Cab for GK 700RB II

[libekgz]

I hope this message finds you well. I am looking after cabs to match with GK 700RB II. I am 10” guy but heard so much good about GK Neo II 212 and Neo II 112 (reffering to those - Neo Cabinets (Old) — Gallien-Krueger). Considering 700RB II is producing 320W on 8ohms would that be okay to pair iwth 300W Neo II 112? In near future I wanted to pair it with another 112 for a full range of amp. This is only because of the weight factor. I would appreciate your help.

From the other hand I have a great offer for second hand CX210 so leaving this as an option.

Thank you for your help!

 

[Stevorebob]

Here’s what GK told me about the Neo 112. Beginning mid-2014, the Neo 112 was tested a re-rated at 400 watts. The labeling did not change until 2019. The cabs now are listed as 400 watts.

 

[RattleSnack]

GK NEO 112-II is rated for 400W, although mine has 300W writed. I use it with GK RB400.
It is very good cabinet, maybe even best sounding 1X12 cab I tried. Balanced and natural sound, dynamic, very loud for 12". Light IMO at 16kg, but a bit bigger than you would expect. I guess it has to be in order to have that qualities.

 

[UntitledProject]

I'm a 12 guy and have 2 gk neo 212 cabs. But those cx cabs are amazing! If you have a good offer on one, I would not hesitate to snag it.

 

[Wasnex]

320W is a lot of power for a 112 IMHO. Even if the cab Neo 112 is rated 400W, you should keep in mind that it may be mechanically limited below 100hz to less power. Even if it is safe with the full 400W, I would be surprised if it does not get noticeably compressed when pushed.


The 700RB is biamp capable. The Tweeter amp is high passed at 5kHz. The woofer amp can be run full-range or you can push a button to engage a 5kHz LPF. Biamp ready cabs include the RBH series and series III or older NEO. Series IV Neo is not biamp ready.

The CX210 can be use with the 700RB, but it will only take power from the woofer amp.

 

[Al Kraft]

I can tell you without hesitation that the GK Neo 112II works very nicely with the RB700 and two of them work even better. However, I would heed Wasnex's advice relative to 320 Watts being a fair amount of power to feed into one 12" loaded cab, especially if you using a lot of bass EQ boost.

The cool thing about that generation of the Neo cabs is that you can also use the GK HMS feature to biamp feed the cab. I will also add that many of us who own them believe they are an exceptionally well-balanced design across the entire frequency range.

FWIW, I run mine mainly with a Mesa Carbine M3 (which is very aggressive amp) and have never had a problem. They also sound great individually or combined with my GK MB500. That head is rated at 350 Watts at 8 Ohms and 500 at 4 Ohms. The series II Neo cabs came out around the same time and were part of the new smaller, lightweight GK offerings...i.e. intended to be used together

As always, common sense and reasonable expectations go a long way to preventing equipment damage.

 

[DWBass]

I love my 2 Neo112II's.

 

[libekgz]

Here’s what GK told me about the Neo 112. Beginning mid-2014, the Neo 112 was tested a re-rated at 400 watts. The labeling did not change until 2019. The cabs now are listed as 400 watts.

You are referring to older NEO cabs, right?

 

[libekgz]

I'm a 12 guy and have 2 gk neo 212 cabs. But those cx cabs are amazing! If you have a good offer on one, I would not hesitate to snag it.

I have very good offer for CX210. I could pair it with CX115 or another 210 later.

 

[libekgz]

320W is a lot of power for a 112 IMHO. Even if the cab Neo 112 is rated 400W, you should keep in mind that it may be mechanically limited below 100hz to less power. Even if it is safe with the full 400W, I would be surprised if it does not get noticeably compressed when pushed.


The 700RB is biamp capable. The Tweeter amp is high passed at 5kHz. The woofer amp can be run full-range or you can push a button to engage a 5kHz LPF. Biamp ready cabs include the RBH series and series III or older NEO. Series IV Neo is not biamp ready.

The CX210 can be use with the 700RB, but it will only take power from the woofer amp.

I consider Bi-Amp as a nice to have feature not must have. I would plan to get 2x 112 NEO so it would be 800W total CAB power with 480W Amp. Do you also think it might be mechanically overpowering?

 

[Stevorebob]

You are referring to older NEO cabs, right?

Yes.

 

[Al Kraft]

I consider Bi-Amp as a nice to have feature not must have. I would plan to get 2x 112 NEO so it would be 800W total CAB power with 480W Amp. Do you also think it might be mechanically overpowering?

You have misinterpreted what the ratings mean. Just to help you clear that up I am going to oversimplify this a bit, but it is accurate. I just left out a lot of other details that should make better sense for you once we get this corrected.

Think about it this way... cabs are rated in terms of their limits in terms of how much power they can safely handle coming from an amplifier. Amplifiers are rated in terms of the maximum power output they can send to a cab(s). So cabs are getting power (they do not produce it) and amplifiers are sending power.

In your example, the maximum output of the amplifier is less than the total capability of the combined load of the cabs to safely use. All the components in that equation are happy and your rig will sound great.

Your concern on mechanical overpowering of speakers by an amplifier is always worthy of consideration. However, that is often more of an issue when the cab's (speaker's) rating (usually thermal) is significantly higher than the cab's (speaker's) mechanical rating and/or you are deliberately delivering more power to the speakers than they are rated for. This situation is most often encountered with high power, lower frequency operation especially with boosted bass/low EQ.

I think that in your specific case (RB700 and two 8 Ohm Neo 112II's) you'd be fine in most any musical situation. If you tried to turn your rig into some kind of high volume subwoofer sounding deal, you might run into trouble.

I hope that's helpful.

 

[sonojono]

12” guy myself. I have great success pairing my 700rb with a 3x12 setup!

 

[Thumpin6string]

I have very good offer for CX210. I could pair it with CX115 or another 210 later.

I also prefer 10s. I tried using 12s by themselves but found them lacking the punch and sounding a bit muddy. I then tried adding a 112 to my 210 and it sounds great. The 210 add everything that the 112 was missing and the 112 filled in the low end. Best of both worlds IMHO.

 

[Al Kraft]

Just a word of caution, and this is coming from a guy who owns almost all 12" and 10" loaded cabs (except for my SW115)...it's not a good idea to associate particular performance characteristics to different diameters of speakers. It doesn't work that way except in gross terms for extreme differences (e.g. a 3" driver will almost certainly be less useful or capable for a subwoofer application than a 15" or 18" driver).

The only reliable thing speaker diameter will tell you is roughly the size the hole it would mount in. And I would argue that speaker diameter is an especially unreliable indicator of anything relevant to voicing when comparing different brands. Some times (but not always) within a brand's line of speakers (e.g. GK Neo line) the designer will voice 10" loaded cabs one way, 12" loaded cabs another and 15" loaded cabs yet another...and it would be wrong to assume that bigger diameters mean more focus on deeper low end.

 

[libekgz]

Just a word of caution, and this is coming from a guy who owns almost all 12" and 10" loaded cabs (except for my SW115)...it's not a good idea to associate particular performance characteristics to different diameters of speakers. It doesn't work that way except in gross terms for extreme differences (e.g. a 3" driver will almost certainly be less useful or capable for a subwoofer application than a 15" or 18" driver).

The only reliable thing speaker diameter will tell you is roughly the size the hole it would mount in. And I would argue that speaker diameter is an especially unreliable indicator of anything relevant to voicing when comparing different brands. Some times (but not always) within a brand's line of speakers (e.g. GK Neo line) the designer will voice 10" loaded cabs one way, 12" loaded cabs another and 15" loaded cabs yet another...and it would be wrong to assume that bigger diameters mean more focus on deeper low end.

Thank you so much!

 

[libekgz]

Now I need to take a decision between super offer on CX210 ($340) vs Neo II 410 4ohm ($740) vs Neo II 212 ($650).
CX210 I could pair later with CX115 ($510 brand new)

 

[Al Kraft]

Now I need to take a decision between super offer on CX210 ($340) vs Neo II 410 4ohm ($740) vs Neo II 212 ($650).
CX210 I could pair later with CX115 ($510 brand new)

Depending on what your tone goals are, my guess is that all would be solid choices.

The Neo 410 II will have a massively abundant low end (that you can always EQ back) and a very present top end. Some folks say it sounds scooped in mids, but I would say it is not really scooped, just very strong down low and quite crisp in the upper register. It is an impressive sounding bass cab and the voicing can be reshaped a bit with EQ. It's a bass cab you won't forget having played.

The Neo212 II is simply an impressive cab in most every respect. In the Neo II line many of us would say it has the most inherently well-balanced voicing across the entire frequency spectrum. I can't think of too many gigs I would ever play where if needed more there wouldn't be capable and competent FOH support available. This is also a very memorable cab that surprises most people who play one, even if they already own a Neo112 II. It fills a room nicely and slots seamlessly into a band mix.

I have have no experience with CX series cabs and never comment on gear I haven't heard or played myself.


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[Wasnex]

I consider Bi-Amp as a nice to have feature not must have. I would plan to get 2x 112 NEO so it would be 800W total CAB power with 480W Amp. Do you also think it might be mechanically overpowering?

Should be a lot safer running 2 VS 1.

 

[sonojono]

I would weigh in that the CX line of GK cabs compliment very well with the MB heads. To me, the CX sounds warm and round. Neo delivers a clean, top end. Also have to consider CX cabs have ceramic speakers while the Neo cabs, Neodymium’s. There’s a lot of good videos on YouTube of both the CX and Neo series. Check them out while you can or better yet, try em out in person!