| Author | Message | ||
| jazzyvee
Advanced Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 262 Registered: 6-2002 |
At the moment I have a Mesa boogie 2x10 and a 1x15 powerhouse bass cabs driven at the moment by a Mesa boogie Walkabout 300w amp. I'm thinking of adding a SWR Goliath Senior 6x10 to my rig for larger gigs. What are these cabs like? I've tried a 2x10 SWR and wasn't as impressed with it as I was with the Boogie 2x10. The other alternative is a road ready boogie cab which has 4x10" and a 1x15" . Is the Hartke 8x10 cab any good? Any advice would be good. I will be using them with my sc deluxe and Europa 5 and playing stuff like Stanley Clarke, marcus Miller, Rnb covers and occasional reggae. I know some players like a little gritty edge to their sound but I am looking for absolute cleanliness, headroom and quality at all levels. I get that at the moment with my current rig but I'd just like a bit more sound not specifically volume. Jazzyvee | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 2487 Registered: 5-2002 |
Jazzy; I have one of those cabs. It's handy for outdoor gigs; it will push a lot of air. The main problem with the cab as far as sound is the low end. I found that by taking along an Acme B-2 and running both full range, I was able to get a good overall sound. I don't think you can call the SWR "absolutely clean" in the same way you can't call an Eden "absolutely clean"; but the mid to high end is similar to an Eden. I haven't taken it out for a while, so I'm going on my memory, but I think it would be ok, with an extra cab to cover the low end, for Stanley and Marcus tone. But I prefer the sound quality of my Eden 2x10XLT's. Eden makes a 6x10XLT; my guess is that it would be a better stand alone cab than the SWR. Oh, and in case it slipped your mind, a 6x10 won't fit in that car of yours! <g> | ||
| jacko
Advanced Member Username: jacko Post Number: 381 Registered: 10-2002 |
Jazzy. How in the name of all that's holy are you going to get a 6x10 in a smart car? I suppose if it has wheels you could tow it ;-) Graeme (Message edited by jacko on October 25, 2005) | ||
| jazzyvee
Advanced Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 263 Registered: 6-2002 |
hmm, thanks for the advice Dave. Seems like I'm gonna have to take another look round the music stores. Unfortunately we don't have the variety of brands and stock in the average UK music store that you guys have in the states so our choice is very limited to the most popular names and then the prices are horrendous. Thats why I was looking on e-bay for a used cab and saw this cab for sale. As for carrying it in the smart car.... hmm good point.. However I've got a good mate with a van and I can exchange it for my smart car on the days I need to carry that speaker to gigs. cheers Jazzyvee | ||
| jacko
Advanced Member Username: jacko Post Number: 389 Registered: 10-2002 |
Jazzy. You could look at Markbass cabs. The guys at Phoenix sounds are doing some pretty good prices. £500 each for the 2x10 and 1x15 and £695 for the 4x10. They'll save your back as well as your pocket too!. Check out http://www.phoenixsoundworks.com/ cheers graeme | ||
| gare
Advanced Member Username: gare Post Number: 279 Registered: 11-2003 |
Jazzy A while back I was checking out 6x10 cabinets. Most didn't seem to have the low end you're presently getting from your 1x15 cab. The two I liked the best were the Mesa and the Epifani. Neither were inexpensive, but they both had good low end, the Epi had neo speakers and weighted in about 80/85 lbs. I tried them both using a Walkabout head. The Mesa 1000 (4x10+1x15) is also a good choice, but again not inexpensive or light weight. I've also tried the Harke 8x10,both aluminum and paper coned cabinets, neither impressed me. Hope that helps. G | ||
| bsee
Senior Member Username: bsee Post Number: 951 Registered: 3-2004 |
I played the same cabs you're currently using about 10-12 years ago, but powered by an SWR SM-900 head. I loved almost everything about the setup, but it was a bit much to haul to the weekly bar gigs. Tonally, I wished I could get a bit more buttery warmth out of it, but I wasn't driving an Alembic back then. If you can wait until your tour through the US, check out the Schroeder stuff. It will come in extra handy if you do try to gig in the smart car. I have a 2x12 (1212) cab from them and it is great for gigging. If I were more of a slapper, I would probably have gone with the cab that combines a 10 and a 12 (1210). A combo of the 1212 and the 1210 would do everything you could ask in terms of tone and volume. The only down side is that it is too small a stack to look impressive on stage. Each cab is about the size of the Mesa 2x10 and weighs in the vicinity of 50 lbs. I know they were offered in a road ready package as well, but not sure what that does to the weight. As a side note, I'd say that if you aren't happy with your sound then you need to add more power. Mesa heads sound great, but you don't have the headroom to push the low frequencies very hard in a 300 watt head. A final thought is that you might try some EQ, maybe an SF-2, to see if that will give you the sound you're currently not hearing. -Bob | ||
| jazzyvee
Advanced Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 267 Registered: 6-2002 |
It''s not that I'm unhappy with the sound I'm getting from the Mesa boogie stuff. In fact I love it. It took me a while to get round to Mesa boogie ( its very expensive here) . When I first started looking for a proper bass rig I was only playing rare gigs on bass and just was looking for a small combo to replace my Trace Elliot BLX-80 as it sounded great with my MM Sterling but rubbish with my Alembic. It was only when i had exhausted the combos and not found anything the salesman encouraged me to look at a larger rig. So .... I tried all the names that were available from Ashdown to Eden, SWR, AMPEG, Warwick, EBS, Fender, Peavey etc.... Nothing made my alembic sound the way i thought it should. I had ignored the Mesa boogie as basically I didnt know they did bass stuff. I'd only seen and drooled over their guitar amps. So in a parting act of genius the shop assistant suggested trying the Mesa Boogie walkabout with a 2x10 which is about the size of a combo. I put everything on flat no boost cut or anything. ( I like to hear that its good before adding anything) plugged it in and that was it the sound I was looking for was right there under my fingers. I spent about an hour playing with it and drew a crowd curious to see what the bass was lol. ( not my playing ). Needless to say I saved my pennies and got a Walkabout and 2x10 and a 1x15 which I later added an SF2. Now I just want more sound for outdoor and larger stages as its not all the time I have the luxury of a PA. Maybe I'd better save my pennies and just go mad and get a large boogie box. Or see what Santa brings me in a couple of Months. Jazzyvee. | ||
| gare
Advanced Member Username: gare Post Number: 280 Registered: 11-2003 |
I agree with Bob, the Schroeder stuff is worth a look if you can hold out that long. I use a 1210 cabinet, which replaced a 4x10. They project really well. One draw back is that pretty much all his cabinets are 4 ohm which is also the limit on a Walkabout. I'm considering adding a 21012 cabinet to my rig. 2 10",and angled 12",and a horn. The box is 23"x23" and goes down to 35hz. You may want to checkout his site at http://www.schroedercabinets.com/. These cabinets are also pretty effiecient/loud for their size. Good luck on the quest. Gary | ||
| jazzyvee
Advanced Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 269 Registered: 6-2002 |
I've just come back from a Music exhibition event in Birmingham where ARMAND SABAL.LECO was doing a bass clinic. He used an SWR 8x10 cab and a swr amp and a Fender Jazz bass. Awesome player but I was not impressed by the sound of the bass amp and cab combination. It was very dull. However i did hear a guy playing a GB bass in an 4x10 and 1x15 rig which sounded fantastic although far too bright. It sounded like a combination to use if you were just doing pyrotechnic slap solo's but not trying to blend in with the rest of the band. I am impressed with their basses though. Sound activated LED's seemed a bit ott. JAzzyvee | ||
| bsee
Senior Member Username: bsee Post Number: 955 Registered: 3-2004 |
If you believe there's such a thing as "far too bright" then the Schroeder will be perfect for you. You really need to check them out! | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 406 Registered: 10-2002 |
Hey Jazzy. Will you be in Manchester for bassday on the 20th? graeme | ||
| 2400wattman
New Username: 2400wattman Post Number: 2 Registered: 11-2005 |
Hello Jazzyvee, I'm a little late on this but here are my two cents. I've had almost everything under the sun and it all has failed me. I play three to five nights a week, two and a half hours each night.This is not a rant against anyone company,I'm relaying actual experience here and if anybody is offended, build a better amp!I've had all the "big name" tube and solid state amps. They sound great but life expectancy is short. I got fed up with my last amps(which I felt was the greatest amp they currently make power and tone wise not to mention features)breaker blowing during our shows. Fortunately we have the luxury of me being able to move to keyboards so my amp can cool down and finish the setlater. My advice is to get a great pre-amp and power amp and a 2x10 and 4x10 or 1x18 speaker configuration. I know this must hurt to hear this as you just got that Mesa Walk About but you won't be limited on your cab choice(ohm's & wattage) w/ this kind of pre-amp amp set up.I went with an Aguilar DB680 & it is awesome!Also for my back up rig I got an F1-X pre that is making it hard to choose between the two. Anyhowe, trust your instincts(and your ears)and you will be fine. Take care Adam | ||
| jazzyvee
Advanced Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 277 Registered: 6-2002 |
Thanks for the advice Adam. That combination of Pre-amp and power amp has been discussed here as well at great length and i know its probably the best way to go... Myabe I need to relax and wait till my bank balance improves then go for something like that. Would you suggest a Valve or solid state amplifier? | ||
| 2400wattman
New Username: 2400wattman Post Number: 4 Registered: 11-2005 |
go with a good solid state amp but a valve preamp that's the stuff! | ||
| gbarchus
Intermediate Member Username: gbarchus Post Number: 148 Registered: 6-2002 |
I have an F2B with a Carver PM 1.5 (1200 watts) for a "tight, punchy" sound AND an Eden VT300 (300 watt all tube) for a "meaty, somewhat overdriven power (not preamp) tubes, sagging transformer" sound. Anyone tried a Bag End Q10BX-D (4X10 coaxial) http://www.bagend.com/ cabinet? The way it's advertised, it would seem ideal for an Alembic. | ||
| mpisanek
Intermediate Member Username: mpisanek Post Number: 103 Registered: 1-2005 |
Jazzy: Yeah! What adam said. I use an F1-X and into a QSC PLX2402 poweramp. I'm driving 2 Eden 2x10 XST cabs. The sound is Awsome! Jacko is using the same amp with an Eden Navigator preamp and also getting great tone. He is looking at EBS or Mark Bass speakers at the moment. I know you are in England, but if you want to have a listen to either rig, all you have to do is say so, and you would be more than welcome to give them a try here in Scotland. |
