Which 8x10 should I get with which head?

[sethmadsen]

Hi,

I am in a dilemma with choosing my new cab/amp. I currently have a Yorkville 200B combo that used to have a 4x10 that I wish I had added to it, because the only ones I can find are in Europe. I know traynor bought them out, and I could just get that, but I think I am ready to move on.

So having said the following are in my price range and if money wasn't an issue I would get all 3, but I need to choose. Help! Also an explanation why is helpful .

Cabs:
1)Mesa Boogie 8x10 Powerhouse 2)Ashdown ABM 810 3)Ampeg SVT-810E

Heads: All of these are hybrids and about the same price: 1) Markbass Little Mark Tube 800 2) Ampeg SVT-7Pro 3) Ashdown ABM 500 EVO III

Links to my analysis so far:
Yorkville
http://medias.audiofanzine.com/image...-200-80484.jpg

Spreadsheet with pics/links/specs
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...CTWtkZ0E#gid=0

[sethmadsen]

Oh and if you know of anyone that has a matching (late 90s) 4x10 to this Yorkville, I would be interested in buying.

[JimmyM]

All good stuff, but I'm partial to the Ampeg stuff

[sethmadsen]

Oh and I was really sold on the Mesa Boogie 1000 (a cab with 1x15 and 4x10s in one cab), but then read this on Ampeg's page. I always thought that you needed a 15 for those lows, but now I am maybe realizing 8x10s is the way to go?

From Ampeg:
Why eight 10” speakers? We learned early on that 10” speakers work much more efficiently than fifteens or eighteens—and if you put eight 10” speakers together, you can move a huge column of air. You’d need five 18” or six 15” speakers to move as much air as the SVT-810E! And they simply wouldn’t be able to respond to transient peaks as quickly as our tens.

[sethmadsen]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

All good stuff, but I'm partial to the Ampeg stuff

I have been told that ampeg is the way to go, and I agree with the head, but the 8x10 I played wasn't as amazing as everyone said it would be like. But maybe I should give it a second shot. I played the ampeg 8x10 through an Orange head and the Mesa Boogie 1000 through a ampeg head, and just melted on the latter combo. 1st not so much.

[iualum]

2x15 (Eminence Kappa LiteLFs) / 2x6.5 (18Sound 6ND410s).

THIS is the box. It'll eat the cabs you mention (& anything else commercially available) as appetizers. Add a high frequency driver if you like.

http://www.usspeaker.com/Kappa%20Lite-3015lf-1.htm

http://www.usspeaker.com/eighteensound-6ND410-1.htm

[christw]

You can snag a Kustom Deep End 810 (DE810H) for under $300 shipped to your door. There's a thread floating around on here about it. That leaves a lot of cash open for an amp.

Having said that, I like Ampeg cabinets with aggressive and/or mid forward amps like Marshalls. I like Mesa cabs in general. Of your choices and not considering weight as a factor, I'd go 7Pro / PH810.

[4StringsEnough]

I'd go with the Ashdown. Ampeg overrated. Mesa too pricey.

[Josh Thatguy]

"Ampeg overrated". Wow.

I guess every touring rock band since around the late 1960s who chose Ampeg 810s have just been a bunch of idiots suckered by good marketing......? OR NOT. I bought my two 810s based upon one thing, and that's *hearing them live* time and time again, year after year, in so many settings, indoors and outdoors, realizing that every 215/410/412/118/even 3620 (2X18+2X10 in the same cab) didn't measure up sonically to the simplicity of an Ampeg fridge. Sorry to sound like a d*ck, but c'mon, "Ampeg overrated" is kind of an incredibly incorrect statement to make.

I've heard 'em all, and in fact saw/heard a Carvin 810 melt down tonight with only 300 watts driving it. I actually learned respect the Peavey VB810 (not the TVX series), which I also saw tonight with a touring band, for its tone and hardcore outer coating. I've heard/seen just about every other 810 out there. And I think Ampeg is the way to go if you want reliability, tone, and respect from other bassists and soundmen if that means anything to you (and it should if you're playing in a stranger's venue, hoping you'll have a good night). Thousands and thousands and, yes, thousands of rock musicians over decades of music can't be wrong. Sure, there's "better" cabs out there on a money-is-no-object budget in the fact that they'll take more power, or have prettier Tolex, or have drivers made of Unobtanium, but the OP didn't post that as a viable option. The only beef I have with Ampeg fridges is the damn fabric screen, but that can be solved with a trip to a local metalworks/fence & gate company.

Ampeg 810s, new or used, are the best bang for the buck.

afterthought/edit--- as far as a head, I'd match Ampeg with Ampeg, just because, I guess. Then again, I'm a hypocrite: I run a preamp/poweramp(s) setup, but that's because an SVT450 wasn't enough firepower against my guitarist's two tube Marshall fullstacks.

[nicoli]

I wouldn't rule out Traynor so quickly. I like their vintage stuff and their newer gear that I have tried has really blown me away with its quality. I'd put Traynor as an equivalent to top of the line Ampeg gear at a more affordable price.

That said... you haven't mentioned what type of tone you're trying to achieve?

[SJan3]

Although its not on your list, perhaps an Aguilar DB810. This cab leaves nothing on the table..

[Kmonk]

I use Ampeg but I prefer to play through two SVT410 cabs instead of one 810. Its much easier to move them and they sound great.

[CL400Peavey]

Out of what was listed in the OP I would go with the SVT-7 and the PH 810. If other options could be brought to the table I would say to with the SVT-7 and a fEARful 15/6.

[Foz]

+1 on the 7pro - I personally prefer a preamp/PA amp rig, but if you be lovin' some Ampeg vibe the 7pro has got it and a healthy wattage with modest weight. OTOH if price is no object, why not the SVT-8Pro?

As to cabs, that Mesa 8x10 would be my choice of the listed cabs but gotta agree OP should at least try a modern 3-way cab before deciding.

[Floyd Eye]

SVT 7 Pro and 810e.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Foz

+1 on the 7pro - I personally prefer a preamp/PA amp rig, but if you be lovin' some Ampeg vibe the 7pro has got it and a healthy wattage with modest weight. OTOH if price is no object, why not the SVT-8Pro?

8 Pro just got discontinued.

[georgestrings]

Depends on what you're going for, OP - if you want "old school sound"(lots of mids), the SVT810e is tough to beat... If you're looking for alot of low end, plenty of clear high end, and to move a ton of air and alot of volume - the Mesa PH810 smokes the other 2 cabs you listed - so does SWR's Megoliath, btw... I believe the Mesa 810 weighs around 25lbs more than the Ampeg - if you can deal with that, it's probably the best 810 on the market...

Regarding amps - I would suggest giving Genz-Benz's Streamliner 900 a solid look - IMO, it's a much better amp than the ones you listed...


- georgestrings