My main cab is a Bergantino HDN 212. It's light, loud and goes as low as you want. I use it both for double bass and BG, with different heads. It's a spectacular sounding cabinet. I also use an old Bergantino AE 112 for smaller gigs or big stages where I'm only using the amp for stage monitoring. It's a lot louder than you would imagine a 1X12 could be. Good luck!
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Looking for a cab - small, loud with some nice lows, is it possible?
- Thread starter Kokosowy
- Start date
I’m curious how large the community center is where you play. Seems to me that might make a difference in your decision regarding your ability to go smaller and mobile if that is where you will be using the equipment.
If you are going to use the rig anywhere and everywhere, then that’s a different story altogether where larger stuff is required.
I have a Genz Benz 3.0 10T Shuttle that rattles the artwork on my walls very early in its volume spectrum. I can move it anywhere very easily at less than 20 lbs. Sometimes a little less is a little more when meeting specific needs.
If you are going to use the rig anywhere and everywhere, then that’s a different story altogether where larger stuff is required.
I have a Genz Benz 3.0 10T Shuttle that rattles the artwork on my walls very early in its volume spectrum. I can move it anywhere very easily at less than 20 lbs. Sometimes a little less is a little more when meeting specific needs.
Respectfully: your assumption that 15s are slow/muddy is limited and often wrong, depending on the cab. Many 15s are muddy, but some have less low end than many 112s. The GK Neo 115 is more middy than muddy. The Mesa Subway is full range with strong lows but clear definition. A 210 can sound middy or low and muddy. Shopping for overall cab sound/performance/tone will limit you less. If cabs were car engines...... there are turbo 4s that will embarrass almost all 6s and some 8s........good luck in your quest.
Another vote for Barefaced here. I play five strings and like my lows.
Any of the Barefaced 12" loaded cabinets will get that job done, even playing rock against a hard hitting drummer. I do own two 12" loaded Barefaced cabs, but I only bring two to the places where a halfstack won't cut it. They offer a tiny footprint, insane volume and bass and the Super Compact with cloth grille is at 9,5kg - a comfortable one hand carry.
Any of the Barefaced 12" loaded cabinets will get that job done, even playing rock against a hard hitting drummer. I do own two 12" loaded Barefaced cabs, but I only bring two to the places where a halfstack won't cut it. They offer a tiny footprint, insane volume and bass and the Super Compact with cloth grille is at 9,5kg - a comfortable one hand carry.
Phil Jones Compact 8. Best sounding and loudest small cabinet I’ve ever played.
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.
Shaking the walls doesn't really prove anything. I used to gig a Acme Low-B2 with about 550W and it was barely enough in moderately loud situations. I also gigged an Eden D210XLT and it was drastically louder, although it did not have the extended low frequency response.
Acme Low B2
Sensitivity 93dB 1W/1m
Power Handling 300W
Recommended Power 300-500
Max SPL with 500W = 120dB
Eden D210XLT
Sensitivity 103dB 1W/1m
Power Handling 350W
Max SPL with 350W = 128dB
Notice the Eden is way louder with less power. I never really felt like I was close to the cabs limits. I had to be careful with the Acme as pushing it too hard would cause the voice coils to clack.
If proves that's it's not a quiet cab.
The Schroeder cabs I had were way more efficient. They also sounded like crap when really pushed.
The Mesa Subway 15 does the 210/410 thing very well. Never flubby or muddy, with a lot of punch and articulation + thump or grit if you want to dial that into your tone.
I run it alongside (underneath) their 210, and also have the 215 (60lb compact cab) and there’s no shortage of punch on these cabs.
The fact they’re lightweight and easy to carry is the bonus, no issues with dialing in the tones I want from these guys. IMHO they sound absolutely fantastic with everything from their newer Subway line amps to classic GK 1001rb-II, and all tube Super Bassman 300.
I run it alongside (underneath) their 210, and also have the 215 (60lb compact cab) and there’s no shortage of punch on these cabs.
The fact they’re lightweight and easy to carry is the bonus, no issues with dialing in the tones I want from these guys. IMHO they sound absolutely fantastic with everything from their newer Subway line amps to classic GK 1001rb-II, and all tube Super Bassman 300.
Mesa 215 = wish list.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Quiet is a relative term. In comparison to the Eden, the Acme is relatively quiet. That's not to say one or the other is better. If you think Acme makes the best cabs ever, I can totally respect your opinion. But that's not the same as agreeing. I enjoyed my Acme in a few situations, but I often needed more volume and punch.
Acme makes some of the least efficient cabs you can buy. The only other company I can think off with lower sensitivity ratings is Acoustic Image. Both companies make fine products IMHO.
Without a budget, I really can't make a good recommendation. If you are willing to spend some $, this is my
stage rig.
Mesa 800+ Head
Fearless F112 cabinet from Scabby Road
It gets louder than you should have stage volume in any venue, and hits the Low-B as if it was mechanically connected to your eardrum. The head will fit in the pocket of my gig bag, the cabinet weights ~40 lbs
~$2000 for the whole rig new.
stage rig.
Mesa 800+ Head
Fearless F112 cabinet from Scabby Road
It gets louder than you should have stage volume in any venue, and hits the Low-B as if it was mechanically connected to your eardrum. The head will fit in the pocket of my gig bag, the cabinet weights ~40 lbs
~$2000 for the whole rig new.
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
barefaced
A 1x15 or 2x12 WITH a horn or tweeter should fit the bill. There are a lot of these around for good prices.
Yes, I'd be happy to recommend a 210 that has great lows, handles 700-watts rms both thermally and mechanically, and doesn't take much power to bring it to gig levels but will deliver a max SPL of 134db. That is the DNS-210 by DNA.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
I've had a lot of cabs and I still do have a lot of cabs, but there are only two that I currently use. One is the Invalid Link Removed that I use for ALL indoor venues, and the other is the DNS-410 that I like to use for outdoor and outdoor festivals. As of 2019 I became a member of DNA's Endorsing Artists group. I had gigged my DNS-410 cab since 2015 and upon entry to the Artists group I purchased the DNS-210. I got it because rolling my 410 cab into small and slightly larger venues would often scare the owner and they'd make me use their backline, which was rarely up the task. I noticed that a really large number of the artists used either two DNS-112 cabs or the DNS-210. I can understand using what amounts to a 212 set up for indoor gigs, but a 210?? Really??
The first gig I used it on made me a believer! It was a club that was bigger than a medium-sized club but not quite a true "large" venue. So I stacked my 210 on top of my 410 so I could quickly unplug it and plug in the 410 if my 210 wasn't loud enough. I knew the DNS-410 was more than loud enough on its own because I get told to turn down if I turn the master on my 800-watt Eden amp above 10 o'clock at outdoor Festivals. Well, the DNS-210 was more than enough all by itself. I used my 800-watt Eden amp and had my master set at 10 o'clock which filled the room and still balanced nicely with the guitar and drums who were mic'd. So my 410 ended up being an amp stand all night long.
I made the mistake though of being too close to the speakers. I originally set the amp up directly behind me. After the first song I pushed my amp as far stage left as I could and up towards the front of the stage a bit to get my ears out of the 60° dispersion cone from that cab. It was killing my ears, but it sounded perfect out front. So the answer was to move it away from me a bit. I could still hear everything easily but it wasn't killing my eardrums like it did on the first song.
One of the funny things now days is that 15" speakers do not necessarily give you the best lows. And I toured with a 215 cab back in the early 70's. In at least a couple of different brands - Eden and DNA - one of their 210 cabs has the lowest and tightest lows of all their cabs. That is the case with the DNS-210. Its frequency response goes down to 34Hz and it has the tightest clearest low-end you'll ever hear. On the rare occasions that I use my 5-string, it sounds great through it.
But these cabs are not cheap. Street price can vary from a low of about $849 up to $969. Occasionally you'll find a used one on Reverb for ~$600. A month of so ago they had a used one for just over $400. So they are worth looking for used too.
Here's the set-up I use most of the time. It's my Eden WT500/800 that I bridge at 800-watts into my DNS-210. Amp is capable of more than the cab but I don't think anyone could stand to be close to that cab putting out 134db from 700-watts of power (instantaneous hearing damage). So I don't really worry about it.
And here it is sitting on top of my DNS410 that first night I gigged it. Again, I only ran the 210 at that gig. Doubt I'll ever use them both at once but, there they are.
skyline_01
Endorsing artist: Nordstrand Audio, Tsunami Cables
Agree 100% Acme B2s are the first bass cab that satisfied my need for 30hz in a way that compares with an 18" speaker... And are obviously much more portable.
I used a Hartke HA3500 with an Ampeg SVT 210-AV. The cab is lighter and more portable than the head but otherwise it's a great combo.
I hated the Mesa cab that I had. 1x15" with 4x10" in one box. It was impressive as heck to look at, but couldn't handle the low frequencies the way I like.
Many people felt the same. What does a 15 year old cab have to do with the SW 115?
