Cab crisis - help me decide!

Head used will be an Ampeg Portaflex 500 ([email protected] - [email protected])

I want to have 2 cabs, so I can get the full 500 watts, and more speaker coverage/move more air for gigs, and then just use the 1 cab for smaller stuff like band practice and practice at home (but still has to have substantial low end and tone)

Here are the two options:

1 - Buy an Ampeg Portaflex 115he, and pair it with 115lf (or 112lf?) for bigger stuff.
(= 2x15)

2 - Buy an Ampeg SVT 112av, and pair it with another 112av for bigger stuff.
(= 2x12)

Now, the latter seems like a good option because I've heard many great things about the svt212av having a great big sound. Having 2x 112 gives me extra flexibility in terms of using one or two cabs, and also making things easier to transport.

However, from the few videos I've heard of the 212 and the 112 (there are barely any good examples of these cabs on youtube) they sound very bright and grindy and barely any good low end being made... although I suspect it's due to the cabs being miked up with a mic that doesn't pick up all the lows, and they most likely have the horn on, contributing to the excessive brightness.

I imagine in person, two svt 112's would push out some serious low end. But I could be misinformed.

The other option (the more affordable option!) is pairing two portaflex cabs, most likely two 115s. From what I've heard, they put out a bit more low end by themselves than the SVT 112 does. However... would pairing two 115's be an overkill for larger gigs?

Im after a nice, round sound. Strong bass, nice low mids and smooth highs. I play a passive jazz bass with cs60s and ghs roundcore boomers, so it's not a overly bright bass, and is a bit fatter sounding than your typical jazz. I'd like to keep it that way. I wanna go Ampeg because, simply put, I know for a fact Ampeg is the most solid bass amp you can get... construction wise, sound quality, and rugged reliability gig after gig. I wanna amp that will make me sit comfortably in the mix with good bass and midrange, as you would hear on a recording, that will project out even to the back of the room so the lows can be heard and not get drowned out.


Any insight I can get into this setup will be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

Yep... TB's Ampeg Guru.

 

That's fine. How about the 212av? Technically speaking, 2x 112av's should be identical performance wise and tone wise. Have you tried any of the portaflex cabinets (the current iteration pf, not referring to any vintage pf) such as the 115he or 115lf?

Any comment on these?

 

This was found from a thread regarding the svt 212 vs 2x 112's from 2016

this is what I'm hoping to achieve. However, he was using a tube svt amp, and I'll be using a solid state portaflex amp. However, even if the pf doesn't go as deep, the lows should still be pretty big through that rig right?

The deep factor isn't the main problem, I'd like nice and deep, but not too deep so as to lose clarity, and I still like good low mids. I just want the cabs to make solid, clean bass. From what I've heard in videos (again, perhaps not the most accurate representation) it's not that bassy at all.

for reference... here is the video I'm talking about. Don't know if it's the mic, the horn, the bass or whatever, but it sounds all top end and no bottom.


Would 2 115 portaflex cabs give me what I want, or would it be overkill?

 

Because on their own... I prefer the Portaflex 115 over the SVT 112

but, I've never heard 2 115's together and don't know if it will be too much.
On the other hand, 212 seems to be the sweetspot as far as speaker configs go... and as you can see, I've heard really great things (written reviews) and also really bad (yt videos)

So yeah, this is my confusion. This is what i wanna clear up a bit.

 

Boomy?

How about with a pf500?

 

100% I'm gonna have to try out for myself.

Yeah, if I go down the pf road, it'll definitely be the 115he and 115lf. You can't stack a cab ontop of a flip top can you... the flip top has to be on top.

As far as the SVT 112s go... what's their frequency range like in comparison to the PF? If you AB'ed a svt 112 and a pf 115he (both horn off) where would they differ?

thanks

 

also I'm thinking with stacking 2 pf 115s, they would be taller than stacking 2 svt 112s, PLUS the bigger speaker coverage meaning I would have greater dispersion and push more air?

PLUS the PF115 cabs have higher power handling rating than the SVTs, so more headroom!

did anyone get a chance to watch the video I linked above for the svt cabs? Am I the only one thinking they sound very lifeless on the bottom and all high end? Please tell me the video is a bad representation and they sound much fuller and warm in real life!

 

I like the sound of 112's the best and I dig the warm, round tone of my rumble 100 v3 combo (which is 112) but from what I've heard of the svt 112 is very thin, and the pf115 has a much fuller sound in the lows and low mids, with less emphasis on the highs.

I know that the SVT cabs are super clean, very high clarity, but can the same be said of the PF cabs? I've heard a few say it doesn't take long before they start to fart out. Is this true?

Sorry, I know a lot of questions! Please read my posts guys, I'd really appreciate if you didn't dismiss them and were able to answer some of these because it would really help me answer some important questions for me that would help settle the deal.