sugar-scoop subs

W

Weogo Reed

Freshman
Jan 4, 2012
99
2
8
Western North Carolina
Hi Folks,

Subs are not my area of expertise, though I do know what I like when I hear it...

A small venue I regularly work had a Danley TH115 subwoofer for a couple years.
Great box, plenty low and loud for the venue.
But it was a loaner and went back to the owner.

For free they can get a couple of 25 year old single 15" 'sugar-scoop' subs loaded with JBL drivers.
The cabinets are about 210# each, made of 1" particle-board, and are actually in pretty good shape.
This weekend I'll be able to see what drivers are in them.
Both drivers work, but are buzzing.

The venue doesn't need monster levels of high-fidelity, super-low bass, just some low end 'oomph'.
Basic DSP is available for processing.

Would you bother with these boxes, re-coning, or replacing drivers, or
should they be looking for a good, used double-fifteen/eighteen inch box?

Budget is low.

Or, anybody near Asheville, NC / Greenville, SC that has some nice subs they want to move cheap, please let me know!

Thanks and good health, Weogo

LiveEdge.net
 
Re: sugar-scoop subs

What kind of music is it?

I don't know who called them "sugar scoops". Imm betting they are just plain jane 4530 scoops. Which might be OK for you, but will be a huge disappointment after using the TH115.

Scoops are one-note bass bins. They work well for reggae and thats where you see fans of the scoop bin. It's basically a big ol' haystack around 60hz and not much else. They are good for that "bouncy" bass that reggae is built around, but I wouldn't use them for jazz or country. Might be OK for classic rock.

They are kinda like the old Cerwin Vega's. They work well for a few types of music, but are horrible for anything else.

For free they may work until you can get something else. A single powered 18 is likely to outperform these pretty handily though.
 
Re: sugar-scoop subs

Hi Tim,

This is a folk dance venue.
Music is some combination of Fiddle, Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin, Piano, Bass, Flute, Accordion, Bodhran, Foot Percussion and more.

Around here 'sugar scoops' is a common name for them. And yes, they look like 4530s.
The last time I used subs like these the DSP had a big bump around 45 or 50hz, and at (very)modest levels, actually sounded ok.
I've heard that in stacks of four ~ eight they can sound pretty good.

I hear ya on the single powered 18" box,
certainly a straight-forward, simple solution, though
a Crown K1 is available.
For self-powered 18s, is a PRX718XLF a good candidate in the modest-cost range?

Thanks and good health, Weogo
 
Re: sugar-scoop subs

Weogo Reed said:
Hi Tim,

This is a folk dance venue.
Music is some combination of Fiddle, Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin, Piano, Bass, Flute, Accordion, Bodhran, Foot Percussion and more.

Around here 'sugar scoops' is a common name for them. And yes, they look like 4530s.
The last time I used subs like these the DSP had a big bump around 45 or 50hz, and at (very)modest levels, actually sounded ok.
Click to expand...
that could work. Iirc the 4530 was probably 10-12 db down at 50hz. It falls off quick, so you will never get "low" bass out of it, but for folk music I think you could flatten it out with dsp down to around 45-50 and use it gently. Should work.

I've heard that in stacks of four ~ eight they can sound pretty good.
Click to expand...
yeah, but thats true of any sub. Put 4 double 18's up against 4 4530's and the 218's still win.

I hear ya on the single powered 18" box,
certainly a straight-forward, simple solution, though
a Crown K1 is available.
Click to expand...
normally I wouldn't say this (I generally don't like to bridge amps) but the Crown K series work and sound better as you work them harder. I would bridge it into both cabs and just be careful how much you use.

For self-powered 18s, is a PRX718XLF a good candidate in the modest-cost range?

Thanks and good health, Weogo
Click to expand...

Yep the XLF is still probably the value king of powered subs. The jury is still out on the newer SRX powered line.
 
Re: sugar-scoop subs

Hi Tim,

Thanks for the additional information.

The K1 is indeed a very nice amp. It just sits there and works.
As I'm sure you know, convection cooled - it gets blown off once a year.

Good health, Weogo
 
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