I'm currently cab-less, and until I move some basses I can't pony up any money for a new one. I've used a fFearful 12/6 as well as a nearful 15/6 in the past and I adore them. In addition to bass tone I found they work great for playing recorded music through, a huge benefit for me.
Unfortunately, no one is offering to trade me FF for my basses, but someone has offered me a Bag End stack: S15d and an S15XD to be exact. Now, I know they won't match my beloved 15/6 in every respect, but what can I expect from them in comparison? Streamliner 900, Epi EB-0 clone in EADG with Chromes, no super loud or dub reggae stuff.
That is a classic stack. The 'x' model has a beautiful sounding coax tweeter. It has no attenuator control, and can be a bit much with a single cab, but stacking with the non-x model is just perfect.
I owned a fEARful 15/6 for a short while and have played many versions of cabs with the LF subwoofer and various mid drivers, so very familiar with that. I gigged that particular Bag stack for years back in the day. Classic, if a bit heavy (around 50 pounds per cab).
Very different sounding cabs. The Bags will be more efficient (louder per watt), much warmer, meaning that the more full range driver has some very nice break-up characteristics. These particular Bag's emphasize the lower midrange and don't extend nearly as low and the FF's (which I personally find a positive, but others of course prefer a bit more low end at the expense of warm midrange punch and definition). The FF will be brighter in the 2K region, but not nearly as sweet up top (the Bag end tweeter and crossover is beautifully warm sounding).
While port location in general doesn't make a difference, the particular design of those particular Bag End rear ports (big hole cut right behind the driver) does make these cabs a bit more sensitive to placement than most others.
You will find the Bag's much more 'articulate' due to the much higher mid mid versus deep bass voicing... lots of 'space between the notes'. This is especially the case if you are gigging the Streamliner, which is mid relaxed and low end 'big'. The Bag End voicing is a wonderful yin yang with that head, and will really give you a sort of 'sealed cab' vintage vibe, versus the much wider, more mid polite FF voicing. Absolutely GREAT match-up with the Streamliner for slotting an old school 'tube and flatwound' tone in a mix.
No amount of knob twisting will make either cab sound like the other. Very different response, voicing, and distortion characteristics. I greatly prefer the Bag Ends myself, but of course, the FF also 'does what it is designed to do' if you like that more 'PA cab' type experience.
IMO and a lot of IME!
Edit: Per the OP, if you 'adore' the FF cabs, you will most likely not dig the Bag Ends much. Totally opposite end of the voicing continuum.
