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Aguilar 2x8 cab "Little Jack"

MR PC

MR PC

Inactive
Dec 1, 2007
3,816
431
#1
Has anyone tried, or heard the new 2x8 cab from Aguilar?

I've been using 2 GS112's for years now, I'm wondering if the 2x8 would sound more rounded than using one GS112 for smaller venues. I'm not to worried about the fact that the 2x8 weighs a bit more than the 112.

I'm using a WW Ultra for power.
 
#3
I have not heard this cab yet, but I have a 112 combo and I've heard lots of 210's. The 112 combo sounds great, but I do like to hear two speakers vibrating. It sounds more complex and full to my ears. But a 210 cabinet by itself always feels like it's missing that elusive quality known as "oomph." It's got the single 12" beat for tonal complexity but not oomph. So I could be totally wrong about this but I really don't see how a 2x8 can beat a 112 in the oomph department, either. Plus the price is absolutely ridiculous.
 
#6
JimmyM said:
I have not heard this cab yet, but I have a 112 combo and I've heard lots of 210's. The 112 combo sounds great, but I do like to hear two speakers vibrating. It sounds more complex and full to my ears. But a 210 cabinet by itself always feels like it's missing that elusive quality known as "oomph." It's got the single 12" beat for tonal complexity but not oomph. So I could be totally wrong about this but I really don't see how a 2x8 can beat a 112 in the oomph department, either. Plus the price is absolutely ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Yes, this is pretty much my line of thought and experience too. Though I am willing to let the 2x8 have enough oomph. The old Baby Blue I used just didn't have the low end punch I needed to stand up to some drummers, and the box was ackward to transport. The tone was beautiful, especially for fretless instruments. It looks like Jack Casady and Aguilar have tried to remedy this oomph factor by extending the low frequency response of the box.

Yup, it's expensive, and it only comes as 4ohm, but if the oomph matches or beats the single 112, I may need to go for it!
 
#13
A little bump here.....I'm going to guess that Jack Casady would be seeing some direct financial profit from the creation or sales of this product. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I hope that the market for cabs like this is popular enough that another manufacturer can market a similar design with a more reasonable price tag.

I love Jack's musicianship, BTW. This is not an attack on his character either. One of my all time favorite stylists on the bass instrument!
 
#14
MR PC said:
A little bump here.....I'm going to guess that Jack Casady would be seeing some direct financial profit from the creation or sales of this product. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I hope that the market for cabs like this is popular enough that another manufacturer can market a similar design with a more reasonable price tag.

I love Jack's musicianship, BTW. This is not an attack on his character either. One of my all time favorite stylists on the bass instrument!
Click to expand...

When an artist lends their name to a product, it's fair to give them a royalty. Jack doesn't care about that and we have no arrangement in place. He wants to get his sound! In the future I certainly intend to give him a royalty.

Jack uses a variety of Aguilar gear for the Hot Tuna electric sets; but he wanted something smaller and more articulate for the acoustic sets. Jack hung out with me in New York and we tried to figure out exactly what that would be. I didn't want to make a cabinet that would just work for Jack and his Epiphone bass. As we went along, it occured to me that his bass has a lot of acoustic properties, and this same approach could work for anyone who might have to deal with wolf tones.

About a year went by, and we made a bunch of prototypes. Jack tried them when he was in town. None of them sounded good!

Eventually we tried this approach, 2x8" drivers and a 6.5" midrange.
After messing about with it.....

This cabinet is not going to be all things to all people. It's a self-contained system. We made no attempt to have it work with an additional driver(s), or to use two of them together. We tired to optimize it for players who need articulation, control, a fairly flat response, a reasonable amount of volume. The low end is present and natural; but not extended. It sounds great on a P-bass with flats, brings out all the character in the mids, fretless is beautiful, John Patitucci loved it on his upright. Jack, of course, loves it.

There are a lot of other cabinets to buy if you want something else, say extended low end and massive thump.
Could even be a different Aguilar cabinet!

Regarding the price, the drivers were very expensive. Some of the costs go down when the product is smaller; but not all. And every product has costs that may not be obvious. We do what we can to keep prices reasonable.

Hope this is helpful.

Best,

Dave B.


P.S.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!
The GS series cabs are named after my wonderful daughters, Georgia and Stella.
 
#17
You think 2x8 is something, have you seen the Phil Jones stuff? 2x5!! The sound was surprisingly "strong" with lots of mid presence in the guitar store. Actually made me interested to hear their 6x5 cabs to see if the additional speakers would sound like.
 
#19
Aguilar/Dave B. said:
When an artist lends their name to a product, it's fair to give them a royalty. Jack doesn't care about that and we have no arrangement in place. He wants to get his sound! In the future I certainly intend to give him a royalty.

Jack uses a variety of Aguilar gear for the Hot Tuna electric sets; but he wanted something smaller and more articulate for the acoustic sets. Jack hung out with me in New York and we tried to figure out exactly what that would be. I didn't want to make a cabinet that would just work for Jack and his Epiphone bass. As we went along, it occured to me that his bass has a lot of acoustic properties, and this same approach could work for anyone who might have to deal with wolf tones.

About a year went by, and we made a bunch of prototypes. Jack tried them when he was in town. None of them sounded good!

Eventually we tried this approach, 2x8" drivers and a 6.5" midrange.
After messing about with it.....

This cabinet is not going to be all things to all people. It's a self-contained system. We made no attempt to have it work with an additional driver(s), or to use two of them together. We tired to optimize it for players who need articulation, control, a fairly flat response, a reasonable amount of volume. The low end is present and natural; but not extended. It sounds great on a P-bass with flats, brings out all the character in the mids, fretless is beautiful, John Patitucci loved it on his upright. Jack, of course, loves it.

There are a lot of other cabinets to buy if you want something else, say extended low end and massive thump.
Could even be a different Aguilar cabinet!

Regarding the price, the drivers were very expensive. Some of the costs go down when the product is smaller; but not all. And every product has costs that may not be obvious. We do what we can to keep prices reasonable.

Hope this is helpful.

Best,

Dave B.


P.S.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!
The GS series cabs are named after my wonderful daughters, Georgia and Stella.
Click to expand...

Hey Dave,

This is most helpful! I've been trying to get info on this cab for awhile, and this information is what I've hoping to hear. Thank-you so much.

I had called the dealer here in Northern CA yesterday, (I purchased my 2 GS112 cabs from him about 5 years ago) and he told me that he wouldn't be ordering this cab for the shop any time soon, and that I had been the first to even inquire about it. Not sure what that is about, but to me it meant that I wouldn't be able to demo locally, and that he has no confidence in the 2x8 product. Bummer.

This info here gives me the confidence to purchase by mail without worrying to much.

My Aggie one 12's never let me down, just played a outdoor festival today in Fairfax. The sound and flexibility of the Aguilar cabs for the working musician are unparelleled IMHO.

And as usual, Jack Casady has chosen his gear well!
 
#20
I have to chime in here for this cab. I just bought one a couple days ago and so far the honeymoon has been great. Checking it out for upright and electric. It sounds great with both. I've tried it with a GK head and an old Sunn Sceptre. Price-wise it doesn't seem that out of line for what cabs go for these days. A quick search turned up a popular 1x12 selling for $579 and a popular 1X10 selling for $479, both of which have fewer components than the "Little Jack". I'm going to keep updating the review as I get to try the cab with drums and such. Right off the bat, I was impressed with how the bass response comes across. It's not rumbling bass, but very clear and defined without being sterile. It's weird, kinda vintage leaning, but modern at the same time. In another review, I compared the cab to Phil Lesh's early 70's recorded tone, but it could be something I ate. I like that you can orient the cab vertically or horizonally. I've never had a cab with the mid-range attenuator, it's very cool and can pretty drastically alter the voice of the cab. Responds well to eq changes. The weight almost scared me off of this cab. It does balance well, the handle is offset a little to allow you to carry it without beating yourself to death while walking. I don't think it would be a good solo cab for loud rock, but that's what they make 8x10's and 4x12's and 2x15's for....All IMHO, Of course YMMV
 

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