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Cab advice for a newbie

#41
As far as the Avatar 410 and 212...I have zero experience with the 212, but I love the Avatar 410.

I still like a 410 cab over the other 'choices' out there, but again, that's just me. I had Mesa a PH410 and a PH212 in the past...now I use the DG410NE. I liked the lows and presence the PH410 had more of than the Mesa PH212. After I sold my heavy Mesa head and cabs and went Class D (ME D800+) and Neo cab, I picked up a DG410NE. I tired the DG212NE and the DG410NE the same day...and well...I walked out with the 410, so...I guess for me, I'd rather have the boom and presence of a 410 cab and be able to dial out the lows if its 'too boomy'.

YMMV...

Something else that pulls me in is how my rig looks...and having a rack sticking over the sides of a skinny cab looks goofy to me...I racked my head and wireless for ease of transport/setup/breakdown/etc., and I think it just looks better sitting atop a cab that is wider...I know that has nothing to do with tone...but that's my own mental issue to deal with, haha.

(edit a spelling mistake...)
 
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#42
JJ Honeycutt said:
Another newbie question (and its after long research and reading here on TB). I'm fairly new still to playing the bass. I started off with a Sunn combo and recently bought my first amp head (Orange 4 Stroke 500). Looking to buy a cab to pair with it and I thought that before I pull the trigger on something I would consult the gurus here first.

I play mostly metal (doom, death, thrash) and for now just have loud jam sessions in my shop with my teenager who is a guitarist (don't worry, we wear ear plugs).

I see that there is a lot of preference in this forum for a 212 cab. I was looking at the Avatar 212 (local company to me) and its a fairly decent price. For the metal heads out there: Would a 212 be ideal for this amp or would you prefer a 410? Any cabs that you'd recommend over another? Thank you!!!
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I run a big tube head and a 412 and am about to get a 215 from the same builder to pair with it.

Having played through a lot of backlines and practice space gear, particularly for the type of music you're talking about doing, if it were me I would take a 212 over a 410 every day. If you go with neodymium speakers, you'll have a thumping, potentially high-wattage cab that's super light. My 412 with eminence deltalite IIs is 1000 watts at about 89lbs (its box is the size of an 810), so a comparable 212 should push what you need at 500 watts. My buddy got a 212 from the same builder as me, and it's tallish and thin, as opposed to the typical rectangle guitar 212s. I played through it a few weekends ago and it sounded fantastic, and pushed tons of lows and low-mids.

While I haven't played through one, I've heard that Avatars are solid builds, and relatively affordable for what you get. You can also get more down the road, but I think starting with a 212 is a sound decision.
 
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#43
Big cabs are awesome...as long as you don't have to move them.

But, the new neo cabs out there are awesome...I'm a fan of 'trying' to be a minimalist...sometimes it works. I also don't have room to store a bunch of stuff anymore. I have used many different backline cabs over the years and they have all been good, with some better than others...I do have a love/hate thing going with 810, 115, and 215 cabs.

All that said, I am most happy with my current rig that just has a 410, it's as loud as any 810 I've plugged into but half the size and a third the weight. I might even add a second 410 or a 210 at some point if I get the extra cash, but its not a 'need' at this point for me.

So...idk, I always say you have to see what works best for the sound you are going for, and what sounds best to you.
 
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#48
JJ Honeycutt said:
Another newbie question (and its after long research and reading here on TB). I'm fairly new still to playing the bass. I started off with a Sunn combo and recently bought my first amp head (Orange 4 Stroke 500). Looking to buy a cab to pair with it and I thought that before I pull the trigger on something I would consult the gurus here first.

I play mostly metal (doom, death, thrash) and for now just have loud jam sessions in my shop with my teenager who is a guitarist (don't worry, we wear ear plugs).

I see that there is a lot of preference in this forum for a 212 cab. I was looking at the Avatar 212 (local company to me) and its a fairly decent price. For the metal heads out there: Would a 212 be ideal for this amp or would you prefer a 410? Any cabs that you'd recommend over another? Thank you!!!
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For your situation I'd Def get a 410
 
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#49
Thank you all for the great feedback. My customer this morning saw my bass sitting in my lobby and we struck up a conversation about my new amp and my search for a cab. He said he had this Hartke VX215 just sitting in his basement collecting dust if i wanted it. Going to track down a cord for it and give it a try this weekend. Im leaning towards buying that 410 from Avatar but at least this will give me an idea of what a 215 sounds like.
20220415_141330.jpg
 
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#50
JJ Honeycutt said:
Thank you all for the great feedback. My customer this morning saw my bass sitting in my lobby and we struck up a conversation about my new amp and my search for a cab. He said he had this Hartke VX215 just sitting in his basement collecting dust if i wanted it. Going to track down a cord for it and give it a try this weekend. Im leaning towards buying that 410 from Avatar but at least this will give me an idea of what a 215 sounds like.View attachment 4659684
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DENT VIKING! :woot: A fitting rig for such a character!
 
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#51
HolmeBass said:
This is not correct. With 2 cabinets, 8 ohms each, the amp sees a 4 ohm load and puts out 500 watts.

The two cabinets will split that 500 watts evenly; each would only have to be rated for 250 watts.

This is assuming both cabinets are 8 ohm cabinets.
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I stand corrected on the power handling requirements for two 8-ohm cabs, but “this is not correct?” The other 80% was correct. That’s still, like, a solid B- for my reply, man :smug:
 
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#57
JJ Honeycutt said:
Does anyone know if there is a sound quality difference in the Neo speakers compared to the larger magnet speakers? Or is it just a weight thing?
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In my very limited experience, I haven’t noticed any difference (other than weight) that I can directly attribute to neo or old school construction. My Traynor SB112 class D/neo combo doesn’t sound all that different from my old lead sled Peavey rigs, and what differences I can hear may come down to a number of other factors (different preamps, different dimensions of cabinets, and so on). Hopefully some players with more experience and more discerning ears can provide more useful assessments; but based on my (again, limited) experience I would go neo to reduce weight or old school to reduce cost. Can’t beat free, though! :laugh: I bet that Hartke cab has good lows and highs at the very least—especially for the price! :roflmao:
 
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#58
Riff Ranger said:
In my very limited experience, I haven’t noticed any difference (other than weight) that I can directly attribute to neo or old school construction. My Traynor SB112 class D/neo combo doesn’t sound all that different from my old lead sled Peavey rigs, and what differences I can hear may come down to a number of other factors (different preamps, different dimensions of cabinets, and so on). Hopefully some players with more experience and more discerning ears can provide more useful assessments; but based on my (again, limited) experience I would go neo to reduce weight or old school to reduce cost. Can’t beat free, though! :laugh: I bet that Hartke cab has good lows and highs at the very least—especially for the price! :roflmao:
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Just ordered my Speakon adapter from Sweetwater and I'll give you an update when I finally get to hear what this thing sounds like.
 
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#59
I think a pair of 15s would serve you well. I’m a big fan of multiple cabs. I auditioned a pair of Mesa Subway 115s and the sound was shockingly good, super solid, lots of punch, good detail. And they’re small and easy to move around. They’re not cheap, but there’s some wisdom in the “buy once, cry once” saying…
 
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#60
Be careful when you take advice from people.

Playing doom, thrash or death means you care- and thoughtlessly expose yourself to volume levels that some users here on the forum would react to by turning around and walking (running) from the room.
I know for sure that my 'loud' is not their 'loud' and I'd wager that your 'loud' is closer to mine than theirs.

Doing what you do with a 2x12 cabinet works, but only if you have some elite 212 super cabinet like a Barefaced twin and lots of power feeding it. I did play doom with an Aguilar GS 212 - which is not a bad cab at all - but it simply did not cut it. Not even close.
So if we're talking about regular cabinets, a good 410 is minimum but 215, 412, 610 or 810 are much better suited.

When you want to have a grindy, big low end, you need do move insane amounts of air. Especially when you tune down or use a 5 or 6 string. Set up against a hard hitting drummer and a guitar halfstack with 412, you need some capacity behind you. With not enough cabinet, the only safe bet is to Lemmy Kilmister it and simply dime everything except for bass and treble, which get turned off completely - but that won't really work with Orange amps as far as I know.
 
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