Bergantino or Genz Benz??

[sleevey]

I have an Aguilar DB410 and DB115, which I love, but i am considering trying out either a GB or a Berg 410 setup. I have no clue what the quality/tone differences are on these, can anyone tell me? I play mostly rock/ska/reggae, and I dig my Aguilar cabs, but they are seriously mid-punchy....almost too much. I play through an Orange Ad200 MK3. Any direction on these two cabs would be greatly appreciated!!

[Musicman20]

Id try before you buy. The DB series suit the Orange amps very well, and id say some of the DB cabs are the best in the business!

[jordie65]

hey mate, my current set up is an Orange ad200 mk3 running through a berg hs410. ive tried it with an older gb 610 but i found i much preferred the tone of the berg, the berg hs has a nice bump in the low mids to my ear and i find i can control the grind of my sound pretty well with the single mid control on the AD200b. i cant offer you any direct comparisons to the aguiliar but i can say ive used this rig on many gigs now and im really happy, the response doesnt seem have any massive humps to me, just the slight low mid bump which really helps fill out the mix

[Musicman20]

Jordie - I had the HS410 myself. I keep thinking about going for it again....sold it as I needed something modular.

My current amp heads are more warm and vintage : AD200b, RH450 and LM3.

Do you find that HS410 literally covers ALL gigs? I want to get a neo cab but im thinking the Orange wont match that well with the AE212...wrong size for a start!

I only gigged the HS410 a few times....I liked how small it was.

[jordie65]

Originally Posted by Musicman20

Jordie - I had the HS410 myself. I keep thinking about going for it again....sold it as I needed something modular.

My current amp heads are more warm and vintage : AD200b, RH450 and LM3.

Do you find that HS410 literally covers ALL gigs? I want to get a neo cab but im thinking the Orange wont match that well with the AE212...wrong size for a start!

I only gigged the HS410 a few times....I liked how small it was.

Well i've probably run this setup on about 25 or 30 gigs now- ranging from a small converted fish and chip shop that fits about 50 people to an outdoor stage in front of maybe 350 or so. i've found the rig has covered all of these situations wonderfully, i keep my gain on about noon for a bit of grind with a pick and the highest ive set my master has been a shade over 9 oclock (absolutely crushing!) not sure how much more headroom is left after that on the master as i've never gone past there.

so yes i can say that for me this rig can do anything short of a large festival (but id assume then there would be PA support) however sometimes its a bit of a pain, even being as small as it is for a 410, hauling all that amp and cab around only to have my master at about 7:30. i love this setup compared to older setups of genz SM12.0 with avatar 2x12 and before that an Eden WT330 with a D210XST.

but yeah i have been thinking of picking up a scout 12 combo for rehearsal and tiny/acoustic gigs as im a lazy prick

while it can certainly cover all my bases i totally get where you were coming from going for the modular approach. my intended solution lets me keep my lovely sounding hs410 and Orange but gives me a stand alone (and great sounding) option for smaller things, the only downside being extra cost :S

i also found the HS210, even at the same volume just didnt have that presence of the HS410, probably a common thing comparing 410's to their 210 counterparts, but that lack of presence would bug me if i went from the 410 to the 210 with same head..

[Musicman20]

Thanks! I wanted a cab that will match my lightweight heads as well as the Orange. I think the HS410 was probably a cab I SHOULD have kept....and used more often. Hmmmm.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Musicman20

Thanks! I wanted a cab that will match my lightweight heads as well as the Orange. I think the HS410 was probably a cab I SHOULD have kept....and used more often. Hmmmm.

IMO, the HS410 is one of the cabs in Jim's line-up that seems to dig a more 'tube amp' sort of voicing from an amp. I guess this makes sense, since it is a modification/update of the SA410, which was literally designed for the Sadowsky Tube amp. I describe the HS410 as 'vintage meets modern', since it has the warm, big, low mids and smooth upper mids of a more classic 10" loaded sealed type cab, but also has a nice tweeter and a ported design for a bit more true low end and sparkle up top.

That being said, it is in the same tonal universe as the very nice Aguilar DB cabs, and I would not think it would be worth the money and bother for the OP to move from what he has. IMO there.

[thudstaff23]

I agree with Ken's post above -- I don't think you could get a better fit for your Orange than what your current set-up is. I also play an ad200, and I have started pairing it with a DB212 that I COULD NOT SELL the last couple of months. Seriously, I almost gave the db212 away, so I could fund Berg fever. I'm really glad that I got a chance to play through a couple Bergantino cabs (an NV610, and an AE410). Although I liked the idea of having another cab option, I could not justify the purchase, because the end result just didn't take my breath away. I loved the NV610, but honestly, I couldn't hear much difference between that and the Ampeg 810 I'd been using for a while.

For now, I'm sticking with the db212 and Orange pairing, and am totally happy. I'm only adding my 2 cents hear to let you know that I also was experiencing a wandering eye with my db cabinet, but a bit of patience and trial and error have allowed me to save my money for the moment and be content.

[Musicman20]

Good call. Sometimes what we think we want might not be better for our tone goals. All subjective. DB212 plus tubes is beautiful!