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MALAPP1
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I am sure this subject has been touched many times.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any conversations.  I have a Helix Rack and currently play through two Bose SR1Pros.  I want to buy a Powercab or possibly two.  My room is 12’ x by 14’.  If I buy 1 212, will the stereo separation be good enough or do I need two 112’s.  Forgot to mention that I don’t gig anymore.

 

What about vocals and backing tracks.  Are the Powercabs okay for vocals and backing tracks or do I need to keep the SR1’s.

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6 hours ago, MALAPP1 said:

If I buy 1 212, will the stereo separation be good enough or do I need two 112’s.

 

Well you're not gonna get any stereo separation playing through only one of anything...

 

Quote

 

What about vocals and backing tracks.  Are the Powercabs okay for vocals and backing tracks or do I need to keep the SR1’s.

 

Keep the monitors.

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I don't have a 212, but I do have two 112+ and a Firehawk 1500, which is stereo. Honestly, with the FH1500, the stereo spread is barely there, unless it's an explicit effect like a ping pong, and you are sitting exactly in the middle of the two speakers. As soon as you move just a little out of the center axis, stereo is gone. Imho, if you want stereo, you need two separate cabs.

 

As for the vocals through the PCs, I'd say they can be pretty boomy in a small room, even with low cuts and EQs... so yeah, I'd keep the Bose.

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43 minutes ago, MALAPP1 said:

I am sure this subject has been touched many times.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any conversations.  I have a Helix Rack and currently play through two Bose SR1Pros.  I want to buy a Powercab or possibly two.  My room is 12’ x by 14’.  If I buy 1 212, will the stereo separation be good enough or do I need two 112’s.  Forgot to mention that I don’t gig anymore.

 

What about vocals and backing tracks.  Are the Powercabs okay for vocals and backing tracks or do I need to keep the SR1’s.


Hi,

 

Two things leap out of your post.

  1. I want to buy a Powercab or possibly two.
  2. Forgot to mention that I don’t gig anymore.

If you’re not playing live, why do you want to buy a couple of PowerCabs, when you already have a pair of Bose PA cabs?

 

What you described, appears to require something more like a home studio setup rather than a live rig. You have a 12’ x 14” room, and if you are wanting to hear full range audio including vocals and backing tracks, you really would be better off investing in some quality powered studio monitors that are designed for exactly those purposes. A pair of powered Yamaha HS7 near field monitors would cost less than one of your SR1 or a PowerCab 112. Hook up a pair of those to your computer and a free DAW and away you go. You would have good stereo separation and audio definition.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.
 

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1 hour ago, PierM said:

Imho, if you want stereo, you need two separate cabs.

 

This...

 

I don't care how many speakers there are, or how they're wired... if they're all in one box, there's nothing "stereo" about it. It's like taking two monitors and placing them side by side touching each other... no physical separation of  L and R channels = no stereo spread. 

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2 hours ago, datacommando said:


Hi,

 

Two things leap out of your post.

  1. I want to buy a Powercab or possibly two.
  2. Forgot to mention that I don’t gig anymore.

If you’re not playing live, why do you want to buy a couple of PowerCabs, when you already have a pair of Bose PA cabs?

 

What you described, appears to require something more like a home studio setup rather than a live rig. You have a 12’ x 14” room, and if you are wanting to hear full range audio including vocals and backing tracks, you really would be better off investing in some quality powered studio monitors that are designed for exactly those purposes. A pair of powered Yamaha HS7 near field monitors would cost less than one of your SR1 or a PowerCab 112. Hook up a pair of those to your computer and a free DAW and away you go. You would have good stereo separation and audio definition.

 

Hope this helps/makes sense.
 

 

If you're not gigging, this is the way to go. I'd add a sub, but it's not essential.

 

1 hour ago, cruisinon2 said:

 

This...

 

I don't care how many speakers there are, or how they're wired... if they're all in one box, there's nothing "stereo" about it. It's like taking two monitors and placing them side by side touching each other... no physical separation of  L and R channels = no stereo spread. 

 

If you're after a TRUE STEREO experience, separate speakers are the way to go. OTOH, the PC212 at it's full 200% spread setting is VERY impressive, and my room is the same size as the OP's.

 

My solution is a PC212 (retains the option that I might someday gig again, and sounds great), plus a pair of 6" Studio Monitors for the other stuff (keyboards, eDrums, backing tracks, MIXING). I run my bass through my FRFR112 that sounded like crap for guitar - great for bass.

 

Works for me!

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It depends upon the kind of stereo separation you are wanting.  Personally, I don't see the big deal with a single 212 for "stereo" purposes.  Two Powercab 112s, or studio monitors, or 2 Stagesources, or any combination of the above sounds to me what you want.  I personally have a single 112 pc+, two Stagesource LT3s, one Stagesource LT2,  and two Yamaha studio monitors w/sub - so I've played with every possibility.  My favorite is using a 'REAL' wet/dry/wet method with dry guitar signal and gain effects in middle through the PC+ and my time based effects coming out of the stereo Stagesources or monitors.   AAaaaand with the Stagesources and/or studio monitors, I  have the advantage of on of the best music 'listening' systems on the planet to boot.  All this in a 12 x 16 room.  Overkill I know but it's pretty awesome!  Long story short - go with a 'pair' of something if you can afford it and you'll get more bang for your buck. 

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I agree with the comments here about a single cabinet like the PC212, never providing the degree of stereo separation/spread or flexibility of use that two cabs will. It is a physical impossibility. With stereo cabs in a single cabinet it is all about maintaining relatively close proximity to the cabinet(or having them mic'ed/sent and panned at the PA). The stereo effect is going to tend to drop off dramatically as you move further away from these cabinets.  However, in a relatively small space like the room you described you should be able to sit/stand close enough to for example a PC212 to maintain some decent degree of stereo separation, just don't expect it to be as expansive as two single cabs. 

 

I guess what makes no sense to me is expecting for example an audience to hear a pronounced stereo effect through a single stereo cabinet; it is better suited to your personal monitoring(if you are close enough). In a live situation the stereo effect rapidly becomes more and more negligible the further away the audience is standing unless the PA is in stereo and stereo PAs can be a whole other can of worms.  So to me the best reasons for using a PC212 live is that if you run a stereo PA and don't feel like hauling two PC112's, using it as a monitor gives you a better idea of what the audience is hearing. Or, in the case of a mono PA maybe I guess if you just really love that sound onstage and it helps you play better even if the audience isn't hearing stereo.  For a home player though sitting close enough, as rd2rk describes, the separation can be perfectly adequate.

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2 minutes ago, HonestOpinion said:

I agree with the comments here about a single cabinet like the PC212, never providing the degree of stereo separation/spread or flexibility of use that two cabs will. It is a physical impossibility. With stereo cabs in a single cabinet it is all about maintaining relatively close proximity to the cabinet(or having them mic'ed/sent and panned at the PA). The stereo effect is going to tend to drop off dramatically as you move further away from these cabinets.  However, in a relatively small space like the room you described you should be able to sit/stand close enough to for example a PC212 to maintain some decent degree of stereo separation, just don't expect it to be as expansive as two single cabs. 

 

I guess what makes no sense to me is expecting for example an audience to hear a pronounced stereo effect through a single stereo cabinet; it is better suited to your personal monitoring(if you are close enough). In a live situation the stereo effect rapidly becomes more and more negligible the further away the audience is standing unless the PA is in stereo and stereo PAs can be a whole other can of worms.  So to me the best reasons for using a PC212 live is that if you run a stereo PA and don't feel like hauling two PC112's, using it as a monitor gives you a better idea of what the audience is hearing. Or, in the case of a mono PA maybe you just really love that sound onstage and it helps you play better even if the audience isn't hearing stereo.  For a home player though sitting close enough, as rd2rk describes, the separation can be perfectly adequate.

 

The point of a single cab stereo rig is not directly for the audience, it's for the player. Some folks believe that it always has to be ALL ABOUT THE AUDIENCE! But the audience rarely benefits from stereo, half the audience hears something different from the other half, and only the folks in the middle really hear it. The benefit to the audience of a single stereo Powercab is that if the player is inspired by the sound on stage, he/she plays better and has more fun doing it, which the audience perceives as a great performance.

 

And if you're mostly playing at home, the only audience is you!

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I am in a very similar situation in terms of no more gigging and jamming at home in a smaller room.  I use Reaper loaded with my backing tracks through a Helix rack and was playing through a single Bose F1 Stack - I thought it sounded good .  Recently changed that to a pair of Adam AX7's and an Adam Sub10 - wow totally sweet sounds coming from this set-up!  So my recommendation would be to go with studio monitors and sub.  I worked with Brenton at Sweetwater

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Been gigging a "stereo" rackmount system since the early 90s. 

Two things. If exactly the same thing is coming out of both sides, it's mono. 

The other thing. Speaker placement is such a PITA that unless you have em side by side, you get phasing. 

In a room that size, unless the walls are padded, I'd stick with a single cab, as all the reflections flying around... you'll be lucky if you could get a decent sound out of it. 

"Stereo's" good for recording, but it's a PITA live, without a PA and big room. 

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