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Do all cabs feel like a compromise?

#121
aborgman said:
It isn't soft wood underneath. It's Baltic Birch plywood.

The polyurea bedliner coating itself also has significant structural rigidity, and will stay adhered with small dents - although in 8 years of riding around crammed in with drum kits, mic stands, etc. banging into it - I haven't gotten a dent yet.
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I've had cabs with pretty much every covering class - carpet, Tolex, Duratex, and Line-X, and by far the Line-X was my favorite.

The only two downsides are that it's relatively heavy, and if your cab gets into a fight with a wall, door, or your car... your cab will win, and win in a way that will make whatever you dinged pay.

Duratex is easy to touch up, which is its saving grace, but I still very much prefer the Line-X liner.
 
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#125
CL400Peavey said:
What is the difference in weight on a cab?
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It's heavier than tolex, but probably lighter than rat fur.

My LDS built fEarful 15/6 pictured below weighs ~45lbs.

dscf8001-jpg.jpg
 
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#127
monkeyfinger said:
5 or 6 #s can be a lot depending on what total weight you are talking about. 35#s is pretty easy to schlep. 40#s starts to get heavy for more than a short haul. But maybe you are the hulk and just don't care. YMMV.
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I have a hand truck for much more than in and out of the car. For the protection, I think five lbs is a reasonable trade off. And I’m not the hulk. I did CrossFit for awhile. And I was vegan for a day.
 
#128
With regard to build quality, fittings etc, which I thought was a major OP concern, something I've observed in other industries I'm more familiar with is that the rate people are prepared to pay can be very different for different items. As if folk are prepared to a price that equates to a labour rate of 10$ an hour for some items, and 25$ an hour for other stuff that requires similar skills. Maybe if there's a tendency for companies to do more serious cost cutting on cabinets than amps, could it be that the prices the majority are prepared to pay mean margins are much tighter on cabinets than amps? I don't know, but I've seen it in other industries. Don't know if any of our industry colleagues would feel able to comment?​
 
#129
JimChjones said:
With regard to build quality, fittings etc, which I thought was a major OP concern, something I've observed in other industries I'm more familiar with is that the rate people are prepared to pay can be very different for different items. As if folk are prepared to a price that equates to a labour rate of 10$ an hour for some items, and 25$ an hour for other stuff that requires similar skills. Maybe if there's a tendency for companies to do more serious cost cutting on cabinets than amps, could it be that the prices the majority are prepared to pay mean margins are much tighter on cabinets than amps? I don't know, but I've seen it in other industries. Don't know if any of our industry colleagues would feel able to comment?​
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Yeah, I was mainly talking about cost / construction compromises initially, but things always drift on TB. Good stuff anyways. Basses and amps seem to reach to the moon in quality options, but it seems like cabs max out somewhere around the equivalent of a Fender American bass. Why aren’t ther Sadowsky level cabs?
 
#133
MultiScaleMale said:
Everyone that owns a Berg will say that.
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I would say that. I have a CN112 which is my go to cab and always meets the need for any venue. I'd like to add a CN210 and a B-Amp but I am having trouble justifying the expense. (Spent a bunch of money a few years ago on a rig and almost nothing since.) The construction, hardware, handles and weight are all excellent, as is the tone, volume and power handling. I also own a Barefaced which is excellent but it is the One 10 which is a different animal (but extremely useful).
The covering is not very important to me, tolex is fine if you use a good padded cover (which you should) and be careful with your gear (which you should).
 
#136
MultiScaleMale said:
I’ve looked at them, but hats it. Never had a chance to hear one. Two Big Baby II cabs would likely cover what I want, but who knows how they would sound.
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Missed this thread yesterday, and I'm not reading 7 pages of it in a single sitting before responding to this... But...
Two BB2 cabs would be awesome. I'm really happy with one. Though, the handles would technically be a compromise, since they are straps.
So, yes. Every cab is a compromise :)
 
#137
My Phil Jones 8-T and 16-B cabs are absolutely killer sounding - crisp, clear, loud & articulate, but they are large, heavy back-breakers.
My Hartke Hydrive 112 cabs are featherweight, and I can carry them into a gig in one trip, but they don't have nearly the volume or articulation that the Phil Jones cabs do.

My compromise?
I use the Phil Jones for rehearsals, where the sound of the cabs is more important (they are unmiked, & my only source of tone), and I use the Hartkes live, where load in/out speed is critical, I only need them to hear myself onstage, and my amp & the FOH provide the sound that the audience hears.
 
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#139
MultiScaleMale said:
Yeah, I was mainly talking about cost / construction compromises initially, but things always drift on TB. Good stuff anyways. Basses and amps seem to reach to the moon in quality options, but it seems like cabs max out somewhere around the equivalent of a Fender American bass. Why aren’t ther Sadowsky level cabs?
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It’s been mentioned before, but as far as I’m concerned, these are sadowsky level cabs: Official Barefaced Bass Cab Club
 

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