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Need a Good All-Around Cab

Count Bassie

Count Bassie

Supporting Member
Jun 10, 2006
16,791
64,535
Smithfield, RI
#1
I have a Henry the 8x8, but it doesn't like dub/reggae on an outdoor stage with no FOH, and I'll be doing some of that this year.

I'm considering:
A smaller cab with a dedicated sub (can't afford everything so I have to do trade-offs);
A more all-around, deep-bass friendlier cab...

[DEL]A friend of mine has a Sunn 215s (pretty sure that's it) loaded with JBL D-140s. Thoughts on that?[/DEL]

A taller cab, or a smaller one would be favorable for size, as my logistical trip involves up and down rough stone steps. Up to house, down from house... don't wreck the old steps.

[DEL]Curious about the Sunn cab...[/DEL]

Never mind, the Sunn ain't for sale... oops.
 
#2
Count Bassie said:
I'm considering:
A smaller cab with a dedicated sub (can't afford everything so I have to do trade-offs);
A more all-around, deep-bass friendlier cab...

A friend of mine has a Sunn 215s (pretty sure that's it) loaded with JBL D-140s. Thoughts on that?
Click to expand...

Im not really sure how adding a dedicated sub is going to work out. I think there are too many issues with that set up.

As far as the D-140's, I dont think they are going to give you better low end than your current cab.

What is your budget?
 
#3
CL400Peavey said:
Im not really sure how adding a dedicated sub is going to work out. I think there are too many issues with that set up.

As far as the D-140's, I dont think they are going to give you better low end than your current cab.

What is your budget?
Click to expand...

Well I have to move something along to do it, let's put it that way. I'm willing to lose the Henry, tho' it's a loss. But for good functionality I'm willing to do it. I do a percentage of gigs that are poorly set-up and often have minimal PA- meaning I'm not in it. So I need something a bit more robust down low then the Henry seems to be willing to give... unless I'm missing something.

So my budget is potentially $400- the value of the 8x8...
 
#7
I've been into a thread about the sub thing, running it with a crossover from an FX loop of the amp, etc. Seems manageable enough- and you can turn it down...

A decent all-around cab would be fine though

Look, I've got the following cabs:
Henry the 8x8;
Hartke 410XL;
Modded Ampeg 210 (was a combo) with Emi BP-102s in it.

Heads:
Ampeg PF500;
SWR SM-400s

Need to be able to do an outdoor stage, dub/reggae/funky soulful stuff, pretty loud.
 
#12
I've had pretty good luck running a smaller rig, with the FX send run to an active XO & pwr amp to a 4x10 (older Genz XB)
I like the actives, you can pick the XO points, and dial up exactly how much bottom end ya need.
Just roll off the lows on the first amp a little.
Works great even on a low B
 
#13
Hi Count,

I played with dual 15" subs + tops for a decade.
They are big, heavy, and suck canal water at 2am loadout.
And... they do the job for outdoor street gigs without PA support.

If you are playing Reggae, I understand the power is in the low-mids, and higher than where a sub will give a lot of benefit.
I'm thinking very strong from 62~82 Hz and up.

Invalid Link Removed

The above link shows the huge variety of DIY plans currently available.
There is something here for everybody.
You could probably build a nice reflex box Flat to 62 Hz, in a reasonable size.

My suggestion for street gig is: take a lot of speakers.
If you want the same level of performance as Indoors, you ideally need 8x more speakers than Indoors.
4x will probably do, and is more realistic to own and haul.

I don't want to haul this many bass cabs.
I use 2~3 T39 bass horns for outdoor PA support, and get visits from the Noise Cops a mile away.

For subs, you might consider a pair of T39 Slims, and a V-Plate.
This is an easy carry, and makes a lot of bass.
A friend of mine has a photo of his daughter doing a one-handed carry of his T39 Slim with S2010 driver.
 
#14
bgavin said:
Hi Count,

I played with dual 15" subs + tops for a decade.
They are big, heavy, and suck canal water at 2am loadout.
And... they do the job for outdoor street gigs without PA support.

If you are playing Reggae, I understand the power is in the low-mids, and higher than where a sub will give a lot of benefit.
I'm thinking very strong from 62~82 Hz and up.

Invalid Link Removed

The above link shows the huge variety of DIY plans currently available.
There is something here for everybody.
You could probably build a nice reflex box Flat to 62 Hz, in a reasonable size.

My suggestion for street gig is: take a lot of speakers.
If you want the same level of performance as Indoors, you ideally need 8x more speakers than Indoors.
4x will probably do, and is more realistic to own and haul.

I don't want to haul this many bass cabs.
I use 2~3 T39 bass horns for outdoor PA support, and get visits from the Noise Cops a mile away.

For subs, you might consider a pair of T39 Slims, and a V-Plate.
This is an easy carry, and makes a lot of bass.
A friend of mine has a photo of his daughter doing a one-handed carry of his T39 Slim with S2010 driver.
Click to expand...


There's a T-24 locally for $150... thanks for the links Bgavin.

CL400, thanks for staying with it, and the advice.
 
#18
Wild card: You could find a cheap old bass cab (ex Peavey, Kustom) and reload it with some uber speakers like Faitals. With some porting adjustment, you should be able to pull it off on a budget.
 
#20
After all this, I played yesterday in a large open roofed-over patio-type affair by the beach down at Jamestown, here in RI. A steady ocean breeze plied the large, open space, and the expansive vault of the engineered-wood-framed roof help lend a hint of an almost cathedral-like reverb, which was haply emptied into the breeze before it could overwhelm.

The Henry the 8x8 had my SM-400s patched into it, fronted by my heavily-modded '83 Hamer Cruisbass (that I've gotten a lot of grief from certain corners over having modded... :p).

The gig went quite well. I didn't have to be so very loud, and I got a pretty good hit of low-mid bump into the mix, without help from the minimalist PA. We did "Monkey Man" by the English Beat, Toots and the Maytals' "54-46", some Marley, etc... and we took more than a few abrupt and hilariously fun hard-lefts into samba, swing, and dub-dance-hall 'stop-time' feels. The sound was pretty darned all there for all intents and purposes.

Maybe I'm looking a little to frantically at all this.

At the end of the day it seems that if you're playing, and it leaves you with a feeling that you did it right, you can stop looking for pieces to put into your puzzle... the puzzle has gone away and now you just have music. :)

I'll still keep an eye and an ear open for that Grail I guess... if you have ears you notice things. But it's gone to a back burner at this point, I'm happy enough with my amp. If I still need the sub, I'll find it.

Thanks everyone!
 

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