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Looking for a cab - small, loud with some nice lows, is it possible?
- Thread starter Kokosowy
- Start date
Funny, my cab shakes the wall with that Hartke head with the master volume at noon, and that's only putting out 375 watts. I guess I'll have to take your word for it.
Hi,Hi there!
For some time I was using at home my Warwick BC80 combo which was quite nice in overall. After some time I started some music activities for local youths at our town community centre. Unfortunately Warwick BC80 can't get though drums or guitars so I need to change it for something else. Other participant has a spare Fender Rumble 100 which was much better, however its older version which weights a ton and we don't have any dedicated place there for our stuff, we can't leave our equipment at community centre, every two weeks we need to mount and dismount everything including carrying everything the stairs..
I think I'm really into head + cab right now. I think I would like to get a Hartke HA3500 for a head, but I'm not sure about a cab. 410 would be great but this is definitely too huge and heavy so there's no go for that. I think 210 would be fine but I heard 210 lacks some lows and I'm definitely a low-bass fan. I know I can have 210+115 setup but this is just another brick to carry over places. Regarding just single 115 can be too muddy and too slow.
Can you please suggest a 210 cab that could still have some pretty good low-freq capabilities? Or you have any other suggestions that still are OK regarding mobility? DI and mixer for now I'd say no for two reasons - we don't have any reliable "stage" monitors and because at home I'd also like to have a head + cab.
Thanks!
K
we could probably give you better advice if we knew where you are (to see what's readily available in your market) & what your budget is. How much you can spend determines what you can consider.
I had a 3500 from the 90's and it's a beast! Get as much cab as you can and lift it up off the ground if at all possible.
- Dec 21, 2007
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- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
If you need loud..... look at the Sensitivity rating, you know the Db per watt thing.
102 db sensitivity will be notably louder, than 98 db sensitivity if measurements are done the same.
Normally a 3db increase is a perceptible volume change. And 10 db increase is approximately twice as loud. Just saying.
102 db sensitivity will be notably louder, than 98 db sensitivity if measurements are done the same.
Normally a 3db increase is a perceptible volume change. And 10 db increase is approximately twice as loud. Just saying.
There's some info that would be helpful to give good suggestions, especially budget but also weight or size, examples of the tone your looking for or other cabinets you might have liked, etc.
But, going from what you did say (good low end and lighter weight) and from my experience:
- If you're budget is low to moderate, some good choices might be a Fender Rumble 210 or a Hartke HyDrive HD210. I've never owned a Rumble, but I played through a Rumble 500 combo (same cabinet as the Rumble 210 but with a 350/500 W amp in it) at an open mic earlier this year and was quite surprised at how good it sounded with a variety of bassists and basses playing through it. Very full sounding and not flabby, with a more old school kind of sound. However, I do own a pair of the Hartke 210s I mentioned that I bought used as backup cabinets and possibly for outdoor gigs where I might not want to take my usual rig (a pair of Barefaced Big Baby 2s). Unfortunately I bought them just before the COVID-19 restrictions went into place so I haven't heard them in a band setting yet, but I've been quite happy with how they sound playing them at home with a variety of heads. They're sealed rather than ported so they don't have rumbly lows but they don't get muddy and the low notes are tight and defined. My lower power heads, a Trace Elliot ELF and a Genzler Magellan 350, sound quite good through them, but I think they sound better when you put a little more power into them, as with my GK MB800 or Mesa D-800+. I also own a Markbass Marcus Miller 102. I don't use it much since it's a kind of big and bulky for a 2x10. However, it is quite full and deep, sounds really good with my different heads, and it's a tilt back cabinet so you can angle up toward you to hear it better.
- If your budget is higher and can include high end or boutique cabinets, then you have some great options, although they will be expensive options. I won't suggest Big Baby's since they're a 1x12 and you specifically want a 2x10, but I would suggest expanding your options some. Knowing a speaker's diameter tells you the speaker's diameter, but not much else about it (for example, read reviews on the Mesa Subway 15!
) My Big Baby's can put out a massive amount of clean, deep bass and handle a ridiculous amount of power. But you if you must have a 210 then check out a Barefaced Two10. I own the One10 and it goes quite deep for a single 1x10 and am regularly tempted to try the Two10. Based on reviews I've rear on TB, there are a lot of 210s that people have already mentioned that would be outstanding:
- a Bergantino HDN210 or NXT210 (I used to own a Bergantino AE410, GREAT cab and only 62 pounds!)
- Mesa Subway 210 (and, seriously, do NOT ignore the Subway 15!)
But, going from what you did say (good low end and lighter weight) and from my experience:
- If you're budget is low to moderate, some good choices might be a Fender Rumble 210 or a Hartke HyDrive HD210. I've never owned a Rumble, but I played through a Rumble 500 combo (same cabinet as the Rumble 210 but with a 350/500 W amp in it) at an open mic earlier this year and was quite surprised at how good it sounded with a variety of bassists and basses playing through it. Very full sounding and not flabby, with a more old school kind of sound. However, I do own a pair of the Hartke 210s I mentioned that I bought used as backup cabinets and possibly for outdoor gigs where I might not want to take my usual rig (a pair of Barefaced Big Baby 2s). Unfortunately I bought them just before the COVID-19 restrictions went into place so I haven't heard them in a band setting yet, but I've been quite happy with how they sound playing them at home with a variety of heads. They're sealed rather than ported so they don't have rumbly lows but they don't get muddy and the low notes are tight and defined. My lower power heads, a Trace Elliot ELF and a Genzler Magellan 350, sound quite good through them, but I think they sound better when you put a little more power into them, as with my GK MB800 or Mesa D-800+. I also own a Markbass Marcus Miller 102. I don't use it much since it's a kind of big and bulky for a 2x10. However, it is quite full and deep, sounds really good with my different heads, and it's a tilt back cabinet so you can angle up toward you to hear it better.
- If your budget is higher and can include high end or boutique cabinets, then you have some great options, although they will be expensive options. I won't suggest Big Baby's since they're a 1x12 and you specifically want a 2x10, but I would suggest expanding your options some. Knowing a speaker's diameter tells you the speaker's diameter, but not much else about it (for example, read reviews on the Mesa Subway 15!
) My Big Baby's can put out a massive amount of clean, deep bass and handle a ridiculous amount of power. But you if you must have a 210 then check out a Barefaced Two10. I own the One10 and it goes quite deep for a single 1x10 and am regularly tempted to try the Two10. Based on reviews I've rear on TB, there are a lot of 210s that people have already mentioned that would be outstanding:- a Bergantino HDN210 or NXT210 (I used to own a Bergantino AE410, GREAT cab and only 62 pounds!)
- Mesa Subway 210 (and, seriously, do NOT ignore the Subway 15!)
35lb RS212 Bass Cabinet | RevSound X version
Add a cover and a HPF.
Along with a 3.7lb Quilter [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Official Revsound Bass Cab Club
Quilter Labs Unveils the Bass Block 802 Amp
Add a cover and a HPF.
Along with a 3.7lb Quilter [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Official Revsound Bass Cab Club
Quilter Labs Unveils the Bass Block 802 Amp
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375 watts is fine, but for people with just 100 watt heads, there are better choices.Funny, my cab shakes the wall with that Hartke head with the master volume at noon, and that's only putting out 375 watts. I guess I'll have to take your word for it.
(BTW, I’ve built several fEARful cabs. My first full stack build appeared in Tom Bowlus’s Bass Gear magazine)
There's always a set of trade offs.
I choose VERY light, small, 112 with horn, good low depth, very efficient, and a presence peak I like in my tone. I choose that over excessive power handling, but I can bring two of them along if needed. My solution to those needs is Traynor TC-112 (neo). Roughly 25 pounds, imho rather incredible tone even with the stock celestion driver.
So that's my recomendation - it has more lows than I'd ever need - but I am NOT a low freak, so it could very well be that this isn't low boomy enough for some players.
It definitely gets down to my low B string with a ton of thunder, though.
I think maybe it's a good starting point, and I' quite a fan of having 2 duplicate cabs to run in parallel if you need more volume and power handling for larger gigs or louder bands. Easier to carry two compact 112 25 pound cabs than one cab that's notably bigger and weighs roughly 45 pounds.
That's my experience anyhow, having owned various styles and combinations.
I choose VERY light, small, 112 with horn, good low depth, very efficient, and a presence peak I like in my tone. I choose that over excessive power handling, but I can bring two of them along if needed. My solution to those needs is Traynor TC-112 (neo). Roughly 25 pounds, imho rather incredible tone even with the stock celestion driver.
So that's my recomendation - it has more lows than I'd ever need - but I am NOT a low freak, so it could very well be that this isn't low boomy enough for some players.
It definitely gets down to my low B string with a ton of thunder, though.
I think maybe it's a good starting point, and I' quite a fan of having 2 duplicate cabs to run in parallel if you need more volume and power handling for larger gigs or louder bands. Easier to carry two compact 112 25 pound cabs than one cab that's notably bigger and weighs roughly 45 pounds.
That's my experience anyhow, having owned various styles and combinations.
BobDeRosa
Commercial User
- May 16, 2012
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- Owner, Tritone Jazz Fantasy Camps
I'm not sure I fully agree about 210s not being able to carry the low load. The Markbass Traveler 102P I use thunders just fine. But don't take my word for it -- see if you can check one out at your local GC. Best news is that it weighs only about 32 pounds.
Your tone goals and tastes might be in opposition. Studio magic and synthesizers can create DJ tracks where the Low Bass is heard and felt over drum tracks. We hear a lot of music over the radio and internet that sounds this way and often we come to bass playing with this in our head. I'm listening to some dancehall reggae right now. Deep sub-bass. Love it.
It's not necessarily what works with live drums, though. Mids and Low Mids/Upper Bass are what give your tone punch and audibility in a live context with drums. Chasing the deep deep lows with your tone is likely to lead you away from the audibility and musicality thing.
There are a lot of -- what seem to me -- to be misconceptions about driver size and cab format and what they sound like. Any 10" 12" or 15" cab can sound any particular way. There are some tendencies to be sure, and some physics that can't be escaped -- like a tendency for 15"s to be a little more directional than 10"s. But a 15" cab isn't bassyer than a 10" cab.
I really like my 18" square S15d cabs. They are compact, and what I'd call a "medium" weight, at 44 pounds or so. But two of them, easily carried about one by one, is as big a rig as I'd need anywhere.
Lots of TB'ers use two 8ohm 210 cabs stacked like a column. That is a really great approach, but a 4 ohm 210 can be the right cab if it's of quality and you know how to eq your bass and amp to ask the right things of it.
RevSound makes nice 210s. Give Dave a call @ 603-651-9800, and let him know your tonal goals. He will suggest one that will fit your needs.
RevSound | Revsound Cabinets made in USA with pride
RevSound | Revsound Cabinets made in USA with pride
I've been running big American Ampeg 410HLFs for 20 years. Just got a Mesa Subway 115 last week and am absolutely gobsmacked with its performance. Simply stunning. Search it on here as it's been discussed a ton. No other cab like it, imho. I have a lot of Ampeg gear for sale now.
Just 37lbs, but sounds like 90!
Here is the Subway on top of my Heritage.
Just 37lbs, but sounds like 90!
Here is the Subway on top of my Heritage.
I can recommend the Bergantino 210 ceramic loaded cabs. They are small, heavyish but still only a 210 and can go very deep and loud enough for any sensible pub gig. I bought two HD210 thinking I'd need both but was amazed how capable one on its own is. I've used both on outside gigs. The current equivalent would be a Reference 210, not cheap but you may never need another cab until you're too old or weak to lift it.
