Hey DBers,
I play primarily fretless electric, though I can play DB (did so for 8 years in school, just don't have one of my own). I figured some of you may be interested in this review that I posted on the slab side of the forum. I wish I had an upright (for more than a few reasons...) to better test it for you guys, but just wanted to give you an overal impression of the cabinet in case you weren't at the Ohio belchfest (where it was right before I bought it).
Originally posted on the BG-Amps forum:
I just bought this cabinet from Tom Bowlus, as I was looking for something a bit smaller for my dorm room (I'm borrowing an old GK200MB indefinately right now for the purpose, but I'd like to have something of my own). My applications as of the moment are basically playing with an acoustic guitarist, but I could see this expanding in the future. My big rig is based around an LDS 2x12 / 2/6 neo, and being so satisfied with the sound and build of that, I kept an eye out for a used LDS small cab (1x8 or 1x10). I saw that Tom had this for sale, and inquired about it a couple of times before pulling the trigger.
Here's the rundown:
1x8 neo / 1x5.5 (maybe?) / tweeter
250 watts handling @ 8 ohms
14"x14"x14"
Carpet with plastic corners and blue baffle
Strap handle on the side, tilt-back handle on the bottom
For listening tests, all I have avaliable at the moment are my modded MIM fretless Jazz (the Plow, with a MM humbucker at the neck and wired vol/blend/tone) and GK200MB, which I used as a head only and for an A/B against the new cab. Note! The speaker in the GK was replaced at some point by a non-professional (worse, a drummer!). It may be a 4 ohm speaker, which would account for some extra volume out of the internal speaker.
Sound
The GK combo is very mid-present. I actually like the sound of it just fine. I play a lot of Neil Young songs with the acoustic guitarist I play with, and this tone works really well for that - a lot of mids, and not a whole lot else. When I first plugged in the LDS cab, it became apparent just what I was missing. The mids were a little quieter, but much, much, much more clear, and the highs were good. I'm not partial to tweeters, but this one is pretty sweet when turned up about half way. Up all the way, it is a bit much, but from 25%-50% it seems very balanced. The thing that blew me away about this cab, much like my other LDS, was the low end. However, the flavor of the bottom is a lot different. In my big cab, the lows are very present but very, very tight, yet here, at least at low volumes, they are wide and pillowy. The best part is, there is no definite point where the lows just kick in - it just seems to get progressively better as you go down. The Plow puts out some massive low end when soloing the neck pickup, and this cab took it all and sounded absolutely wonderful with it. Granted, I had a total of 80 watts to work with (), but it sounded great. I could not listen at high volumes because I live in a dorm, but I'll believe Tom's comment when he reviewed this cab that the lows start to lose their composure at higher volumes. Still, for a single 8" speaker, the lows are pretty great.
Looks / build quality
The blue looks a lot better than it does in pictures. I first saw it when I was ordering my big cab at LDS. In pictures, it looks nearly atrociously ugly and cheesey, but in person, it is very understated. Don builds a really solid cabinet. I'd really prefer if this cab had spray coating like my other, but with a cab this small that probably won't spend a whole lot of time in seedy halls, it isn't that big of a deal.
Portability
This thing weighs maybe 25 pounds. I thought that perhaps the single strap handle would be awkward, but Don placed it really well, and combined with the very low weight of this thing, it's a breeze. It's deeper than I had expected, but that's fine. With a 14"x14" footprint, I can't complain.
Fit / finish
Not much to say. Great
Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase. Tom was great to deal with, and this cab far exceeded my expectations. Combined with another small cab (perhaps an identical one), I think it could gig most smaller rock settings. Alone, it's probably not enough for that, but for acoustic guitar / hand percussion sorts of gigs, it would be perfect. I imagine it would also smoke with the right upright (they sure are finicky about what they work with and what they don't!) in a small, quiet group. I don't have a camera here, but I'll try to bum one soon to grab some pics.
I play primarily fretless electric, though I can play DB (did so for 8 years in school, just don't have one of my own). I figured some of you may be interested in this review that I posted on the slab side of the forum. I wish I had an upright (for more than a few reasons...) to better test it for you guys, but just wanted to give you an overal impression of the cabinet in case you weren't at the Ohio belchfest (where it was right before I bought it).
Originally posted on the BG-Amps forum:
I just bought this cabinet from Tom Bowlus, as I was looking for something a bit smaller for my dorm room (I'm borrowing an old GK200MB indefinately right now for the purpose, but I'd like to have something of my own). My applications as of the moment are basically playing with an acoustic guitarist, but I could see this expanding in the future. My big rig is based around an LDS 2x12 / 2/6 neo, and being so satisfied with the sound and build of that, I kept an eye out for a used LDS small cab (1x8 or 1x10). I saw that Tom had this for sale, and inquired about it a couple of times before pulling the trigger.
Here's the rundown:
1x8 neo / 1x5.5 (maybe?) / tweeter
250 watts handling @ 8 ohms
14"x14"x14"
Carpet with plastic corners and blue baffle
Strap handle on the side, tilt-back handle on the bottom
For listening tests, all I have avaliable at the moment are my modded MIM fretless Jazz (the Plow, with a MM humbucker at the neck and wired vol/blend/tone) and GK200MB, which I used as a head only and for an A/B against the new cab. Note! The speaker in the GK was replaced at some point by a non-professional (worse, a drummer!). It may be a 4 ohm speaker, which would account for some extra volume out of the internal speaker.
Sound
The GK combo is very mid-present. I actually like the sound of it just fine. I play a lot of Neil Young songs with the acoustic guitarist I play with, and this tone works really well for that - a lot of mids, and not a whole lot else. When I first plugged in the LDS cab, it became apparent just what I was missing. The mids were a little quieter, but much, much, much more clear, and the highs were good. I'm not partial to tweeters, but this one is pretty sweet when turned up about half way. Up all the way, it is a bit much, but from 25%-50% it seems very balanced. The thing that blew me away about this cab, much like my other LDS, was the low end. However, the flavor of the bottom is a lot different. In my big cab, the lows are very present but very, very tight, yet here, at least at low volumes, they are wide and pillowy. The best part is, there is no definite point where the lows just kick in - it just seems to get progressively better as you go down. The Plow puts out some massive low end when soloing the neck pickup, and this cab took it all and sounded absolutely wonderful with it. Granted, I had a total of 80 watts to work with (), but it sounded great. I could not listen at high volumes because I live in a dorm, but I'll believe Tom's comment when he reviewed this cab that the lows start to lose their composure at higher volumes. Still, for a single 8" speaker, the lows are pretty great.
Looks / build quality
The blue looks a lot better than it does in pictures. I first saw it when I was ordering my big cab at LDS. In pictures, it looks nearly atrociously ugly and cheesey, but in person, it is very understated. Don builds a really solid cabinet. I'd really prefer if this cab had spray coating like my other, but with a cab this small that probably won't spend a whole lot of time in seedy halls, it isn't that big of a deal.
Portability
This thing weighs maybe 25 pounds. I thought that perhaps the single strap handle would be awkward, but Don placed it really well, and combined with the very low weight of this thing, it's a breeze. It's deeper than I had expected, but that's fine. With a 14"x14" footprint, I can't complain.
Fit / finish
Not much to say. Great
Overall, I am very satisfied with my purchase. Tom was great to deal with, and this cab far exceeded my expectations. Combined with another small cab (perhaps an identical one), I think it could gig most smaller rock settings. Alone, it's probably not enough for that, but for acoustic guitar / hand percussion sorts of gigs, it would be perfect. I imagine it would also smoke with the right upright (they sure are finicky about what they work with and what they don't!) in a small, quiet group. I don't have a camera here, but I'll try to bum one soon to grab some pics.
