Bass cab and head

BASS_SHREDDER24 · #1 04-08-2012, 07:58 AM

Hey ive been playing bass for about 5 years and im about to start playing gigs with a band and i was wondering what kind of cab or head you would recomend....i want one that will last me a lomg time and is pretty good

adamnitti · #2 04-09-2012, 09:24 PM

hi bass shredder!

welcome to the forum. there are lots of great choices out there, but i personally use aguilar amplifiers and really love the way they sound and perform. they manufacture quite a large variety of different types of heads and cabinets, so depending on what your budget is, you would have several models to choose from. my favorite head/cabinet combination is their db750 head coupled with a db410 cabinet... power and headroom for days, a very musical preamp section with fantastic eq, and a nice blend of some of my favorite aspects of both old school and modern tones. really fantastic gear. i'm sure others will chime in with some of their favorite choices, but i personally really love the aguilar sound.

BASS_SHREDDER24 · #3 04-09-2012, 09:58 PM

Thanks for replying and thanks thats very helpful

countrybass007 · #4 04-09-2012, 10:20 PM

Orange and Phil Jones are my two favorites. Orange for vintage tone and PJB for a more modern sound. But, Ampeg, Eden, and Mesa Boogie all make good bass amps. It becomes a matter of personal preference, so hopefully you'll be able to try a few different brands to find your favorite. And
, of course, your budget figures into the grand scheme.

dsanders · #5 05-19-2012, 10:48 PM

+1 on the DB750 and DB410 combo. I was using a much larger rig to get the presence and overall feel I needed to play confidently. On a friends recommendation I picked up the 750 and a 4ohm DB410. The range of tone from this amp and the power of the rig as a whole is more than I ever need. This past summer I used it for our festival rounds and club gigs here in town. It never failed to give me everything I needed.

Evolver · #6 05-19-2012, 11:02 PM

I'm curious about the Aguliar amp/cab combinations as well. So, would you both prefer the db750 over the db751? Thanks for the comments!

adamnitti · #7 05-20-2012, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evolver

I'm curious about the Aguliar amp/cab combinations as well. So, would you both prefer the db750 over the db751? Thanks for the comments!

a few random observations: the db751 seems to have even more headroom than the 750, and with a slight tweak of the tone knobs can just about duplicate the tone of the 750, as well. also fwiw, the tone knobs on the 751 have a much wider 'span' of tonal control than the 750's. in other words, it's a more usable eq section. i wouldn't say i like one better than the other... they both sound fantastic and have lots of grunt. run through 2 4x10 cabs, it's pretty monstrous.

dsanders · #8 05-20-2012, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evolver

I'm curious about the Aguliar amp/cab combinations as well. So, would you both prefer the db750 over the db751? Thanks for the comments!

I prefer the lower mid EQ and look of the 750 to the 751.

Evolver · #9 05-20-2012, 11:03 PM

Thanks for the comments! One other question... I have a Berg AE410 which I think would match up well with the 750/751 from what I've read. If I wanted to run two 4x10 cabs, would a 4x10 Aguliar cab work well in combination with the Berg or should I have the same two cabs (either Berg or Aguliar)? Thanks again for the input - much appreciated!

dsanders · #10 05-21-2012, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Evolver

Thanks for the comments! One other question... I have a Berg AE410 which I think would match up well with the 750/751 from what I've read. If I wanted to run two 4x10 cabs, would a 4x10 Aguliar cab work well in combination with the Berg or should I have the same two cabs (either Berg or Aguliar)? Thanks again for the input - much appreciated!

The only way to know how the pairing would work would be to try it. The general conscious though is to not mix and match.

adamnitti · #11 05-21-2012, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsanders

The only way to know how the pairing would work would be to try it. The general conscious though is to not mix and match.

I agree. Gotta hear it in person if at all possible!

Evolver · #12 05-21-2012, 10:36 PM

Thanks again for the comments! I've only had the opportunity to try a DB751 (or 750?) once with, if I remember correctly, a GS410 and I think a 15" Aguilar - together and separately ( I assume it must've been the DB115 since I don't see a GS series 15" cab). Should have bought them all then - best sound I've heard yet and now I'm not sure what it was (and the store closed...). Ah well, I don't think I can go wrong with any of the choices - just might take longer to get there...

Bassman7PM · #13 06-05-2012, 08:15 AM

Hey Adam, was there a particular reason you choose the DB410 instead of the GS410? I know it's about personal taste, just curious? I've had the opportunity to try the GS410 and have owned a GS212 and think very highly of Aguilar gear.

adamnitti · #14 06-06-2012, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassman7PM

Hey Adam, was there a particular reason you choose the DB410 instead of the GS410? I know it's about personal taste, just curious? I've had the opportunity to try the GS410 and have owned a GS212 and think very highly of Aguilar gear.

bassman, i just liked the sound of the db410 a tiny bit better for what i was going for. to my ears it's a little more even reproduction of the frequency range across the board, whereas the GS hit my ears as having a tiny 'bump' in the low end with a very small scoop in the mids... the GS sounds great too, but the DB seemed to be more compatible with the sounds of my main instruments.

Blankandson · #15 05-17-2013, 09:42 AM

Hi Adam. I'm not new to the TB forum but new to your forum. I find that the bass I get in my new Avalon is very close to what I'd like to get on-stage. Speakers are naturally all only 2" or 6" I'm guessing, but the bass is awesome. Just a few questions on how to get that tight punchy bass on-stage; would a sealed cab get me closer to that sound than ported? Would smaller (high quality) speakers work better than larger ones (ie; 4x5, 2x10 as opposed to 2X15)? I play both large rooms and tiny coffee shops but would like one rig. I think the PJB would work in small to medium rooms. Would a PJB powered ext. speaker give me what I'd need in a larger room (w/PA support)? Flats vs. rounds? (I play a '94 Fortress One 5er. Thanks for any help.

adamnitti · #16 05-17-2013, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blankandson

Hi Adam. I'm not new to the TB forum but new to your forum. I find that the bass I get in my new Avalon is very close to what I'd like to get on-stage. Speakers are naturally all only 2" or 6" I'm guessing, but the bass is awesome. Just a few questions on how to get that tight punchy bass on-stage; would a sealed cab get me closer to that sound than ported? Would smaller (high quality) speakers work better than larger ones (ie; 4x5, 2x10 as opposed to 2X15)? I play both large rooms and tiny coffee shops but would like one rig. I think the PJB would work in small to medium rooms. Would a PJB powered ext. speaker give me what I'd need in a larger room (w/PA support)? Flats vs. rounds? (I play a '94 Fortress One 5er. Thanks for any help.

hi, and welcome to the forum!

in my experience, (keep in mind everyone's results may vary here...) for what you're describing i've gotten the best results from using a larger number of smaller speakers. i've been a fan of 4x10 cabinets for a long time, as the ones i've played through seem to do a great job at delivering fast transients and attacks while still maintaining plenty of low end information. the aguilar db410's i'm using now are rear-ported, fwiw, and definitely are not lacking in any areas of the spectrum to my ears, especially since they have a really nice-sounding horn that can be attenuated. i've also more recently become a huge fan of 12" speakers, and currently have 2 aguilar db112 cabinets and 2 aguilar sl112s, as well. not all 12" speakers and cabinets are created equal of course, but to my ears my db112s are some of the best-sounding full range cabinets i've ever heard. they are really accurate and don't lose their punch or clarity as you crank them up. in louder settings you would want to stack more of them together, but they sound fantastic on their own. porting does have a huge effect on the frequency response of speaker cabinets, but i couldn't tell you the physics behind it. front vs. rear porting from my understanding and experience is really only a concern based on where the cabinet is going to be placed (i.e. directly in front of/close to a wall, on or off its wheels, etc, etc.). however, folks with more knowledge on acoustics and physics could give you a MUCH better explanation than i could.

for me personally, if i had to have just one cabinet to use in different settings, i'd use a 4x10 or a 2x12, but once again, different manufacturers' designs behave and perform in different ways. bottom line is you really won't know _exactly_ how a cab meets your needs until you try it on the gig. hope that helps somewhat.