I did something really stupid today.

[FarkusSWR]

I have been on the hunt for a lighter-weight 4-ohm 4x10 to simplify both set-up and transport. But today, I went to a local music store and plugged into a Mesa M6 Carbine that was, in turn, plugged into a Mesa PH 610.
OH MY
Now to be honest, I have not played through a lot of high-end stuff. ( Goliath III/750X & Eden D410XLT/GK800 is about the extent of it ). But that was, quite simply, the best sounding amp that I have ever played on. It is utter, absolute overkill for what I need but holy crap it sounds good.
I think I am going to go this route even though it is 1) more than I initially wanted to spend, and 2) really freaking heavy. But hey, I did cut back to one cab
Anybody else buy anything lately knowing full well it was more than you needed, but the tone overwhelmed your common sense?

[brendanbassist]

Kinda. I've bought a lot of heavy gear, and it sounds great, but now I want to get a "gig rig" thats nice and portable.

[pvriesinga]

I made the mistake of picking up a used MIA fender fretless jazz bass at my local store... I wasn't really a big fan of fender until i played that particular one, now I need it! Starting to save my monies.

[Gearhead17]

I thought NEO cabs were the answer for me, not by a long shot. Loved the weight, hated the tone. Then I played the new Mesa 410 and was blown away. The heck with the weight! The tone is there and I agree - very much overkill, but who cares? I can always turn it down!

[rpsands]

Get the PH410. The 610 is boss, but not worth the extra weight in my opinion. They sound pretty similar.

If I had to pick a rig I could live with for the rest of my bass playing days, the PH410 with M6 would be on the list.

[ErnieD]

local dude CL listed a HLF 410, I had one years ago. I now have a few NEO cabs and the schlep is so easy. But I've read how folks here love thier HLF410 and I know I really liked mine back in the day. Tho I was much younger and with a stronger back.

Last week, I got a reprieve when the dude emailed to say he heard a bad driver in the cab so he was holding off selling it to order a new driver. Well he emailed me today; a new driver will be here Monday and the cab should be ready to go again. It will cost me $25 bucks more now but the price was already nice, I felt, at under 3 bills. So I talked myself out of this heavy mother of a cab when he emailed me of the bad driver. I felt, WHEW! that was close I almost bit on that anchor. I don't need it but I wanted it.

Well, after he contacted me today, offering me first shot before he posts it for sale again, its' back in my bloodstream to get this cab. Guess I can just slide it into/out of my SUV like I now load/unload my almost as heavy 410XLT. We'll see how it goes. I'm sorta dying to try it with my LMII.

[georgestrings]

I've played thru most every quality cab on the market at one time or another, and for the typical hard rock/modern rock/metal gigs I mostly play, the 2 best cabs I've ever played were the PH 610 and PH 412 - besides the PH 810, which is more cab than even I need... Other killer cabs for that sort of thing are SWR's Goliath Sr and Megoliath...

Here's my PH 610:




I like it enough that I'll probably recover it sometime in the near future - I'm thinking bergundy python would look good against that silver Mesa grill... I'm definitely keeping it, though - and that's with a mid-70s SVT810 that mostly stays home because the PH 610 flat out crushes it...



- georgestrings

[georgestrings]

Originally Posted by rpsands

Get the PH410. The 610 is boss, but not worth the extra weight in my opinion. They sound pretty similar.

If I had to pick a rig I could live with for the rest of my bass playing days, the PH410 with M6 would be on the list.

I respectfully disagree - I've gigged with both, and I can never hear myself as well with the PH 410, since it's mainly firing at my knees... I *probably* play in louder bands than you do, though - but for *my* purposes, the 610 is well worth the extra weight...


- georgestrings

[georgestrings]

Originally Posted by ErnieD

local dude CL listed a HLF 410, I had one years ago. I now have a few NEO cabs and the schlep is so easy. But I've read how folks here love thier HLF410 and I know I really liked mine back in the day. Tho I was much younger and with a stronger back.

Last week, I got a reprieve when the dude emailed to say he heard a bad driver in the cab so he was holding off selling it to order a new driver. Well he emailed me today; a new driver will be here Monday and the cab should be ready to go again. It will cost me $25 bucks more now but the price was already nice, I felt, at under 3 bills. So I talked myself out of this heavy mother of a cab when he emailed me of the bad driver. I felt, WHEW! that was close I almost bit on that anchor. I don't need it but I wanted it.

Well, after he contacted me today, offering me first shot before he posts it for sale again, its' back in my bloodstream to get this cab. Guess I can just slide it into/out of my SUV like I now load/unload my almost as heavy 410XLT. We'll see how it goes. I'm sorta dying to try it with my LMII.

I dunno - my SVT-410HLF was only around 85lbs - which I didn't think was bad at all...


- georgestrings

[mikeddd]

Originally Posted by FarkusSWR

Anybody else buy anything lately knowing full well it was more than you needed, but the tone overwhelmed your common sense?

Well, more than the tone overwhelming my senses it was the good deal that did the dirty work.

I run a pre/power setup. Shuttle 6.0 is my pre and I have been using a single channel of a QSC GX5 (500w PC @ 8 ohms) to power my single 8-ohm 212 cab. It's been working great. However, I've always not-so-secretly lusted after the PLX3602 poweramp that another TBer used in his pre/power setup. The PLX3602 does 725 WPC @ 8 ohms. At lower ohm loads it makes so much power that it melts the power wires feeding your house. Bridged mono @ 4 ohms is 3,600 watts...assuming the house wiring can even support that and/or you have a wall of 8x10 thirsty cabs. I'll never run it bridged, obviously. The PLX3602 is also seriously expensive...unless you are buying it used from a TBer who gives you a deal so deliciously good on this 1-year old monster of a lightweight amp that you'd be a complete moron to pass it up. I, Sir, am no moron. Broke now, yes, but no moron.

I bought it. By mid-fall timeframe I will have added an 8-ohm 210 cab to go with the 212. Ah, 1,400 watts should power those two cabs just dandy. Or completely blow them to smithereens...nothing in-between. This also allows me to return the GX5 to my mini-PA rack and my PA back to full functionality.

So yeah, I fit your question TO_A_TEE, my friend.

[ErnieD]

I dunno - my SVT-410HLF was only around 85lbs - which I didn't think was bad at all...by gs

Well I coulda swore I read on MF or somewhere that this cab is more like 110lbs(?) Is there a SVT and another model HLF possibly, seller says its about 4-5 yrs old, has 1/4" & speakon, towel bar, two rear casters. He posted a sample pic of what looks like a Ampeg ad showing what looks like a SVT-410HLF, black grill,etc.

When I asked him he replied that yeah, it was about 100LBS. I think my 410xlt is like 98lbs or so, so yeah the HLF is doable and I prolly won't take it out as much as my GB neo cabs but I just thought it'd be cool to use in my TX blues/rock band when I gig with them.

Wonder what made him blow a driver? When I had mine years ago, I blew a different driver twice running it with GK1001RBI trying to keep up with very,very loud guitard. Guess I just need to go see it then I'll decide. Sorry if I'm derailing abit OP.

[MikeBass]

Originally Posted by Gearhead17

I thought NEO cabs were the answer for me, not by a long shot. Loved the weight, hated the tone. Then I played the new Mesa 410 and was blown away. The heck with the weight! The tone is there and I agree - very much overkill, but who cares? I can always turn it down!

I love comments like that....makes me giggle.

Neo magnets have NOTHING to do with the tone.
It's the tuning of the speaker and cab that influences that.

I'd bet a whole lot of money if someone didn't tell you what cab had neo speakers you would have no idea which was which.
Now, you may prefer the tone of a cab over another all day long. But as for the neo factor, make no difference.

I've bounced back and forth between what I need and what I like (like usually wins!!! )

Did I really need a second 6 string? Hell no. But I got it for a good price and hell, why not right!! LOL!

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by MikeBass

Neo magnets have NOTHING to do with the tone.
It's the tuning of the speaker and cab that influences that.

I'd bet a whole lot of money if someone didn't tell you what cab had neo speakers you would have no idea which was which.
Now, you may prefer the tone of a cab over another all day long. But as for the neo factor, make no difference.

in theory this is correct. but nobody makes neos with similar response to most common ceramic speakers. why? because they're not interested. they're interested in doing things with neo that were never possible with ceramic. someone wrote on here that they asked anthony at eminence why they don't do that and that was his point blank answer...they're not interested in that. and that leads to comments like the ones where people say they like ceramics over neos.

[MikeBass]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

in theory this is correct. but nobody makes neos with similar response to most common ceramic speakers. why? because they're not interested. they're interested in doing things with neo that were never possible with ceramic. someone wrote on here that they asked anthony at eminence why they don't do that and that was his point blank answer...they're not interested in that. and that leads to comments like the ones where people say they like ceramics over neos.

I understand that. And I also read that another reason is that there are guys that are just point blank ceramic "sounds" better.

To me it's like saying my Jazz BAss sounded like that because I have plastic knobs and not metal ones......

[BassistFreak416]

i had about the same experience first time i played the m6 carbine. first time it was hooked up to a 4x10. next time i saw it, it was to a 2x12 and a 1x15 if im not mistaken. either way, that head is AMAZING. headroom, clear, flexible, loved it.

[EighthNotes]

Originally Posted by FarkusSWR

I have been on the hunt for a lighter-weight 4-ohm 4x10 to simplify both set-up and transport. But today, I went to a local music store and plugged into a Mesa M6 Carbine that was, in turn, plugged into a Mesa PH 610.
OH MY
Now to be honest, I have not played through a lot of high-end stuff. ( Goliath III/750X & Eden D410XLT/GK800 is about the extent of it ). But that was, quite simply, the best sounding amp that I have ever played on. It is utter, absolute overkill for what I need but holy crap it sounds good.
I think I am going to go this route even though it is 1) more than I initially wanted to spend, and 2) really freaking heavy. But hey, I did cut back to one cab
Anybody else buy anything lately knowing full well it was more than you needed, but the tone overwhelmed your common sense?

I did exactly the same thing. The M6 will be mine in the coming months.

[tony_clifton]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

in theory this is correct. but nobody makes neos with similar response to most common ceramic speakers. why? because they're not interested. they're interested in doing things with neo that were never possible with ceramic. someone wrote on here that they asked anthony at eminence why they don't do that and that was his point blank answer...they're not interested in that. and that leads to comments like the ones where people say they like ceramics over neos.

What are those things that were never possible with ceramic and why are speaker manufacturers not interested in creating a regular speaker design with a neo magnet? What kind of difference is there between neo and ceramic regarding response?

Just asking - I thought neodymium is a metal that is way more magnetic - thus reducing the amount of heavy materials needed to have the same magnetic flux.
I thought it would have been possible to just replace the original magnet with a neo magnet of the same size and flux/inductance (?) but half the weight?

[Mr. Foxen]

Originally Posted by tony_clifton

I thought it would have been possible to just replace the original magnet with a neo magnet of the same size and flux/inductance (?) but half the weight?

It is possible, but there were design compromises that had to be made with ceramic magnets, that they no longer have to make. As a company interested in making the best speakers possible, they chose to no longer make compromises. If you want to see making speakers not as good as they could be on purpose, see guitar speakers, where they are extremely coloured, and not intended for anything other than guitar (bass speakers are generally also for PA).

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by tony_clifton

What are those things that were never possible with ceramic and why are speaker manufacturers not interested in creating a regular speaker design with a neo magnet? What kind of difference is there between neo and ceramic regarding response?

Just asking - I thought neodymium is a metal that is way more magnetic - thus reducing the amount of heavy materials needed to have the same magnetic flux.
I thought it would have been possible to just replace the original magnet with a neo magnet of the same size and flux/inductance (?) but half the weight?

you can get huge amounts of xmax (cone travel) and air movement with neos, and that's what they seem to be interested in doing with them.

[mikeddd]

How did this thread about pure self-indulgence dillute into a thread about the scientific properties of certain magnetic materials? OH WAIT...this is TalkBass....sorry, I forgot.