I have a traditional Powerhouse 4x10. But one of the things I like most about it is that the sound is clean and uncolored. Your reply is the first I read indicating that BF cabs' construction are not comparable to Mesa's. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to play through one. I keep reading great things but I'm reluctant to drop a grand on a cabinet I've never played through. For me, getting a pair of small cabs defeats the purpose of going ultralight. I have enough gear with my bass, gig bag, mic stand and stage monitor. Not looking for another thing to carry/schlep.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
I have a traditional Powerhouse 4x10. But one of the things I like most about it is that the sound is clean and uncolored. Your reply is the first I read indicating that BF cabs' construction are not comparable to Mesa's. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to play through one. I keep reading great things but I'm reluctant to drop a grand on a cabinet I've never played through. For me, getting a pair of small cabs defeats the purpose of going ultralight. I have enough gear with my bass, gig bag, mic stand and stage monitor. Not looking for another thing to carry/schlep.
Now don't get me wrong about the BF cabs, their construction is top notch. They just use a much thinner wood to cut down on the weight, and they have a spray on coating instead of tolex. Internally the bracing is quite similar, Mesa just uses a much thicker stronger wood which is why the cabs weigh more.
You can easily see the difference in the wood thickness here. Not saying either is good or bad, just two different design goals. This is a Subway 112 and a Super Midget. I love both these cabs
Because it doesn't sound as good.
I’m 47 and in the 80s I had a lab series head/fender 2x15 to start and a fender bxr/ Goliath before the ball dropped on the 90s. I was in my late teens
I have a small shrunken head to save my soul and avenge any enemies, mostly guitarists getting in my frequency range.
All I can say is thank God for changes and improvements in technology. Been playing bass for over 5 decades. At one time the only options folks had to use was big heavy and hard to move. I remember being jealous seeing the guitar player hauling a single 12 or dual 12 amp, and I had folded horns, four tens, or multiple cabs to haul around. And the amp had to have 10 times the power to just keep up with that guitarist's 30 or 60 watt amp.
Now a days things have changed, Class D amps have been improved and became reliable, high power, more of a tube sound preamp. Neo speakers, lighter construction techniques with better internal bracing designs, and even lighter weight plywood.
Now I have two cabinets that I can carry onto a stage with one in each hand (if I have too), a bag on my shoulder (really a Samsonite computer soft bag) with a Genzler 800 head that weights 6.25 lbs and still have cables in the bag. And the rig sounds louder and better than most anything I've hauled in the past. And I'm not breaking my back doing it. And only run a line to the PA in extremely large venues or outdoor stages.
Time marches on and things are getting better for us bassists too. I had a Silvertone amp back in the late 60s that was a Danelectro MIJ amp, 250 watt cheap transistor with a six 15" cabinet. (yes they made that - and it was a beast at the time). I traded that for a Vox Super Beatle, then some Peavy stuff, then for Acoustic 370 with a Folded horns. Now things sound better and a lot easier to load. Believe me.
FA - January 2016 | Schroeder Cabinets | Bass Cabinets | California
Now a days things have changed, Class D amps have been improved and became reliable, high power, more of a tube sound preamp. Neo speakers, lighter construction techniques with better internal bracing designs, and even lighter weight plywood.
Now I have two cabinets that I can carry onto a stage with one in each hand (if I have too), a bag on my shoulder (really a Samsonite computer soft bag) with a Genzler 800 head that weights 6.25 lbs and still have cables in the bag. And the rig sounds louder and better than most anything I've hauled in the past. And I'm not breaking my back doing it. And only run a line to the PA in extremely large venues or outdoor stages.
Time marches on and things are getting better for us bassists too. I had a Silvertone amp back in the late 60s that was a Danelectro MIJ amp, 250 watt cheap transistor with a six 15" cabinet. (yes they made that - and it was a beast at the time). I traded that for a Vox Super Beatle, then some Peavy stuff, then for Acoustic 370 with a Folded horns. Now things sound better and a lot easier to load. Believe me.
FA - January 2016 | Schroeder Cabinets | Bass Cabinets | California
Make sure you dissipate your gas somewhere else, as in, nowhere near any of us!Every time I fire mine up all tube related GAS dissipates.
Whose head and does it hang off your rear view mirror? I want one.
One man’s opinion.
Also your answer happens to answer the OP’s question. Some people just happen to like the way those big cabs sound.
In the conventional stage layout we run an instrument cable across the stage to the backline. Is running an instrument cable across the stage somehow better than running the speaker cable there? In situations where there's a long distance to cover between player and amp it seems peculiar that the durable amp-to-speaker cable is three or four feet long while the instrument cable, which is more easily damaged and attenuates treble with length, is much longer. I always stood toward the side of the stage and normally ran my speaker cables from the head (near me at the side of the stage) around the side to the cab in back.
I have never tried the Subway 12's but do have a Barefaced 212 Super Twin with a Walkabout/Carbine M9 and have never felt I missed heft with this rig - and I have heft OCD. I didn't think tone got any better than my rig but if the Subways have greater output and heft then that is pretty special!
Or...your wording is widely open to interpretation. Do you have an “imagined” personality?
Lifestyle? Only lifestyle pertinent here is do you load in your own gear, upstairs, take public transport, wheel fridges from truck right onto side of stage. Loud metal, coffee house, lounge, full FOH or sound on a stick... TBers want to know to give good advice.
Does “what’s the point?” sound snarky or actually seeking info?
Also let’s laugh a little. It cures what ails us.
obtuse
stupid -- dim-witted
"he seemed quite obtuse"
Obtuse
An angle between 90 and 180 degrees. Used in math. Other angles include:
right angle/right
acute angle/acute
straight angle/straight
reflex angle/reflex
That angle of 120 degrees is obtuse.
obtuse
from Latin obtusus, blunt, dull, from past participle of obtundere
dumb cuck not worth smaking!
Obtuse
The state of being simultaneously high and in a reclined position
Person 1: "hey do you want to get obtuse?"
Person 2: "of course! When and where?"
Person 1: "20min on the boat"
[This invalid link has been removed][This invalid link has been removed][This invalid link has been removed][This invalid link has been removed][This invalid link has been removed]
stupid -- dim-witted
"he seemed quite obtuse"
Obtuse
An angle between 90 and 180 degrees. Used in math. Other angles include:
right angle/right
acute angle/acute
straight angle/straight
reflex angle/reflex
That angle of 120 degrees is obtuse.
obtuse
from Latin obtusus, blunt, dull, from past participle of obtundere
dumb cuck not worth smaking!
Obtuse
The state of being simultaneously high and in a reclined position
Person 1: "hey do you want to get obtuse?"
Person 2: "of course! When and where?"
Person 1: "20min on the boat"
[This invalid link has been removed][This invalid link has been removed][This invalid link has been removed][This invalid link has been removed][This invalid link has been removed]
Per Wikipedia: A pantomath is a person who wants to know and knows everything.
Per Google: "One who is obnoxiously self-assertive and arrogant: malapert, witling. ( Informal) saucebox, smart aleck, smarty, smarty-pants, wisenheimer. ( Slang) wiseacre, wisecracker, wise guy.".
"Saucebox"? That one kinda tickles me the way that "gobsmack" does ... I was gobsmacked by the malapert's sauceboxiness". Pantomath is what I do when I'm getting dressed ... one leg in, two legs in, done.
Last edited:
