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Thoughts on these cabs?

But the questions you're asking as akin to- what's the best ice cream flavor between vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and mint chocolate chip. They all taste great for different reasons, (and none of them taste like salmon...)

I think we can all agree on that for sure! The holy grail answer here though is...

What are the flavors that each brand offers and what are the characteristics of those flavors?
 
I own the DG and I love it. It’s 4 ohms, lightweight and you can really dial many great tones via the tweeter control.

not saying they aren’t good cabs but I also owned the GK, Aggie and Mesa. I found all to be a bit boomy as well as bulky thus why I returned each. I used my Ashdown ABM 600, Orange Terrorbass 500 and Darkglass Microtubes 500 v2 to run each through their paces.
 
hmmm....

If I lean towards a more "vintage" sound...should I go with 10s? Are 12's going to be inherently more "mid-heavy"?...or is that completely dependant on the individual cab?



Boy, those are really light and they look solid as heck. What kind of bottom do they produce...and are they mid-heavy?

(probably matching this up with a 500w@4ohm amp)

I've been playing a Quilter BB800 and Mesa TT-800 thru the GR Bass cab and my colleagues comment on the 'diamond clarity' and 'beefy power' of the cabinet, especially for its size (compared to the old rattling Peavey rig at the studio that I had to play with). I agree that it sounds very crystal clear with a nice treble bite and huge bottom if you want it. My main axe is a custom made semi hollow fretless uke bass, so it would be very difficult to make a sound comparison to a 'regular' bass.

The GR Bass cabinet is so incredibly light that I have a hard time thinking that it's not made of cardboard when I lift it. But the carbon build is supposedly strong enough to sit on although I have not tried that. One thing to be aware of with these tall profile ultra light cabinets is if you set a large heavy head like the TT-800 on top the rig becomes a bit tipsy (funny how I consider a 7lb head to be 'heavy'). With the smaller and lighter Quilter its much more stable.

RehearsalRig02.jpg
 
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I'd throw one more into the mix - RevSound makes a 212 that comes in at 35 lbs, very transparent cab with deep low end without being boomy or muddy. They're a small maker compared to the others (the owner designs and build all of his products) but they have an outstanding rep for the price. As to the others, I found the Ags to be too colored for me, Mesa makes great stuff that sounds great but I've not played through the 212 (just the single driver cabs). Barefaced are much like the RevSounds in my experience - light, not colored, very well designed and built. Don't have any input about the others.

RS212 Bass Cabinet | RevSound
 
I found the GK to be severely lacking is the lows and felt the highs were way too forward. Did not care for it at all. ... and I am a Gk fan boi to an extent.

Had a pair of Aguillar gs112 and sl112. Operative word... 'had'

I haven't tried the DG or the Subway however... I think very highly of the designer of the Subway cabs and also some of the Genzler vans be designed. Of the lost, I would start there.

Personally, I'm headed back to fearful land with either a 12/6 and 12/sub or a 1212/6/1.

I put a ton of gigs on a self built 12/6 and it would have walked away from either the GK neo 212 or either of the Aguillar 2 x 1x12 stacks I tried.

Current fave cab in my stable is an MAS 15/5. Paired with fearful 12 sub. Very nice...
 
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I think we can all agree on that for sure! The holy grail answer here though is...

What are the flavors that each brand offers and what are the characteristics of those flavors?

The 212 really captures the low and low mid freqs from my Roscoe basses well, and it really nails the midrange growl on my fretless.

I don't use the tweeter much. If I want hifi 90s sound I go back to my SWR/Eden rig.

The SL212 is kind of like modern vintage. It takes distortion and fuzz really well, especially with the tweeter turned down (or with an LPF around 4-5k).

It pairs with my ag-700 well. I'm going to get an 8ohm sl112 to pair with my 4ohm 212, so I can pick whether I want a 1,2, or 312 cab. (The AG700 supports down to 2.6 ohms for this reason)


I still lust after a Bergantino 322. But they're heavy...
 
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OK...so, Barefaced comes up often. Maybe a "Two10S"? ...only 31 lbs with steel-grill. It's rated at 800w...4/12 ohms.

Since these Barefaced get such high praise...I can't imagine that it wouldn't pump out some serious umph! It has feet on the side (and a port)...so, clearly it's meant to be placed either horizontal or vertical. Apparently, vertical delivers more low-end? In any event, it certainly would help with some physical limitations.

Seems like it might be a good balance of needs...and under 1k;)