Contemplating Changing My Rig - HELP Please

LostInSauce · #1 02-20-2013, 08:21 AM

Hey All,
I’m currently in a good band with good guys and we’re playing modern rock and metal – Alice in Chains, Slipknot, SOAD, Tool, and such - a lot of detuned stuff. Allow me to say that I’m not having a volume problem. All the guys are great musicians; I have a decent 4X10 rated at 1,000 watts and an amp rated at 500W which has never travelled to “6” on the volume knob.

Here locally, I’ve been seeing a lot of fellow bassists (not just rock/metal guys) playing through cabs consisting of a 15” (or even 18”) and an additional 2X10 on top. I’ve also heard several folks on this forum doing the same.

Assuming everything else being equal (amp wattage, speaker output); does this kind of rig set-up have more pro’s than con’s over a 4X10 cab? Output, clarity, definition, tone?

Thanks so much everybody.

**CL400Peavey** · #2 02-20-2013, 08:27 AM

Only cons. Mixing cabs is a crap shoot. The best addition to an existing cab is a matching one.

That said I would greatly prefer a pair of vertically stacked 115's or a pair of vertically stacked 210's over a standard 410. There are some dispersion pro's to that set up over a 410.

RickenBoogie · #3 02-20-2013, 08:53 AM

+1 it's called "engineering by looks", and it's a trap many bassists fall for, thinking they'll get lows from the bigger spkr, and punch with the smaller ones. Myth. Matched cabs are always the best option.

MrDOS · #4 02-20-2013, 08:55 AM

To be fair, bass players using a proper crossover may be getting benefits with such a rig. But most do not run a setup like this bi-amplified.
If you are not having volume issues, I'd say you are fine as you stand.

LostInSauce · #5 02-20-2013, 08:56 AM

The 2X10 and 15" I've looked at on my own will probably come from the same manufacturer.

**CL400Peavey** · #6 02-20-2013, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrDOS

To be fair, bass players using a proper crossover may be getting benefits with such a rig. But most do not run a setup like this bi-amplified.
If you are not having volume issues, I'd say you are fine as you stand.

There is no benefit to Bi-amping full range cabs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LostInSauce

The 2X10 and 15" I've looked at on my own will probably come from the same manufacturer.

They would still be a mis matched set of cabs. Crap shoot at best, just because they are from the same manufacturer doesnt mean they are engineered to work together or engineered at all for that matter. Matched cabs will be more consistent.

soxhats · #7 02-20-2013, 09:02 AM

My main rig includes a Genz Benz Focus 210 and a 115. I love this combination.

LostInSauce · #8 02-20-2013, 10:23 AM

Oh, so when you say "matched cabs", you mean two 15" cabs or two 12" cabs...an so on, correct?

echoSE7EN · #9 02-20-2013, 10:35 AM

A Mesa PH1000; a single 15" speaker w/ a 4x10 + tweeter design in one cab. It's a heavy beast, but awesome. Output? Check. Clarity? Check. Tone? Too many other variables would come into play, but with a Mesa M6 (this was my old rig) it oozed greatness for rock/hard rock/etc. The weight was the only reason I sold it, and I still miss that set-up.

B-string · #10 02-20-2013, 10:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LostInSauce

Oh, so when you say "matched cabs", you mean two 15" cabs or two 12" cabs...an so on, correct?

Now you are getting the idea.

**CL400Peavey** · #11 02-20-2013, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LostInSauce

Oh, so when you say "matched cabs", you mean two 15" cabs or two 12" cabs...an so on, correct?

Yep

Quote:

Originally Posted by echoSE7EN

A Mesa PH1000; a single 15" speaker w/ a 4x10 + tweeter design in one cab. It's a heavy beast, but awesome. Output? Check. Clarity? Check. Tone? Too many other variables would come into play, but with a Mesa M6 (this was my old rig) it oozed greatness for rock/hard rock/etc. The weight was the only reason I sold it, and I still miss that set-up.

Disagree. Mesa makes some fine cabinets, but that cab (PH1000 and PH1200) is the worst single cab mesa has ever produced. Can someone make it work? sure. That doesnt mean there are not better cabs out there.

RickenBoogie · #12 02-20-2013, 12:03 PM

+1 again. I have a great deal of experience with Powerhouse cabs. Owned many. The PH1200, and the PH1000 before it, are the least impressive sounding of them all. If you A/B between the PH1200 vs. a PH 610, it's obvious. Of all the BIG cabs Mesa currently makes, the 810, 610, 412, and 215 are all "tops", with the 1200 far behind any of them.