Treble from a Bergantino NV610?

[WestOfBen]

I like a growly in your face tone and downtune from time to time. Well, I have other basses for down down-tuning. My main bass though I use for harmonically rich sounds. Think TOOLesque plus others.

How does the Bergie NV610 handle the upper reaches? My current cab is a 4x10 with a 5" mid-high and that carries lots of nice top end. It just can't quite do the low and mids properly. Good but not deep or clear enough (I realise deep and clear can be argued to be mutually exclusive and the terms are highly subjective).

For example, if you ran an NV610 beside a tweetered cab with similar overall tone, would the NV610 be seriously lacking?

I run a GK 700RB-II, most of the tone controls are set flat. Shaping is at 12 o'clock. Slight treble boost, slight high-mid boost. Grind Boost at 12 o'clock. On my main bass (with Bart MMC and MMX and preamp) I run a slight high-mid boost and vary the treble from flat to maybe 1/4 boost.

If I am liking this sound with my current cab then really all I will need to do is boost the upper end further if using an NV610?

[Mo'Phat]

If you like the hiss, plink, and zing of a horn or tweeter, then you will probably miss it with the NV610.

However, many bassists are perfectly fine with hearing up to the 4.5khz that cab's frequency response is listed at. You will hear harmonics, zing, and fret clank just fine.

[JimmyM]

+1.

[rodl2005]

I can honestly say I never missed the horn on a NV610. It handles top end just fine... but as stated if you DO want the "hiss, plink, and zing of a horn or tweeter" then you WILL want a cab with one.
The beauty of the NV610- IMO - is, that it cos the vibe of an old Ampeg 810 superbly, has HUGE amount of PUNCH & clarity WITHOUT sounding sterile -(modern?? :-) ALL in the relatively easy transportable size & shape & weight.
The ONLY reason I got rid of MY NV610 was that I had/have a NV215 that with it's 'bloom' of the 2x15"s- it's still punchy as all heck-

but that punch is a bit lower- in the nether-regions rather than in the chest(a'la NV610) & the 6" mid driver makes it even more suitable for my style of stuff, soul, funk etc.

I did describe the sound of the NV610 < Ampeg all tube V4BH or SVTII, many times as being like explosions going off. It does! The NV215 doesn't. I miss this, but with all the NV215 does, I'm happy!

[Rick Brienzo]

Don't know about the NV610 exactly but I quit using (fighting) tweeterd cabs years ago and it's the best thing I have ever done. You can actually juice up the high end a little and it will remain musical.

For me the problem with tweets was, I would turn up my high end a little to get some high/mid bite and they would just get harsh. So I would turn down the tweet to get rid of the harshness and lose that bite I was looking for when I turned my high end up in the first place.

I wish cabinet manufactures would put a crossover bypass switch on cabs!

[rodl2005]

Originally Posted by Rick Brienzo

I wish cabinet manufactures would put a crossover bypass switch on cabs!

+10000

[WestOfBen]

Thanks guys!

Might I be better off with an AE410 in that case?

I will be playing in STD, CGCF (maybe CFBbEb) and my fretless is BEAD. I'd be hoping the AE410 can carry down that low.

[Mo'Phat]

While the AE410 is a sweet cabinet, don't think the NV610 is lacking in ANY department. It does highs, lows and mids just fine. It is one of the most musical cabinets I ever owned and am sorry I sold it. (I sold everything about 5 years back and only recently got back into the game)

[Fuzzbass]

I mostly play hard rock with a bright aggressive sound, and the NV610 is my favorite cab, period. IMO, the only players who should absolutely avoid it are slappers (and others) who need ultra-high sibilance ("plink"). The NV610 has plenty of treble for me, and remains musical when I dial in overdrive: it's bright and gritty without being harsh and buzzy on top.

I have tweetered cabs, too: a pair of HS210, and a pair of HT112ER, but the NV610 gets nearly all my gig time. I bring the smaller cabs to smaller gigs (sometimes!)

[FunkyFrosty]

Its not glassy, instead classy, its how treble should sound mine was also outlived by his stable mate the NV215 however, can't believe the 215 was discontinued