Mesa Subway 112 and 115 together

[the bat]

I have a 115 SW cab and I'm thinking of adding a 112 SW cab to it. Anyone with experience want to spread your opinion?
Does one cab over power the other? Don't slap and mostly use flats.

 

[akukulich]

I used that set-up on a few gigs. I liked it, and found it very balanced. If were doing a rock, blues or R&B gig, I'd happily use it again.

 

[Hot Rats]

It's a highly respected combination of cabinets. Many here have sung its praises. I only wish I had experience with that combo, but I only have experience with the Subway 1x15 and the PH 1x12, which would be different than a Subway 1x12. I will say, I imagine you would not be disappointed with that rig.

 

[Clark W]

I have a 115 SW cab and I'm thinking of adding a 112 SW cab to it. Anyone with experience want to spread your opinion?
Does one cab over power the other? Don't slap and mostly use flats.

I have absolutely zero experience with that combination or any Mesa cabs, I just own their amps. But it's a very well liked and used combination here on TB among Mesa owners and among folks in Mesa groups on Facebook as well. .

 

[Element Zero]

I’ve used both of those cabs on a number of gigs over the years. Indoors, outdoors, they perform very well. You’d be surprised how much sound can come out of 2 smaller single speaker cabinets. Great together and great for modularity.

 

[dune]

I started with the 115, almost added a second but went with a 210 instead. While I'd love to have one of each in the Subway line (cabs as well as amps if I'm honest), the 212 really beckons.

 

[Shoreline Gold]

That is exactly my setup when I'm playing an outdoor gig or a larger venue (bumping up the wattage from 400w to 800w with the second cabinet). Phenomenal sound and the best of both worlds kind of situation. Highly recommend it.

 

[75Ric]

I haven't tried a SW 115 + 112 combination, so can't he;p with that. I do have two SW 115s and can say with certainty, it's awesome.

 

[Low Commotion]

I use this setup all the time. I’ve tried two 115's and that sounds good, but after reading in the Subway mega thread, Al Kraft gave a great review on the 112 combined with the 115, so I tried that. I prefer the 112 and 115 together - they compliment each other quite nicely. I have the 800+ to drive them. If you have the opportunity, try it out.

 

[bucephylus]

The Subway 112/115 stack has been my go-to backline for several years. I have two of them; but, have only needed to deploy one stack at most of my backline gigs.

More recently, I have shifted to using QSC monitor wedges; and have found that a K10.2/K12.2 stack gets into similar turf as a backline. But, I’m in no hurry to move on from the 112/115. I use one most days in the practice space.

 

[the bat]

I use this setup all the time. I’ve tried two 115's and that sounds good, but after reading in the Subway mega thread, Al Kraft gave a great review on the 112 combined with the 115, so I tried that. I prefer the 112 and 115 together - they compliment each other quite nicely. I have the 800+ to drive them. If you have the opportunity, try it out.

I looked, couldn't find it. You have a link ?

 

[Al Kraft]

An excellent combination that has a full low end with strong mids and a nice presence in the upper end if you want it. While not as big in the deep lows as a 2 X 115 combination, it is big enough to work well on an outdoor gig.

The 112/115 has been my go to rig since the cabs first came out. The 112 with 115 just gets you a slightly more mid biased overall sound that is in no way bass shy.

If you want enormous bass, the 2 X 115 combination is hard to beat. I just used that combination at a gig last week and it doesn't just fill a room, it envelops it. That said, in the same room last month the 112/115 came mighty close to doing the same thing using the Bass 800D. The mids were just a little more obvious as there was a little less deep bass and more upper lows/low mids (this is where the 112 is focused).

 

[Danny C]

I have the Mesa 115, 112 and 210. I have used the two you asked about many times and I'm very pleased with the sound. When riding with a single cab, I was using the 115 for the last few years. Recently started using the 210. Small acoustic gigs, 112. Power is JFA Sisma, Mesa 800+ and WD800.

 

[Low Commotion]

I see Al Kraft has just responded and provided his thoughts.

Here's the link to the Subway thread. Lots of good info there: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/official-mesa-boogie-subway-series-club.1181245/

 

[BGroovy]

Exact setup I run. The 115 is always with me. The 112 comes along when I need it. I thought I would take the 112 to small rehearsals but I prefer the 115 solo and it’s light and easy to move and fits in the trunk of my wife’s Nissan Leaf so I never found a reason to only bring the 112.

 

[Ewo]

I've used both 1-12/1-15 and 1-15/1-15 stacks, driven by various Subway amps. Both combinations sound great, IMHO--the best stage amplification I've had in 50 years of playing bass. (Looking back now, since I've retired from playing shows.)

As Al Kraft said above, the 12/15 has an advantage in the mids and the 15/15 in the bottom. It just depends which works best for you in the context of the room, bass, band, playing style, and material.

I settled on the pair of 15s, which had plenty of mids for what I was doing, fingerstyle--and I liked that rig better for slapping.

 

[Saetia]

Never used the 112 but read it’s great… but… I can say two of the 115’s are greater than the sum of the parts and as you know that 15 is special.

When I had the Baer ML115 and the ML112 (before getting the ML212/112 stack) they combined great. The tone was more complex.

The SW line was designed to play well together, Andy is kind of smart like that

 

[Grahams Groove]

Works

I looked, couldn't find it. You have a link ?

The man has been pretty prolific on the Mesa threads, so you may be wading through a lot of posts to find it. I won't speak for him, but I know he and I exchanged more than a couple agreements and similar sentiments on the beauty of the Subway 115/112 combo over the years. Here's my take...

Been using Subway cabs for 7-8 years now. I've had as many as 4 or 5 of their cabs at the same time. So I've tried most of the dual-cab/half stack configs (i.e. 115 x 2, 112 x 2, 15+12, 210+15, 210+12). I started with the 115/112 and it's still my favorite after all that.

The final decision was between the 115/112 and the 2x15. The strength of the Subway 115s is the low end extension and power they deliver, even with a single cab. Stack two of them, and you'll have more than enough. To my ears, the 215 setup sounds a bit 'polite' in the mids. I chalk this up to how powerful the low end is on those cabs - in comparison, even flatter lows-mids and midrange can sound a bit reserved, if that makes sense.

The 112 doesn't have the extended low end power of the 115 on it's own, but it is more pronounced and has more push in the upper-lows and lower-mids. I feel that's true through the midrange, but it's not 'honky' or overbearing. All that said, the 112 compliments the 115 in that it sort of picks up in the low-mids where the 115 leaves off. There's a thickness and presence the 215 combo brings specifically in the lower end, and I feel the 115/112 combo delivers that presence through more of the frequency range. It just sounds more complimentary to my ears, and I can get more punch where I want it with the 115/112 combo. I would argue that the 115/112 combo is more versatile than the 215 setup.

To be honest, it's really dependent on what you want tonally and what you tend to dial in/out in your setup. Neither of these combinations will be disappointing or lacking. I think I would be very happy with the 215 combo if I had gone that direction, but I found the 115/112 setup more easily cut through the mix and punched harder where I like it to. If you tend to significantly boost lows and/or scoop mids most of the time, the 215 may be a better starting point. If you want more variety and a bit more presence through the low and midrange, I would suggest the 115/112 pair.

 

[burgerdj]

Great combo. The genius behind the Subway line is that they are meant to be mixed and matched. The SW12 is a great cab and a significantly easier schlep than the SW15. That combo would allow you to cover just about any situation.

 

[petch]

Absolutely amazing combination that does it all. I continue to use the D-800 because I like things simple.