Best cabinet/cabinets to fill a room

welshbassfan · #1 03-19-2011, 11:13 AM

I'm looking to get back gigging in a new band. The guitarist usually uses a floor pod & a line into a vocal pa. I've always had a di out of my amp & let the pa reinforce the bass amp. I've never had to fill a room with my amp only. What would you suggest for a usual small pub/medium club. I've got a 575 watt ashdown head and transporting a big amp ain't a problem transporting a big pa is as the guys don't want to pay to hire or buy a van. I've previously used a number of different cabinets combinations. Always found a 2x10 & 4x10 struggled when using it in practice. 2x10 & 1x15 didn't do much for my tone. The 4x10 & 1x15 gave a good mix of bass & tone & was great on big open air events but struggled in some venues that were really boomy (so boomy heavy eq was needed on the pa). The only experience with an 8x10 was not good. It was an ampeg setup that kept cutting out & the monitor engineer had to give me more through the monitors to compensate.

What would be your suggestions to fill a room with no pa assistance?

AwkwardLoudness · #2 03-19-2011, 11:37 AM

Check out Bill Fitzmaurice (BFM) cabs, fEarful 15/6/tweet cabs, some Low Down Sound cabs, and Avatar TB153 (also a 15/6/tweet). All of these cabs nominally have large frequency range, high efficiency, and excellent horizontal sound dispersion.

Bergantino NV412, NV610, or AE212 would also be good choices. The AE series is more modern sounding than the NV cabs.

Genz Benz UBER 810 would fill most rooms too.

gnjpowell · #3 03-19-2011, 11:43 AM

4x10 or two 4x10s for better transportability Vs one 810. Guessing that Ampeg 810 must have had an amp problem. Ampeg SVT-810 rocks! Try another one before you give up...

DanNowhere · #4 03-19-2011, 11:50 AM

575 watts and 6 10s are not loud enough at practice? your guitarist(s) and drummer must be animals.

also, there are plenty of threads around that will reinforce the notion that combining a 4 x 10 and 1 x 15 isn't the best solution either.

I'm a little stumped as to what to suggest, as I always played decent sized bars/clubs with nothing bigger than a 4 x 10 without going through a PA, and my Ampeg Micro VT with 2 x 10 when I do have a PA. Your band must play pretty loud.

welshbassfan · #5 03-19-2011, 12:10 PM

The lead guitarist used a Marshall mode 4 and the singer usually used a marshall avt 150 half stack but occasionally a full stack.

babebambi · #6 03-19-2011, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanNowhere

575 watts and 6 10s are not loud enough at practice? your guitarist(s) and drummer must be animals.

also, there are plenty of threads around that will reinforce the notion that combining a 4 x 10 and 1 x 15 isn't the best solution either.

I'm a little stumped as to what to suggest, as I always played decent sized bars/clubs with nothing bigger than a 4 x 10 without going through a PA, and my Ampeg Micro VT with 2 x 10 when I do have a PA. Your band must play pretty loud.

I kinda agree, if 6x 10s didn't do it, then you are looking at double fridge territory. Unless the 6 10 you used were really crappy.

Take a look at the fEarful type of cabs, and a lot of power.
Or, BFM design cabs, if you want more power efficient designs.

JimmyM · #7 03-19-2011, 12:44 PM

whatever you have, double it. sounds like pretty crazy volume you're going for.

Foz · #8 03-19-2011, 01:05 PM

Quote:

What would be your suggestions to fill a room with no pa assistance?

The 1515/66+1 fEarful will end your search.

fEARful enclosures for bass/drums/keys

GrowlerBox · #9 03-19-2011, 01:07 PM

I think you've all missed the point of the OP -- clearly he wants to fill a room with bass cabs, not bass tone!

You should definitely talk to Tom Bowlus about that. He's got all sorts of ideas on that score.

tombowlus · #10 03-19-2011, 08:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrowlerBox

I think you've all missed the point of the OP -- clearly he wants to fill a room with bass cabs, not bass tone!

You should definitely talk to Tom Bowlus about that. He's got all sorts of ideas on that score.

LOL! Yeah, I can fill a room with bass cabs, no problem! In fact, I have filled several rooms to overflowing with bass cabs!

But to address the OP's question more directly, if you want to cover a broad area and maintain a similar tone over as wide an arc as possible, the fEarful cabs are probably the best I have used. Bergantino IPs (the bigger ones: IP212, IP310, IP153) also do a great job in this regard, and they pack all the volume you could possibly need. I did a 2,000+ person outside gig with barely any PA support with an IP310.

I find that all-tube heads and biggish cabs also do a great job in this regard. The SVT stack was made for this, and it still excels (though admittedly, the tonal balance will vary more than with the fEarfuls, but you'll hear bass of some kind almost everywhere). I really like the Sadowsky SA200 driving two 4x10's, too.

In the best bang for the buck, room-filling rig category, I'd have to give a nod to this setup:

AwkwardLoudness · #11 03-19-2011, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tombowlus

In the best bang for the buck, room-filling rig category, I'd have to give a nod to this setup:

Having played a couple Carvin B1500s, I have no argument against this. That amp runs up to 1900 watts at 2Ω if I recall correctly and I've seen prices in the $300 to $500 in the Classifieds here at TB. I haven't looked inside one, but I think the B1500 a hybrid with tube pre-amp.

fEarful 15/6 + 12/6: probably $300 to $400 for each cab depending on the options (minus tools and, if any, outsourced labor on the build).

That stack is a whole lotta loud for the approximate $1,000 to $1,400 range.

tombowlus · #12 03-19-2011, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AwkwardLoudness

Having played a couple Carvin B1500s, I have no argument against this. That amp runs up to 1900 watts at 2Ω if I recall correctly and I've seen prices in the $300 to $500 in the Classifieds here at TB. I haven't looked inside one, but I think the B1500 a hybrid with tube pre-amp.

fEarful 15/6 + 12/6: probably $300 to $400 for each cab depending on the options (minus tools and, if any, outsourced labor on the build).

That stack is a whole lotta loud for the approximate $1,000 to $1,400 range.

The B1500 is all solid state (class-A preamp). The newer (lighter) Carvin B2000 has a tube in the preamp.

But that B1500 sounds phenomenal, in addition to being brutally powerful.

Rockmusician · #13 03-19-2011, 08:43 PM

I have been using a GK 410 RBH with a 115RBH for about 8 years. Nobody has ever complained that they couldn't hear me.

Foz · #14 03-19-2011, 09:58 PM

Ah.. the old 1512/66+2 trick.

BurningSkies · #15 03-19-2011, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foz

Ah.. the old 1512/66+2 trick.

I tried to talk Greenboy into a 15151210/66/3/1 cab, but he wouldn't go for it. I told him it would be a room filler.

dhomer · #16 03-20-2011, 08:26 AM

I accomplished that by building a BFM O15TB. Mine's configured for a pair of 12's, because I had Delta 12LFA's on hand. I don't have to compete w/Marshall stacks, but if I did I would think inserting a pair of 3012LF's would be more than enough.. It's also a bit more portable than a 1515/66... I learned a long time ago, you ain't gonna find what you want in the music store, and if you do it'll be way too expensive..

wcriley · #17 03-20-2011, 08:41 AM

I can bury any drummer with 450 (potential) watts into a single fEARful 12/6.
If the guitars are louder than that, no one can possibly hear the drummer and it's time to turn down.

Foz · #18 03-20-2011, 08:55 AM

Quote:

It's also a bit more portable than a 1515/66

Ever ported one? Its pretty easy, just tilt and go. I find mine easier haul than my 15/6.

BurningSkies · #19 03-20-2011, 09:20 AM

Would it be a good time to point out that 'room filling' isn't necessarily about volume? Its a tonal and presence thang too.

Fer instance, I had (have) a Schroeder 1212 that I used as a single cab for a year or two. It was certainly screamin' loud. BUT it couldn't fill the room from out front. I ended up with a HT115 beneath it for a few years to help do that job, even though it wasn't nearly as loud as the Schroeder. But out in the room, my sound was definitely much bigger yet without the volume. The fEARfuls are about 3 steps beyond that.

edervjo · #20 03-20-2011, 11:42 AM

EV speakers are a must, 2x15s will fill any room. Maybe some 2x10's for punch. Then get a big amp, like a Crest or an older Crown, something with a huge power supply in it, avoid the QSCs and other "liteweight efficiency" amps. It's all about reserve power and a minimum of efficient cabs.