'bout to buy a new cab for my 69 v4. vintage 810 or 610hlf?

reciteadnauseam · #1 07-01-2010, 09:04 PM

hi there,

help me out, please! i am a fairly new bass player, so i don't know much about tonal differences between vintage/modern ampeg and ported/sealed cabinets. my band has been playing for a little over five years, and i was the guitarist for the first four, roughly... but after a lineup change last year, i've been playing bass. my current rig is our singer's beater peavey T40 (i don't know what year, i'm sorry) > fuzz factory > vintage rat > boss delay > 69 v4 (not B) into a ported ampeg 410 (not sure of exact model number or speakers... again, sorry). we all love noisy 80s-90s indie bands and that is primarily what we write. i have the v4 set for light breakup, the rat for light distortion and a warm bassy tone, and the fuzz factory for biting, trebly fuzz... together, the rat darkens that up a bit and gives me some serious growl... and of course i still play bass like a guitarist.

so. i/we like the way this sounds a lot, but i have to give the borrowed bass cab back tomorrow. my options for a quick used replacement are 1) a very clean, newish svt 610hlf for $500 or 2) a late 70's / early 80's svt 810 for $450... 2 original speakers (i don't know about the others, but i can't imagine anything subpar, as it was owned by a studio), tolex gone, painted with truck bed liner paint... added rails and kick plate. i generally love vintage sounds, and most of my guitar amps span the 1965-1975 era, but i have no clue for bass. our old bass player used a newer svt 810, and we pretty much despised it for its weight and absurd volume. also, the peavey bass is crushingly heavy. i figured i'd replace it with an mij or mia p-bass sooner or later. i would love to hear that the 610 is what i want for this sound, for that reason alone, but you all will know much better than i what's a good buy. i'm going to go play out of the 610 / maybe buy it tomorrow afternoon, so any advice is appreciated. thanks!

Govier966 · #2 07-01-2010, 09:08 PM

a sealed cab seems like it would go better with the sound but it seems that the 8x10 is over the top. you should try and find out what the replacement speakers are in the 8x10's

rbonner · #3 07-01-2010, 09:22 PM

Yeah NoS***, beat the heck for $450 bucks? I have one that looks like it just walked out the back door of GC I'd let go for not much more than that.

BOB

reciteadnauseam · #4 07-01-2010, 09:51 PM

so this isn't some exceptionally desireable era for these cabs in terms of construction? speakers are a pretty moot point with only 2 originals i guess, but i'll know in a bit what's in there. i really just want the convenience of the 610, assuming it sounds good. touring with an 810 was the absolute worst. we had to carry that thing down a super steep flight of stairs once and it was terrifying.

i can't imagine it'd be that different than what i'm using since both are ported. so is that a good used price for the 610, even? i never see them being sold locally.

reciteadnauseam · #5 07-01-2010, 10:14 PM

"The replacements are from ampeg directly and are the replacement 32 ohm speakers for that cabinet."

joeydavidson · #6 07-02-2010, 07:33 AM

The 610hlf sounds fantastic with grit, fuzz or distortion, I don't ususally use the word fantastic very often either, it's hard to explain why it sounds good with distortion, maybe just the way it's tuned.. it will sound a bit more pillowy in the low end than the sealed 810 though.

coreyfyfe · #7 07-02-2010, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reciteadnauseam

"The replacements are from ampeg directly and are the replacement 32 ohm speakers for that cabinet."

If they're modern replacements I'm less inclined to say the 8x10, but I think I would still take a sealed/tweeter-less cab over a ported/tweeter cab. The problem with the modern cabs (IMO) is the speakers used, so if that's what you have as replacements it's not really preferable IMO. The construction hasn't changed much since they went to the tilt-back design in the mid-'70s. The 610HLF with a V4 is still pretty damn loud, though. I did use that for a while but I ended up switching to a sealed 4x10 then to a 72 square-back ampeg 8x10. FWIW the 6x10 is a lot easier to move and can be moved by one person. The side handles make it easy to carry up/down stairs on your own and much easier to get into a car if you have to lay it down.

coreyfyfe · #8 07-02-2010, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeydavidson

The 610hlf sounds fantastic with grit, fuzz or distortion, I don't ususally use the word fantastic very often either, it's hard to explain why it sounds good with distortion, maybe just the way it's tuned.. it will sound a bit more pillowy in the low end than the sealed 810 though.

I didn't like the of my 610HLF with distortion. I always turned the tweeter way down because it sounded really harsh when using an overdriven sound but since it has a cross-over I felt like by turning the tweeter off I was losing the natural attenuation I'd get on the high end. Maybe I was just hearing with my brain and not my ears considering that the crossover point was 5K and those eminence speakers are probably putting out next to nothing at that point, but that's how I felt it sounded.

craig.p · #9 07-02-2010, 09:14 AM

If you're going to be using only a 100-watt head, then I think efficiency should be the watchword -- unless the band isn't that loud to begin with. I had lousy luck running a V4B into an SVT cab in the mid '70s. It ran much better for me into more-efficient reflex cabs. Others swear by the V4B/810 combination.

nysbob · #10 07-02-2010, 09:18 AM

I run mine with one or two 15"s... never much cared for any of those 10" ampeg cabs.

Spinal Tapper · #11 07-02-2010, 09:19 AM

I always like to find an opportunity to post this pic - this was my old setup...I vote Orange 15" - no tweeter, sounds great with FX, and has super punchy lows...

BassmanPaul · #12 07-02-2010, 10:39 AM

My immediate thought is what is the impedance of the 6x10? Many of them are an odd ball impedance (5.33Ω) which is fine for a SS amp but can't be matched to a tube amp so well.

Paul

johnk_10 · #13 07-02-2010, 10:46 AM

the 610HLF is 4 ohms, but i think that my vintage V4's and V4B sound better thru my 810 (no tweeter and a sealed cab).

reciteadnauseam · #14 07-02-2010, 03:44 PM

i got the 610. sounded great when i tried it, but i'll know for sure after practice tonight. it might not be the ideal setup, but i needed something to play through for the next little bit at least. thanks for all your help, guys!

blockinlay · #15 07-02-2010, 03:53 PM

I would have said keep looking for another 410. Good luck with the 610

reciteadnauseam · #16 07-02-2010, 04:08 PM

keep looking for another 410 because the 610 is inefficient with the v4? i really like the size of the 610 over either 4 OR 8 10s. the 410 was ported, so i can't imagine too much of a tonal difference between the two. shrug.

blockinlay · #17 07-03-2010, 05:05 AM

The 610 will probably work fine. I just bought a compact 410 with neos and really like it. My amp's are different though. I only said 410 because it's smaller, it worked, and you are used to it. Not familiar with the V4. There's so many opinions on head and cabs being combined to know what works. It's good to try new things and gain experience. Good luck with it.

joeydavidson · #18 07-03-2010, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coreyfyfe

I didn't like the of my 610HLF with distortion. I always turned the tweeter way down because it sounded really harsh when using an overdriven sound but since it has a cross-over I felt like by turning the tweeter off I was losing the natural attenuation I'd get on the high end. Maybe I was just hearing with my brain and not my ears considering that the crossover point was 5K and those eminence speakers are probably putting out next to nothing at that point, but that's how I felt it sounded.

It's been a while since I've used distortion but if I remember correctly I had the tweeter almost turned off and I was using a Vt Bass pedal which already has a roll off of the highs I think.

I tend to use less highs for the distorted tone and try to get the low mids/bass to smoothly break up/buzz, I never got the same vibe from my sealed 810 but I've never used the 810 with my band yet so it could be better but not played solo.