Cover Musician's All Purpose Cabs

[Solitarely]

Hi. I've been gigging extensively as a covering bassist, mostly in one group with a very varried repertoire. I've used one of those coffin sized ampeg 8x10 forever. And I admit it gives a great all-purpose response and generally does all types of bass well. My amp is excellent at handling varriety at the click of a footswitch or worse case the turning of a knob in between songs, being a M9 carbine mesa. But I'm craving more and my cab is pretty beat too.

I'm wondering if I can have the best of all bass types. I want the super low feel of say regea or some pop tunes with a 15'' or bigger. But I also want the stop on a dime precision and clarity while slapping some flea, claypool, or playing some more midrange gritty punk of the multiple 10s.

Can I have the best of both by using a 1x15 and 4x10s with my M9 carbine? How best to go about this? And since I make money from gigging so much and work full time...I'm not too squimish about cost. What are the best single speaker large cabs and 4x10 cabs? I dream that this will give me an ideal set-up. I try to avoid running thru PAs as much as possible since I'm a control freak. There are only a few venues I've played where size makes this impossible. So with that said, basically I'm looking for the best all around sound for a varriety of bass styles even in the same set.

Thanks for reading!

[CL400Peavey]

IMHO the best of all worlds is the fEARful and fEARless lines. My 1515/66/1 will kick an 810 or 410+115 to the curb in volume, low end extension, high end extension, mid presence. On top of that its lighter, and smaller.

[Gearhead17]

CL400Peavey - He does have a point! But here is what I found to be true in my experiences.

I am in a cover band too and have several different sounds to cover.

First off, don’t let speaker sizes give you the impression one is better than the other for certain sounds. I used to think the same thing, now I realize, it’s the enclosure and how the company designs it to sound. You need to try out the cab with your gear and make the decision based on that.
The 410/15 argument has been done to death on here. Two identical cabinets are the best choice for maximum volume and for tone. The 410 almost always goes louder than the 15 – your 15 will give up before your 410 will. 15’s do not automatically put out more low end than a 410 – it’s all about the enclosure and what it was engineered to do.

At bigger venues, I suggest you run through the PA. I understand the “control freak” ideas with bass players (I used to be like that), but commercial bass gear does NOT cut it in many environments – especially loud rock bands – to fill the stage AND the room. Some venues though, your stage gear will fill the room – it’s all based on the acoustics of venues.
The Mesa Powerhouse 410’s would match up well with your M9. Two 8 ohm 410’s would be the way to go. PA Support gigs – you could use just one. Those are versatile cabs – I treaded on two of those for over a year.

Another versatile cab are the DNA cabs – I like them a lot since they can growl, have plenty of low end, and great midrange response. There is not a clean tone those cabs can not reproduce. I use two 210’s, and mostly one for shows. PA Support for 95% of the gigs I do. Two 210’s have been plenty loud for small bars an no PA support.

Good luck

[Solitarely]

Sounds perfect. Anybody carry em in retail so I can check one out in store?

[Edit: this was in response to CL400Peavey]

[KJung]

If you want a bit of the tone and feel of the fridge cab in a much smaller and higher quality cab that matches up great with the M9, check out the Bergantino HD410. Great match to handle but yet tighten up the huge low end of the 9 (just like you heard with your big 810), great midrange response, and a very organic sounding tweeter. Relatively small and light as far as ceramic driver 410's go.


If you want to unleash the HUGE low end capability of the M9, the best match-up I've heard with that particular amp is one of the fEARful executions, which have a very powerful 'sub woofer' type driver for the lows (just hammers) and a mid driver to take care of the top end. It would be a very different experience than the tight, mid warm punch of that 810, but if you are looking for dub type low end, that is the real deal, especially with the low end of the M9, which has vitually no hi passing (i.e., extends super deep). A single 15/6 would probably take care of your needs.

[bassgod0dmw]

Originally Posted by Solitarely

Sounds perfect. Anybody carry em in retail so I can check one out in store?

[Edit: this was in response to CL400Peavey]

They aren't a retail cab, you need to either build it yourself or have someone build it for you.

[CL400Peavey]

Originally Posted by KJung

If you want a bit of the tone and feel of the fridge cab in a much smaller and higher quality cab that matches up great with the M9, check out the Bergantino HD410. Great match to handle but yet tighten up the huge low end of the 9 (just like you heard with your big 810), great midrange response, and a very organic sounding tweeter. Relatively small and light as far as ceramic driver 410's go.


If you want to unleash the HUGE low end capability of the M9, the best match-up I've heard with that particular amp is one of the fEARful executions, which have a very powerful 'sub woofer' type driver for the lows (just hammers) and a mid driver to take care of the top end. It would be a very different experience than the tight, mid warm punch of that 810, but if you are looking for dub type low end, that is the real deal, especially with the low end of the M9, which has vitually no hi passing (i.e., extends super deep). A single 15/6 would probably take care of your needs.

+1

Depending on the prefered voicing of the cab, there are a lot of great options that wont break your back.

I will say this, the M9 with my 15/6 was stupid loud. Like all the GC staff circling the bass alcove going, "How the Eff is all that, coming from THAT cab?" The 15/6 isnt a "small" cab, it is a smaller foot print than a 410, but a tad taller. They can come in at a crazy low weight though depending on the materials selected to build them.

[Solitarely]

Hmmm, I'm a fairly skeptical dude. As awesome as those cabinets sound, I can't help wonder that if they do sound so good why aren't they in stores or catalogues? If researched this forum for answers and found if I want to utilize this mixture of two different sized cabs I'd have to use a crossover to avoid phase issues. How audible is phase so caused. Can't environmental reverberations and echoes, reflections, etc. cause worse phasing than the sound source? If there is phasing without cross over but it's effects are neglible to the environment then maybe it shouldn't matter.

I can't help nut drool over and want that fearless 1515/66/1 beast looking face mealting, de-bowling box of pure evil. I'd love it to cover some dance, house, techno...

[Solitarely]

Lol *but drool
Not nut drool...

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Solitarely

Hmmm, I'm a fairly skeptical dude. As awesome as those cabinets sound, I can't help wonder that if they do sound so good why aren't they in stores or catalogues? If researched this forum for answers and found if I want to utilize this mixture of two different sized cabs I'd have to use a crossover to avoid phase issues. How audible is phase so caused. Can't environmental reverberations and echoes, reflections, etc. cause worse phasing than the sound source? If there is phasing without cross over but it's effects are neglible to the environment then maybe it shouldn't matter.

I can't help nut drool over and want that fearless 1515/66/1 beast looking face mealting, de-bowling box of pure evil. I'd love it to cover some dance, house, techno...

They are small production 'custom cabs', which started out as a DIY sort of project for those with woodworking skills. Now, there are a number of builders who will use the plans to build a very high quality version of these cabs.

Bergantino is similar in that it is a small company with limited distributions. Great stuff also.

The fEARful 15/65 is a very nice match with the M9 if you want it BIG sounding down low, and bright up top (just like the M9!). You can add a 15 sub for the biggest gigs if you really need a lot of volume, or just go with the 1515/66 to begin with.

I find the M9 a picky head regarding optimum cab pairing. You either have to have a high quality cab like the Berg HD410 that can control and voice that huge low end and very crisp top end into something that is warm and punchy, or IMO you need a cab like the fEARful 15/ that can actually reproduce the extremely deep response of that head at high volumes and handle the massive wump coming out of that thing.

[CL400Peavey]

Originally Posted by bassgod0dmw

They aren't a retail cab, you need to either build it yourself or have someone build it for you.

You are right on that point. Thankfully most fEARful users are more than willing to accommodate others trying their cab. In fact there is a map of users, so its fairly easy to locate who is closest to you.

Originally Posted by Solitarely

Hmmm, I'm a fairly skeptical dude. As awesome as those cabinets sound, I can't help wonder that if they do sound so good why aren't they in stores or catalogues?

IMHO they are an amazing sounding cab. Tere is a map of users at the bottom of this page. As I said above we jump at the possibility of letting others try our cabs.

Originally Posted by Solitarely

If researched this forum for answers and found if I want to utilize this mixture of two different sized cabs I'd have to use a crossover to avoid phase issues. How audible is phase so caused. Can't environmental reverberations and echoes, reflections, etc. cause worse phasing than the sound source? If there is phasing without cross over but it's effects are neglible to the environment then maybe it shouldn't matter.

Part of what makes the fEARful designs work as they do is the internal passive cross over. This means you send a full range signal to the cab via your amp, and the cross over splits the signal. No extra equipment needed.

Originally Posted by Solitarely

I can't help nut drool over and want that fearless 1515/66/1 beast looking face mealting, de-bowling box of pure evil. I'd love it to cover some dance, house, techno...

The 1515/66/1 is a monster. Smaller/lighter than an 810, and will get louder. For a lot of peoples volume needs a 15/6, 1212/6, two alpha 12/6's, or a 12/6+12sub are more than sufficient. Also greenboy's newer fEARless line takes things to a slightly different place. Similar performance to the fEARful's in the drop A and above region, but they are smaller and lighter than the original fEARful line. The difference is the fEARful plans are free, and the fEARless cabs are only offered through greenboy's Authorized builders.

[Baird6869]

Originally Posted by KJung

If you want a bit of the tone and feel of the fridge cab in a much smaller and higher quality cab that matches up great with the M9, check out the Bergantino HD410. Great match to handle but yet tighten up the huge low end of the 9 (just like you heard with your big 810), great midrange response, and a very organic sounding tweeter. Relatively small and light as far as ceramic driver 410's.

+1.

Maybe a little different sound profile, but I love my 2 Berg AE210s. One for small gigs and 2 for large rooms. They are light (neo) and loud.

I no longer own my M9, but I have owned 2 and after trying a variety of cabs, I liked the AE210s the best followed by Berg HS410 and the HD410. The Powerhouse 410 is a nice cab also, but really heavy and bulky.

I have no real experience with fEARful.

[RDUB]

Lots of good advice. I go from rock gigs to jazz trio to slap to theatre stuff. I've recently gone to a much smaller amp for most situations, but I've gotten years of use out of two Eden 210XST's. One for small gigs, two for bigger stages, and you can carry them one at a time and save your back.

[will33]

If you want a sort of "blank slate, do anything" cab that can carry large rooms, I'd have to second the notion of a fEARful or maybe Baer/Barefaced type mid loaded cab. Your M9 has enough juice and eq/tone options to sort of "bend it into shape" tone-wise. The dual 12" woofer models might suit you, though the 15" loaded ones are monsters.

There are a few commercial offerings that work quite nice for the varying styles you play in a cover band, but, when it comes to the LF capabilities needed to fill a large room with the likes of reggae, and some of this poop...woops...pop and techo/rap stuff that has big LF, the choices can narrow considerably. My concern there is how the kick drum or electronic tracks are amplified and have a bass rig with enough true LF capability to really interfere with a house subwoofer system.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by Baird6869

+1.

Maybe a little different sound profile, but I love my 2 Berg AE210s. One for small gigs and 2 for large rooms. They are light (neo) and loud.

I no longer own my M9, but I have owned 2 and after trying a variety of cabs, I liked the AE210s the best followed by Berg HS410 and the HD410. The Powerhouse 410 is a nice cab also, but really heavy and bulky.

I have no real experience with fEARful.

+1 The AE410 (or 2 x 210) sounds great also, as does the HS. However, they are no longer in production, so I focused on the HD410, which has much similarity to the HS410, and more low mid heft than the AE410.

+1 also on the Mesa 410... smokin' good cab, but just HUGE and heavy compared to the Berg.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by will33

If you want a sort of "blank slate, do anything" cab that can carry large rooms, I'd have to second the notion of a fEARful or maybe Baer/Barefaced type mid loaded cab. Your M9 has enough juice and eq/tone options to sort of "bend it into shape" tone-wise. The dual 12" woofer models might suit you, though the 15" loaded ones are monsters.

There are a few commercial offerings that work quite nice for the varying styles you play in a cover band, but, when it comes to the LF capabilities needed to fill a large room with the likes of reggae, and some of this poop...woops...pop and techo/rap stuff that has big LF, the choices can narrow considerably. My concern there is how the kick drum or electronic tracks are amplified and have a bass rig with enough true LF capability to really interfere with a house subwoofer system.

Better again not to describe the fEARful or the Baer as 'blank slate'. They are very different sounding from each other, and neither is particularly 'flat' within its range to my ear, nor on the plots that I've seen. Given the pretty 'extreme' voicing of the M9, sort of a moot point anyway, since the 'system' would in no way be neutral/flat.

That being said, Baer has a new 1212/66 out that should be amazing. That is worth the OP looking at also. Kind of splits the difference between my Bergantino HD410 and fEARful 15/6 recommendation.... bigger down low than the HD410 and with a bit better upper midrange spread, butalso punchier in the low end than the fEARful with an (IMO) much more organic, smooth 'top of the driver' upper midrange tonality..

That would be a GOOD choice with the M9 also!

[will33]

"Blank slate" may not be the ideal term...agreed, nothing truly is. Maybe call them "wide range" or something. Basically reproduce whatever a bass does and you "sculpt" it from there. They have a "voice", yes, but not so voiced as something like a sealed 810 with no tweeter for example.

[Solitarely]

How does mesa's powerhouse 1000 compare to these? It's got 4x10s 1x15 and a horn with selectable crossover.

[CL400Peavey]

Originally Posted by Solitarely

How does mesa's powerhouse 1000 compare to these? It's got 4x10s 1x15 and a horn with selectable crossover.

IMHO its trash.

Its a 410 run in parallel with a 115, in the same cab, no cross over, no engineering. Probably one of the worst sounding cabs Mesa has ever made. It weighs a ton too.

[KJung]

Originally Posted by will33

"Blank slate" may not be the ideal term...agreed, nothing truly is. Maybe call them "wide range" or something. Basically reproduce whatever a bass does and you "sculpt" it from there. They have a "voice", yes, but not so voiced as something like a sealed 810 with no tweeter for example.

+1 all the way. Very wide range, and you are correct, more 'even' than many cabs.