So I have asked questions about amps,,but I have seen it said here many times that the cabinet design/ efficiency is critical. So I have to ask which cabinets are considered to be if great design/ efficiency. I am specifically curious about Markbass,being that’s what I see most often in Guitar Center,and in FB Marketplace..They make some very light 4x10 cabs and Inwonder if they are good or not..Love to hear your thoughts.
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Cab
- Thread starter Pbasslovernyc
- Start date
Yes, cabs are at least as important as the amp. I would prefer to have a good amp and a great cab than the opposite - same with lower quality: I'd prefer to have a good cab and a crappy amp than the opposite.
Mesa Subway and Barefaced are considered to be great, expensive but "buy once, cry once".
Markbass are good and more affordable.
In the same "great" category as Mesa & Barefaced.
Markbass: A general description painted with a broad brush:
Yellow, light and loud. The one is on the honest side. It's bone dry, and what you feed in is what you get out of it. It's not gear to polish a turd. It's gear to make a good sounding bass, played with clean technique sound well in a mix.
Markbass did incredible things in the past. The Little Mark and Little Mark II are by today's standards normal bass amps. The size and weight of an old car stereo. However, those were class A/B amps, not class D.
Their cabinets have always been known as bringing you a great weight to SPL ratio.
@gtirard is right in mentioning Barefaced as the "great" category. A few years back, the term "Supercab" was coined, but also dwindled back to obscurity. Back then, the Greenboy designs (fEARful and fEARless cabinets), the Barefaced cabinet and the Audiokinesis cabs were all the rage. Why? They were light (the Greenboy designs were DiY, so weight could vary), small and packed an incredible punch. I myself bought a barefaced cab, then sold it again and bought two more, then sold off every other cab I owned. I now have two 112 cabinets that weigh 20lbs each, and stacked with a 500W amp, they reach my personal volume threshold.
(My personal volume threshold: Somewhere around the low G is a note that feels a little more resonant in the room. When I pluck that note and stand directly in front of the amp, my vision gets blurry because my eyeballs vibrate in my skull. I don't want to turn my amp any higher than that.)
Yellow, light and loud. The one is on the honest side. It's bone dry, and what you feed in is what you get out of it. It's not gear to polish a turd. It's gear to make a good sounding bass, played with clean technique sound well in a mix.
Markbass did incredible things in the past. The Little Mark and Little Mark II are by today's standards normal bass amps. The size and weight of an old car stereo. However, those were class A/B amps, not class D.
Their cabinets have always been known as bringing you a great weight to SPL ratio.
@gtirard is right in mentioning Barefaced as the "great" category. A few years back, the term "Supercab" was coined, but also dwindled back to obscurity. Back then, the Greenboy designs (fEARful and fEARless cabinets), the Barefaced cabinet and the Audiokinesis cabs were all the rage. Why? They were light (the Greenboy designs were DiY, so weight could vary), small and packed an incredible punch. I myself bought a barefaced cab, then sold it again and bought two more, then sold off every other cab I owned. I now have two 112 cabinets that weigh 20lbs each, and stacked with a 500W amp, they reach my personal volume threshold.
(My personal volume threshold: Somewhere around the low G is a note that feels a little more resonant in the room. When I pluck that note and stand directly in front of the amp, my vision gets blurry because my eyeballs vibrate in my skull. I don't want to turn my amp any higher than that.)
Anytime I heard a Markbass Cab in the wild they always sounded good in mix and seem to be excellent value considering price/weight
Yes Barefaced, Mesa, Genzler, Bergantino offer better overall Performance,build/component/
design quality
But at a cost and still an excellent value in their own right
Yes Barefaced, Mesa, Genzler, Bergantino offer better overall Performance,build/component/
design quality
But at a cost and still an excellent value in their own right
From 2 112s? Incredible! That’s a physical experience I long to have every single time I play.
I see lots of Markbass 4x10s at shows/festivals I attend. My sound guy prefers my 2x10 Markbass combo over my Audiokinesis, Mesa, or SVT rigs, but I think it's just because it pollutes the stage less. The Markbass cabs have a distinct low mid "honk" that is annoying solo, but they slot well in a busy mix which makes them very popular in genres like jamband and fusion where the bass needs to cut through a dense mix. Readily available due to their partnership with guitar center. My markbass combo is getting close to 1000 gigs, I believe. The ratfur looks like trash. When I bought mine, there wasn't as many options for reduced weight cabs as there are now, and many brands mentioned in this thread subjectively outperform.
Can you tell us more about your use case? Otherwise you’re just going to get a list of everyone’s favorite brands and not necessarily recommendations that will work for your situation.
I can tell you what brand, cabinet design, driver type, cab efficiency ect. that works for me, but it maynot work for you. Unfortunately the only way for you to know what'll work for you is to go hear them for yourself.
Hit your local G.C. and any and all mom and pop, brick and mortar stores you have still available to you. Take your bass, your amp and any effects you plan on using and audition every new and used bass cabinet you can find.
Don't consider brand name, driver size, cosmetics, it's efficiency rating, if it's sealed/front ported/rear ported, if it's inexpensive or a high-dollar boutique, ect.
Let only "your ears" pick the cab.
It's definitely a hassle (especially nowadays) to even find equipment to try out, but even if you have to make some reasonable road trips, it's worth the effort to find the right cabinet that works for you.
(And, even after all this effort, you may choose a cab that you love in the store and at home only to find it's sound/tone doesn't work for you in a live band.)
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Efficiency is only one of many aspects of what makes a great cab.
That being said, Markbass makes great cabs, and I have gigged with either one or two of their lightweight 4x10s for many years now and would highly recommend them. There are plenty of great cabs out there to suit different needs, though.
That being said, Markbass makes great cabs, and I have gigged with either one or two of their lightweight 4x10s for many years now and would highly recommend them. There are plenty of great cabs out there to suit different needs, though.
Yes. Excellent cabs. Bergies and Mesa are excellent. I had two single 12" Bergies that I sold to get my Mesa cabs, but eventually I also purchased a Subway 2x12. That one is my main cab. I still have a pair of Subway 15's in the music trailer that are rarely used.
I have to agree - I would rather have a so-so amp with a really good cab than the other way around. Look at it this way. You picked a particular bass, with particular strings, and (possibly) some particular effects pedals, and a particular amplifier head. The cab is your last item in the list to get things right. Do not skimp out here.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,047
- 5
- 221,002
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Size, weight, frequency response, voicing, textural dimensionality and cost are all part of what may make a cabinet an ideal choice or not.
I'll give a shout-out for G-K. I've had a NEO115 (40 lbs.) for many years now...replaced a fantastic but crazy heavy Ampeg PR-410HLF (128 lbs.) with the G-K and a 2x10 cab...first tried a Peavey Headliner 210, but it had a rattle that I thought was the metal grill, and after isolating it from the cab with rubber washers it turned out to be from something internal, so I exchanged it for a Hartke HyDrive HD210, which was on special just before they switched over to the much more expensive neodymium drivers, but still only 37 lbs. The package works nearly as well as the Ampeg cab did (maybe a bit less air movement, as my pantlegs don't quite flap around like they used to when I stand in front of it), carrying two 40 lb. cabs is easier than carrying one that's nearly 130 lbs., and I was able to sell the combo bass amps that I had used for rehearsals because now I can just bring my amp (Ampeg PF-500) and one cab (usually the smaller Hartke). Either cab works great by itself for smaller venues, but combining them just puts the whole rig in a perfect zone for most every larger gig (classic, alternative, and modern rock and pop) I've played with it!
As an aside, after using it for nearly 25 years, I sold that Ampeg rig (with the SVT3-PRO amp) for very near to what I originally paid for it, and it worked flawlessly for me for all that time. I just got too old to lug it around.
As an aside, after using it for nearly 25 years, I sold that Ampeg rig (with the SVT3-PRO amp) for very near to what I originally paid for it, and it worked flawlessly for me for all that time. I just got too old to lug it around.
If you're interested as a matter of learning, I think that's great to build knowledge. If you're trying to solve a problem as a practicing and/or gigging musician, or choose a bass cab for future purchase, that's something else.
For the former, I have no comment and we all can learn, myself included.
For the latter, Markbass makes GREAT stuff IMO and they are light weight and sound good. If you are looking at a purchase, I think focusing of OHM pairing, size, weight, wattage and price/money we have available are the real-world factors most of us deal with, and the technical details to focus on.
Markbass is often featured in Guitar Center because that's the deal that was struck between retailer and manufacturer. And that neither means it is verifiably or arguably better than anything else, nor does it mean Guitar Center only stocks the best available gear. But that also doesn't mean Markbass isn't great stuff, or that Guitar Center doesn't have some great (and less than great) gear.
Markbass specs are generally pretty good and the gear is widely considered to be quality.
First I will say, the specs are not a perfect indicator of performance, partly because there is no standardization in the process for developing specs. IMHO specs are most useful for comparing cabs within the same product line. When comparing cabs across product lines they may not be as useful. Why? The way specs are developed across product lines may vary. When comparing specs across brands, the specs are ballpark estimates at best.
The spec that relates to efficiency is Sensitivity. Most commonly with bass cabs, Sensitivity is expressed as the SPL measured at 1 meter when 1 Watt is applied. For example:
- Sensitivity = 97dB 1W/1m.
When you double the power, you expect a 3dB increase in SPL.
- 1W = 97dB
- 2W = 100dB
- 4W = 103dB
- 8W = 106dB
- etc
For example let's say your amp has a 250W power rating. If we continue our sequence we get:
- 16W = 109dB
- 32W = 112dB
- 64W = 115dB
- 128W = 118dB
- 256W = 121dB
Speakers develop power compression as the approach performance limits. So at some point you start to get less then +3dB when you double the power. Therefore real world SPL will tend to be a bit lower than calculated SPL.
If you know the 1W sensitivity and the RMS or AES power rating, you can estimate how loud the cab can play using the following formula:
- Calculated SPL =10Log(Power) + Sensitivity
- Calculated SPL at rated power = 10Log(400) + 97 = 123dB
With our 250W amp
- Calculated SPL = 10Log(250) + 97 = 120.97dB
Other Useful Info
- If the Sensitivity is based on 2.83V, you have to consider the impedance. 2.83V at 8 ohms is = to 1W. So 97dB 2.83V/1m at 8 ohms is the same as 97dB 1W/1m. However, 2.83V at 4 ohms = 2W. So you need to subtract 3dB to get the 1W/1m rating. 100dB 2.83V/1m at 4 ohms = 97dB 1W/1m
We have one speaker rated 400W with Sensitivity = 97dB 1W/1m. Let's assume it's an 8 ohm cab. For a pair of the cabs connected in parallel:
- Combined impedance 1/2 of 8 = 4 ohms
- Combined handling = 2 x 400 = 800W
- Combined Sensitivity = 97 + 3 = 100dB 1W/1m
I don’t have a situation yet,,mostly knowledge building at this point. I play open mics to keep my chops up,,hopefully find a few guys who want to play together..just want to know what I should be looking at and what I should be steering clear of.
I use a MESA SUBWAY 4 x 10 cabinet and Bag End S15-B cabinets.
I also have a 2x10 Markbass cabinet that works well and a Hartke HL4x10 which is a sealed cabinet. I’ve been curious about the sealed cabinets and picked one up to do some shows.
Lots of good products out there..
I also have a 2x10 Markbass cabinet that works well and a Hartke HL4x10 which is a sealed cabinet. I’ve been curious about the sealed cabinets and picked one up to do some shows.
Lots of good products out there..
