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Mark Bass 122 vs Hartke 4X10 VX

B

bcpatti3

Feb 19, 2012
19
0
Oxford, pa
www.uzofusion.com
#1
I am having, to me, the weirdest dilemma and could use some help. I am not sure whether to return my newly bought 2 X12 MARKBASS cab.

I have been playing a Hartke 4X10 VX for 10 years and a Hartke 4X10 XL for 7 years before that.

I just recently have been seeing alot of people playing 2 - 12" cabs and thought I would take a swing at it. I just bought a Mark Bass 122 2X12 inch cab. I just got back from practice and am thinking I may have made the wrong switch. Fortunately I had both cabs in our practice space and was able to go back and forth. Looking at the specs of these two cabs the MARKBASS is the obvious winner. Then why I am having problems with it.

The Hartke was not as loud and not as bassy but was able to cut through the keyboards, drums and guitar. It also had more directional sound(I guess because of the four speakers as compared to two)

I play through a Gallien Krueger 1001RB head. Maybe I just need to EQ it differently then my HARTKE and that will take some time. I have included the specs below. Your thoughts would help tremendously. I have 30 days to return.

SPECS

Hartke 4X10 VX
PRICE $349
400 watts
8 ohms

Mark Bass 122 New York
Price $899
700 watts
4 Ohms
 
#10
I have used many different 410 cabs, and have tried a couple of 212's as well. I currently have a GK 212 for my gigs and it works great for small to medium clubs and is very easy to transport. That Markbass 212 you have is supposed to be the Bee's Knees from what I have read about it, but I have never tried one. I really don't have a preference, just that this GK212 is light and loud and has great low end, but If I was having to compete with a half-stack or something like that then I would opt for an additional 212...or roll out my Peavey 412TVX :bassist:
 
#11
Hoping Someone can help
I just played my first festival with my new New York 122 and my GK 1001rb. I had clipping issues the entire time. Starting to worry I bought the wrong cabinet. My Hartke had no problems.
Here we're the specs again.

GK 1001RB amp
700 watts 4 ohms

MarkBass 122
700 watts 4ohms


My previous cab rating.
Hartke 4x12 VX
400 watts 8 ohms


Any thoughts.
 
#12
Here are the settings I used on my bass amp.
 

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#13
Imagine for a moment that your speakers are square for the sake of a mathematical comparison. 12x12 = 144; 144x2 = 288. That's the area of your two 12s. For the 410, 10x10 = 100; 100x4 =400. What a whopping difference in area! Who knows what the excursion figures are, those figures along with the area will give you an idea of how much air is being pushed. The 410 obviously has an area advantage, so it may be putting out moe SPL per wattage than the 212. Plus the 410 box is bigger (isn't it?). It's almost not a fair comparison. Or, that is, maybe it's not fair to look poorly at the 212 for not keeping up.

Try them both with the eq set neutral and no filters on. Go from there.
 
#14
Those are two rather different cabs you're comparing. Try playing with your EQ from neutral and attempt to find tones you like for each cab. Settings aren't universal to all cabs. The only way to find what you like is through trial and error. I'm always trading gear around for that reason. ;)
 
#15
christw said:
Those are two rather different cabs you're comparing. Try playing with your EQ from neutral and attempt to find tones you like for each cab. Settings aren't universal to all cabs. The only way to find what you like is through trial and error. I'm always trading gear around for that reason. ;)
Click to expand...

I have been playing for 18 years plus but I am no tetchy nor have I ever spent that much time adjusting sound. I actually got rid of my Hartke 3500 head for that same reason. Don't want a ton of eq settings. But I use my cab as my main monitor on stage and I can't even turn it up right now without a loud popping sound. All the specs line up for what I want. More wattage, matching ohms to bass head I just can't figure out what I am doing wrong for the popping issue. I wonder if I was able to talk to Markbass customer support they would help.
 
#16
bcpatti3 said:
I have been playing for 18 years plus but I am no tetchy nor have I ever spent that much time adjusting sound. I actually got rid of my Hartke 3500 head for that same reason. Don't want a ton of eq settings. But I use my cab as my main monitor on stage and I can't even turn it up right now without a loud popping sound. All the specs line up for what I want. More wattage, matching ohms to bass head I just can't figure out what I am doing wrong for the popping issue. I wonder if I was able to talk to Markbass customer support they would help.
Click to expand...

It's supposed to say techy not tetchy
 
#17
Alright I need some help again. I know we have gone over this a couple of times but someone has offered to trade my Mark bass 2X10 4ohm cab for a GK neo 4X10 8ohm cab. I actually like it alot and would complete my setup with my GK 1001RB amp head. However my amp head is 4ohm. I have always been told to match the ohms of my amp. Suggestions? hold out for a 4ohm cab?
 
#19
I have 2 x Markbass Club121's that, I believe, have a similar overall sound (and maybe the same drivers). I've used these at outdoors gigs without any problems and they've been plenty loud enough.
My cabs do have a more open bottom end than my previous 4x10 setup and require the bass control to be set lower on my LM11. From what you are saying about cutting through and your settings on the pic, maybe you could cut bass and boost the 2 mid controls instead to get in the same area. Clipping on my old Eden head whenever the bass was turned up even a little is what led me to Markbass.

If you just have one 8 ohm cab you'll effectively nearly halve the wattage from your head.
 
#20
If you like the sound of the 410 I would probably make the trade. Here's why.

An amp rated at 4 ohms will produce about 60% of its available power with an 8 ohm cab attached. That's not too bad, since the rough estimate I've always used is "double the watts, get a slight but noticeable increase in sound". But you are doubling your cone area, which means you'll get a lot more air movement. To me this always gives more clean volume. I'm betting the 8ohm 410 produces more perceived volume than the 4ohm 210. Plus, if you ever feel the need, you can add another 8 ohm 410 to get the full 4 ohm output of your amp. Which you'll probably never need but it will look awesome.
 

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