Doug Parent
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Are expensive cabs really worth the money
- Thread starter smgleitch
- Start date
In my experience, a better cab is one that will stay together after 3 or 4 years of playing every weekend and being thrown in a trailer night after night. Id pay extra for that for sure.
I general NO. I had 2 fairly new (but used) Fender 1x15 Bassman cabs, paid a low $150.00 per, they were great!! I sold them for Mesa cabs, nice but.....I even had an old $50.00 used Crate 1x15 that I couldn't kill and sounded real good, used for years!
To me, the whole "the audience doesn't care" thing makes the most sense as a response to the idea that the audience will know how leet I am when they see the little badge on my cab or the sticker on my headstock. That's mostly how I mean it. I don't know that people mean that it's OK to sound like butt b/c the audience doesn't care.
My audiences know how leet I am from my bass face
--Bomb
My audiences know how leet I am from my bass face
--Bomb
now that is what i like to hear! go, young mr. bomb, go make bass face all over audiences for years to come!To me, the whole "the audience doesn't care" thing makes the most sense as a response to the idea that the audience will know how leet I am when they see the little badge on my cab or the sticker on my headstock. That's mostly how I mean it. I don't know that people mean that it's OK to sound like butt b/c the audience doesn't care.
My audiences know how leet I am from my bass face
--Bomb
It's not that they don't care, they most certainly do and they'll let you know it. It's that they don't know....it's not their job to know. They do know what sounds professional and what doesn't, the "why" is up to us. Yes, it may cost money and headaches and they may not appreciate all the time and thought you've put into it but they sure as hell know the difference between suck/ok/average/good/and badass.
Well I found and purchased a new cab this weekend. Really don't think that before this discussion that I would have seriously looked at this cab, but in the pursuit of buying the best I could afford and only having to buy once I decided to give it a try. Ended up playing on a lot of stuff over the last few weeks and went ahead and bought, sight unseen and unheard, a Epifani UL410 series one off of a fellow Talkbass member. Bought it used and spent less than I would have for most 410's new. Was really looking for something smaller, but when shopping used you only get so many options. As well the price helped justify buying a little more than I really need. The cab is incredibly light. I am sure I have owned 210's that are heavier than this thing is. I bought a new Carvin BX500 head to go with it. Was looking for a Genz Benz Shuttle when I ran across a used BX500. Read a lot of reviews that basically said it compares well to the Shuttle. It was in my price range and with the 4 ohm cab I would get all 500 watts out of it.
So it is kind of hard to tell what is what having bought both new to me at the same time. I have never heard the head through a different cab and likewise never heard the cab with a different head. I am still playing with the EQ on the head and will probably take some time to get it exactly right, but the head is what I expected with maybe one exception. The tube drive in this head doesn't make as much of a difference as I hoped it would. With that said as my only complaint the head completely rocks. Cant say for sure if this will be the long term solution for me with a head, but it is a fantastic head.
To the cab, as that is what this whole thread was about. The pursuit of a great cab. To try and understand if there really is a difference in the quality worth spending the extra money. In my case the answer is YES!! I absolutely love the Epifani. The sound is fantastic. I am not really the best at describing sound, but simply put it sounds great to my ears. I am sure that it is not for everyone but it has a great low end and the highs sound better than most everything I have played on. Even beyond the sound is all the other things. At 57 lbs it is incredibly light, it really can be picked up and carried with one hand. The constructions seems solid and although the previous owner was one that takes very nice care of his stuff, it is in excellent shape for a cab that must be 4 or 5 years old and has been used my a gigging musician. Came with a great very durable cover and casters, not sure if this is standard fare with a new cab or if these are extras if bought new but a great bonus when buying used. This cab combined with the Carvin BX500 head is a putting a big smile on my face every time I play it. If I have one complaint is that it is so freaking loud!!!! I am having a hard time controlling it. It is like this caged beast that just wants out so bad it is going to rip the bars out and run. I have only been able to turn the Carvin's master volume up to 2!! Set at 1 it is plenty to practice with and keeps up with my small home stereo nicely. Anything above 2 and I think I might shake the house off its foundation. My god this thing can move some air. This is not a little kids setup, this is the real deal. I would see no need to ever have to have a larger cab. It truly sounds great at low volume and what I have been able to push out of it at louder volumes just keeps getting better. I have found all kinds of cool vibrating things and varying frequencies all over my house. I think I have finally found a keeper.
So in the end I would say that I am very happy with my purchase, but to the real question. Are expensive cabs really worth the money? I say yes very much so. With that said I don't think that means you need to buy what I bought as there are a lot of great cabs out there, but it is true you get what you pay for. If I had to buy new I am sure I would have ended up with something completely different. Probably would have bought an Avatar 210 with the intentions of buying another later on which would have ended up costing me more in the long run. I would have found it impossible to have spent $1000 on a new cab, as that is what the Epifani costs new. My budget and the fact that I am not playing out regularly limits me to what I can justify spending on my gear. Also buying used I could have bought a cheaper cab and saved some money but I am so happy with the Epifani that to me it was well worth the extra money spent. I cant see a reason other than a sever financial crisis that I would want to get rid of this cab anytime soon. As I stated earlier this is not where I thought I would end up when I started this thread, but am very happy with the final outcome.
So it is kind of hard to tell what is what having bought both new to me at the same time. I have never heard the head through a different cab and likewise never heard the cab with a different head. I am still playing with the EQ on the head and will probably take some time to get it exactly right, but the head is what I expected with maybe one exception. The tube drive in this head doesn't make as much of a difference as I hoped it would. With that said as my only complaint the head completely rocks. Cant say for sure if this will be the long term solution for me with a head, but it is a fantastic head.
To the cab, as that is what this whole thread was about. The pursuit of a great cab. To try and understand if there really is a difference in the quality worth spending the extra money. In my case the answer is YES!! I absolutely love the Epifani. The sound is fantastic. I am not really the best at describing sound, but simply put it sounds great to my ears. I am sure that it is not for everyone but it has a great low end and the highs sound better than most everything I have played on. Even beyond the sound is all the other things. At 57 lbs it is incredibly light, it really can be picked up and carried with one hand. The constructions seems solid and although the previous owner was one that takes very nice care of his stuff, it is in excellent shape for a cab that must be 4 or 5 years old and has been used my a gigging musician. Came with a great very durable cover and casters, not sure if this is standard fare with a new cab or if these are extras if bought new but a great bonus when buying used. This cab combined with the Carvin BX500 head is a putting a big smile on my face every time I play it. If I have one complaint is that it is so freaking loud!!!! I am having a hard time controlling it. It is like this caged beast that just wants out so bad it is going to rip the bars out and run. I have only been able to turn the Carvin's master volume up to 2!! Set at 1 it is plenty to practice with and keeps up with my small home stereo nicely. Anything above 2 and I think I might shake the house off its foundation. My god this thing can move some air. This is not a little kids setup, this is the real deal. I would see no need to ever have to have a larger cab. It truly sounds great at low volume and what I have been able to push out of it at louder volumes just keeps getting better. I have found all kinds of cool vibrating things and varying frequencies all over my house. I think I have finally found a keeper.
So in the end I would say that I am very happy with my purchase, but to the real question. Are expensive cabs really worth the money? I say yes very much so. With that said I don't think that means you need to buy what I bought as there are a lot of great cabs out there, but it is true you get what you pay for. If I had to buy new I am sure I would have ended up with something completely different. Probably would have bought an Avatar 210 with the intentions of buying another later on which would have ended up costing me more in the long run. I would have found it impossible to have spent $1000 on a new cab, as that is what the Epifani costs new. My budget and the fact that I am not playing out regularly limits me to what I can justify spending on my gear. Also buying used I could have bought a cheaper cab and saved some money but I am so happy with the Epifani that to me it was well worth the extra money spent. I cant see a reason other than a sever financial crisis that I would want to get rid of this cab anytime soon. As I stated earlier this is not where I thought I would end up when I started this thread, but am very happy with the final outcome.
