Duke LeJeune, AudioKinesis

Thank you very much, Tom and Alan, for your thorough examination of my little bass cab, both in the objective and subjective realms.

If I might comment on a couple of measurements, the actual weight came in a bit below my claimed 33 pounds for the Acoustic Friendly version. This is because I’m making an allowance for variations in the weight of the wood used. Also, the measured frequency response shows a bit of a dip between 2kHz and 3kHz. The measurements are from the horizontal plane, and a series of vertical off-axis measurements would show more output in that region.This is because, at the lower end of the rectangular horn’s range, it is too small in the vertical dimension to have good pattern control.The 2-3kHz dip you see in the horizontal plane is intended to offset the increased output in that region in the vertical plane, summing to a fairly smooth net in-room response.

Giving credit where credit’s due, my little cab owes a great deal to the fEarful line of cabs (which began as a cutting-edge DIY project and expanded into the commercial realm due to popular demand), whose success demonstrated that bass players are open to highend, unorthodox approaches. The Thunderchild cab offers a somewhat different set of characteristics and compromises in hopes of expanding the range of choices open to bass players, but it could rightfully be seen as a variation on the fEarful theme.

Randall Fullmer, Wyn Guitars

While I’m still using velcro for the battery clip, I am now installing two battery clips holding the battery instead of one, and I feel it is much more solid. Based on your comments, though, I will take another look and see if there is anything more that I can do.

Udo Roesner, AER

Regarding the Neutrik Plastic I/O jacks: It is a Neutrik component where Neutrik had problems with their design in their early years of production (must be 10 years or more ago) … and we where one of the few customers in Germany using this component, if not the only customer. The problems we faced where communicated with Neutrik several times and they could not be resolved. So the design and the product were discontinued. But to support us (and to avoid a redesign of our product), they supplied us with whatever they could get anywhere and kept production of even the relatively small quantity we needed… until they finally came with the redesign, which addressed all problems and works perfect ever since! We are very grateful to find professional suppliers really feeling responsible for what they do.

Regarding the Bass Boost:

An idea behind it worth considering is that depending on the stage and position of the amp, it may be fortunate to have the amp on a kind of “stand” – lifted from the ground. Then, the bass boost compensates for the low frequency loss you experience from not being coupled to the ground anymore.

Regarding the Tone balance:

As you well understand, all EQ’s, tone controls, voicings or filterings are mainly “filter networks,” as we call it, laid out differently and named differently. Here is part of the problem. Let’s say and equalizer equalizes, i.e. “corrects the tone,” whilst a ”tone control” harmonizes the ranges to the user’s taste. These filter networks mostly are in series with the signal, thus the “modification” effects the signal completely.

The AER Tone balance is a bit different… so first we have a problem of naming it. We choose to call it “tone balance” as it works on bass and treble at the same time, like a “pair of balances” and secondly it is parallel to the signal, so it does not effect the signal “completely” and it leaves the midrange untouched.