Help me cut-through!

[Kippa-Dee]

Hi all,

I'm currently running a couple of Warwick basses (Corvette $$ tuned to Drop C and a Rockbass 5 string [with Seymour Duncan preamp so it sounds a bit nicer!]) through an SWR 750x head (pre Fender, so doesn't have the footswitch and effects).

Until around a year ago I was running through an SWR 8X10 and this was always plenty.
I'm now running through a Warwick Neo 411. They're great cabinets - very, very light, a pleasure to move around after the 8X10, but I'm finding I'm running out of breath pretty quickly.

I guess a large part of it is running an amp capable of 750W at 4ohm into a 1200W/4ohm cabinet, to running into an 800W/8ohm cabinet.

My guitarist is now running with a Blackstar Series One 200 - 200W into a Mesa Boogie cabinet, and the drummer is using a kit that is so unpleasantly loud you have to wear ear-plugs even when he's playing GENTLY.
Needless to say, an ultra-light 4X10 isn't cutting the mustard. I can run it quite hot (i.e. both gain and power sections turned up to around 8), but I've always been a firm believer in having headroom and not pushing you gear to it's utter limits.

Hear on the island down-under (Australia), the damn matching 15" cabinet made with the same Neo speakers is non-existent. I've been watching eBay, local forums and the like for months and no joy whatsoever. Now it's discontinued through Warwick, I'll have even less of a chance.

Can anyone suggest a 15" cabinet that'll pair up nicely with the 4X10? Or is it simply a case of 'any 15" will do'? I just wish there was a way to 'trick' the cabinet into running at 4Ohm so I could squeeze out more volume, or run my head hotter. Is it so bad to just have the volume turned up to maximum?

It's so frustrating having such nice tone, but not having the same volume.

Many thanks in advance,
Joel

[Stumbo]

Build a couple of these:
fEARful part nine (9)

[Passinwind]

Just get another cab like the one you already have.

[Kippa-Dee]

passinwind - I'd love to, but they're damn difficult to find, and at that even at a reasonable price! Will it still give me the depth I want?

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by Kippa-Dee

passinwind - I'd love to, but they're damn difficult to find, and at that even at a reasonable price! Will it still give me the depth I want?

More so than adding a 115, more than likely. The cabs would reinforce gracefully, rather than maybe trying to fight each other, as often happens with dissimilar drivers. And you'd then have the possibility of one cab at a primary rehearsal space, and one elsewhere, opening up a few more options. I realize you have a tough time sourcing gear down there -- best of luck!

[Sartori]

Get another cab like the one you have.

And don't scoop out your mids.

[KsPiNeSh]

If you're determined to get another cab, definitely get a twin for the cab you already have - no 15. Regarding the cutting, I used to tune A-C-G-C-F and tackled the same challenge... you may have luck not boosting bass and focusing on working the mids to find your tone. IME the $$ basses are a bit muddy inherently, so boosting bass while tuned down that much will turn you to mud. Also, IMO and IME the 750 is a thin-sounding amp, so if you decide to change something you may want to go to try a different amp as well, maybe one with some more mid-character inherent in its voicing.

[lazyone2]

With your amp, cut the bass a tad and boost the mids. Also keep the tone suck dial turned all the way down. More volume? Add another of the same cab. 4x10 will not be as loud as 8x10.

[Winnb]

1. Tell everyone else to turn down.

2. Find another band.

3. Or keep going down the road you're on and go deaf.

[RickenBoogie]

+1 to all the posts that say: skip the 115 cab, get another 410, preferrably, just like the one you already have. Your volume issues are mostly due to using half the spkrs, not the lowered wattage.

[greenboy]

Cutting through sucks. Floating the band like a cork on high seas rules! ; }

Seriously the whole "turn whatever mids you actually have control over" thing works in some situations but it's just as likely to start an avalanche of problems, stepping all over vocalists and masking the guitarists so they in turn decided to crank their rigs more.

Sometimes the key is selective smart EQing, addressing SPECIFIC mids and lower mids - and being able to present lower frequencies without either booming or running out of LF extension so danged early. That space isn't so contested and it says BASS is here: run for shelter, puny earthlings!

[deeptubes]

The SWR 8x10, was it a Workinman's Tower? If so, why would you get rid of THAT? I play mostly a Precision Elite II through a GK 1001 RB-II, pushing a Workingman's Tower. I can get any tone out of that setup, and it will rattle your bones. Me likey!