• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Just ordered a Golight 4x10

#41
Finally, after 2+ months, got it today. Played at the store to make sure it worked, loaded it up and did a gig tonight. Preliminary result: I like it. It sounds Great. If you haven't followed, I got it to hopefully replace my UL310, which I just don't like the sound of. Quality cab, very compact and light/loud, but the tone doesn't quite work for me.
Golight? It's a lot more 'natural' sounding. Flatter, and fatter. Similar, I think, to the old-school Goliath, which some folks would call 'mid-scooped.' To me, this means 'natural sounding,' as in, closer to what you'd hear from your bass direct. By comparison, the 310 sounds 'pinched;' relatively speaking it has a very clear focus on the upper mids and low bass regions. Now, some folks dig this, and God Bless.
Golight? No gank. Totally gank-free.
The Golight is also noticeably louder at a given amp volume setting, which is expected given it's a bit larger, has another driver and a bit lower impedance, which the MB head seems to enjoy. Again, yay.
Now, I have not yet compared it to my trusty, and rusty, Goliath III, directly. I will do this in the next day or two.
Good news is I have 4 gigs this weekend and so I'll be able to gig the Golight a bunch back-to-back. Hopefully this means I'll get a somewhat honest assessment of it, quickly, rather than try to learn to like it over the next couple of months, and then ultimately selling it, painfully.
I'll post again Monday or Tuesday. Last gig of the weekend is Sunday night.
DSC01152.jpg
 
#42
davidjbass said:
I just got the 8 ohm golight 410. I love it! If you are an SWR fan like myself it has everything the Goliaths have except the weight.
Click to expand...

I played David's cab at the NE GTG on 6/28. He had it hooked up to a Hartke head (though I cannot recall which one) and I was able to use his rig twice, once early on when I was playing his EB "Big Al" and later when I was trying out a Human Base.
Gotta say, I liked what I heard. As was stated, it seemed to have a more natural, "open" sound to it. I really dislike using the word "organic" when talking about electronic gear but that almost seems to be the correct term.

Except for the name , I think SWR got it right with this cab!!
 
#43
I own both the 4x10 and 2x10 Goliath III cabinets, and have been pretty happy with the sound, but not so much the weight. So I ordered both the 4x10 and 2x10 Golight cabinets. (See enclosed pic!)

So far, two tests:

1 - I unboxed the 4x10, and immediately took it to a gig. I was playing out of it 20 minutes later, in a club that I know well. It's a former hotel ballroom, high ceiling, very live, and no PA support except for the vocals. So, the cabinet has to stand on it's own, and in such a room, it's very easy to hear. I thought it sounded great, and not lacking in any way. So far so good.

2 - I set up all four of my cabinets in my studio, and proceeded to do a careful shootout. My hope was that the cabinets would sound very similar to the old ones, and that there would not be too much of a compromise in sound. But I had already decided that if it sounded 90% as good, it would be a keeper, as I really want to break free of the weight thing as much as possible. To my surprise, I like the sound of the new cabinets more. This is subjective, of course. Differences? The new ones have a little more in the 50-80hz area (they sound a little "deeper"), which is a nice plus. The upper bass/low mids feel a little cleaner. And the upper end feels a little less "metallic", which is something that has always bugged me about "modern" bass cabinets. That's the horn of course, but it too seems to be a little different, and in my opinion, better. Less "clank". So I am thrilled.

At pack up time, someone asked me if I wanted some help getting out to the car. I passed off the bass and head (light-weight hollow body bass, and a Walter Woods 6lb 1200-watt head in a laptop bag), and said, "I'll take the cabinet!" (the 4x10). I laughed inside all the way to the car. I can actually hold the 2x10 cabinet over my head. Easily. This is a life-long dream come true. I've had the heavy-bass and heavy-bass-head thing licked for years now, and now the last piece has finally fallen into place.

I still think the Goliath cabinets sound great, but they are for sale. PM me if you want 'em. My Aguilar gs112 cabinet is for sale too, because my new 2x10 weighs less!
 

Attachments

  • SWR bass cabinets.jpg
    SWR bass cabinets.jpg
    60 KB · Views: 124
#44
Nice review. But we all hear differently. I still think my Goliaths sound a little better than my Golight- a little 'sweeter,' whatever that means, in the midrange. But I like the Golight a lot. I pulled the grill from both and found the neo speakers to be a lot stiffer to move, maybe that's part of it. Maybe they'll loosen up over time, we'll see what if any effect that has.
 
#45
Cool thread. Not many folks have the Golights yet. Just wait til word gets out. :p


The Golight Cabs are really efficient and sound much to me like the Goliath IV series.

Just prior to my getting a Golight 2x10 and Golight 1x15 I was using new Goliath IV 4x10 and 1x15 Cabs. The Goliath IV's are lighter and have more power handling than the older III versions but the Golights run off and leave them. :hyper:

I think the main reason one would hear much of a difference in a GIII and a GLight would be the age and break-in time on the speakers though I'm sure the drivers can not be identical in performance.

The Lightweight is just a life saver. I do not know how I could go back to a heavy weight 4x10. I would have to start getting younger I think.:D

I would especially like to hear the sealed Marcus Miller Golight 4x10.


Edit: I like to color with crayons and I just love to look at the pretty pictures.:D


100_0696.jpg




100_0695.jpg



100_0699.jpg







100_0693.jpg
 
#47
I put Eminence Deltalites 2510 ll's in my Goliath jnr lll on the advice of another guy who did it..AND the fact that I couldn't get PAS cones over here to get them repaired.

What are SWR using in their Golights..?

I run it with a SWR SOB 1x15 with a SM400 bi-amped.
I'll get back here when I've had enough time to review it all
 
#49
JTUK said:
I put Eminence Deltalites 2510 ll's in my Goliath jnr lll on the advice of another guy who did it..AND the fact that I couldn't get PAS cones over here to get them repaired.

What are SWR using in their Golights..?

I run it with a SWR SOB 1x15 with a SM400 bi-amped.
I'll get back here when I've had enough time to review it all
Click to expand...

How much does your Jr weigh with the NEO's in it? Pretty sure it will not be as light as the Golight.

According to SWR the cabs are totally different materials with lightweight handles/grill etc...

The Golight 2x10 weighs 38 pounds and the 1x15 is 45 pounds. The 1x15 is a big cab that sounds like a traditional 1x15 cab to my ears.

They are definitely using Eminence Drivers in the Golights.

If I had to guess Fender probably went to Eminence and said design us some speakers that emulate the Ceramics in our current cabs.
 
#51
Cost is always an issue with manufacturing especially in this consumer driven "I want it cheap" world we live in. I suspect Fender has cut some production cost by moving cab production to Mexico.

That being said at least with the Goliath IV's there is something to compare to. The Goliath IV's were made lighter than their predecessors (the GIII's) and with better specs, for a very reasonable price in today's cab market place.

Also looking at the SWR Marcus Miller M2 Preamp the thing is built like a brick outhouse.

The notion that SWR/Fender will be using crappy components over the next guy is just a notion with no basis in fact. They have much more buying power over any other manufacturer out there (or most). Overheard in the Eminence factory " Jim can I get back to you Fender is calling right now. Yes sir Mr Fender what can I do to help you?".
 
#52
Red Planet said:
Cost is always an issue with manufacturing especially in this consumer driven "I want it cheap" world we live in. I suspect Fender has cut some production cost by moving cab production to Mexico.

That being said at least with the Goliath IV's there is something to compare to. The Goliath IV's were made lighter than their predecessors (the GIII's) and with better specs, for a very reasonable price in today's cab market place.
Click to expand...

Don't the IV's weigh in at 89lbs also?
 
#53
Unless there was something special with mine it was definately lighter than the brand new GIII right next to it. I got one of the first GIV's hot off the press.

There was a brand new GIII in the store but I wanted a GIV so they got me one.
 
#54
Red Planet said:
Cost is always an issue with manufacturing especially in this consumer driven "I want it cheap" world we live in. I suspect Fender has cut some production cost by moving cab production to Mexico.

That being said at least with the Goliath IV's there is something to compare to. The Goliath IV's were made lighter than their predecessors (the GIII's) and with better specs, for a very reasonable price in today's cab market place.

Also looking at the SWR Marcus Miller M2 Preamp the thing is built like a brick outhouse.

The notion that SWR/Fender will be using crappy components over the next guy is just a notion with no basis in fact. They have much more buying power over any other manufacturer out there (or most). Overheard in the Eminence factory " Jim can I get back to you Fender is calling right now. Yes sir Mr Fender what can I do to help you?".
Click to expand...

I doubt they are using components crappier than anyone else in their price brackets, but I doubt they did any such thing as have drivers custom designed. Most likely they were subtle mods on the Deltalites or Basslites if anything.
 
#55
rpsands said:
I doubt they are using components crappier than anyone else in their price brackets, but I doubt they did any such thing as have drivers custom designed. Most likely they were subtle mods on the Deltalites or Basslites if anything.
Click to expand...

Why? I'm sure Eminence would do that for Fender no charge.


I'm sure if Fender called up and said I want some purple and green drivers they would be shipped out asap.:confused::D
 
#56
There is no doubt Eminence supplies most of the drivers used in the Bass world or a darn hefty percentage. Everywhere you look there are Kentucky Speaks. Which IMO is not a bad thing.

The thing that gets me is the notion that the SWR stuff has to suck and the XYZ stuff is far superior with folks knowing full well who the Big Dog in the Kentucky Camp is. There are not folks out buying the most expensive drivers they can. They all end up wanting them priced as low as they can get them. It's basic economics.
 
#58
greenboy said:
If Fender is OEMing they probably don't try to get freebies in order to maintain a best possible relationship.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure they pay for the product.

Would someone like to dispute that Fender probably has far more buying power than most any other MI manufacturer out there?

How many units you think these guys buy? I bet Fender has been buying from Eminence for a looooonnnnggg time. ;)
 
#59
Why assume that Fender buying a company would result in quality going down? Certainly the opposite has happened with Gretsch. The new Gretsch guitars are not only better than the ones from the 90's, they are also quite a bit better made than the ones from the 60's!
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back