Which would be the best way to go if you had little money to spend
Crap head, good cab
Crap cab, good head
Not so good cab and head
Crap head, good cab
Crap cab, good head
Not so good cab and head
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Crap head or cab?
- Thread starter wtf_is_a_bass
- Start date
In my experience, it's best to go with a good cab, and a decent head. For example, with guitars: The Marshall MG series is mostly considered crap. However, my friend has a Marshall MG100 head, but a 1960A cab (high-end marshall). This combination sounds pretty good actually, despite the head being solid state & underwhelmingly budget. Much better than with the MG cab, which is just total crap.
I'd look for a used Peavey head and an Avatar cab if you wanna go for bare-bones minimum decent.
I'd look for a used Peavey head and an Avatar cab if you wanna go for bare-bones minimum decent.
i suppose it would really depend on the situation.
if you were gigging alot at places that supplied cabs like some gigs with many bands in one night do. then it would make little sense to get a crap head and good cabs.
if you were gigging alot at places that supplied cabs like some gigs with many bands in one night do. then it would make little sense to get a crap head and good cabs.
I agree with The 0x. While I would not recommend buying anything crappy, I feel that there is greater variation in sound quality among cabs than in amps. I have found that as long as I have a good bass and good cabs, any decent amp with enough power can give me the sound I want. Case in point: I recently switched from an EBS/Crown pre/power amp combination to a Mark Bass Little Mark head. I kept my EBS cabs and to my ears there´s very little tonal difference . There is, however a 15 kg weight difference, that is greatly appreciated 
Mind you, there are camps with completely opposite views. For example, many tube amp enthusiasts feel that the amp is a vital - perhaps even the most important - part of their sound. And I´m not saying they´re wrong, it´s just a different approach.
Mind you, there are camps with completely opposite views. For example, many tube amp enthusiasts feel that the amp is a vital - perhaps even the most important - part of their sound. And I´m not saying they´re wrong, it´s just a different approach.
bigfatbass
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- Jun 30, 2003
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- Endorsing Artist: Karl Hoyt Basses
Just to be redundant, I'll agree with the above. Go with a better cab than head providing the head has enough power for the job. Almost any sufficient power source can be made to sound decent through a good cab with a bit of tweaking.
My situation is different, since I'm almost always going through the FOH. In that situation, I'd say get an excellent head and a cab that will do the job. Then upgrade the cab whenever you get a chance.
You can get by fairly well with a not-so-good amp head, but bad cabs will make you sound bad.
That's my two cents, anyway.
That's my two cents, anyway.
My opinion is that I would never pay any cent for crap. I mean, willingly. If you have a little money, better get good strings, good cables, etc., IMO.
I'm going to disagree with the others and say spend the money on a good head. You can always upgrade the speakers later. I'm talking get a pro series SWR head and a workingman's cab, then trade up to a pro series cab down the road. Don't go so crappy as to get a Crate or anything...
There are some very good cabs that can be had for a fairly low amount of money though. Dr. Bass and Avatar both make good 4x10 cabs for under $500. Get a used SWR, Eden, Ashdown, GK, etc... pro-series head to power them with and you'd have a sweet rig for not a whole lot of money outlay.
There are some very good cabs that can be had for a fairly low amount of money though. Dr. Bass and Avatar both make good 4x10 cabs for under $500. Get a used SWR, Eden, Ashdown, GK, etc... pro-series head to power them with and you'd have a sweet rig for not a whole lot of money outlay.
bigfatbass
Inactive
- Jun 30, 2003
- 2,420
- 404
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Karl Hoyt Basses
You could plug a hand wrapped masterpiece of an amplifier into a tissue paper piece of crap cab and it will sound like the latter. You give me a berg 310 and a 35 watt Crate turd factory and I can make it sound beautiful to a certain SPL.
That just does not work the other way unless your situation is similar to liquidmid's.
That just does not work the other way unless your situation is similar to liquidmid's.
I would go for the good head. You can pair a good head with just about any cab, be it yours or someone else’s.
In the end you will only sound as good as your playing skill, your bass, your amp, and your cab... but most is in your personal skill. Learning to play aside, I say a good bass is priority #1 (I base this only on desire not logic), then a good amp, then a cab. I love a good cab, and you will eventually want one... but amps and bases have always given me GAS... never a cab really. Maybe that reasoning isn't so scientific. I just see amps as being better investments... people remember amps, not cabs for the most part.
EDIT: get a good head and then get a cheap but good cab like avatar. Lets face it, most everyone uses eminence anyway... and they all have access to the same designs for cabs/speakers. Sure there are some crazy looking boutique cabs that people swear is the best thing since sliced bread... but any solidly built cab will do the job more than well. Usually the performance difference is pretty minimal (and really comes down to preference). Cab design is not a secret science these days. Only the really cheap/crappy cabs will significantly compromise tone.
p.s. I play tube amps so to me the amp is almost as much of my tone as is the bass
In the end you will only sound as good as your playing skill, your bass, your amp, and your cab... but most is in your personal skill. Learning to play aside, I say a good bass is priority #1 (I base this only on desire not logic), then a good amp, then a cab. I love a good cab, and you will eventually want one... but amps and bases have always given me GAS... never a cab really. Maybe that reasoning isn't so scientific. I just see amps as being better investments... people remember amps, not cabs for the most part.
EDIT: get a good head and then get a cheap but good cab like avatar. Lets face it, most everyone uses eminence anyway... and they all have access to the same designs for cabs/speakers. Sure there are some crazy looking boutique cabs that people swear is the best thing since sliced bread... but any solidly built cab will do the job more than well. Usually the performance difference is pretty minimal (and really comes down to preference). Cab design is not a secret science these days. Only the really cheap/crappy cabs will significantly compromise tone.
p.s. I play tube amps so to me the amp is almost as much of my tone as is the bass
CrUiSeR said:
I dunno man, crap head can be painful. I'd rather stick to my han... oh wait, wrong type of head.
if i were you id go avatar and a nice used head or do wat i did. buy a goliath III jr. and an swr 350 Pro with tube pre for 600 bux. hit the bay and go hunting.
...or wait and save. I find stores are more likely to give you a deal if you buy both a head and cab at the same time. As you save you can also watch the used market for a good head/cab..
I can't add much to the discussion but don't forget the player.
I've taken a high end rig to an open mic I play at from time to time and different players sound good or bad through it. Mostly related to how that player uses their hands.
I've taken a high end rig to an open mic I play at from time to time and different players sound good or bad through it. Mostly related to how that player uses their hands.
Put me in the "cab is more important" column.
During one period of extreme poverty I went through in the early 80's The marshall major I was using went south (transformer) so I was forced to use a SS sunn concert lead amp to push a pair of 15"s for a year or two. It wasn't exactly tone of the gods, but it had enough grunt to fill out the bottom thanks to the cab being an efficient air mover.
During one period of extreme poverty I went through in the early 80's The marshall major I was using went south (transformer) so I was forced to use a SS sunn concert lead amp to push a pair of 15"s for a year or two. It wasn't exactly tone of the gods, but it had enough grunt to fill out the bottom thanks to the cab being an efficient air mover.
This is a very subjective thread. Crap to me could mean something completely different to someone else.
The amount of money you spend on something does not determine crap or good or even great.
For instance - I feel Fender basses are crap, but they sell alot of them. I don't like Eden anything and they still sell a bunch of them too.
I like the Peavy stuff - Cheap, bullet proof and easy to get at a really good price. I love my SWR equipment. I love my Schroeders. I have also purchased a couple of empty cabinets off E-bay and loaded them with really inexpensive speakers for a practice rig and they actually sound pretty good. My practice rig - Yorkville 400BH, 2x10, 115 cab - Under $300 complete with cables....
Search for what you have to spend and spend the best you can
The amount of money you spend on something does not determine crap or good or even great.
For instance - I feel Fender basses are crap, but they sell alot of them. I don't like Eden anything and they still sell a bunch of them too.
I like the Peavy stuff - Cheap, bullet proof and easy to get at a really good price. I love my SWR equipment. I love my Schroeders. I have also purchased a couple of empty cabinets off E-bay and loaded them with really inexpensive speakers for a practice rig and they actually sound pretty good. My practice rig - Yorkville 400BH, 2x10, 115 cab - Under $300 complete with cables....
Search for what you have to spend and spend the best you can
