A little background: I have been obsessed with powered cabs, since I first heard and played through my Dad's Acoustic Control Corp. 360 setup. If he wanted to be louder, he just connected another cab. Conversely, if he wanted to be quieter. The things weighed a ton, though. But the basic premise was there. All he had to do was plug things in, dial in a sound, and go. So when he got me my first gear in Christmas of '93 (yeah I'm young)--a Zoom 506 and a bass combo, I immediately bypassed the combo's pre and went into the effects return. I did the same thing the following Christmas when I got a Crate 2X12 GX series amp and a Zoom 505.
Now I'm mostly an adult, and I've gotten both rigs down to one with a Carvin LSx1503A. I still have and occasionally use the Zoom 50X series and have found that, as old as they are, they give me the sound and more importantly, the output to properly drive the LSx1503A.
I think powered cabs present the best option for budding electronic musicians to bridge from the bedroom to gigging. Especially, if they already have a multi-FX box, an active bass (don't see many active eGuitars anymore), or a small practice amp with a headphone or line out jack. This way they can take their time learning about impedance, watts, etc. while still being able to gig, without worrying about that stuff. Plug and play. And with the power amps becoming increasingly smaller as power ratings simultaneously increase, I see this as being the way of the future.
Anyway, I'm starting this list, to help them out. I promise nothing about whether or not these things WILL work for bass, only that they SEEM like they would. It is up to individuals to seek these out at the local shops or wherever and try them out. Only your ears can tell you what will work. That said, here's the list, please feel free to add to it or remark whether or not you KNOW, preferably from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, if these things will work for bass.
Three-way PA Cabs:
Carvin LS1503A
Carvin LS1523A
JBL PRX535
JBL SRX738
Mackie SA1530z
QSC HPR153i
RCF 4PRO4001-A
Three-way Bass Specific Cabs:
Forge AXB2105
Forge AXB4108
Two-way PA Cabs:
Most of these are designed with the idea that subwoofers will handle everything below ~100 Hz and the market is full of 2-way powered cabs and subwoofers, so I'll let others who have more experience fill this area out. Try some, if they work for you, use them.
Barbetta Sona SE32
JBL EON Series
RCF ART310A--the guy who uses this, fokof, doesn't carry a sub, but does rely on the house PA to provide sub 60Hz.
Cerwin-Vega CVA series--looks interesting for multi-instrumentalists or those interested in a modular system.
Yamaha MSR 100 (8" and CD) and MSR 800 (15" sub)--the MSR100's tweet is crossed over to the 8" @ 4kHz, so distortions, etc. would sound pretty good, but you might need two to keep up with the sub.
Meyer Sound CQ-1--Anthony Jackson uses them.
Vocopro is largely a karaoke company, but they have a few PA products, one of which is a not very sensitive (90 dB 1w/1m) 3-way with a 10" or a more sensitive (100 dB) 3-way 8" and a couple of low-powered (200 watts or lower RMS) subwoofers, that would be nice for bass and/or multi-instrumentalists. Fairly inexpensive, too.
Yorkville NX Series
Two-way Bass Cabs:
Roland DB115X
ISP Technologies Bass Vector and Bass Vector PRO
Bergantino IP Series
Uncontained Sound has a range of cabs, in various flavors, all powered.
Single Driver Cabs:
Euphonic Audio Wizzy 12 Extension
Miscellaneous:
Bag End make several cabs in various configurations for various uses. They will place their Minima One amp into almost any of their cabs.
Carvin Stagemate S400--technically a 2-way PA cab, it's battery powered which gives it it's own special place in the list. There's also a passive extension cab.
Now I'm mostly an adult, and I've gotten both rigs down to one with a Carvin LSx1503A. I still have and occasionally use the Zoom 50X series and have found that, as old as they are, they give me the sound and more importantly, the output to properly drive the LSx1503A.
I think powered cabs present the best option for budding electronic musicians to bridge from the bedroom to gigging. Especially, if they already have a multi-FX box, an active bass (don't see many active eGuitars anymore), or a small practice amp with a headphone or line out jack. This way they can take their time learning about impedance, watts, etc. while still being able to gig, without worrying about that stuff. Plug and play. And with the power amps becoming increasingly smaller as power ratings simultaneously increase, I see this as being the way of the future.
Anyway, I'm starting this list, to help them out. I promise nothing about whether or not these things WILL work for bass, only that they SEEM like they would. It is up to individuals to seek these out at the local shops or wherever and try them out. Only your ears can tell you what will work. That said, here's the list, please feel free to add to it or remark whether or not you KNOW, preferably from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, if these things will work for bass.
Three-way PA Cabs:
Carvin LS1503A
Carvin LS1523A
JBL PRX535
JBL SRX738
Mackie SA1530z
QSC HPR153i
RCF 4PRO4001-A
Three-way Bass Specific Cabs:
Forge AXB2105
Forge AXB4108
Two-way PA Cabs:
Most of these are designed with the idea that subwoofers will handle everything below ~100 Hz and the market is full of 2-way powered cabs and subwoofers, so I'll let others who have more experience fill this area out. Try some, if they work for you, use them.
Barbetta Sona SE32
JBL EON Series
RCF ART310A--the guy who uses this, fokof, doesn't carry a sub, but does rely on the house PA to provide sub 60Hz.
Cerwin-Vega CVA series--looks interesting for multi-instrumentalists or those interested in a modular system.
Yamaha MSR 100 (8" and CD) and MSR 800 (15" sub)--the MSR100's tweet is crossed over to the 8" @ 4kHz, so distortions, etc. would sound pretty good, but you might need two to keep up with the sub.
Meyer Sound CQ-1--Anthony Jackson uses them.
Vocopro is largely a karaoke company, but they have a few PA products, one of which is a not very sensitive (90 dB 1w/1m) 3-way with a 10" or a more sensitive (100 dB) 3-way 8" and a couple of low-powered (200 watts or lower RMS) subwoofers, that would be nice for bass and/or multi-instrumentalists. Fairly inexpensive, too.
Yorkville NX Series
Two-way Bass Cabs:
Roland DB115X
ISP Technologies Bass Vector and Bass Vector PRO
Bergantino IP Series
Uncontained Sound has a range of cabs, in various flavors, all powered.
Single Driver Cabs:
Euphonic Audio Wizzy 12 Extension
Miscellaneous:
Bag End make several cabs in various configurations for various uses. They will place their Minima One amp into almost any of their cabs.
Carvin Stagemate S400--technically a 2-way PA cab, it's battery powered which gives it it's own special place in the list. There's also a passive extension cab.
