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NEW BERG THREAD - Old Berg and Accugroove thread closed.
- Thread starter BigMikeW
- Start date
JohnThomasson
Supporting Member
- Feb 3, 2003
- 732
- 519
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Fender, DR Strings, Source Audio,& Fishman
BigMikeW said:
That would be a great set up. I've played an IP310 and IP212 together and it was sick. I was also using a Millennia TD-1 in front of it and that was amazing in solid state mode. I felt the IP310 was a little to polite on its own, but it sounds great with my upright. The 212 was roared, but it would of been nice to have some 10's for punch. Together it was everything that I would want except that it was a $6400 rig if you include the TD-1 and $4800 without it.
I was there with Brad Houser, so I got to check out the rig around the room while we switched off playing. John at Bass Emporium is soo cool and he let us really crank it up to LOUD gig levels. Of course it was total overkill volume wise. The IPs were both cranked but the TD-1 wasn't boosted at all and I was afraid we were going to turn the store to rubble. I think a HT210s and an IP212 could be a killer rig and only $3100.
But it probably wouldn't have the booty the IP310 and IP212.I have an NV215 and an HT115. Owned the HT115 for about 2 years; the NV215 for about 2 months.
The HT115 has been a real trooper. I've been playing all sorts of gigs with it, and it's to the point where I can get just about any tone I want. Even doing stupid stuff like adding +15db @ 40 Hz to shake things, it has performed flawlessly. It's got a great (pretty much flat) response across the frequency range. The tweeter's awesome. Alot of you already know all this. Adding pre-amp overdrive, I find that it really gets warm nicely. At high volumes, I do notice that it's ported. Not a complaint, simply an observation. I like it quite well for cover gigs where I need to dial in all sorts of different sounds, from hip-hop big bottom to footloose with the mid-heavy picked sound. I've also played in a sorta prog-rock band with it and gotten great definition, and it blended well with guitars.
I picked up the NV215 because I played it at Rock City a couple years ago and swore I'd get one when I had the cash. It's still got the seemingly flat response (except past about 7kHz), but it's a totally different sound. I haven't gotten to play with this cab nearly as much as I need to, mostly because of it's size, but here's a few things. It definitely does not sound ported. The bass just stays really tight all the way down to B. I love playing straight eighth notes on the B/E strings through this cabinet. It loves being (pre-amp) overdriven. I'm sure this thing would sound rock with a classic SVT or Sunn or something. I haven't gotten a clean sound that I am 100% happy with. I am half inclined to think that this is just because I can't get far enough away from it to hear it accurately; I'm confident I'll figure this one out. In the meantime, I've reserved it for some big cover gigs where it just rocks out the bottom end across the room (our PA doesn't include any subs or anything, so it's a necessary volume, not just pissing off a sound guy), and for a vintage rock band where the overdrive just sounds soooooo good and warm.
And all the while, it stays not muddy too.
The HT115 has been a real trooper. I've been playing all sorts of gigs with it, and it's to the point where I can get just about any tone I want. Even doing stupid stuff like adding +15db @ 40 Hz to shake things, it has performed flawlessly. It's got a great (pretty much flat) response across the frequency range. The tweeter's awesome. Alot of you already know all this. Adding pre-amp overdrive, I find that it really gets warm nicely. At high volumes, I do notice that it's ported. Not a complaint, simply an observation. I like it quite well for cover gigs where I need to dial in all sorts of different sounds, from hip-hop big bottom to footloose with the mid-heavy picked sound. I've also played in a sorta prog-rock band with it and gotten great definition, and it blended well with guitars.
I picked up the NV215 because I played it at Rock City a couple years ago and swore I'd get one when I had the cash. It's still got the seemingly flat response (except past about 7kHz), but it's a totally different sound. I haven't gotten to play with this cab nearly as much as I need to, mostly because of it's size, but here's a few things. It definitely does not sound ported. The bass just stays really tight all the way down to B. I love playing straight eighth notes on the B/E strings through this cabinet. It loves being (pre-amp) overdriven. I'm sure this thing would sound rock with a classic SVT or Sunn or something. I haven't gotten a clean sound that I am 100% happy with. I am half inclined to think that this is just because I can't get far enough away from it to hear it accurately; I'm confident I'll figure this one out. In the meantime, I've reserved it for some big cover gigs where it just rocks out the bottom end across the room (our PA doesn't include any subs or anything, so it's a necessary volume, not just pissing off a sound guy), and for a vintage rock band where the overdrive just sounds soooooo good and warm.
And all the while, it stays not muddy too.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,516
- 19,952
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
i played a berg cab the other day with a mea tube head set flat and it was all mud the highs were not subtle very scratchy i was using my Bee Bass i wonder if the mesa was faulty after reading all that has been posted the bergs should kick ass. when playing touchstyle the high reg was lost that does not happen with my accugroove stuff.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,516
- 19,952
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
Fill said:
In general, I find Bergantino cabs to have a more present high end than Accugroove cabs (which I think of as very smooth and a bit polite on the high end - with everything set flat, at least), so you are probably dealing with some malfunctioning equipment on one level or another.
What Berg model was it?
Tom.
Fill said:
Yeah...some people don't like to have their favorite gear questioned. It seems that occasionally people will hide behind false identities, and slam one maker or another... because of that, you might consider filling in your profile. People will take you more seriously if they think you are hiding something.
Fill said:
Probably the key here is "Mesa Tube head" (assuming "mea" is Mesa). You don't mention which model Mesa amp you were using so I'm not sure whether it was tube pre only (M-Pulse) or tube pre & power section (400+). I've owned the M-Pulse 600 and Walkabout amps and run flat they can be somewhat lacking in the highend area (and that using SWR cabinets). Definitely no sizzle there.
My first 2 experiences with Berg cabinets were actually somewhat negative. The first Berg that I tried was the original HT-210 cabinet and while it had a nice tone at low volumes, it really started breaking up when pushed hard. It also didn't cut through the mix at all. I eventually sold it and tried it again when a TB'er offered another HT-210 as a partial trade on a bass. I thought maybe it was the first cabinet, so gave it another try. Same exact result. With the first cabinet I used an Alembic F-1X/Stewart 1.6 rack. On the 2nd Berg I had a TFunk TFB-420 & SWR SM500.
I almost gave up on the Berg's but a few months ago after hauling around an Accugroove Tri-210 a few nights in a row I though there had to be an easier way. I had heard so many great things on the HT-112 cabinet I though I'd give one a try.
What a difference! IMO the voicing of that cabinet is perfect for live gigs. It really cuts through the mix. I purchased 2 HT-112's but rarely need more than one for a gig. I'm using the TFunk TFB-550B (and don't get me started on what I think of that amp!
). Let me just say that I'm getting the best live sound that I've ever gotten and it's portable to boot!Bottom line, don't pass judgement on Berg cabinets based on one uncontrolled experience. Check out some Berg's in a more controlled environment (use your amp & bass) and try some different configuration Berg's.
If you dig the Accugroove cabinets, I think that you'd really like the Berg's too.
