[Music] Many build systems for stats or authenticity, others, for purpose. It has occurred to me that Europeans have genres that Americans don't have. In Garage and Hardcore the bass is the lead. There was an era where club owners replaced drivers more often than light-bulbs. We are not talking about the odd church-organ note or movie explosion. We are talking about relentless abuse by kick and bass with no time to cool.
If you're from the US and hooked-up, tell me if your preferred genre offers more punishment than this . . .
If you're from the US and hooked-up, tell me if your preferred genre offers more punishment than this . . .
Similar levels/styles of bass were used in car audio demos - mid-late 1990's was probably the peak of that. They typically didn't have as much midrange/treble as your example since no one at the time was trying to keep those frequencies anywhere near the level of the subs.
The sound offs were a bit much, and nuts. Sometimes windows break due to the extreme pressure levels generated by the bass. I was heavily into mobile audio at one point but never got that side of it. That power isn't even usable and your ear drums would blow out if you ever sat inside the test vehicle.
I wonder if the Who still hold the highest SPL record title for the loudest concert ever?
I wonder if the Who still hold the highest SPL record title for the loudest concert ever?
I doubt it. The main room in the London night-club "Ministry of Sound" is relatively small (600 capacity).
"There are 12 x 21inch, 9.5kw active subs, 12 x 18in subs and 12 x Martin Audio W8C mid-high speakers. As well as the Soundcraft SI console, there are Lab Gruppen and Powersoft amps, plus BSS Soundweb London processing and crossovers.
Each of the six stacks in the room is capable of pumping out 25,000W of power and would cost around £60,000 a stack to replace. All the speakers and electronics in the room? Somewhere around £500,000."
I've heard the system with the club packed and with it empty - cranked up it is painful.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/five-loudest-performances-of-all-time/
The Who also famously broke the record for the loudest concert in 1976 at The Valley venue in London with a measurement of 126 decibels.
. . .
5. Gallows – England – 132.5 dB
4. Kiss – Canada (2009) – 136 dB
3. Leftfield – England (1996) – 137 dB
2. Manowar – Germany (2008) – 139 dB
1. Sleazy Joe – Sweden (2008) – 143.2 dB
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudest_band
garage and hardcore are not even the most brutal on bass, oldskool dubstep, UK Steppers dub and the newer styles of hardcore (Tekno (not the same as Techno), Breakcore, ...) are way more brutal. For dubstep and dub, most use advanced models of scoop horns running 18" drivers mostly in custom build system like this one (Youths & Truth soundsystem build by Stakx from Kortrijk, Belgium)
A tune that is now played a lot in that scene is this (you need big subs to run this properly)
And if we are talking about breacore or Tekno (a few of the modern digital punk music styles very popular in the underground now in Europe), it even gets rougher, and mostly played today on Tranflex or Paraflex systems on illigal raves. Before the Tranflex they used big folded horns mostly. This is a classic in the genre mixing both styles in one tune... (warning, it's very extreme)
But i'm affraid youtube processing does not do justice to both styles as much of the sub is filtered out. Go listening to both styles on a few dozen kW systems to really experience what it's about if you want to know.
A tune that is now played a lot in that scene is this (you need big subs to run this properly)
And if we are talking about breacore or Tekno (a few of the modern digital punk music styles very popular in the underground now in Europe), it even gets rougher, and mostly played today on Tranflex or Paraflex systems on illigal raves. Before the Tranflex they used big folded horns mostly. This is a classic in the genre mixing both styles in one tune... (warning, it's very extreme)
Last edited:
I'm definitely a Bass Mechanik type of guy. DJ Magic Mike is regularly plaid in my home and car. Also, I have that Quad Maximus CD along with Food For Woofers, MTX BassZone 1 & 2 (got those both for free after buying 4 Road Thunder Two 15's & two 8's for my ex-1983 Mercury Grand Marquis LS), Techmaster P.E.B, etc.
3 of my home audio systems use a mix of 8" and 15" 2 way PA for 5.1 audio.
Basshead 4 life!
3 of my home audio systems use a mix of 8" and 15" 2 way PA for 5.1 audio.
Basshead 4 life!
I remain unconvinced . . . You're pitching 18s against the MoS 21s? I'll give you that old skool dub has a lot of BASS its not that big on SUB-BASS. The 808 wasn't invented until the 80s. Before that there wasn't much that could produce synthetic bass notes.
Surtsey, the dub that is played now on soundsystems is not the oldskool mostly, but electronic dub (UK (style) Steppers) made now with synth's that have basslines that goes to about 30hz or sometimes even lower The systems used use modern subwoofers (even scoops) are tuned to that frequency. They may look oldskool, but are constantly refined and going lower than 10 years ago, and a lot lower than the scoops used in the 1970's and 1980's. The actual popular scoops from Stakx, QSS or similar modern builders are wel studied and fintuned and use top level modern drivers. It's not the Fane, Turbomax of PD drivers from the past anymore, but mostly B&C and 18Sound drivers now ...
Not sure but those look like Traynor cabbies. I hung on to some 15 inch Traynor with wave guide provisions then converted to JBL. The cabinets are circa 1980 sometime. They were built so solidly and well. These are way too much for the largest room, but sounded excellent when not stepped on too too hard.
Speaking of PA sets. My friend Jodi played ride the lightning (the entire song list) with nothing but a bass and x4 12" Marshall stack. I was sitting about 5 feet away, too close. Young and dumb, (17). I never did that again. Unless small venue live acts are counted and the seats were all chosen already. I remember my ears were ringing for the remainder of many nights, just bells. I'm surprised I still hear high tones well.
Last edited:
$99 each LyxPro SPA-15's.
$92 a pair Rockville SPG88's.
Free Road Yamaha 18" bass bin.
The coffee table on it's side has two Lightening Audio 12's in a BP4 enclosure that I built in 1998.
Kicker 08S15L74 in negative flare tapped horn.
$92 a pair Rockville SPG88's.
Free Road Yamaha 18" bass bin.
The coffee table on it's side has two Lightening Audio 12's in a BP4 enclosure that I built in 1998.
Kicker 08S15L74 in negative flare tapped horn.
All the above. Very very nice ^. I love that kicker horn you built.
My brother sealed 3 big comp VR's in the trunk of his 90 something impala. You know its loud when your eye balls vibrate so much that you cant focus your eyes during bass hits.
My brother sealed 3 big comp VR's in the trunk of his 90 something impala. You know its loud when your eye balls vibrate so much that you cant focus your eyes during bass hits.
Last edited:
Nice freaking set up.
We tried setting up in a basement of my friends, the acoustics were awful, bass was all but non existent. I know there not all that bad, bit it was dead.
We tried setting up in a basement of my friends, the acoustics were awful, bass was all but non existent. I know there not all that bad, bit it was dead.
Its easy to make big sound these days. It gets tricky if you want to control the environment and enhance what the system is capable of doing. Vibrating walls and items around the space add colour the the sound. Reverb is acoustics arch nemesis
808 might not make the lowest or best but it makes soothing bass and that earns more points with me. It isn't just all out might the sound counts.
Modern Deep house. When I really want to stretch the subs I put that on or trance or or old school hh and house.
All in all an said, analog kick drum sounds the very very best imho. With a nice clean system it sounds and feels incredible.
I sat fishing once listening to the Who playing at the Belfry which was a hotel at the time. I'd be near a mile away. I doubt if they could get 600 in there, Sound just a bit muffled. As loudest I have heard I assume they took their own gear.
Did you ever compare the sound in a large type of venue before a show and when the place is filled up? I did it was a pretty dramatic difference. Those guys are good at their craft.
Most of the energy of an 808 kick is arround 50 to 100Hz, not very low to modern standards btw. If it goes much lower (by eq) it becomes muddy. A lot of producers even put a steep hpf at 40hz to avoid that it becomes muddy in the mixing, and when there is a lot of subbass in the mix they do that even higher to make place for the subbass basslines. In modern electronic music the fundaments of the bassline are mostly below the kick, not above like before.