I have a question mainly for those of you with Hathor 1203 and Changeling 112 cabs: How often do you use the switches on the back?
A very late response, and after the fact perhaps:
Playing my version 1 Hathor 1203 just now, I reaffirmed for myself how impactful and useful its switches are.
Specifically it is the top switch I care about most. Depending on the instrument sound, the articulation that the top switch can provide is subtle yet distinctive. If you never use it, probably you won't miss it. But once you use it with the right class of instrument sounds, you'll be glad you have the option. When I say "subtle", I mean 1. you can feel the difference as much as hear it, and 2. it presents articulation without harshness.
Just for illustration, the nearest comparison I can make among the cabinets I own is the switchable B&C tweeter in my MAS-112 (whose crossover Duke designed, I believe). In that admittedly rather different cabinet, the tweeter aims higher but is similarly subtle and even more devoid of harshness. "silken" and "sibilant" are how I tend to describe the sound.
Generalizing, then, even with just these two examples, I think there is a strong case for mature designs of bass cabinets having such a feature.
Separately, I must say how sweet, big, and open my Hathor 1203 sounds. Listening to my moody, sonorous loop this morning, of a custom Fodera 4-string fretted bass with custom J pickups, varying pickup blend and passive tone controls, played as passive without any processing except some half-speed or double-speed layers in the loop, driven by a Subway D-800+ set to sound flat, at a healthy volume, I had the sense that there was no type or nuance of timbre or dynamics that the little Hathor could not convey.
Disclaimer: I am no longer a gigging musician. Sound in itself without practical context is my only interest as a practicing musician.
