Need help with a 410 decision..

[SR505bassman]

Imagine that you had decided to get a 410, your budget was $300, and the weight of the cab was not an issue. You would be running an Ampeg PF 500 cab. All three are available within your budget. I'm going to pull the trigger on one of these soon, but not sure which one to choose.

Which of the following cabs would you choose and why?

1. Ampeg SVT 410he

Amazon.com: Ampeg SVT-410HE Classic Series 4x10 Bass Enclosure: Musical Instruments

2. Peavey 410TXF

peavey 410txf - 410 bass cabinet | eBay


3. Avatar B410 with the ceramic magnets

Avatar Speakers

Thanks!

[jthurston]

From that list, I'm inclined toward the Peavey. I've always been able to coax more power and a louder feel from a Peavey, in a dollar-for-dollar comparison. I love Ampeg's tone (ALWAYS), but I can't always afford Ampeg.
I don't currently play through a Peavey cab, but I've never had any problems with them.



Might also want to consider a Fender Rumble 410 cab:

Fender Rumble 4x10 Bass Guitar Amplifier Cabinet at AmericanMusical.com

They go for about $300 and can handle 1000 watts at 4ohms. I've been gigging on mine for about a year with literally zero issues.

[tdub0199]

Musicians Friend has the GK MBE 410 for $299.00

[stiles72]

If I only had $300, I'd scour Ebay, Craigslist, and Music Go Round and find a good used Ampeg 410HE or HLF - dependign on what your flavor is. The HE is sealed and will give you a tighter sound, the HLF is ported and puts out a deeper low end. Different strokes for different folks. I've seen good used Ampeg 410's go for around $300, some even less. Either way they should work well with your PF500.

[meatwad]

I voted for the Ampeg because I've rocked their cabs for over twenty years, and love them. For a short while though, I did use a Peavey 410TX with decent results, as long as I didn't try to play very loud or use too much power. It struck me as quite "hi-fi" sounding, and could have been my new favorite cab, but IME a GK400RB was too much for it.

[bassgrooves2]

The only one of those cabinets I have tried was the Ampeg HE. It didn't really cut the mustard to me, but I was looking for a particular sound. I ultimately found a decent buy on a used SWR Goliath III, which has been my absolute favorite 410 cabinet ever since. Having said that I would be surprised if you could find a used Goliath for 300 bucks. Mine was around 500. My second favorite 410 THAT I HAVE OWNED was the Carvin BR 410. I was impressed with this cab being that it was so inexpensive, but it gave me the closet results to the SWR. Also i recommend you try to find something that is 4 OHM, so you get the most from your amp as well. My SWR is the 8 OHM version, so it takes a bit of power to push.

[AlexanderB]

No Avatar speakers in Sweden so no feedback on those.
However, the SVT-410HE and Peavey TXF do not have much in common, sound- or designwise, in my opinion. As stated the 410HE is sealed, not much deep bass and needs some power to "wake up". Being an 8 Ohm cabinet, it also calls for a bigger amp to get a certain power out of the amp compared to 4 Ohm designs.
The Peavey is more modern sounding IMHO - more lows, clearer mids and top.

[SR505bassman]

Wow - thanks for all the great feedback so far - any other thoughts? Great food for thought on this so far.

To this point, it looks like the Ampeg is pulling ahead in the poll, but that might also be due to the number of people who have had experience with it compared to the others.

Is the 300 watts at 8 ohms from the PF 500 enough to "wake up" the Ampeg? What do people think?

Thanks!

[SR505bassman]

Thanks to all who have voted so far. Looks like the Ampeg is still the most popular vote, but the Avatar is not far behind.

[sad_katz]

Definitely the svt 410he. It's got that classic ampeg tone.

Edit:
Any cab can make sound even with 1 watt of power.

[gjbassist]

I'm confused. You list your budget as $300 but two of your choices listed are well over that unless you have found them used around $300. If that is the case then of those you listed I would say Ampeg. You might also look at the Carvin BRX cabinets. I have seen them sell used in the $300 range.

[SR505bassman]

I have found all three within my budget price. I just put in the listings for people to see which cabs I was referring to.

Thanks!

[SR505bassman]

Originally Posted by gjbassist

I'm confused. You list your budget as $300 but two of your choices listed are well over that unless you have found them used around $300. If that is the case then of those you listed I would say Ampeg. You might also look at the Carvin BRX cabinets. I have seen them sell used in the $300 range.

Would you choose the Carvin BRX over the others listed then?

[gjbassist]

The Carvin would be my second choice after the Ampeg cabinet.

[fenderslaper]

"The only one of those cabinets I have tried was the Ampeg HE. It didn't really cut the mustard to me, but I was looking for a particular sound. I ultimately found a decent buy on a used SWR Goliath III, which has been my absolute favorite 410 cabinet ever since. Having said that I would be surprised if you could find a used Goliath for 300 bucks. Mine was around 500."

I got a Goliath III on craigslist for $225.00 and got a Goliath II off ebay for $106.00, that was local pickup only. Both in great shape. My favorite cabs.

[SR505bassman]

"I got a Goliath III on craigslist for $225.00 and got a Goliath II off ebay for $106.00, that was local pickup only. Both in great shape. My favorite cabs."


Nice deals! Nice to know it might be out there. How would you characterize the tones of the two cabs you got?

Thanks!

[BurningSkies]

My choice would be a ported 4x10.

[SR505bassman]

Originally Posted by fenderslaper

"The only one of those cabinets I have tried was the Ampeg HE. It didn't really cut the mustard to me, but I was looking for a particular sound. I ultimately found a decent buy on a used SWR Goliath III, which has been my absolute favorite 410 cabinet ever since. Having said that I would be surprised if you could find a used Goliath for 300 bucks. Mine was around 500."

I got a Goliath III on craigslist for $225.00 and got a Goliath II off ebay for $106.00, that was local pickup only. Both in great shape. My favorite cabs.

In doing some reading on TB re the Goliath (II and III), some seem to be of the opinion that you really need a head that puts out at least 500w at 8 ohms to drive these cabs well. Has that been your experience?

[Jim Carr]

A 350 watt SWR pro Chromeface drove my goliath II just fine.

[chadds]

Originally Posted by Jim Carr

A 350 watt SWR pro Chromeface drove my goliath II just fine.

In my opinion that works, tried it, but the more watts the better. Those cabs will give a wider frequency response cleanly the more watts they get.