Well I ran up to Sweetwater today to test a number of cabinets. I brought my bass and my Bugera Veyron head to test all the cabinets below:
First in line was the Bugera 115 My initial impression was that I was surprised at how small it was - for some reason I was expecting something bigger. Not sure why. It had fabulous mids and highs but the low B string was mud. It lacked the articulation that I was looking for.
Second was the Hartke HyDrive HD115. This was moderately better but I expected it to be much better. A lot more clarity and articulation in the mids and highs but again the lows lacked the clarity I sought. The low-end clarity was better than the Bugera but still not what I was seeking.
Third was the Harke HyDrive HD112. This cabinet was excellent and I very nearly bought it. I played a pair of them and they were very articulate and clean even on the low B. I really really liked them.
Then for S&G's I played three Mesa/Boogie cabinets. I figured since I was there I may as well play them even though I had not budgeted for them. So continuing on:
Fourth I played the Mesa/Boogie Subway 115. Wow. WOW. GREAT sound. Very articulate. Better than the Harke HyDrive HD112 although they were very very close. I spent about half an hour going back and fourth between them.
Next I played the Mesa/Boogie Subway 210. It was good but not as good as the Mesa/Boogie Subway 115 and not as good as the Hartke HyDrive HD112. I played it maybe five minutes but that was enough to move on.
Lastly I played the Mesa/Boogie Subway 112. It was almost immediate. I was blown away with how good it sounded. I ended up A/Bing this against the Hartke HyDrive HD112 for a good 20 minutes. My sales engineer switched cabinets for me while I faced the opposite direction so that I used only my ears without knowing which cabinet I was playing through. Each time, each test, I ended up choosing the Mesa/Boogie Subway 112. I took a ten minute break to grab a cup of coffee, reset my ears, and then came back and did it again. It was very very close but the Mesa/Boogie Subway was the clear winner for me.
Miracle of miracles my sales engineer found a demo and was able to cut me a deal that I couldn't pass up. So now these are in my basement. I realize everyone has different tastes and different needs. What necessarily works for one may not necessarily work for another. I can tell you that I believe the Hartke HyDrive HD112's were excellent and would have done quite well for me and I probably would have been happy with them as well. But given the right circumstances I was lucky enough to be able to get a good deal on what I found to be the very best.
I apologize for derailing the Bugera Veyron thread with my cabinet testing experience but I figured I might get away with it since the testing did involve a Bugera Veyron head.
First in line was the Bugera 115 My initial impression was that I was surprised at how small it was - for some reason I was expecting something bigger. Not sure why. It had fabulous mids and highs but the low B string was mud. It lacked the articulation that I was looking for.
Second was the Hartke HyDrive HD115. This was moderately better but I expected it to be much better. A lot more clarity and articulation in the mids and highs but again the lows lacked the clarity I sought. The low-end clarity was better than the Bugera but still not what I was seeking.
Third was the Harke HyDrive HD112. This cabinet was excellent and I very nearly bought it. I played a pair of them and they were very articulate and clean even on the low B. I really really liked them.
Then for S&G's I played three Mesa/Boogie cabinets. I figured since I was there I may as well play them even though I had not budgeted for them. So continuing on:
Fourth I played the Mesa/Boogie Subway 115. Wow. WOW. GREAT sound. Very articulate. Better than the Harke HyDrive HD112 although they were very very close. I spent about half an hour going back and fourth between them.
Next I played the Mesa/Boogie Subway 210. It was good but not as good as the Mesa/Boogie Subway 115 and not as good as the Hartke HyDrive HD112. I played it maybe five minutes but that was enough to move on.
Lastly I played the Mesa/Boogie Subway 112. It was almost immediate. I was blown away with how good it sounded. I ended up A/Bing this against the Hartke HyDrive HD112 for a good 20 minutes. My sales engineer switched cabinets for me while I faced the opposite direction so that I used only my ears without knowing which cabinet I was playing through. Each time, each test, I ended up choosing the Mesa/Boogie Subway 112. I took a ten minute break to grab a cup of coffee, reset my ears, and then came back and did it again. It was very very close but the Mesa/Boogie Subway was the clear winner for me.
Miracle of miracles my sales engineer found a demo and was able to cut me a deal that I couldn't pass up. So now these are in my basement. I realize everyone has different tastes and different needs. What necessarily works for one may not necessarily work for another. I can tell you that I believe the Hartke HyDrive HD112's were excellent and would have done quite well for me and I probably would have been happy with them as well. But given the right circumstances I was lucky enough to be able to get a good deal on what I found to be the very best.
I apologize for derailing the Bugera Veyron thread with my cabinet testing experience but I figured I might get away with it since the testing did involve a Bugera Veyron head.
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