LIghtweight Cab Opinions

Barefaced.
I only have experience with the Super Twin (2x12 & no tweeter), but I love it, very lightweight and sounds great.

 

So many options. It depends on your ear but a good start would be the aguilar sl series.

 

I second the opinion on Barefaced.

 

If you're carrying the room with your rig, I haven't tried anything that does that (without overwhelming the mix on stage) better than the MAS (Mike Arnopol Soundworks) cabs. You might find that you can use them for bigger rooms than you'd expect. They excel outdoors as well.

I am also fond of the Audiokinesis Hathor 1203 -- it sounds great and is an easy, compact carry.

Even with compact, light gear, you might find a lightweight, folding handcart helpful for getting stuff around.

Sorry to hear about your shoulders -- best of luck getting (and staying) better.

 

This answer has the most truth associated to this thread.

Trust me over the last few years I've gone through a bunch of cabs that didn't happen to work out for the long term for "my" purposes. These were all using a Mesa d800 head, darkglass b3k and Aguilar TLC compressor. I play hard rock / metal covers and originals.

This is the list:
- Pair of aguilar db 112's. Awesome cabs that sound sweet but fart out at high volumes and have limitations with a loud rock band.

- MAS bodai 112. Another sick cab. It didn't do for me what it does for many others. Its wicked articulate, will create more low end than a pair of gk neo 212's but did not work in a band context for me. The low end didnt hit me in the chest no matter how I eq'd it. 30 ft away and it rattled pictures off of walls.

- pair of gk neo 212's. Loud as heck but very one dimensional in my experience. The bass didn't hit me in the chest.

Below is what I currently use..

- revsound 215t. I love this cab. It just works well with loud drummers and guitarists. It has plenty of eq shaping capabilities and fits right in the back of my hatchback. Also fairly easy to move around with a handle on top and casters when you tilt it back. It goes through doors easily cause of the skinny width factor.

- pair of barefaced four10's. These cabs are brutal. Brutally awesome. I have more headroom pushing each cab with 400 watts, tone is definitely not as bright but it cuts through band mixes very well. Only setback is I cannot use these cabs anywhere near their potential because sound guys don't want the barefaced awesomeness to take control of their house mix. They also take up a lot more room in my vehicle and they aren't as easy to move as the 215t in my opinion. They're light for a 410 but you have to do more eq work to get them brighter due to the lack of tweeter. The beat feedback I've received from using these cabs is from one of my guitarist buddies who plays viciously loud through his engl Powerball 2 and randall 412, "can you turn down" lol

My bandmates in an original very loud metal project I play in say the revsound and barefaced rigs sound equally as awesome.

I'm actually looking at some of the Mesa subway cabs at the moment even thought i have 2 epic rigs. I played through a 210/115 stack with the wd800 head and the tone just really worked for me personally. The form factor, light weight and how it just sounds through a wd800 head is glorious. Those Mesa engineers make some sick products.

We all progress in our musical experience. Wants vs needs changes and it depends on what sounds best to your ears, no one else's. Everyone will give you their opinion but it may not move to what sounds best to you. Actually, it won't.

Not being able to play the cabs you're thinking of is a major disadvantage to a good decision. All the YouTube videos in the world aren't going to give you the sound you're looking for.

 

Maybe I missed it, but what head are you going to be using? For these smaller rooms, will your rig be filling the space, or will you have FOH support?

 

Many options in quality lightweight cabs, getting to try them can be time consuming and inconvenient (at best).

Bergantino makes some really nice neo cabs and you can assemble an impressive modular rig with them. I have a CN112 @ 28 pounds and a CN210 @ 33 and usually only use one although they go great together as the power handling and performance are pretty close. The current neo line are the HDN's which have a slightly different horn. I used to have a sealed NV115 which was great but not as portable and the NV line tends to be heavier. I would love to try the HG line, specifically the sealed HG310 @ 35 pounds but I really do not need to own any more cabs. Running two of them in a vertical stack is a popular option among Berg users. If you are willing to spend some cash it is possible to build a modular rig to cover any gig from small to festival and replace your 810 entirely.

I also have a Barefaced One10 @ 17 pounds that I mostly use for rehearsals and very small gigs. It is excellent for carrying up and down stairs but I much prefer the hifi wider range smoother sound of the Bergs. The comparison is pretty much apples and oranges as I've never tried the other Barefaced models. Unfortunately they are even harder to demo as their are no dealers and you order from the UK.

 

Another thumbs up for Barefaced. My Super Twin is so light it feels like the speakers are missing, sounds great, and is more than loud enough to cover any gig I play (typically loud rock bar gigs with up to a few hundred patrons).

 

I have a couple of Aguilar SL112's and have only good things to say about them. They weigh next to nothing yet consistently give me warm, fat bottom end without a trace of muddiness. One cab sounds great in small rooms but their real sound emerges when you run them in parallel. They are not the cheapest but have totally transformed my sound - these days I am so so SO happy to finally be able to say that I get consistently great tone and these two cabs have been a big part of that. Always surprised at the tone they can put out considering how little they weigh.

Based on the kind of music you listed I think the SL112 would be appropriate. I actually used to have an EBS head too - when I ran that through these it would get me closer to what I'd be looking for if I was after a prog type tone.

Edit - they have usable tweeters too!

 

Bergantino forte’ with 1-12 neo
Light powerful set it and forget it

 

I might suggest one or two Greenboy F112’s, preferably okoume (35-37 lbs each). One will cover virtually any small to medium room, two and the sky’s the limit.

 

I like Aguilar sl112, also Hartke hd112.

 

I second Audiokinesis Hathor 1203. Light and good. For disclosure, I play the 212 version, but I need to carry outside gigs sometimes, where my poor little pa can only do so much.

 

I love my Epifani UL410. Only 56 pounds and handles 1000 watts. It thumps!

 

Schroeders......... and they usually have higher output, and use B&C drivers.
Cabinets | Schroeder Cabinets | Bass Cabinets | California

 

I had a disc ruptured a few years ago and also neck issues with my heavy Peavey rig the last 30 years, so the last year I went with a Fender Rumble 500 Combo..less than 40lbs 2x10" Eminence speakers..I also bought a Fender Rumble 115 cab for larger gigs (1x15" Eminence speaker) which allows the full 500w output @4ohms from the combo. Run without an ext cab it delivers 350w@8ohms from the 2x10" drivers. I havent found any good sized venue where I need the ext cab yet, but I do like the sound of the 2x10" with the 1x15". The ext cab also is less than 40lbs. Both units have a horn and in the case of the combo can be turned off; in the ext cab it can be turned off or reduced by -6dB. A great powerful punchy rig. Check the Fender Rumble Club if you wish to know more.
Fender Rumble Club

 

Low Down Sound.