Cab for Mesa 400(not +)

[crapshack]

Have an old Mesa Bass 400 (6 x 6550).

Orig. my dream was to find an Aguilar GS412 and be set. Always wanted that deep bass I've always heard out of that cab.

After spending a good long while talking to the owner of a reputable bass dealer - I fear he has talked me out of my dreamcab.

Argument: was that tube amps do much better with sealed enclosures as there is less cone movement thus less need for the amp to pull the cone back faster, which in the case of this argument was a tube amp weak point. GS412 being ported don't fit the bill.

He suggested the Berg NV412 or 610's as the are sealed and I could get one for the price of a new GS412. Do they thump low and loud or are they just super hi fi? They look nice, but I've no exp. with them.

I want to be punched in the chest. I want to be able to run some strange filters and not always be worried I am going to destroy my cab. How about a cab that can pound out an 808 kickdrum at full power?

Suggestions? Is this a pipe dream?




ps: no 8x10s

[Caca de Kick]

BS!
Mesa's cabs that accompanied those heads were ported cabs, not sealed. I gig a Bass 400, usually use two cabs, but if I'm forced to only using one cab, then it's the 2x15. Hard punch galore, and the bite, oh my!

[rockstarbassist]

Yeah how is this guy "reputable" bc he's clearly full of BS. Mesa to my knowledge hasn't made even a sealed design and their old Diesel stuff was meant to go with the 400/400+.
The NV610 does punch with that amp (used to have both) but will also be pretty dark if you haven't played one of those designs before.
The GS412 would crush with that amp for sure as well as the DB or Mesa Powerhouse stuff.

As far as the "808" stuff if you want that just go get a powered 218 sub. Trying to reproduce those kind of freqs from a regular bass rig isn't going to be worth it.

[twinfallsbass]

The rule of thumb for a tube amp seems to be the use of sealed cabs. I have a 400+ and it sounded sweet through the ported Mesa Diesel 2x15 and 6x10 I had it pared with. That pairing was in the past, I now have a sealed MarkBassCL108 and my 400+ sounds super sweeeeet through that as well.

[crapshack]

So... You think the GS412 would do alright with this 400 pushing it? Not too slow to suck back all those 12's?

Side question: Is there a term for when the speaker is pushing out and when it's pulling back? Excuse my stupidity!

thanks for info people

[RickenBoogie]

I agree with what's already been said. The Mesa Deisel 215 is an awesome pairing with that head, as are many other cabs. As to the GS412, it would be best to test drive before buying, but that would be true with any cab.