210 & 15 in place of a 4x10 - not asking for same old argument

I wouldn't think a 210 + 115 would get much- if any louder than a 410. I haven't bi amped tho

 

Get a used SVT410HLF and a dead but unscathed 1x15 to stack it on.

Just keep the 1x15 unplugged and getting the 4x10 off the ground will get you your volume boost.

You could use a milk crate, but those are shorter, weaker, and JimmyM will judge you.

 

actually you get significantly less output if you bi amp.

 

Here is the whole thing, with zero specifics on which cabs you are talking about, there is no way to tell anything about them, their performance, or how they may or may not pair.

 

What is your budget? Also, you currently have no bass cab, right?

 

What is the budget? We'll all be wasting time and stabbing in the dark unless we know what the price cap is.

 

Volume the same as a 410. What is the free cab? Best idea would be to get a matching (or very similar) 115. A 2 x 115 (215) will also be the same general volume. And the 115 should be less of the Lord's bucks than a 210 (1 driver rather than 2) . How many of His dollars do you have to work with for the 2nd cab, btw? And which amp will be used (is being used)?

No box (or amp or anything else for that matter) is going to tolerate real, true abuse very well. Everyone using the gear should be made painfully aware to ... take. care. of. it.

Fidelity. Means different things to different people. You mean high fidelity, as in as uncolored as possible?

 

Why 210 + 115?

I found an SWR goliath II 410 8 ohm Eden-built cab much louder and robust than an SWR goliath III Jr. 210 + SWR pro 115 son-of-Bertha, and the g II 410 had older-style PAS drivers. I also found an Epifani UL1 410 4 ohm cab louder and more robust than an Epifani 8 ohm 210 + SWR 8 ohm 115 soB.

However, two 8 ohm Epifani 210 cabs stacked vertically were louder/clearer than a UL1 410 4 ohm. The UL1 410 + SWR 115 was useless. An 8 ohm UL1 210 + 4 ohm UL1 410 was loudest of all those, though not a lot more than my fEARful 15/6/1, which I can bring two of if I need to scare the young people.

You want cheap, rugged, and loud? Get a used SWR 610 or ampeg 810 and be done. As far as arguments are concerned, there are rational reasons that pairing unlike cabs is a crap shoot, so fire away by all means. One person's "actual comparison results" is another person's argument. Good Luck to you.

 

No bucks info yet, but how 'bout this? ... Hartke 410 XL ($275 brand new) http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/msg/4819278176.html

... or this? ... SWR Goliath III 410 ($325 excellent shape) http://chicago.craigslist.org/nch/msg/4840782342.html

... another ... Mesa Diesel 115 ($200. shape? needs cash) http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/msg/4837419031.html

... and another ... Crate BE-215 ($175 great condition) http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/msg/4839752615.html

... or this one ... Ampeg 810 ($475 good shape) http://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/msg/4839007007.html

Don't forget to let Jesus be your co-pilot, er, uh ... & co-negotiator .

 

If I were OP, I'd get the Mesa or the Crate.

 

410 plenty. Biamping makes no sense with full range cabs. You can find a good used 410 for 250 -300 as noted. Lastly loud bass doesn't equal good bass.

 

Yeah, I've been pretty underwhelmed every time I've run a biamped rig...but especially when I did it with a 2x10 + 1x15 setup. That rig just begs to be run fullrange.

 

Also:
Markbass 1x15 $375
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/msg/4844493130.html
GK Combo $375 http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/msg/4828171718.html
Newish GK combo $375
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/msg/4842572664.html

Mesa 1x15 and Ampeg B2e $300
http://chicago.craigslist.org/nwc/msg/4841617415.html

I'd recommend the last two.

 

There is very little advantage in a mixed rig and a hell of a lot of disadvantages!

 

Now Paul, don't start with all those frustrating "arguments for or against!" We must provide "just actual comparisons." You know, 210 + 115 <= 410 or the ever popular 210 + 210 >= 410, and 210 + 410 >= 610. You get it. Just actual comparisons.

 

how about this? http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/BR210-8

or go the 2X15 route with this?: http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/BR115-8

or just wait until you get a donation and slap any old thing together. it's only for stage monitoring, right, since all the instruments go f.o.h.?

it might be a good idea to use an inexpensive crossover as a high pass filter for the 2x10 if you choose that route.

 

As for rig, it's incredibly hard to say. Never know how 2 different cabs will react and without a budget we're all just grabbing at straws. It sounds like tone is pretty much at the bottom of the wish list here, so just get whatever is in budget and in good shape. One thought on protecting the gear would be to "lock out" the controls. Basically (if you're up to it) open up the amp and replace pots on say VOLUME, MASTER, BASS with different ones. So when they have the amp "dimed" (I'm looking at you guitar players) it's actually running at something like 75%. If you do it before you make the equipment available they'll never know and you'll have an amp that might just live until someone knocks it off a stand or plugs two outputs from it into the same parallel wired cabinet (again, I've seen a guitarist do this and toast a PA head). And you can avoid both of those perils by fixing the amp to something and making a sort of shield/cover for the cab's input jack (so it's not as easy for just anyone to mess with the connections).