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Close to Parting With Ampeg 410hlf

jd_watt

jd_watt

Mar 22, 2013
378
27
#1
Well, many warned me of the muddy, boomy mess that is the 410hlf, but about 6 months ago, I decided to try it for myself.

I have to say, after trying every eq boost and cut under the sun, there was nothing I could do to remove the muffled, wet blanket tone of this cab. I do love feeling the bass, but it was a nightmare trying to dial in anything resembling definition or clarity.

After saying all of that, I think this cab would work well for Dub or Reggae... maybe something that has a more muted, boomy bass, but it's just not doing it for me.

So my question is, where do I go from here? Anyone else jump ship on this cab for something more appealing?
 
#3
jd_watt said:
Well, many warned me of the muddy, boomy mess that is the 410hlf, but about 6 months ago, I decided to try it for myself.

I have to say, after trying every eq boost and cut under the sun, there was nothing I could do to remove the muffled, wet blanket tone of this cab. I do love feeling the bass, but it was a nightmare trying to dial in anything resembling definition or clarity.

After saying all of that, I think this cab would work well for Dub or Reggae... maybe something that has a more muted, boomy bass, but it's just not doing it for me.

So my question is, where do I go from here? Anyone else jump ship on this cab for something more appealing?
Click to expand...

I bought one about 11 years ago brand new and due to the lack of defined low-mids wound up selling it on Craigslist a year later.
 
#5
No doubt, it can be a cool cab, but I've just had a really difficult time with mine. Maybe I was a little harsh on it, but when I run my same amp, pedals, and bass settings into something like a Roland KC... everything is there, defined, and up-front. I take those same settings, run them into the hlf410, and suddenly I'm boosting and cutting,and just going crazy trying to find something that works.

The boosting never helps, it just makes things shrill. Cutting is nearly as bad because I loose important elements of my sound. I signal to FOH most shows too, and this cab is nothing close to what I'm actually sounding like to our audience. I know... I'm ranting, but I would really like to go in a new direction with cabs. Maybe the 410he...
 
#6
jd_watt said:
No doubt, it can be a cool cab, but I've just had a really difficult time with mine. Maybe I was a little harsh on it, but when I run my same amp, pedals, and bass settings into something like a Roland KC... everything is there, defined, and up-front. I take those same settings, run them into the hlf410, and suddenly I'm boosting and cutting,and just going crazy trying to find something that works.

The boosting never helps, it just makes things shrill. Cutting is nearly as bad because I loose important elements of my sound. I signal to FOH most shows too, and this cab is nothing close to what I'm actually sounding like to our audience. I know... I'm ranting, but I would really like to go in a new direction with cabs. Maybe the 410he...
Click to expand...

What amp are you running? Keep in mind that if you're running an SVT that the HE is an 8 ohm cab, so you'd need two of them. What kind of music are you playing?
 
#7
I have one that's made in Vietnam with Neos in it. It gets a tight and clearly defined modern sound running it solo with the Markbass big bang. Love that cab. Does anybody know if it can be re-wired to be a 4ohm cab? I would like to get a little more volume out of it if possible...
 
#8
I'm running a portaflex pf500. I play a variety of rock styles. I also use a vt bass as a preamp in front of it too. My direct out sounds great in the monitors, but there's nothing I can do with the portflex eq that seems to help with the hlf. Am I missing something major? The horn on didn't seem to eleviate the "suffocated" like sound. Boosting treble just gave it more of an ice-pick to the ear type sound.
 
#9
The HE is about everything the HLF isn't. One thing it won't have though is those deep lows you feel as much as hear.

Not a fan of the HLF here, although they would be good for dub, reggae, or a busy rock mix where you kind of chug along and float the band from the bottom.
 
#14
Swizzledoop said:
I have one that's made in Vietnam with Neos in it. It gets a tight and clearly defined modern sound running it solo with the Markbass big bang. Love that cab. Does anybody know if it can be re-wired to be a 4ohm cab? I would like to get a little more volume out of it if possible...
Click to expand...

You cannot re-wire a 8 ohm cab to be 4 ohms without changing all the speakers.

Additionally, the wattage gain going from 8 ohms to 4 ohms from your amp will not really even be noticeable.
 
#16
Have your keyboard player give it a try. They are awesome for running a synth.

I use mine for outdoor gigs with no sound shell. It shines in that situation, but is overpoweringly muddy in a live space as you have found out. I run a single SVT115 for small to midsized indoor gigs and find the HLF to give a similar vibe to the 15/indoor when used outdoors.
 
#20
I went the other way. I was using my PF500 with a loaner 410HE and couldn't get enough lows out of it for my liking. Went and picked up an HLF and paired it with my VR. Gigged it once and got a ton of compliments on my tone. Haven't had a chance to do too much experimental eq'ing with it as my house has terrible acoustics/echo. I'll get to try it with my PF this Saturday at a gig.
 

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