I bought a new Markbass little mark tube 800. I want to pick the best cabinet(s) to go with it. I’m looking at the markbass 104HF. Or alternatively getting 2 of the New York 121s the 4x10 seems a good match to the head and would be all I need but the NY 121s would be more flexible. Am I thinking correctly that the 2 1x12s together would still give me the correct 800 watts and correct ohms. I feel hopeless when trying to figure out this stuff.
If it helps I’m playing mostly rock music in a variety of settings.
If you had an amp that would safely handle a 2 ohm load, I'd say get the two 112's and add more 112's as needed. But no, the two 112's will not give you the same SPL (sound pressure level = volume) that their 410 cab will.
I have run a single DNS-410 cab by DNA since 2015. It's an exceptional 410 that handles 1400-watts rms and has a max SPL of 137db. Super clear, clean, full, articulate and loud with a very tight bottom end. Cost me $1,000 At the time (now go for ~$1,149) and I figured it would be the last cab I'd ever need to buy. Problem I ran into was brewpubs in Washington state. Most are fairly small and unless we are playing outside, they freak out when I roll in a 410 cab and typically make me use some small backline - usually a 112 combo. So I bought an Eden EX-112 cab and used one of my lower power Eden amps to run it.
I bought that cab in 4Ω because I only expected to ever use the one cab. We hosted an open mic about 40 to 45 times a year at a small brewpub and I bought it specifically to play there. First night I used it I liked the sound of that cab so much that I ordered another one so I could use two of them for medium-sized venues. I used two of them for medium venues for over a year before I got my DNA Endorsement and replaced them with the DNS-210. Those two 112's worked well in medium-sized venues, but I still needed to use my 410 for large venues, outdoor venues, and Festivals. I got a lot of compliments on my sound using my 800-watt Eden amp with those two 112's. But I would be at a disadvantage if not being helped by going through a FOH playing large venues, outdoor venues, and Festivals
My DNS-410 handles any venue just fine. Using my Eden WT500/800 amp bridged at 800-watts into my 8Ω DNS-410, I get told to turn down at Festivals if I set my master at 10:30. So I just nudge it a bit over 10 o'clock at Outdoor Festivals. Normal outdoor venues I usually set around 9:30 depending upon reflective surfaces. If there are a lot of walls to reflect the sound, I turn it down lower than that.
So, I'd say go with the 410 first. If you get that same treatment I did at small venues...then go buy a 112 and use that at small venues.
Here's what I use at small venues. Notice how nicely is all sits in a chair? Also I put my Eden class D amp in a shoulderbag, throw my gig bag over the other shoulder grab my bass in one hand and the cab by its center-back handle and load in or out is pretty well done in one trip. :
Here's what I used for medium-sized venues. Notice these 112's are so compact even laying them sideways to align their ports, my big Eden amp hangs over the sides. Got a lot of compliments on my sound through these:
And here's my 410 that can handle any venue anywhere using my 800-watt Eden amp.
