Wel, another of my reviews that some love and others say are far too long winded...
For quite some time I have been looking for a 2x10 cab. In some ways I am not really sure why I dont know how often I would use it. I knew from Ed Oceans post on the Acoustic Control forum that Acoustic Amplification (Guitar Center) was to be bringing out a neo 2x10 and I was pretty sure that it was going to be with the diagonal speaker placing that is now becoming more and more popular with more modern designed units. So, I passed on a used GK Goldline at the local GC and waited till the Acoustic Neo came out.
According to the GC website the dimensions of the 210Neo are 28 3/8 H x 25 W x 20 7/8 D. This would provide sufficient cabinet volume for a nice deep tone and still be small enough to tote about easily. I also like the idea that the cab was taking advantage of the diagonal speakers to make it tall enough that you could hear some of it while playing and not have it all blow by your feet.
Well one snowy evening my wait was rewarded and the 210Neo appeared sitting on top of its 1x15 cousin. I stopped dead in my tracks. It was TINY! The GC employee and I just kept looking at the dimensions on the website while measuring the 210Neo. No resemblance. The actual dimensions are approximately almost 24 H, 20 W, maybe 15 D. These are approximate as we did not have a ruler and were using sheet paper as an estimate. The best way to describe the cab is to take the Acoustic B450 and chainsaw the head off.
I normally like to test something against another well known item to achieve a reference point. In this case there was a used USA made Ampeg SVT 210 sitting about. I dragged the two together and popped an Ampeg head on top. The tests were done by simply switching the speaker cord back and forth. I used a Music Man Stingray HS 4 string. Just finger playing no pick or slapping. I recorded the session with my Zoom H2 as a way to Keep Notes.
The Acoustic sports two spring loaded handles on the side. It is VERY light and smaller than one would expect. It has one tweeter. The back of the cab has two round ports and an on/off switch for the hi horn. Construction seems solid enough but has some tacky screws visible holding on the decorative plates. There were no visible flaws in the finish that were readily apparent. It is 8 ohms with two inputs. As usual GC has the shade of blue wrong.
In testing the cab I was looking at these main things:
- Overall tone
- How much deep resonance could it put out
- How loud could I get it before it Farted (power handling)
- Flexibility of use
Needless to say we are all different and what one person looks for may not be of consequence to another. For me, power handling of a 2x10 is a key issue since we are talking about a small cab and the need to project good tone at a sufficient volume. A cabinet that has better bass response, sounding Deeper if you will, without requiring changes in input will have an advantage. The more you dial in bass from the amp or guitar the more you are stressing the speakers. Something has to generate the low frequencies and having the efficiency of the cabinet do it results may result in a more efficient rig with better power handling.
OK now to the brass tacks the tone. It has a nice clarity in the treble and snappier notes played. Articulation is good. It is lacking in low end rumble. I tried laying the cabinet on its side to increase the amount of coupling with the floor but this yielded minimal if any results. As I worked the cab I found myself dialing in more and more low end from the head. I also went through the settings on the StingRay and found the more bassy ones to see how they sounded.
The Ampeg SVT 2x10 is more your standard design. It has 2 USA made Eminence speakers and the cab is rated at 200 watts RMS. There are two ports in the back. The horn has a dial to adjust the desired amount of high end.
In comparison, the Ampeg was much deeper sounding. Tone settings that resulted in sufficient low end bass with the Acoustic resulted in very heavy but clean rumble from the Ampeg. We were talking serious thunder. When pushed both the Ampeg and the Acoustic started to fart at about the same volume though the Ampeg did it more gracefully. The Ampeg could also put out tons more low end rumble before farting. In short it will fill a room better.
I would like to mention again that I was doing pick and finger bass. I have no idea how well the Ampeg does with slap. If anyone has that experience please pile on and give your opinion. But in this comparison the Ampeg won the fight.
My opinion on the Acoustic 210Neo
Positives
- Light weight
- Small size for small cars
- Articulate tone
Negatives
- Lack of strong low end response
- The small size will make it difficult to stack with other cabs of the standard 24x18 footprint
- Overpriced for the performance
- Horn is either On or Off
- No Speakon jacks
- Cheap looking construction
- Lack of specs for the cab (frequency, power RMS/Program/Peak, etc)
Conclusions:
I was disappointed with the Acoustic. They really missed their price point on this. At $399 I expected more. Their standard 4x10 sells for $299 and I occasionally see it on sale for $249. The power handling of 400 watts is almost certainly Program and not RMS which would partially explain at what volume it broke up. Granted the neo is lighter but for the price the MarkBass sitting in the background at $599 started looking good. Not only that but a friend pointed out Avatar has neo 2x10 is $319 and that has real Eminence speakers. The Ampeg 2x10 neo sits in the same store for $299. The 210Neo suffers from cabinet design that really could have used greater volume. Taking a look at what is out on the market with the diagonal speaker arrangement can attest to this.
Once again I wonder just how well Acoustic has thought this out. As an example, with their standard speakers this would have been an exceptional extension speaker for the B450. That combo puts out far more power then the 2 tens in it can handle. This cab would fit perfectly underneath and expand you to a 4x10 (or use the 1x15 they now have in the same size cab) and generate 600 watts. They probably could have hit a price point of $199 for it and these things would fly out the door.
Will Acoustic sell some 210Neos? Probably. There are enough people out there with bad backs and small cars that might need the portability. But overall and in my simple opinion - they really missed the mark. Going with a better cabinet for the neo or using the wittle cab as an extension would have provided GC with a better product.
Dimensions
Listed on Guitar Center website
28 3/8 H x 25 W x 20 7.8 D
Actual (Estimated)
24 H x 20 W x 15 D
B450 (GC Website)
26.8 H x 19.8 W x 15.2 D
For quite some time I have been looking for a 2x10 cab. In some ways I am not really sure why I dont know how often I would use it. I knew from Ed Oceans post on the Acoustic Control forum that Acoustic Amplification (Guitar Center) was to be bringing out a neo 2x10 and I was pretty sure that it was going to be with the diagonal speaker placing that is now becoming more and more popular with more modern designed units. So, I passed on a used GK Goldline at the local GC and waited till the Acoustic Neo came out.
According to the GC website the dimensions of the 210Neo are 28 3/8 H x 25 W x 20 7/8 D. This would provide sufficient cabinet volume for a nice deep tone and still be small enough to tote about easily. I also like the idea that the cab was taking advantage of the diagonal speakers to make it tall enough that you could hear some of it while playing and not have it all blow by your feet.
Well one snowy evening my wait was rewarded and the 210Neo appeared sitting on top of its 1x15 cousin. I stopped dead in my tracks. It was TINY! The GC employee and I just kept looking at the dimensions on the website while measuring the 210Neo. No resemblance. The actual dimensions are approximately almost 24 H, 20 W, maybe 15 D. These are approximate as we did not have a ruler and were using sheet paper as an estimate. The best way to describe the cab is to take the Acoustic B450 and chainsaw the head off.
I normally like to test something against another well known item to achieve a reference point. In this case there was a used USA made Ampeg SVT 210 sitting about. I dragged the two together and popped an Ampeg head on top. The tests were done by simply switching the speaker cord back and forth. I used a Music Man Stingray HS 4 string. Just finger playing no pick or slapping. I recorded the session with my Zoom H2 as a way to Keep Notes.
The Acoustic sports two spring loaded handles on the side. It is VERY light and smaller than one would expect. It has one tweeter. The back of the cab has two round ports and an on/off switch for the hi horn. Construction seems solid enough but has some tacky screws visible holding on the decorative plates. There were no visible flaws in the finish that were readily apparent. It is 8 ohms with two inputs. As usual GC has the shade of blue wrong.
In testing the cab I was looking at these main things:
- Overall tone
- How much deep resonance could it put out
- How loud could I get it before it Farted (power handling)
- Flexibility of use
Needless to say we are all different and what one person looks for may not be of consequence to another. For me, power handling of a 2x10 is a key issue since we are talking about a small cab and the need to project good tone at a sufficient volume. A cabinet that has better bass response, sounding Deeper if you will, without requiring changes in input will have an advantage. The more you dial in bass from the amp or guitar the more you are stressing the speakers. Something has to generate the low frequencies and having the efficiency of the cabinet do it results may result in a more efficient rig with better power handling.
OK now to the brass tacks the tone. It has a nice clarity in the treble and snappier notes played. Articulation is good. It is lacking in low end rumble. I tried laying the cabinet on its side to increase the amount of coupling with the floor but this yielded minimal if any results. As I worked the cab I found myself dialing in more and more low end from the head. I also went through the settings on the StingRay and found the more bassy ones to see how they sounded.
The Ampeg SVT 2x10 is more your standard design. It has 2 USA made Eminence speakers and the cab is rated at 200 watts RMS. There are two ports in the back. The horn has a dial to adjust the desired amount of high end.
In comparison, the Ampeg was much deeper sounding. Tone settings that resulted in sufficient low end bass with the Acoustic resulted in very heavy but clean rumble from the Ampeg. We were talking serious thunder. When pushed both the Ampeg and the Acoustic started to fart at about the same volume though the Ampeg did it more gracefully. The Ampeg could also put out tons more low end rumble before farting. In short it will fill a room better.
I would like to mention again that I was doing pick and finger bass. I have no idea how well the Ampeg does with slap. If anyone has that experience please pile on and give your opinion. But in this comparison the Ampeg won the fight.
My opinion on the Acoustic 210Neo
Positives
- Light weight
- Small size for small cars
- Articulate tone
Negatives
- Lack of strong low end response
- The small size will make it difficult to stack with other cabs of the standard 24x18 footprint
- Overpriced for the performance
- Horn is either On or Off
- No Speakon jacks
- Cheap looking construction
- Lack of specs for the cab (frequency, power RMS/Program/Peak, etc)
Conclusions:
I was disappointed with the Acoustic. They really missed their price point on this. At $399 I expected more. Their standard 4x10 sells for $299 and I occasionally see it on sale for $249. The power handling of 400 watts is almost certainly Program and not RMS which would partially explain at what volume it broke up. Granted the neo is lighter but for the price the MarkBass sitting in the background at $599 started looking good. Not only that but a friend pointed out Avatar has neo 2x10 is $319 and that has real Eminence speakers. The Ampeg 2x10 neo sits in the same store for $299. The 210Neo suffers from cabinet design that really could have used greater volume. Taking a look at what is out on the market with the diagonal speaker arrangement can attest to this.
Once again I wonder just how well Acoustic has thought this out. As an example, with their standard speakers this would have been an exceptional extension speaker for the B450. That combo puts out far more power then the 2 tens in it can handle. This cab would fit perfectly underneath and expand you to a 4x10 (or use the 1x15 they now have in the same size cab) and generate 600 watts. They probably could have hit a price point of $199 for it and these things would fly out the door.
Will Acoustic sell some 210Neos? Probably. There are enough people out there with bad backs and small cars that might need the portability. But overall and in my simple opinion - they really missed the mark. Going with a better cabinet for the neo or using the wittle cab as an extension would have provided GC with a better product.
Dimensions
Listed on Guitar Center website
28 3/8 H x 25 W x 20 7.8 D
Actual (Estimated)
24 H x 20 W x 15 D
B450 (GC Website)
26.8 H x 19.8 W x 15.2 D
