

Lakland JO4 + EBS sound improvement

Discussion in 'Basses [BG]' started by deBont Amps, Mar 7, 2008.

  1. deBont Amps

    deBont Amps Commercial User

    Apr 10, 2007
    deBont Amps
    I'm becomming more and more aware of 'my sound' and am on a (probably never ending) quest to improve it. I don't know if this should be in the bass or amp section, but here goes...

    I'm currently using a Lakland Skyline JO4 (rosewood neck, Lindy Fralin pickups, passive), an EBS TD650 together with the EBS NEO 110 and 112. Although the sound is great and the best I had so far, I'm still not convinced that 'this is it'.

    I'm hearing a lot of low mids. I can cut it back with the eq, but this also efects the presence of the tone in a bad way. Sometimes it feels like the bottom end is not all there (very close but not quite). Also it could do with a little more headroom (sound can be closed a bit). The sound can be a tiny bit raw as well.

    Although the things I mention are subtle, they are noticable for me.
    What I like is a thight, clean but not sterile, bottom end that is all there. Not boomy but just noticable in the lower part of your belly :). Mids that are sweet like butter and well defined highs (not too brittle or sterile either). I really like the Jazz bass tone by the way! I only play with my fingers and almost never slap.

    My question(s); is it the bass, the amp, the speakers or maybe all of the above. Who can tell me where best to begin to improve on the things I mentioned. Does anybody have the same experiences with any of the equipment.
    Any comments, tips o whatever are very welcome.
  2. I owned that head for a while, but have not played the cabs. I'm very familiar with your bass though.

    A few things are probably going on:

    1) You have two small cabs and a relatively low powered head (I believe the 650 puts out about 400 watts or so into 4ohms... which I assume is the nominal impedance at which you are running). Relatively low power and two small cabs is not the best combination to drive deep bass at even moderate volumes. That being said, this rig should sound very good with some tweaking.

    2) The EBS heads have a somewhat inherent 'scoop' to them, and can get VERY sizzly up top if you aren't careful. I would make sure that 'scoop' button is not engaged, and make sure the brite control is 'off' and the mids and treble are flat. I would then bring the bass control up just a touch, and then use the SS mode of the drive control to dial in some warmth and mid punch... start at around 9 o'clock... which seems to add mid fatness but not distortion.

    3) The passive JO does not have a ton of output.. make sure you have your input gain cranked a bit.. that will fatten things a touch with that head. Also, don't be afraid to dial that passive tone control back a touch to eliminate the extreme top end of the treble if things sound a touch too harsh up there.

    4) Make sure the tweeters in the cabs are not cranked... start out with them at around 9 o'clock.. that will allow the upper mids to breath a bit through the drivers without being 'clanked out' by the aggressive tweeters in the EBS cabs.

    5) Finally, mess around with that parametric mid control... lot's of sound in there... you might try cutting some upper mids (between 800 hz and 2K or so) versus boosting the low mids.

    That rig should sound very good with some work, However, physics is physics, and you might eventuall need a cab with more low end extension.

    IMO... you might have tried all of this already. That's a nice head and a nice bass... it should work for you at moderate volumes.
  3. deBont Amps

    deBont Amps Commercial User

    Apr 10, 2007
    deBont Amps
    Thanks for the very extensive reply!
    There are indeed some suggestions I've tried already. Bit more gain on the amp, attinuators on the speakers, tone dial on my bass turned down a bit. I've also worked the EQ, but with only limited results. However, the drive control didn't come to mind till now.
    But then there are still the issues of the lower frequencies that I would like more to be all there (thight and not boomy), sweeter mids and the fact that the sound seems closed up a bit. Is this a speaker issue as you suggested?? If so, any suggestions?
  4. +1... there is just so much deep low end two very small cabs can put out when you start to crank it, and from my limited experience with EBS cabs, they are voiced to punch and sizzle more than boom.

    Physics just comes into playe... two 112's will sound bigger than a 112 and a 110 (not necessarily 'louder' but bigger and deeper), and a well designed 410 will sound bigger and deeper and louder than 2 x 112, given reasonably similar designs.

    If you like the tone of your rig but just need more low end when cranking it, you might want to consider swapping the 110 out for another 112... that should open up the bottom. And, if you want to keep the 110, remember that the 650 runs safely at 2ohms... 2 x 112 and 1 x110 in a stack with that head should really kill... more wattage, more speakers!

    That all being said, if low end presence is your main goal, a stack of little cabs never seems to perform like a bigger, deeper voiced cab like a 410 or even a 212 in a single box. So, you might have to go bigger on the cab side.
  5. You might also see the benefits of moving to a 2x10 and a 1x15, or keeping the 1x12 and going to a 2x10; the gods know that cabs don't come cheap -- or at least, not the cabs that seem to perform best.

    I'm in the midst of moving from a scrappy 2x15 to a 2x10 and a 1x15, and I'm having to do it piecemeal...
  6. deBont Amps

    deBont Amps Commercial User

    Apr 10, 2007
    deBont Amps
    I'm glad that the suggestions lean towards changing the cabs. I love my bass and like the features of my amp a lot (compressor, tuner out, DI on front, etc.)
    This means I ill be visiting my local dealer with my bass and amp to try out different cabs. I'll post a 'suggestion' thread in the cabs section of this forum as well. Thanks a lot guys for the info/tips/suggestions.
  7. Are you in the US? Make sure to fill in your profile so we can get a feel for what is available to you, and your tone preference. In general, to my ear, the EBS heads thrive on cabs with a little more mid punch and tightness in the low end.... my current favorite that has that tone profile is the Bergantino AE line... light, loud, punchy. I have a feeling the Genz Benz 212 Neo cab would also kill with that head. Both these cabs are large, but light, and are 4ohm with relatively high SPL, meaning that they will be nice and loud with your 650 running at 4ohms.


    Edit: Also, make sure you post on the amp forum... you will get more responses I think.
  8. deBont Amps

    deBont Amps Commercial User

    Apr 10, 2007
    deBont Amps
    No, I live in Holland. So it's pretty much down to Aguilar, Epifani, EBS, Eden, Genz Benz, SWR. I'll just post my 'wishes' in the amp and/or cab section and see what comes up!

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