I've been playing through a Warwick Gnome i plugged into Hartke 210XL for a little while, and while it sounds generally fine for most things, I've been unhappy with the clarity and punch of cab's low-end output. Note definition was lacking, and it seemed like there was some density or content missing somewhere in the low-mid area. I am more satisfied with my practice amp's tone in that respect, which has a single 12" driver. So I went around trying a bunch of stuff and eventually came to the conclusion that what I want a 2x12 cabinet. There aren't a lot of different 2x12 bass cabs that I can go try, so I had to make some choices and throw some dice, so to speak. Through a fairly extended series of conversations and examining spec sheets and watching reviews, I decided on and ordered the the Darkglass GN212N cabinet. It is a fairly large cabinet, with two 12-inch "Custom Design" Eminence speakers and a high frequency driver with a 1" diaphragm, which is adjustable via a knob on the rear of the cabinet. It has an impedance rating of 4 ohms and is built to handle 1000 Watts RMS.
So FedEx dropped it off today (upside-down, and in my driveway).
It's a big boy.
But even in the box, it was surprisingly not that heavy. According to the spec sheets, it should be about 12 ounces lighter than the Hartke 210XL. They accomplish this by using paulownia in the cabinet, and neodymium magnets for the speakers.
Here it is being driven by the Warwick Gnome i (200W into a 4-ohm load). I will replace this eventually with something a bit more full-featured, but for now it's what I have and it works and sounds OK. The Gnome is comically small sitting on that big cabinet though. I put it on the stand mostly to help with air flow under the head. The little bugger generates some heat.
Anyway, it sounds great, even with a significantly underpowered head driving it. It has a significantly thicker low-end response for my 6-string bass, and the higher frequency sounds are well-represented as well. I was fairly quickly able to get it to sound much more like what I want, and I think I can get the rest of the way there with some more careful tweaking. It looks great too, with that silver carbon fiber tolex. It's definitely a solid upgrade from the Hartke 210, which I mean it better be, as it cost almost 4x as much. Band practice is tomorrow, so we'll see how well it meshes then.
I haven't completely decided which head to go with to replace the Gnome. Right now the top contender is the Mesa D-800+, but it'll be a few months before I commit and buy a new head.
So FedEx dropped it off today (upside-down, and in my driveway).
It's a big boy.
But even in the box, it was surprisingly not that heavy. According to the spec sheets, it should be about 12 ounces lighter than the Hartke 210XL. They accomplish this by using paulownia in the cabinet, and neodymium magnets for the speakers.
Here it is being driven by the Warwick Gnome i (200W into a 4-ohm load). I will replace this eventually with something a bit more full-featured, but for now it's what I have and it works and sounds OK. The Gnome is comically small sitting on that big cabinet though. I put it on the stand mostly to help with air flow under the head. The little bugger generates some heat.
Anyway, it sounds great, even with a significantly underpowered head driving it. It has a significantly thicker low-end response for my 6-string bass, and the higher frequency sounds are well-represented as well. I was fairly quickly able to get it to sound much more like what I want, and I think I can get the rest of the way there with some more careful tweaking. It looks great too, with that silver carbon fiber tolex. It's definitely a solid upgrade from the Hartke 210, which I mean it better be, as it cost almost 4x as much. Band practice is tomorrow, so we'll see how well it meshes then.
I haven't completely decided which head to go with to replace the Gnome. Right now the top contender is the Mesa D-800+, but it'll be a few months before I commit and buy a new head.
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