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Bergantino NV158? ???

I finally got to play one today at Bass San Diego. I was using an Epifani UL-501 head and a Lull M5V - sonic blue ... yummm. Anyway, this is a great cab for you guys who crave a vintage tone. It has nice balance from bottom to top, but slightly favors the low mids even with the UL-501 which is a fairly clean, modern-sounding head. It's a perfect cab for a P bass. The top end is still pretty crisp, but it definitely sounds like a sealed box. It's not a lot like an HT115 which, to my ear, is a bit more open and brighter in the high mids and highs. It has volume up the chunk and sounds fantastic when pushed.

MOTL.

Nice review. Wish Jim would offer a version with a tweet w/on-off switch.
 
The GAS is killing me! I'm going to hang on to my NV610 for my stoopid-loud rock band, but I bet one of these would be plenty with my Motown band...


...which brings back the dilemma of elevating on crates to hear better versus leaving on floor for coupling. The Motown band is an 11-piece (5 piece horn section) so I'm often standing right in front of my rig due to limited stage room. I always go through FOH with that band so I doubt I have to worry about coupling. So, that probably means elevate. Sorry, just thinkin' out loud. :ninja:
 
I never quite understood the rising of a cab debate. I heard that if you sit a cab on a box that it will suck the low end down, but, isn't this exactly what you're doing when you stack two cabs?

It isn't really a debate. First, when you raise a cab a significant amount (i.e., a couple of feet+) it not only physically uncouples from the floor (which can be a good thing if you have a hollow wooden stage, or possibly a bad thing in more normal circumstances, since you will lose low end reinforcement from a solid floor), but it also changes the boundary conditions. Remember, to a cab, a floor is no different than a wall or a ceiling. Move the cab away from the floor, and things change, usually resulting in less low end.

So, it is a double whammy.... physical and auditory uncoupling, which can really thin out the sound of a box, especially a small box. That isn't 'good or bad', it just 'is'.
 
Not from my understanding.

+1 You are now only talking inches, and some of the cab stays physically coupled to the floor. That, to me for those who have trouble hearing themselves on stage (luckily, I never had a problem, even when standing right on top of a 112), that is a good solution (a nice kick back stand on the bottom of a small cab). More of the directional mids will hit your ear, and there is less of the acoustic uncoupling and physical uncoupling issues versus an amp stand.
 
I finally got to play one today at Bass San Diego. I was using an Epifani UL-501 head and a Lull M5V - sonic blue ... yummm. Anyway, this is a great cab for you guys who crave a vintage tone. It has nice balance from bottom to top, but slightly favors the low mids even with the UL-501 which is a fairly clean, modern-sounding head. It's a perfect cab for a P bass. The top end is still pretty crisp, but it definitely sounds like a sealed box. It's not a lot like an HT115 which, to my ear, is a bit more open and brighter in the high mids and highs. It has volume up the chunk and sounds fantastic when pushed.

MOTL.

+1 That would be what you would expect from a sealed cab with a mid driver (hence the NV moniker...'new vintage'). The HT115, of course, is a total different design and has a totally different tonal goal. The only thing similar is the driver diameter, which we know means very little regarding voicing.

Sounds like this is a great box for, as you point out, those wanted an 'updated but still more traditional/vintage' vibe. Nice!
 
Would this make a good cab for recording? Just wondering since it has two different sized speakers in it. Would that be a problem or would you just have to find the sweet spot to mic it?

You should listen to the demos I put up and make your own decision. I didn't really look for any sweet spot, just put the mic nearby and let it fly. I think it's a great sounding cab, period.
 
+1 That would be what you would expect from a sealed cab with a mid driver (hence the NV moniker...'new vintage'). The HT115, of course, is a total different design and has a totally different tonal goal. The only thing similar is the driver diameter, which we know means very little regarding voicing.

Sounds like this is a great box for, as you point out, those wanted an 'updated but still more traditional/vintage' vibe. Nice!

I listened to a real player ring it out today. I had just completed a Flex Core install in his Pedulla Thunderbass. This cab sounds really good. As Jim describes it, it's "thick and meaty." It has that vintage vibe, but also has a real nice top end that a lot of 115s don't have. I wasn't going to buy one, but if I can install enough preamps, I may get enough money to take one home some day.

BTW, that Pedulla sounds outrageous. I don't think a tone exists that he can't get out of that thing.
 
I listened to a real player ring it out today. I had just completed a Flex Core install in his Pedulla Thunderbass. This cab sounds really good. As Jim describes it, it's "thick and meaty." It has that vintage vibe, but also has a real nice top end that a lot of 115s don't have. I wasn't going to buy one, but if I can install enough preamps, I may get enough money to take one home some day.

Yup. It's a sealed, cab, doing a sealed cab thing. And it's doing it really well. Plus, being a Bergantino, the NV115 does all the little things well, which add up to something exceptional in its class.

Not cab for everyone, for sure. But for those who dig what it's all about, it's one of Jim's most compelling cabs yet, IME/IMHO. :bassist: :bassist: :bassist: :cool: