GK NEO 212 vs. others

[jazzbass1967]

i got sick of lugging my berg 610 cab from club to club every weekend and ended up buying a gk neo 212. it's not bad. i'd have kept the berg if i were touring or had a house gig.

now, i knew i'd be trading some tone for some portability. the gk is light, affordable and most of the time i'm pretty happy with it. are there any other cabs you could recommend that would might be a little better than the gk but still be portable and affordable?

thanks!

[scottfeldstein]

I know Aguilar, Markbass, Avatar and TC Electronic all make 2x12 cabs, but I haven't tried them myself. I went with the GK Neo because it has a good reputation here for being light and loud. Plus some of the others can get pretty pricey.

If I couldn't afford the TCE cabs and I didn't want to go GK for some reason, I'd look into the Avatars.

[Slowgypsy]

You're asking a rather broad and general question. What is it about the GK Neo 212 that you feel is lacking? What qualities do you wish it had to make it something better?

[SteveHeissner]

IMO, the short answer is no. I have two of those GK NEO 212's. Also have an Avatar 210, two 410's, and used to have an Avatar 212. If the portability and tone are good enough why mess around with somethig else that may or may not be an improvement? As the saying goes, "don't mess with success". Or "if it aint broke why fix it?" If I'm only taking one cab, I either take one of the GK 212's or one of the Avatar 410's. Now, if I had a Berg 610 in the past, my standards might be a bit higher. :-)

[jazzbass1967]

Originally Posted by SteveHeissner

If the portability and tone are good enough why mess around with somethig else that may or may not be an improvement? As the saying goes, "don't mess with success". Or "if it aint broke why fix it?"

Good point. I did a gig Friday night. The house cab was an Ampeg 610. I gotta say- it sounded like crap compared to my old Berg 610 and wasn't that much (if any) better than my GK212.

[tombowlus]

IME/IMHO, the GK Neo212-II is right up there among the best sounding/performing 2x12's that I have played. Two cabs which I thought were arguably better are the Glockenklang Double and the Berg AE212, but it's worth noting that they both cost a lot more than the GK. This is of course a very subjective question, though, so YMMV.

[bassvi]

if you are able to go $899, the Genz Benz Neo212xt is a very portable great sounding cab, they come up used once in awhile in the classifieds too.. You might also look at the SWR Marcus Miller 4x10, which may offer some of the sealed goodness of your NV610 in a lower weight option-

[MysticMichael]

Originally Posted by jazzbass1967

are there any other cabs you could recommend that would might be a little better than the gk but still be portable and affordable?

Once again with the issue of subjectivity...

It's all subjective - until you define your terms...

MM

[shoot-r]

Originally Posted by jazzbass1967

i got sick of lugging my berg 610 cab from club to club every weekend and ended up buying a gk neo 212. it's not bad. i'd have kept the berg if i were touring or had a house gig.

now, i knew i'd be trading some tone for some portability. the gk is light, affordable and most of the time i'm pretty happy with it. are there any other cabs you could recommend that would might be a little better than the gk but still be portable and affordable?

thanks!

Since you like what the Berg 610 did for you maybe the Berg 212 would be worth your lookin' at.
It'll be more expensive than most commerically built 212's but it may cure your gas over the long haul!

[jazzbass1967]

Originally Posted by shoot-r

Since you like what the Berg 610 did for you maybe the Berg 212 would be worth your lookin' at.
It'll be more expensive than most commerically built 212's but it may cure your gas over the long haul!

good call. i may just consider that.

i've not really had any experience with genz benz. i've always had good luck with eden cabs and wouldn't mind trying their 212. as far as 410's are concerned, it's pretty hard to beat an old swr goliath but i'm pretty sold on the idea that 12's provide more low end. people keep telling me about ebs but i've not had a chance to try them out.

i prefer the more big, round vintage voiced cabs more so than the hi-fi stuff. the berg def fit the bill. i notice the aguilar 212 is 15lbs heavier than the berg 212. the gk i have is about 5lbs lighter than the berg.

[jazzbass1967]

i think i'll put the GK up for sale. $350. Local pickup only.

[Joe Nerve]

I've got a berg 610 and a gk212. unlike you however i had the gk first. thankfully kept it, so I have both. only use the gk for the smallest gigs. after getting used to the berg it's going to be hard to be happy with anything else. imo of course. I've come to also believe there is no small light cabinet that I'm gong to be happy with. i've yet to meet a neo that made me smile.

[Tunaman]

GK NEO 212s on Amazon for $399 on sale right now boys!

[tallboybass]

Since you like sealed cabs with 10's, you might think about the GK MBE410....it's a sealed cab, handles 800 watts, weighs 41 lbs.

[335guy]

Originally Posted by Tunaman

GK NEO 212s on Amazon for $399 on sale right now boys!

Yeah, I picked up one of those GK NEO 212's and got to try it out last night. It appears pretty well built and solid. I really cranked it and no rattles. It handles the low mids, mids and highs very well. The only thing I noticed is it seems a little shy in the deep bass dept. The specs say it goes to something like 52 Hz. so I miss the lower bass that a 4 x 10 has. But I do NOT need the extra weight of the 4 x 10. The 212 is heavy and bulky enough. And what sorta sucks, is that it didn't have rubber feet; just the cups for the casters, but no casters !!! Where do I get casters for it ? Also, I know many say if one wants to add another cab to their rig, they should choose the same type. But the reason I would want to add another cab is to get those lower frequences. IF I added a 4 x 10, would that pose a problem ? Or would I get any lower freq. by coupling a pair of NEO 212's together ?

[scottfeldstein]

Originally Posted by 335guy

Where do I get casters for it ?

Directly from GK's web site.

Originally Posted by 335guy

Also, I know many say if one wants to add another cab to their rig, they should choose the same type. But the reason I would want to add another cab is to get those lower frequences. IF I added a 4 x 10, would that pose a problem ? Or would I get any lower freq. by coupling a pair of NEO 212's together ?

It might and it might not. But you'd only be able to send the 4x10 the volume and EQ that the 2x12 can handle--nothing beyond. The signal is evenly divided between the cabs. If you can't send 100db of 50hz to the 2x12, you won't be able to send it to the 4x10 either.

That's not to say that you might not get a little extra something out of it, both frequency- and volume-wise. But not what you'd get out of having a matched pair. In your scenario, one cab is outmatching--but still limited by--the other.

I say get a second 2x12.

[rodneyat]

Originally Posted by Tunaman

GK NEO 212s on Amazon for $399 on sale right now boys!

Are we all on the same page here...the one on sale is the 212 MBE. The MBE series is the super lightweight series. The Standard Neo series is different. A bit heavier, a bit more expensive...and sound better, IME.

[scottfeldstein]

Yeah, but the Neo 212-II was indeed on sale for under $400 for a brief time. Nowadays it's back up to around $550. I wish I hadn't been broke during that period.

[bass4u]

Last week I played a club and used a friend of mine's pair of GK Neo 212 II cabs with my Gk MB500 head and a P bass. The show had a number of bands playing all using different bass rigs.

This was not a quiet gig by any means, everyone played loud! So.... I did too. The GK setup put out some serious stage volume and I had to keep the bass knob at 10 0'clock or it became Dub bass.

The guy who owns the GK cabs uses a Genz Benz head (?). He REALLY liked the way My GK head sounded with his cabs and asked if he could use my head for his band's set, I said sure.

He's getting a GK MB500 this weekend........

I've had ALL types of bass heads/pre-amps/amps/cabinets and to me, the GK Neo 212 II is an excellent sounding cabinet. I believe the subtle tonal difference's between manufacturer's cabinets in a live situation, the audience or you will not be able to distinguish that. Just my take.

[jeff7bass]

Check out this 212 cab, if you dare...

Cottrell's 1212/6/1 -