and clubs, so we don't need massive amounts of volume.

 

-Max

I really like the L3 and the shape and size are great. Except for small areas, my bass player always brings his own amp and 4x10 cab so I asked if he thought the L3t would have the goods and he said yea it has the power so should be good - I trust him - he toured the world 8 years with legend James Brown. I always used the lowdown studio 10 as preamp though...We!ve used the L3 with V-Drums too and the kick was way deep

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Remember that a touring bassist almost always has PA support for bass, so all he needs is an amp for a stage monitor. The rest of us have to fill the room from our own amplifiers.

We often run a send from the bass to the P.A. We really don't want to have to use massive stage volume to fill the room with sound.

 

-Max

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