This is my first post, so sorry if it's too long. I've been gigging for $$ for (hmm, 47-15=) about 32 years now. Several years ago, more like 13 maybe, our entire band trailer was stolen. The only thing of mine that wasn't in there was my 1969 Pbass thankfully. At the time I was using Trace Elliot stuff and the old Hartke XL cabs. So the day it was stolen was a Thursday and we had gigs Thu, Fri, Sat, and Sun that weekend. Went to my local music store, the biggest in town before Guitar Center came along later, and the owner really wanted to help ... he knew us all really well. That same day he had just gotten in a new Eden WT405 Time Traveler Bass Head ... we plugged it in to a few cabs in the store and I loved it. Then the delivery truck shows up and they unload an SWR Goliath III 4x10 cab and the owner and the tech both said "Hey, now THAT's what you need to pair it with". So being upset about the stolen stuff, I just bought those two items. He even made me two short speakon cables since all of ours were gone. So basically all 4 gigs were hair-pulling experiences. I couldn't get any answers on the amp back then as there was no manual to it, etc. Come to find out later, I'm pushing a 700 watt cabinet at 8 ohms with a 250 watt head at 8 ohms. Not good. My solution was to put a Crown PB amp in my rack and use it for power and the Eden for preamp. Problem solved and it actually sounded (and sounds) awesome. My question is this ... the Crown and the SWR are coming to "end of life". I've already had one speaker repaired. My question is: If I like the Eden sound, should I just get another cabinet but at 4 ohms so I can push 400 watts? Or should I ditch it all? I'm not sure how many more nights the three are going to all work. I hate to drop a bunch of cash but I can if I need to. I just really like that weird setup ... it's super punchy and as loud as I would ever want it with headroom to go. Thanks for any replies.
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New Member, Looking for Advice on an Amp/Cab Change
- Thread starter redhouserocks
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Is the eden 2 ohm stable? Rewire the Goliath for 2ohms if so.
A 4ohm eden d410xlt is another option, they push a tad more lows than the Goliath III, slightly more sensitive.
Modern offerings are a whole new ballgame now, eden is Marshall, swr is no more, and amps and cabs are a lot lighter these days.
Consider a 500-800w class d micro head and some lighter weight cabs. The new vertical/diagonally staggered 210s stacked on top of each other are all the rage, and even fender makes good mid priced bass amps now.
A $599 fender rumble 500 210 combo and $349 210 extension cabinet is a nice sub $1k 500w 410 rig weighing about 70lbs (approx 35# per box). One example.
Thanks, I'm computer nerd-ish but don't subscribe to any other sites like this, so I assume I should delete your message when I reply? (I did, but I guess it'll show above). Everything I've read about the Eden head says it's completely reliable at 2ohm (minus one guy but most say it's made for 8, 4, or 2). I may look into that Eden cab at 4ohm, or the Fender combo looks promising ... I just wish I could play a gig ahead of time with them. Most of my bass player friends here have Frankenstein setups like mine, other than a couple with Markbass stuff, which I don't care for. Thank you again. Can I post a photo? If I can that's my little rig behind me from a couple months ago. Well, I'm standing in front of it sorry.
I still have my Goliath III, bought it new in 98 along with a son of Bertha. To go along with the swr bass350 I had bought earlier the same year. I later added a d210xlt a d410xlt and an old Goliath II Jr to the mix (and an acoustic b600h as a backup/more powerful head). I had to downsize so I sold the Edens. Mainly because they were worth more and were heavier and didn't have the "bought new" sentiment of the SWRs.
I had to bury my 3 swr cabs and amps in storage, moved onto my boat and hadn't been playing for a while. I decided to start playing again and needed to keep it conpact so I fished my little swr working mans 10 and ampeg micro CL rig out of storage and found the matching 110 cab used, so i ran them in parallel feeding the ampeg off of the tuner out of the wm10 so i would have 4x10 and 200w. On the first audition the WM10 fries, so I end up getting a rumble 200 combo, best move ever. I gigged/jammed it with the 110 cab or the 210 from the ampeg. Sold the ampeg and was about to buy some older workingman 210 cabs that had matching pebble grille's, but I got into a bad situation, where my bass350 (in rack with tuner, wireless, cables mic in back), son of bertha, Goliath JR and the workingman 10+110 and other stuff were all stolen, leaving me with the Goliath and b600h still in storage, and the rumble200 in my other vehicle at parked at the marina (with dead battery, blown starter, and water in the gas tank, long story).
So I had to scratch cash to buy a cab to go with the rumble 200 combo, which ended up being the matching rumble 112, and have been happy with that rig despite mourning the loss of my original rig.
That being said I have experience with owning and using swr and eden stuff, yet am super happy with a rumble 200 (15") and 112 extension cab. The 500+ the 210 is a pretty serious rig, worth a shot!
I had to bury my 3 swr cabs and amps in storage, moved onto my boat and hadn't been playing for a while. I decided to start playing again and needed to keep it conpact so I fished my little swr working mans 10 and ampeg micro CL rig out of storage and found the matching 110 cab used, so i ran them in parallel feeding the ampeg off of the tuner out of the wm10 so i would have 4x10 and 200w. On the first audition the WM10 fries, so I end up getting a rumble 200 combo, best move ever. I gigged/jammed it with the 110 cab or the 210 from the ampeg. Sold the ampeg and was about to buy some older workingman 210 cabs that had matching pebble grille's, but I got into a bad situation, where my bass350 (in rack with tuner, wireless, cables mic in back), son of bertha, Goliath JR and the workingman 10+110 and other stuff were all stolen, leaving me with the Goliath and b600h still in storage, and the rumble200 in my other vehicle at parked at the marina (with dead battery, blown starter, and water in the gas tank, long story).
So I had to scratch cash to buy a cab to go with the rumble 200 combo, which ended up being the matching rumble 112, and have been happy with that rig despite mourning the loss of my original rig.
That being said I have experience with owning and using swr and eden stuff, yet am super happy with a rumble 200 (15") and 112 extension cab. The 500+ the 210 is a pretty serious rig, worth a shot!
wow, so you know how bad it sucks to get your stuff stolen ... I'm still angry about it all these years later haha! In between your responses (thank you by the way) I've been looking at the Fender 500 combo ... I'm thinking that and the extra 2x10 cab may give me what I'm looking for after reading all the positive reviews. I guess I can sell my Eden and SWR or just keep them as backups. Thank you very much! (edit to say that we mainly play bars and outdoor festivals, etc, nothing huge)
Keep them as backups, they don't fetch their value used, it is a buyers market for those. And they don't make them like they used to.
If the fender craps out, you have something to use while waiting for fender warranty service.
Fender tip. Buy used from someone with a copy of the original receipt dated prior to 1/2017. As of this year it is a 2yr non transferable warranty. Prior to that it was 5 year transferable. I bought mine in 2014 black Friday, so I still have over 2 years left on mine, longer than I would have buying a new one.
Another consideration, the fender rumble 500head puts out a solid 350w at 8ohms for $399 (sometimes on sale for less), and would drive the Goliath well. Even the 500 combo could probably drive the Goliath as am extension for a 610 rig.
The rumbles are conservatively rated, so even the 200 kicks pretty hard
This is probably a good time for you to start looking before you're pushed into emergency action again by a failure. If you like the Eden sound you've got to get Eden, but they are also getting long in the tooth, so I'd look at the best of the current gear.
I'd start with a clean sheet, ie don't try to capture the sound of your old gear with something new. That usually doesn't work, so buy the best now and sound good with that sound. My suggestions would include Mesa Boogie, Genzler, Aguilar and Bergantino.
Any of the new micro amps in 500 (or more) class would be a great start. You can get your Eden's tone from a pedal and run it into the effects return. A pair of 210 or 212 (stacked to align the drivers in the vertical plane) with the other gear I mentioned will likely be enough and more. Shopping around and not being too scared to try used good condition stuff you could do it for maybe under $1k and be able to move it all easily. So many cabs these days are unreal in their power to weight ratio.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Great, thank you guys ... I'll check back in after I decide and give a review. Oh, one last thing ... (hypothetical for now) ... what if I just replace the four speakers in my GoliathIII cab with new Neos and make it a 4ohm cab? Because the cab itself is in great shape ... just worried about the speakers since I've been using it so long, in and out of trailers, clubs, dropped by my drummer twice, etc. Would that be an option?
wintremute
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All this talk about amps and cabs and no one is addressing the real issue? You're not allowed to wear shorts when you're on stage! That's taboo!!!
Just kidding. Welcome to TB. It only took you 4 years to make your first post. You must be playing bass, and not talking bass.
Just kidding. Welcome to TB. It only took you 4 years to make your first post. You must be playing bass, and not talking bass.
welcome to TB
have to be careful about just replacing old speakers with new ones - need to make sure the new speaker specs match the cab design or it could sound terrible. Kind of a crapshoot.
can't really comment on the physical condition of the box either. If it seems solid and does not rattle or buzz now, it's probably ok. A few have already mentioned vertical alignment (stacked 2x10 or 2x12) being a potentially better solution than old-school 4x10 boxes where the drivers are blasting at the back of your knees.
OTOH, so much has happened in speaker/cab design in the past 10-15 years, it might be a real eye opener for you to check out some newer cabs. It seems as if you are used to the SWR 4x10 thing, but high performance neo 12's have made a big impact on modern cab design.
good luck
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Haha, it's hot as HADES everywhere we play down here
I gave up on looking cool from May through September each year 
I'd wait till the thing blows and then run to the music store and buy whatever is available again. Nothing like living on the edge.
I used to run a trace AH250 and before that an Ampeg SVT...
I am super happy with my Genzler Magellan 800 and the one BA12-3 (probably get a couple more cabs once I'm gigging solidly again). I can't believe that this rig weighing in at less than 40 lbs total is just as loud as my trace rig. (Nothing near the earth shaker SVT but that was so bloody heavy - and I prefer this tone wise)
I am super happy with my Genzler Magellan 800 and the one BA12-3 (probably get a couple more cabs once I'm gigging solidly again). I can't believe that this rig weighing in at less than 40 lbs total is just as loud as my trace rig. (Nothing near the earth shaker SVT but that was so bloody heavy - and I prefer this tone wise)
I am not sure how the 405 compares to a WT-400 (which I own) and will need to defer to someone with more expertise. Assuming the 405 sounds similar to the WT-400, you have a mid-forward amp with a mid-scooped cab (owned a Goliath III Jr for a few years). Therefore, I would look for a fairly neutral setup. If you can afford it, the new Mesa Subway series is really good (and is neutral with the controls set flat unlike GK). This is what I will replace my WT-400 and 410XLT with when the time comes (will keep them out of sentimental value). If the 405 is fairly neutral, then I would recommend a GK MBF800 with a GK cab. Both would be fantastic setups and a lot lighter than what you have now.
Driving an 8 ohm cabinet capable of handling 700 watts with an amp that will produce 250 watts into an 8 ohm load isn't bad. The amp is capable of developing more power into a lower impedance load, which gives you the option of adding another 8 ohm cabinet without cooking the amp. The increase in the number of speakers moving air will give you more volume and possibly an improvement in tone, but no guarantee on the tone. Getting a 4 ohm cab so your amp produces 400 watts is no guarantee you will get more volume, but it's likely. It really depends on the cab.
If you've been running the Eden as just a preamp, add a cabinet for it to push along with the Crown & SWR. You can turn down the Crown and perhaps extend the life of the SWR that you have apparently pushed a little too hard at least once.....
Definitely keep the speakers in the Goliath to original/recone spec.
Or at least keep the speakers in safe storage if you decide to make it a neo cab, in case you don't like the results you can go back and sell the neos.
Staying at 8 ohms is probably a good idea, unless you use 2ohm stable heads. Being limited to just one cab is not a corner you want to back yourself into.
From personal experience though, despite what the mixed driver police might say, an swr son of Bertha and Goliath III is a great rig. I would replace my stolen son of bertha, but a $100 Goliath II happened (needs horn attenuator repair but I don't need to use the horn anyway), so my big rig on backup is a pair of 410s safe in storage. I really miss that son of bertha.
But seriously give the new 210 rumbles a try, $349 for the cab and $599 for the 210 500 combo . can't go wrong at that price, weight, tone volume and dispersion.
Or at least keep the speakers in safe storage if you decide to make it a neo cab, in case you don't like the results you can go back and sell the neos.
Staying at 8 ohms is probably a good idea, unless you use 2ohm stable heads. Being limited to just one cab is not a corner you want to back yourself into.
From personal experience though, despite what the mixed driver police might say, an swr son of Bertha and Goliath III is a great rig. I would replace my stolen son of bertha, but a $100 Goliath II happened (needs horn attenuator repair but I don't need to use the horn anyway), so my big rig on backup is a pair of 410s safe in storage. I really miss that son of bertha.
But seriously give the new 210 rumbles a try, $349 for the cab and $599 for the 210 500 combo . can't go wrong at that price, weight, tone volume and dispersion.
Boom there you go, well known ebay seller who has the higher quality cast frame speakers used by SWR
likewise with 4x16ohm drivers you get a 4ohm cabinet with no series loads.
likewise on tour or doing many local gigs i enjoyed having older beat up cabs so i could throw them around and not cry over little dings n scrapes like you would with new cab. my 8x10s looked like hell and every time a chunk of tolex or wood fell off it made me smile instead of grind my teeth.
that crown is gonna last longer than you think. clean the dust out if it has any. its the only thing that could haunt it as far as not getting cool.
Replacing speakers in a cab may easily give you a totally different sound from the one you liked at the start.
I'd get a modern cab that was designed to sound great right out of the box. I played Bergs for 8 years and now my preference is Barefaced cabs. Either will give you the foundation for a much better sounding rig.
I'd get a modern cab that was designed to sound great right out of the box. I played Bergs for 8 years and now my preference is Barefaced cabs. Either will give you the foundation for a much better sounding rig.
