I won't tell you what to get, but I will say if you can't find what you want locally, keep an eye on the Sam Ash used gear. They ship everywhere for dirt cheap. If you find them on the' Verb they often accept offers. Good luck with your search.
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Landed a 400RB!..now I need a cab...
- Thread starter WilbursaurusRex
- Start date
In over 40 years of bassing, one of the best rock sounds I've ever gotten was a 400RB with an SVT 8x10. Just sayin'....
I have that same cab and 800RB. Did you remove the rat fur ? My cats turned it into a scratch pad
Great head. Got mine in the mid-80's and it's never failed me in many and diverse jobs. My favourite combination was with a David Eden D115XLT. I'm a sucker for 15" cabs and, even at 8 ohms, that speaker was a superb match for my trusty 400RB.
Don't plan on changing the speaker out of a cab unless it's just the 4Ω version of the speaker. Randomly putting in even a much better speaker is likely to yield less desirable results than the original one. That's because the cab was designed for that particular speaker's stats and replacing it with something else rarely turns out OK.
But if it's the same speaker in 4Ω you should be just fine.
Smooth_bass88
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- Oct 31, 2006
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Yup, this is fact. A 4x10 aluminium cone Hartke, for that transient attack!Isn't there some law that says if you have a GK 400 or 800 RB you HAVE to pair it with a Hartke 4x10"?
Seems like from about 1986 to 1992 that was about the only bass rig you ever saw!
Hartke would be widely available and quite cheap FWIW, and it would get you that sound from that era, if that floats your boat.
Analogeezer
I have a 400RB MKII as well and bought an SVT 8x10 cab from a friend a few years ago after using it at a few shows. Best $250 gear purchase ever. Not my main rig due to the size and weight, but when I'm on a big stage that's the set-up I use. Smaller shows see my Ampeg RB410 doing the heavy lifting.In over 40 years of bassing, one of the best rock sounds I've ever gotten was a 400RB with an SVT 8x10. Just sayin'....
I sometimes use my mid 80's 400rb with a single 4ohm Glockenklang 4/10 cab.. sounds great, that Gk growl and punch is there.. but the Glock is pretty heavy at 82lbs.. occasionally I'll use my Glockenklang 8ohm 2/10 cab, by itself as well, with great results. Those older Gk amps are really amazing sounding amps, and built like a tank.
Enjoying this thread. My current set up is p-bass x 400rb x GK Neo 112ii. I have a classic rock three piece band that play in my garage. We want to play out soon and I want to add a 115 to add or would swap for 410. When that day comes I think I will order used guitar center stock.
If you want to gig it, go with something efficient like a 215 with 200 watt EVMs or a fridge. Generally speaking, the current generation of bass cabs are too power hungry and are designed to deliver more low lows than your GK will be happy to provide.
Sadly, SWR never made such a critter. They are all 4 ohm cabs. It's not a problem if you run SWR heads as they can run down to 2 ohms, but the GK400RB (and quite a lot of other amps) can't do that.
My first pro rig was a 400RB into two Mesa diesel cabs running the 400 watt EVs. Took a long time to find a better sounding rig than that one. Frankly wish I still had the head.
Also, since two other posters mentioned it; the 400RB with an SVT 810 is a stupendous tone. I just got tired of moving the thing. But what a combo!
Also, since two other posters mentioned it; the 400RB with an SVT 810 is a stupendous tone. I just got tired of moving the thing. But what a combo!
They still are for some of us.
For the OP, an old Hartke 410 would be plenty to handle most gigs. It's a bit heavy to schlep, but as a one cabinet solution on your budget it would be hard to beat. And it will sound great.
A pair of used 8ohm single 15" speakers would be preferred if you can afford it. One cab will be ok for rehearsals or small gigs. The second cab will allow you to play in pretty much any situation.
I agree! I had the GK-400RB series 1 paired with the Hartke 410XL cab. One of best sounding combos I have ever used.
Mine is still rat fur, but it is in great shape. My cats don't bother it at all.
Seems overwhelming for the Hartke 410 or fridge. I picked up a gen1 400rb a few months ago, favorite amp now. Clearing a space in the garage for when I see a nice deal on a 8x10 come up. Is there any discernible difference between fridges with the 400rb? They come up for sale often in my area. So do 410 Hartke and SWR cabs.
I was of course making a joke, you got that right?
NOT knocking that combination at all, it's pretty iconic when you get right down to it.
Not a Springsteen fan at all so I don't really pay much attention to his sidemen/sidewomen; he only hires really great players but I am not familiar at all with that guy.
The main reason I never wound up with a GK/Hartke rig was at the time I already had some bass cabinets and went to a preamp/power amp rack system instead. The power amp/rack/preamp cost me about what the Hartke cabinet alone cost back then.
Analogeezer
I have a Goliath Jr III that's an 8 ohm cab - maybe these were a bit of a rarity.
My other 2x10 is actually an 8 ohm Acme Low B2 and both cabs are rated for 350 watts RMS. Like the 400RB, my MB 500 also needs a minimum 4 ohm load.
Although my layout isn't ideal in theory, these two cabs have worked together fine with no apparent phasing issues. I may eventually get a pair of the same 2x10, but back when I needed to track down some decent cabs I found both of these at the same time for great prices from two different sellers.
