First hearing: Forte 3D 1x12 cab

[mad dog]

Got a teeny little closed cab along with the (very cool) Valvetech VAC 22 head I just traded for. Not the perfect cab for my needs, but the WGS Blackhawk 50 alnico inside is very much to my taste.

I've long wanted to try a Forte 3D cab, so here was my chance. Found one used (barely), just got the WGS installed. From note one, the value of this cab's unique concept and construction was obvious. Even in my crowded gear room. It sounds one way when you're right on top of it. Step back 6 to 8 feet, whole different thing. Beautiful sounds. Perfect cab and speaker for this amp. Haven't turned up yet ... medium volume sure sounds right. This master volume is something special.

Fine amp, and this Forte 3D is the real deal.
MD

 

[bettset]

i have a 2x12 with tone tubbys. i may have been the first to get a cab from him with the tubbys. really sounds nice. i took a chance over 2 years ago with his design & it's damn good

 

[mad dog]

Been playing this Forte cab a lot since first posting. And feeling like I really stepped into something cool, tonally. It's not just the cab. It's the WGS blackhawk in the cab, and the Valvetech VAC22 pushing it. Turns out to be maybe the best low/medium volume setup I've had. I don't mean whisper quiet, late night bedroom ... more the acceptable volume you can get away with at more intimate gigs. Best part is how it sounds with an ES-335, and with my P-90 guitars. That's pure serendipity.
MD

 

[bettset]

if i weren't lazy, i'd try other speakers.........maybe. the tubby's are great. but the wgs' & asw's are tempting

 

[hdiddy]

The forte's are Incredible, I have one with an EJ Speaker and it sounds amazing. It is definetly the combination of the TWO!!!!

 

[Dave_C]

Congrats! I have a Forte 1x12 with a WGS Blackhawk HP and really like it. Had a tonefest (i.e. excuse to jam and have a couple brews with buds ) a while back and we had a bunch of great gear down there. The guys really seemed to dig the Forte with whatever we plugged into it. What I like about it is that it has less tendency to get small and boxy when you stand back a ways from the cab, as many 1x12s seem to do. Guess it's the side-port design that helps with that and maybe the increased depth. Whatever the case, it's a great concept!

 

[mad dog]

Yes, it does not sound small. Not at all boxy or cramped sounding. I hope to get this setup on stage soon, see how it does with more space. In my music room, the Forte sits next to a really fine 1x15, a Jenkins cab with a weber cali. Going back and forth with those two cabs, I hear differences of course, but not the expected "1x12 sounds small" thing. They both fill up that room just right. The more notable difference is the alnico WGS vs. the ceramic weber.
MD

 

[Trebor Renkluaf]

Even in my crowded gear room. It sounds one way when you're right on top of it. Step back 6 to 8 feet, whole different thing.

Excuse me, but didn't you just describe every guitar cabinet/combo amp on the planet? I've never in 30+ years of playing have a cabinet/amp that didn't sound different when standing on top of it vs. 6 to 8 feet away.

 

[JYD]

Excuse me, but didn't you just describe every guitar cabinet/combo amp on the planet? I've never in 30+ years of playing have a cabinet/amp that didn't sound different when standing on top of it vs. 6 to 8 feet away.

Sure, in a way, but the Forte design minimizes that. Every other cabinet I have ever played in my 28 years of playing guitar has a substantial difference in sound if you're on top, or 6+ feet away on it's side.

My Forte 3D S/V has a minimal difference in town no matter where I stand: feet away in front, sides, even back to some degree.

I think people really need to hear it before they make the call. I have not seen or heard another design like it, and it is a true winner for live sound projection and keeping frequencies consistent. All other cabinets (closed, open, semi-open) have some directionality to them.

 

[mad dog]

Trebor:

I could see why you'd say that. Yes, that is true of any amp or cab. It's how the sound changed with a few feet of distance. Hard to explain, but you can so clearly hear this unusual sound dispersal pattern kick in as you move back from directly on top of the cab. I'd never heard a contrast quite like that before. It does not throw sound out the same way as the Jenkins open back 1x15 does right next to it. And certainly does not sound like a closed back cab.

Once you are out well in front of it, the Forte does not seem directional at all. It's different in some way I can't describe very well, but can certain feel and hear in the room.
MD

 

[aflynt]

Trebor:

I could see why you'd say that. Yes, that is true of any amp or cab. It's how the sound changed with a few feet of distance. Hard to explain, but you can so clearly hear this unusual sound dispersal pattern kick in as you move back from directly on top of the cab. I'd never heard a contrast quite like that before. It does not throw sound out the same way as the Jenkins open back 1x15 does right next to it. And certainly does not sound like a closed back cab.

Once you are out well in front of it, the Forte does not seem directional at all. It's different in some way I can't describe very well, but can certain feel and hear in the room.
MD

Thats exactly how I hear my 3D 1x12" too. It kind of scared me a bit at first at rehearsal when I was right on top of it and couldn't really hear myself. I was used to open back cabs where it would sound a bit different but not so dramatically different with it right by your feet. I always use the 1x12" on a stand if I can't get more than a few feet away when I set up. Incidentally, if you have two of them stacked (which is how I now run mine 90% of the time) it sounds great up close too.

-Aaron

 

[wrathfuldeity]

Yes, it does not sound small. Not at all boxy or cramped sounding. I hope to get this setup on stage soon, see how it does with more space. In my music room, the Forte sits next to a really fine 1x15, a Jenkins cab with a weber cali. Going back and forth with those two cabs, I hear differences of course, but not the expected "1x12 sounds small" thing. They both fill up that room just right. The more notable difference is the alnico WGS vs. the ceramic weber.
MD

Perhaps run both cabs via zmatcher or biamp...Ime, tonal nirvana running alnico and ceramic together.