My older Mesa Diesel 215 is a time-tested bar room brawler. I like its meaty tone and dont mind the weight (its a lot lighter than the two 4x10s I was carting around previously). My only real gripe has been the power handling, which at only 400 watts makes it a little loose at high volume. Also, I wouldnt mind more deep lows and sparkle to enhance my occasional thumps and slaps.
So I came across a NV425 in the TB classifieds and, in a moment of weakness, bought it! It has a 15 and three 10s in a sealed cabinet. It arrived today and I set it up side-by-side with the Mesa to do a taste test in the garage. I used my 71 Precision and 97 Deluxe Jazz (active), both 4stringers tuned down a half-step, wearing roundwounds. Both cabs were powered by my GK 1001RB. I left the master at 10, eq mostly flat, and played with volume, boost, and contour (a little).
The Berg is a couple inches shorter and a couple inches shallower, so I was a little worried about it keeping up. But playing the Precision I quickly got into a finger funk groove yummy sweet sounds that made me want to play. Smooth with a nice balance. Switching to the Mesa whoa this old boy is a lot louder! At the setting I was using with the Berg the Mesa pounded me with low-mids, probably in the 100-250 hz range that give it a huge sound. It also has tremendous cut in the treble (high-mids for you hi-fi guys
). Solo, its a little rough sounding, as any careless fingerwork translates into clank. And pushing up the bass eq or volume too far translates into two 15 farts! 
You wont hear a cab like this on the smooth jazz station but it sure cuts nicely in a rock or blues setting. 
Back to the Berg - cranked up the volume switched to the Jazz. Its much smoother and handles more power. With master at 10 and the volume at 5 it got damn loud without farting.
It sounds a bit deeper than the Mesa (surprising considering the smaller size of the cab). Or is that just that the low mids of the Mesa dominate so much? Hard to tell but the slap sound is better on the Berg - mainly due to less clank and clutter in the mids. Niether cab does a whole lot below 40 hz. Tuning down to a low C sharp (as low as I go) got me mostly overtones out of both cabs, maybe a little deeper with the Berg, moving more air with the Mesa. Counter-intuitively, the two 15s of the Mesas rival (or surpass) the Bergs in treble output. Those EVM 15Ls really rip. For all-out rock, which I dont do much of anymore, the Mesa might have a better tone. With the 400 watt drivers I would bet on it.
Out of curiosity I played with the EQ trying to get the Berg to sound like the Mesa but it wouldnt. They are too different in the low-mids. The 425 is more versatile and imparts less character. The Mesa is what it is.
Overall, in the universe of bass cabinets these two are not too far apart. Both are larger old school cabs that emphasize the low-mids and I like them both, a lot. The NV is smoother and can get quite loud without breaking up if you have enough power. The Mesa is a rip-roaring rock and blues machine but is somewhat limited in volume. My current band plays blues, classic R&B, soul, rock, and some funk. Itll be interesting to see how the Berg does in the band setting. Im guessing it will get the nod over the Mesa because of its versatility and power handling. But Ill wait until after a few gigs to decide. The Mesas rugged tone may prevail. Stay tuned.
So I came across a NV425 in the TB classifieds and, in a moment of weakness, bought it! It has a 15 and three 10s in a sealed cabinet. It arrived today and I set it up side-by-side with the Mesa to do a taste test in the garage. I used my 71 Precision and 97 Deluxe Jazz (active), both 4stringers tuned down a half-step, wearing roundwounds. Both cabs were powered by my GK 1001RB. I left the master at 10, eq mostly flat, and played with volume, boost, and contour (a little).
The Berg is a couple inches shorter and a couple inches shallower, so I was a little worried about it keeping up. But playing the Precision I quickly got into a finger funk groove yummy sweet sounds that made me want to play. Smooth with a nice balance. Switching to the Mesa whoa this old boy is a lot louder! At the setting I was using with the Berg the Mesa pounded me with low-mids, probably in the 100-250 hz range that give it a huge sound. It also has tremendous cut in the treble (high-mids for you hi-fi guys
). Solo, its a little rough sounding, as any careless fingerwork translates into clank. And pushing up the bass eq or volume too far translates into two 15 farts! You wont hear a cab like this on the smooth jazz station but it sure cuts nicely in a rock or blues setting. Back to the Berg - cranked up the volume switched to the Jazz. Its much smoother and handles more power. With master at 10 and the volume at 5 it got damn loud without farting.
It sounds a bit deeper than the Mesa (surprising considering the smaller size of the cab). Or is that just that the low mids of the Mesa dominate so much? Hard to tell but the slap sound is better on the Berg - mainly due to less clank and clutter in the mids. Niether cab does a whole lot below 40 hz. Tuning down to a low C sharp (as low as I go) got me mostly overtones out of both cabs, maybe a little deeper with the Berg, moving more air with the Mesa. Counter-intuitively, the two 15s of the Mesas rival (or surpass) the Bergs in treble output. Those EVM 15Ls really rip. For all-out rock, which I dont do much of anymore, the Mesa might have a better tone. With the 400 watt drivers I would bet on it. Out of curiosity I played with the EQ trying to get the Berg to sound like the Mesa but it wouldnt. They are too different in the low-mids. The 425 is more versatile and imparts less character. The Mesa is what it is.
Overall, in the universe of bass cabinets these two are not too far apart. Both are larger old school cabs that emphasize the low-mids and I like them both, a lot. The NV is smoother and can get quite loud without breaking up if you have enough power. The Mesa is a rip-roaring rock and blues machine but is somewhat limited in volume. My current band plays blues, classic R&B, soul, rock, and some funk. Itll be interesting to see how the Berg does in the band setting. Im guessing it will get the nod over the Mesa because of its versatility and power handling. But Ill wait until after a few gigs to decide. The Mesas rugged tone may prevail. Stay tuned.
. 
This may be the first time I've ever run with so much treble. I guess you could say the NV425 is a "darker" cab than most. But that's not really all there is to it. It has some character too. When I switched over to the Jazz bass I was really suprised. It's an active bass with new roundwounds on it (as opposed to the older rounds on the P). I had the EQ on the Jazz flat and the jazz was muddier than the Precision. 
That's something new! I really don't understand this (I should check the battery in that thing).
