I'm looking to buy a new head and cab. I've been looking used for a while and had a few deals fall through, so I'm back to square one and I might as well seek some feedback / recommendations here.
My usual stage is DI-only, but I want something more than capable of playing a medium sized room or a rehearsal space with drums.
I will probably buy new for warranty purposes and to make sure I'm covered in the event of needing to make a return.
I will probably get a matched head and cab.
What I believe my requirements are:
- Solid state head making at least 300W, probably 500W or more
- I want an 'everything' solution so it needs to have DI Out, Aux In and Headphone Out.
- The head should be operable without a cab attached
- I prefer it have a mid frequency control or a multiband EQ (not just one mid knob or low mid/high mid knob)
- I don't have strong preferences in speaker sizes, but would want a cab that around 50lbs at most
- Clean/Clean-ish tones are most important
- Would like some versatility in the sound so, not strictly vintage or strictly modern
- Budget for the head and cab combined would be a maximum of around $2k.
- Generally I'd go for sound quality and features over power.
What is there out there that TBers would recommend that meets these specs?
Roughly speaking there are offerings across the spectrum from Fender, Genzler, and a few others I'm seeing but I wanted to ask the collective wisdom of TB.
Thank you!
I'd really recommend that you go with a 210 cab and preferably an 800-watt amp, but a 500-watt amp will certainly do for medium-sized venues. Bear in mind that when we're talking 500-watt or 800-watt amps, those are typically into a 4Ω load. Two 8Ω cabs is a 4Ω load with the standard industry connection, which is a parllel connection. Generally, you are going to get about half that power or a bit more into a single 8Ω cab and believe me, you don't want to get a single 4Ω cab if there's even a chance you'll want/need to run a second cab with it. So you're looking at ~250-watts rms or so from a 500-watt into 4Ω amp and 400-watts rms from an 800-watt amp. Both of those will give you enough power with a decent 210 cab to fill medium-sized venues.
I had purchased a DNS-410 cab (handles 1,400-watts rms) back in 2015 thinking I'd never need to buy another cab because even at outdoor music festivals I'd get told to turn down using it with an 800-watt amp. Best sounding cab I've ever heard and it gets very loud very quickly. Then I found out I couldn't use it at most brewpubs here in Washington state. it scared the club owners when they saw me wheel it in and I'd typically have to use their little 112 combo. In 2019, when I got my DNA Endorsement, I bought the DNS-210 (handles 700-watts rms) because nobody looks cross-eyed at a bass player bringing in a 210 cab. It sounds just like my 410 but in a smaller form and actually goes 3Hz lower (34Hz) than my 410 (37Hz). I should have bought the 210 first and then bought a second one when I needed it.
So I'm one of those "buy a 210 now and a second one when you need it" guys. I did it backwards myself. Bad news is that DNA closed their doors in January of 2023 due to lack of parts availability. I bought a DNA-800 amp through my artist rep in April of 2021, but the factory didn't have any complete amps - they were waiting on parts. David Nordschow himself however said he had enough parts on hand to build one for me if I could wait a couple of weeks for it. I did and he built one and sent it to me in early May. That's my main amp now.
One caveat about buying an 800-watt amp and any cab. Make sure the cab you buy can handle at least 400 to 450-watts rms - make sure you are looking at the rms rating! Otherwise if you crank the amp up too high, you can blow the speakers. You can safely run a cab with a lower rating than your amp if you're careful, but much safer to use a cab rated with higher handling power than the amp will deliver to it maxed out. I ran my DNS-210, which handles 700-watts rms with my Eden WT500/800 that bridges at 800-watts rms into 8Ω for years with no problem, but I wasn't putting anywhere near 700-watts into it. It's a loud enough cab that I used it for large indoor venues, but it got painfully loud when I had my master turned up to 10:15 using my big Eden amp on a narrow stage.
Also, back in the 60's and 70's I've blown speakers, so I listen closely to my sound for any indication of stress on them and I don't use distortion. If you use distortion in your sound, it's all but impossible to hear when the speakers get stressed, whereas with a clean tone, you have a chance of hearing it and backing off the Bass EQ or the Master to relieve the problem before the speakers are blown (don't wait for the end of the song!).
Although they are no longer in production, you will find some DNA gear used from time to time. Just as a benchmark, if you find them, the last street price on the DNS-410 was $1,149, the DNS-210 was $869, and the DNA-800 amp was $799. That DNA-800 has a built in compressor with adjustable Threshold and Ratio, weighs all of 4.8-lbs, and delivers 800-watts rms into 4Ω and "almost full power into 2Ω" (from the manual). However, that amp does not have a headphone out, so it doesn't tick that box. Used prices on DNA gear is normally less than new, but not often by a lot.
