03/06/24 - Reformer 112 + Reality 112FR - UK
Hi Alex,
For the last few years I have been learning to play an NS Design electric cello. I normally play sax/clarinet with different jazz, folk and experimental musicians, often with a PA, often with a mixture of acoustic and electric instruments, rarely at high volume or in large venues.
Now I want to try using the cello with these musicians too. The NS Design has a completely solid body and piezo pickups. My priority so far has been trying to create a core sound which is as close as possible to an acoustic cello. However, I also want to explore its great potential as an electric bowed instrument in the future. Until recently, I had long term loan of an AER amp which I used with the cello. The sound I got was quite mediocre. It improved massively with the addition of Cello IR software from a firm called 3 Sigma Audio, I run it in a TC Electronic IR loader pedal. However, the sound still remained rather dull and boxy.
I have now returned the AER to its owner and have bought a Katana 100W head. I decided on this because (1) my cello is an electric instrument, not acoustic (2) It is highly dependent on Impulse Response to create a decent acoustic sound (3) the Katana has powerful multi effects built in, modelled on classic Boss pedals, giving lots of potential to explore experimental playing.
So far, I’m very pleased with the Katana plus IR loader combination. The cello sounds a lot better using the ‘clean’ amp models (set to minimum gain) rather than the ‘acoustic’ settings - ie it’s more authentic, vibrant, dynamic. I now need to decide what to do about a speaker cab.
So far, I have tried:
1. The Katana head has a 35W 5 inch driver built in, intended for home practice. Considering its size, it sounds amazingly good, even at the lower end of the cello’s range. It has a vibrancy which the AER lacked and it produces a lot of volume, though not really the depth/richness to make it suitable for playing with other people. Bowing vigorously can produce unpleasant woomphing distortion.
2. I have a small HK Audio Polar PA. I have put the Line Out from the Katana through it and the signal is surprisingly weak, it needs a lot of boosting. Even then, the tone remains soft edged and very bass heavy. I’m sure I could improve it with some EQ work but it’s not inspiring.
3. I have tried a friend’s 1x12 cab for guitar which has a small port on the back. It’s old, unbranded, but apparently has a Celestion driver in it, I don’t know which model. The sound from this is the best I have had from anything, with lots of depth, detail and sparkle. Interestingly, I need to cut both bass and treble on the amp. The Katana has three options for modelling Cab Resonance (Vintage, Modern and Deep) and Vintage sounds the best. The sound to the rear of the cab is fairly good (due to the port, I guess) but at the sides is very weak.
All this makes me think that a 1x12 cab is what I should buy. Whilst researching different makes I came across your website and I am impressed by your approach to speaker design. In particular, I love your aim of filling a room with high quality (but not necessarily high volume) sound in the same way as happens with an acoustic instrument. I also very much want to be able to hear myself play as clearly as possible when I am with other musicians - being able to do this feels crucial on an unfretted instrument. I would greatly appreciate advice as to which of your speaker designs would best suit my needs: I read initially about the Reformer 112 and thought it sounded ideal. However, I then learnt about the Reality 112FR and suspect this might make more sense given my use of Cello IR software and the Katana?
Many thanks for your help!
Andrew
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Hi Andrew,
If you don't think this is a crazy idea, as we have a one month trial period then you could order both a Reality and a Reformer, compare them head to head and then return whichever one isn't best for you.
Alex
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Hi Alex,
It has been very interesting comparing the two side by side. They both sound very good, much better than anything else I have used and I would happily live with either of them. The differences I noticed were:
1. More powerful bass on the Reality, with enormous dynamic headroom at the bottom end. Fantastic, but actually the bass is overwhelming most of the time and I had to cut it to a minimum on the amp which seemed a shame.
2. It’s hard to put into words, but the Reality sounds a bit too refined, particularly in the low midrange where I sense a kind of stuffiness. I had a subtle feeling of there being something in between the instrument and the sound generated from it - as if the sound is artificial and coming out of a loudspeaker... a ridiculous thing to say because obviously it is exactly that, particularly as I am playing through both a cello IR and a modelling amp!! I get the same feeling (but to a greater degree) when playing through a PA - however, playing through the Reformer feels vibrant, gritty and directly connected to the instrument.
3. As you would probably expect, the sound from the Reality was more consistent at the sides and the rear of the cab than the Reformer. That’s a great bonus and I really liked it. In fact, ironically, I think the best sound of all came from sitting directly behind the cab with the tweeter full on! Maybe you need to add a second tweeter on the front...
4. I have spent a while experimenting with the tone controls and can get the Reality feeling quite similar to the Reformer. That tempts me to choose the Reality and I imagine it’s possible that careful tweaking with a parametric EQ might completely solve the issues of excessive bass, stuffiness and feeling distanced. However, I don’t have the experience to do that quickly or to know if it’s really achievable. It would also feel a bit perverse to be needing to manipulate the EQ in sophisticated ways. So, I think I’m choosing the Reformer because it feels straightforward, honest, connected, vibrant.
Hope this all makes sense. I’m interested to know how my experience compares with that of anyone else using your cabs with modelling amps and instruments other than electric guitars…
Kind regards,