How we made the BB3 and BT3 even better than their predecessors!
"We evolve, we don't revolve!"
In 2013 we released what were quantifiably the most accurate gigging bass cabs ever made, the Big Baby 2 and Big Twin 2. At the time I wrote numerous articles to explain the technical advances, detailed optimisation and precise engineering that led to their incredible sonic performance, allowing you to hear your instrument, FX, amp and your playing with the greatest accuracy, in a package that you can still move yourself and that is tough enough to gig for years without worry.
There are now a lot of BB2 and BT2 cabs all over the world, mostly used by bassists but also for guitar, keys and even as top-quality PA cabs, and they continue to be a very popular choice for our customers. However we haven't stopped trying to find ways we can improve them!
So we've kept all the awesome tone in a very tough light enclosure but improved the performance at higher volume levels, increased the tonal range, made the mids even more detailed and made them even easier to gig with.
Here's the changes
1. New enclosures
2. Updated crossover
3. SuperCooler Tech
4. New grills, handles and logo
The Big Twin 3 is now 50mm taller than the BT2, for slightly deeper fuller lows thanks to the greater internal volume (it now more closely matches the BB2/BB3 in volume per 12XN). The side strap handles have been replaced with recessed bar handles which are easier to lift and make the cab feel even lighter than it is.
The Big Baby 3 is shallower but wider than the BB2 - 520Wx320D vs 450Wx370D (mm) - with similar internal volume but the reduced physical depth makes it easier to carry. The side strap handle has been replaced a recessed bar handle on the top, so the carrying and playing orientation are the same way around - again helping portability and ease of set up on stage. The BB3 is now the same width as the BT3 (and previous BT2) making for an awesome looking modular rig, with the cab, grill and port widths all exactly matching.
The new crossover gives greater maximum treble brightness/clarity but turned down slightly it sounds exactly the same as the old crossover (and you can still turn it all the way off, so you just get more tonal range than before).
The new steel grills look cool and actually save a little weight due to the narrower border and the new script badge updates the look and make the logo much more visible on-stage (good for a little company that needs to get noticed!) And the cloth grills are now available in black or silver (in addition to the more expensive customisations). The old block logo is not an option.
The big change is our new SuperCooler Tech: Basically even very very good speakers are much better at turning electricity into waste heat than they are at turning electricity into sound. If you've noticed your sound getting worse during a loud gig, this is the reason - a hot loudspeaker has less punch, less output, boomier but less deep lows and sounds less tight and more woolly. A cooler loudspeaker always sounds better. And get that speaker hot enough and it blows.
SuperCooler Tech consists of multiple elements:
1. Cast aluminium frame and cooling fins on 12XN
2. Rear motor vent on 12XN
3. Motor Cooling Port
4. Motor Vent Deflector
5. Side port chimney
6. Maximum thermal exchange enclosure
The Motor Cooling Port uses the enclosure's Helmholtz resonance to draw in cool air and pump it over the 12XN's cooling fins; this air is warmed by the cooling fins and then rises towards the top of the cab. Warm air from the 12XN's rear motor vent is blown towards the Motor Vent Deflector which redirects it towards the top of the cab. Warm air reaching the top of the cab can exit via the top segment(s) of the side port, thanks to the maximum thermal exchange design. Cool air is drawn in through the bottom segment(s) of the side port.
It's a totally passive system and works in harmony with the tuned ported enclosure design. The harder you push the cab, the more the motor vent and deflector drives the upwards air movement in the cab, the more the motor cooling port pumps air over the 12XN's cooling fins and the more air exchange happens at the side port (cool air in at the bottom, warm air out at the top). I started out calling it Convective Pumped Cooling but SuperCooler Tech seemed more fun, if not quite as descriptive!
A further beneficial side effect is it makes the inside of the enclosure even less like a cuboid box, breaking up internal reflections for more even midrange response - actually, this is a way bigger deal than I realised when I designed it: The difference in sound when you stick your head through the woofer hole and speak is quite remarkable!