Berg HS410 owners...

vin*tone · #1 09-24-2011, 06:20 AM

.... What sort of basses do you play, what kinds of music and what tones do you look for?

I've recently picked up an HS410 and have been comparing with my pair of Aguilar DB112's for a few weeks now trying to decide which rig is the keeper. The Berg seems more defined - very articulate with a bit more grind and has that medicine ball kick in the guts; the DBs are super smooth, softer and richer, more bass, less "dynamic". I play a very old school type of funk which gets a bit staccatto at times. The DBs have the tone that I like but the HS410 has definition which works brilliantly live.

Both rigs sound awesome ... but different flavours of awesome.

I'm interested to hear from Berg HS410 owners - Tell me your story!

vin*tone · #2 09-25-2011, 03:49 AM

Beuller...

jordie65 · #3 09-25-2011, 04:34 AM

Well I run my HS410 with my Orange Ad200 and a stingray with rounds, using a pick at the moment. Just an absolutely huge sound! The HS really does punch, i keep the tweeter rolled mostly off. It seems to find a great balance between that big thick sound and articulation, I get a great grindy pick tone without too much of that annoying clank I've come across in other rigs..

Cool to hear you are getting some great funky sounds out of it, seems like a pretty versatile cab! I haven't personally had a chance to try it outside the context I've been using it recently.

Should add, this thing holds up very well live! I've never felt Ive hit it's limits even at quite loud outdoor shows. Seems this cab doesn't get too much love, I can't think why not, maybe because it seems to have a similar sort of goal to the NV610 in regards to tone and isn't too far from the NV in weight and dimensions.. Though I have never played an NV610 so that is all speculation!

Fuzzbass · #4 09-25-2011, 05:07 PM

I have a pair of HS210 cabs. I play in three bands and do occasional sub work. I cover most forms of rock and pop (oldies, classic, and modern), and occasionally hack my way through jazz. I usually string my basses with rounds, but often keep one strung with flats. I would never hesitate to use my HS cabs for any of kind of music.

I would not recommend the HS cabs to someone looking for a certain sound from their cabinet. They're not perfectly flat (what cab is?) but they're as transparent as any cab I've tried.

**lowfreqgeek** · #5 09-25-2011, 05:38 PM

I'm an HS410 owner as of yesterday. I played a gig with it Friday night and realized I *needed* to have it, so I bought it instead of taking it back to the shop. That particular gig was a LOUD original rock band with elements of everything from Pink Floyd to the Beatles to Santana to Elton John to Sublime and RHCP, etc. My bass of choice that night was my USA Jazz V w/Lakland pickups though a Epifani UL502. The bass sounded HUGE, but well defined. Very tight, still big, lowend. Gut-kicking low mids, with plenty of articulation and zing on top. Very nice, indeed.

My usual rig is 2 Epifani UL112s with the UL502. The only thing I've missed with that rig is the extra low end that the HS410 seems to provide. Overall, I think the Epifani stack might have the edge on clarity, but only by a very small margin. They don't go quite as deep, but I've used them MANY times with my various 5-strings in loud bands. The HS410 just has a bit more sound overall, and definitely more lows.

So far, I've A/B'd the Berg and my Epifani cabs with a Rick Turner Electroline fretless 5, the Fender Jazz V, a Regenerate Guitar Works Pbass, and fretted and fretless G&L L2500s. Overall, I'd say the results are very similar for each bass; the Berg has more bottom and low mids, but very similar clear articulation and crystal clear highs. For band playing, I'd give the edge to the Berg. For more of my preferred jazz trio/combo playing, I think I prefer the Epifani rig.

One other thing I'm really digging is my old SWR Bass 350 through the Berg. It's just a great all around "modern" bass tone. I'll be using that quite a bit, I think.

michricker · #6 09-26-2011, 07:20 PM

I use a db750 and a lmiii as a backup. I play a sadowsky rv4 and a nordy vj5. The DB sounds great with this cab! With the nordy I can get deep r&b type tones with the tweet to 70s funk when I turn down the tweeter. Most flexible rig to date for me.

Session1969 · #7 11-28-2011, 02:38 PM

I just picked mine up used for $700 last week and have used it for two, three hour gigs for a variety cover band I'm subbing for. It handled all the styles from funk to punk(classic rock, country, reggae, modern rock). The gigs around here don't really have P.A support for bass so I thought it would be nice to have an awesome cab and I like it alot.

Munjibunga · #8 11-28-2011, 02:45 PM

I played one a week or so ago, and it seems to be a little more mid-rich than my AE410. Maybe it has a skosh more overall punch but, without A/B'ing them side-by-side, it's hard to say. I can get one new for a really low price, but I'm wavering on the weight. It would make a decent replacement for my now-salvaged Quattro.

vin*tone · #9 11-28-2011, 07:27 PM

I ended up keeping the HS410 and selling the DB's BTW.

I cop vintage tones with flatwound basses, tweeter rolled out most of the time.

We really have different ears Munj. My main concern before buying the HS was that it might share the 'prominent' upper midrange of the AE which I really did not like. After a couple of weeks I was pretty satisfied that it was more of a low mid push - and IMO much flatter in response than the AE. I'm lovin it.