Cabs Are Key!

[Liam Wald]

Many years ago (like in the 80's) when I was touring with a really loud funk/horn band I used a Mesa Boogie 1516. An interesting cab that I wish I still had. It was large cab, about the size of an 8x10, and had one 15" one 10" and two 6" speakers with a 1" horn. I powered it with an SWR studio 220 (220 watts) and that sucker was plenty loud enough for any room I played and sounded down right luscious.

 

[Spidey2112]

Though I am admittedly teetering on the brink of a Mesa TT-800.

(Rustfeather): After that, I'm getting a space shuttle!

 

[micguy]

I can't remember the last time I played somewhere without FOH support though. Probably in the '90s as a teenager.

My last decent sized gig without PA support was also in the 90's, thought I was a bit past being a teenager. I did play a church gig about 8 years ago where we played in the auditorium for services (with a nice PA), and in the lobby between services - no PA for the bass. That was, however, a rather low volume affair - a single 112 cabinet was more than enough.

 

[BOOG]

Depends....
on your definition of good sound and 'dealing' with any scenario.
Context is everything and thats before we discussed your playing style, technique etc etc.

Yes, context, style of play, technique, genre of music are all factors. However, under those or other factors, why/when is it necessary? I mean, really “Necessary” vs “Desirable”?

 

[BOOG]

After reading through some of the posts, a few words pop into my mind.
Subjective vs Objective
Necessary vs Desirable
Want vs Need

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

(Rustfeather): After that, I'm getting a space shuttle!

@Spidey2112 you are inside my head!

 

[JimB52]

100w Marshall JCM800 into 2 1x10 Ampeg cabs provide all the stage volume I need. DI >PA does the rest.

 

[Spidey2112]

@Spidey2112 you are inside my head!

If you are laughing, you're in mind! Now, get out... there's not enough room in here, for all of us!

 

[alotabass]

In my teens I played thru 18's. In my twenties I played thru 15's. In my thirties I played thru 12's. Today I play thru 5's and I am amazed that they keep up even without FOH support. After years of playing thru everything you need a minimum of 200 watts to be heard in a band setting. The more watts above 200 you have the cleaner and more headroom you have for your sound.

 

[Cave Puppy]

Agreed. The size and shape and port and speaker of a speaker cabinet make a HUGE difference. Most of the difference, actually. Look at the BOSE stuff. It's all about the enclosure.

 

[Mark_70]

I would agree. I've been very impressed how far my TH350 with two Bergantino 112's go.. I know it's not the scientific term, but that set tends to make a lot of noise


Regards
Mark

 

[Old Fart]

Agree.

Concur. I notice most good cabs are very efficient. Because adding watts to get more loudness is a poor strategy. Also, I think higher sensitivity speakers sound more detailed to me. Less muddy.

I use the same strategy for my main home stereo. The power amp makes 8 WPC. Plenty loud using 103db speakers. Sounds amazing.

 

[CGramazio]

Hey, you wanna see something really scary??

 

[Zbysek]

I agree

 

[Zak TMD]

Seriously though, where do you really see amperage higher than 200 become full-on necessary?
Even at the last big concert (311) that I went to, I’m thinking, “everything Peanut is playing into is tapped into FOH so, why worry about it?”.

My drummer is loud, so my guitarist is loud. I run with 200 watts (tube pre / power) through a super efficient 215 or 412 (pic related). During a standard practice, on the OD channel I hit about 12 o'clock, but on the clean channel, I'm at like 2-3 o'clock. Not dimed, but if my amp was 300 I'd have a bit more headroom. The scene we play in doesn't always have sound at show, beyond PAs. So that kinda firepower is needed, based on my drummer's sound floor.

But yea, cabs make a WORLD of difference.

 

[Cave Puppy]

My drummer is loud, so my guitarist is loud. I run with 200 watts (tube pre / power) through a super efficient 215 or 412 (pic related). During a standard practice, on the OD channel I hit about 12 o'clock, but on the clean channel, I'm at like 2-3 o'clock. Not dimed, but if my amp was 300 I'd have a bit more headroom. The scene we play in doesn't always have sound at show, beyond PAs. So that kinda firepower is needed, based on my drummer's sound floor.

But yea, cabs make a WORLD of difference.

Aptly named cabs.

 

[Zak TMD]

Aptly named cabs.

hahaha going for all of them.

 

[BassyBill]

Any rig is only as good as it’s weakest link. A crappy sounding amp (to you) plugged into a great cab is still going to be a crappy sounding rig.

 

[soulstew]

Agree. Almost every gig I've played in the last six years could be handled by my Elf. Or my 45 watt Quilter Interbass for that matter. Some of the loudest gigs I've played lately were ones where I used the Interbass.

 

[monkeyfinger]

Any rig is only as good as it’s weakest link. A crappy sounding amp (to you) plugged into a great cab is still going to be a crappy sounding rig.

That is why I say you should put as much effort as you can getting a good direct sound, then add the amp and cab.