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SUPER CABS

Fit4pain

Fit4pain

Supporting Member
May 30, 2012
824
627
San Antonio Texas
#1
The term Super Cabs gets thrown around here quite often. Barefaced, AudioKinesis, Greenboy, Bergantino and Michael Arnopol Soundworks come to mind. Maybe some would say the new Mesa Subway Cabs and RevSound might be so called Super Cabs.

My question is what other brands would you put into this category. What are the major tonal differences.
I am considering a buying a new Barefaced Super Compact or a AudioKinesis new Changeing 112 and maybe the RevSound RS 210. I am a 4 string player so having cab that is ultra low is not what I am after. I am hoping for a fast articulate cab that will pair well with my Mesa D 800 amp. I am sure that anyone of these cabs would work great but I would love to hear your thoughts.
 
#2
It's a Talkbass thing imo.
And, again imo....
It can go with anything that sounds great and surprises you by its power handling/volume output/for the size and weight of the cab.
That's my take.
They usually seem to have the "new" (relative) Neodymium drivers in em. .. that have an astounding amount of cone movement available. ...
I was certainly surprised by the Eminence 3015s I bought and loaded into some (common named and inexpensive ) cabs I had. The power handling and volume they put out was night n day compared to the stock drivers.
In sure others will come in with a far better explanation than I can.
But. ..hopefully, this is a start. ...and it's in the right direction
 
#3
Fit4pain said:
The term Super Cabs gets thrown around here quite often. Barefaced, AudioKinesis, Greenboy, Bergantino and Michael Arnopol Soundworks come to mind. Maybe some would say the new Mesa Subway Cabs and RevSound might be so called Super Cabs...
Click to expand...

Time marches on. There have been improvements in driver technology, which when combined with well-understood physics and a dash of inspired design, results in new levels of bass cabinet performance.

The problem is that you can never know in advance how much you will love the sound of something that you have never experienced. IME, having a full range cabinet is wonderful. For others, it may not be useful.

To more directly answer your question, Audiokensis, Barefaced, and fEARful/fearless are all worthy of your interest. There are plenty of other great cabinets, but they are not intend to be full range. They may sound great to you, or not.

Yet, with a full range cabinet, a pre/amp you like, and your favorite instrument, chances are "pretty good" you can get what you want, and more.
 
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#4
rodl2005 said:
They usually seem to have the "new" (relative) Neodymium drivers in em. .. that have an astounding amount of cone movement available. ...
Click to expand...

Right, the Eminence [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] and [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] Kappalites are the poster-children, though they're not alone. (Links go to their specs if interested).

While there are undoubtedly any number of really well engineered cabs, and cabs that are super sounding, when I mention "super cabs", this is typically what I'm referring to - just because they're capable of doing so much more with fewer speakers due to the crazy amount of usable excursion, low-end extension, and I suppose to a lesser extent because of their power handling capabilities.

While these cabs are typically designed to be full-range - a welcome byproduct due to the drivers in question primarily being developed for sub-woofer use if I'm not mistaken (and hence their need to be augmented by a higher range driver of some sort in most instances), IMO using EQ and filters they're not difficult to get to sound like more conventional fare... though of course sill with the additional performance to weight/size benefits.

From personal experience, my 52lb Greenboy Fearless F115 easily bested both pairs of 1x12s I had at my disposal at the time I acquired it (though it also cost more than each pair as well), and when auditioning the Fearless models, I was amazed to find out that I loved the sound of them with barely any need to touch my settings. YMMV.
 
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#5
^^^I agree with this. To me, "super cab" means a box that produces significantly more volume than "regular" boxes with the same number and diameter driver(s). I place Greenboy, Barefaced and Audiokinesis in this category. Bergantino and Genzler make amazing cabs, but to me they are outstanding, boutique cabs, not "super" cabs. IME/IMHO one Berg 112 cab will not come close to a mass produced 410 for volume, but a fEarful or Barefaced 112 just might give that 410 a real run for its' money in terms of projecting lows at gig volume. I owned a Subway 112 cab as well-great cab-but not "super" by my criteria. I have not heard an Arnopol cab, but from what I have read, I'd call 'em super as well. (I have owned a few fEarfuls, AK and BF cabs, as well as Genzler, Mesa Subway and others (LDS, Berg), and I have played a fEArless 112).
 
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#7
lomo said:
....I'd add LDS to the list of Super cabs, when he uses the LF drivers....
Click to expand...
If that is the case then I already have a Super Cab.
Eminence 3012LF 12" Neo woofer
Fatial FA16 6.5" Neo mid range speaker
Adjustable crossover, mounted on the side of the box
16" deep x 16" wide x 25" high
42 lbs.
IMG_0509.JPG
 
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#10
Fit4pain said:
If that is the case then I already have a Super Cab.
Eminence 3012LF 12" Neo woofer
Fatial FA16 6.5" Neo mid range speaker
Adjustable crossover, mounted on the side of the box
16" deep x 16" wide x 25" high
42 lbs.
View attachment 1198415
Click to expand...
Yeah you do. Compare this to barefaced et. al. and you're really talking different flavors of excellent. Nice looking cab!
 
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#12
Was just thinking a bit more on this topic, given that you started off by mentioning that you were looking into different options within a specific category, and then it turned out you already had a cab that fell into the category you were looking at.

Despite those that would categorize all of these (incorrectly IMO), as flat-response, full-range cabs, the voicings will certainly be different not only between Greenboy and Barefaced for instance, but also between different models from the same builder. Fearless will sound different than Fearful for example.

You can find a few descriptions here and there as to what these differences might be, and sound samples may be minimally helpful, but when it all comes down to it, trying them out is probably the only way to know for certain which of these cabs will be your cup of tea.
 
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#16
It would be hard for me to believe anything would put out more better tone than my Genzler 12-3 and 210-3 arrays. They blow me away no matter the size of the gig and have had Sound men shaking their heads and commenting how good the tone is of these cabinets. Very light weight also at 36 and 38 pounds a piece.
 
#17
rodl2005 said:
It's a Talkbass thing imo.
And, again imo....
It can go with anything that sounds great and surprises you by its power handling/volume output/for the size and weight of the cab.
That's my take.
They usually seem to have the "new" (relative) Neodymium drivers in em. .. that have an astounding amount of cone movement available. ...
I was certainly surprised by the Eminence 3015s I bought and loaded into some (common named and inexpensive ) cabs I had. The power handling and volume they put out was night n day compared to the stock drivers.
In sure others will come in with a far better explanation than I can.
But. ..hopefully, this is a start. ...and it's in the right direction
Click to expand...
 
#18
The Eminence 3015LF and 3012LF are amazing speakers for bass guitar, but you at least really need a mid range speaker as the Eminence speakers will not reproduce the upper frequencies. To me, a tweeter is optional and I would not bother having one.

Has anyone tried any of the BBC Boom Boom Tanks? I am interested in seeing a review. They may lack the mids but have high power handling according to manufacturer. They are also rated at only 50Hz so can they produce a low B at 31 Hz?
 

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