My SWR Henry 8x8 cab faces first test!

Played through my 8x8 cab for the first time in a gig situation last night. In the past, this particular club gave me some problems. I had used two 2x10 Genz Benz XB cabs last time, and didn't feel like I could hear myself well enough on stage. The room is large, and shaped oddly, and the sound gets boomy real fast. Definition is tough to come by.

I've had experience playing with other cabs at decent sized places, and all have had issues. My SVT 4x10 cab sounds great at low/mid volumes, but doesn't put out the volume I need for really loud gigs, and starts to break up (!). My 2x10/2x12 stack sounds really nice a well, but doesn't have the raw force of moving massive amounts of air without the sound getting "looser".

So, I brought out the "big" guns for this show last night - ran my GK 400RBIII through "Henry", which resulted in 240 watts @ 4 ohms. I had the volume and boost up at 12 o'clock. Eq generally flat, with a slight boost in the treble side.

I couldn't have been more pleased with the sound. On stage, I could hear it clearly - standing in front of it, about 2-3' away. No need to elevate a cab, or run a 2nd cab as a monitor, etc. Also, the amount of bass frequency this thing put out was a little unexpected - you just felt it shaking the stage floor! Even the guitarist said to me at break how clean he can hear my bass, and how great the rig sounds tonight.

I think the true test was how focused and tight the sound was. A whole lot of punch, and definition to my runs. I've played gigs in the past where I couldn't hear the individual notes I was playing, especially on the high strings. Same bass, same amp... this time with a different cab, and got much different results.

I was also impressed how much volume this cab put out. With the amp only on 12 o'clock, it was full. I had a lot of headroom left if I needed to go louder, but I had no use for it. Maybe for an outdoor gig, or a large concert hall I'd have to turn it up - but for my band, this was one of the bigger indoor places we play at. (there's a dance floor, and half a dozen pool tables, video games, etc - large place)

Can't wait to play this rig at an outdoor gig and see what she will do... or run my Shuttle 3.0 through her and see was the extra wattage does!