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What affects the sound more the head or the cab?
- Thread starter Bassistcali
- Start date
If you audition several cabs with the same head you will get a distinct tone from each cab. If you audition several heads using the same cab, many of the heads will sound very similar, with only a few standing out as distinct. The variation in tone for the heads will be much less than that for the cabs. The technical explanation for this is well… technical. The short answer is that transducers (devices that convert electrical power into sound like speakers, or devices that convert sound into an electrical signal, like pickups) are much less linear than purely electrical devices. The heads sound different mainly because they have circuitry that alters their otherwise linear response (cuts and boosts in the bass, mids and treble) that are meant to give the head a tonal flavor. Cab designers also do this as well, but tend to add a lot more flavor.
Which would you recommend getting the better quality one as?looking at a David eden to be more specific
"What effects the sound more, the Head or the Cab"
That's a great question.
There's a large percentage of TB members that feel the Head has a huge impact on sound. Just look at every tone wood discussion or fretboard discussion or bridge discussion and you'll see that most people feel strongly that what ever sound difference you think you hear is only your imagination, there is no real difference in the sound, its all in your Head.
That said, I don't think I've ever heard of a double blind test that compared the sound in a Cab to the sound outside of a Cab. I suspect the seats and glass windows and carpeting could actually effect the sound inside the cab. Not to mention road and engine noise from outside the cab.
Hope this was helpful, have a happy day.
That's a great question.
There's a large percentage of TB members that feel the Head has a huge impact on sound. Just look at every tone wood discussion or fretboard discussion or bridge discussion and you'll see that most people feel strongly that what ever sound difference you think you hear is only your imagination, there is no real difference in the sound, its all in your Head.
That said, I don't think I've ever heard of a double blind test that compared the sound in a Cab to the sound outside of a Cab. I suspect the seats and glass windows and carpeting could actually effect the sound inside the cab. Not to mention road and engine noise from outside the cab.
Hope this was helpful, have a happy day.
A good, reliable head is essential. Spend about 30% of your budget on the head and the remainder on a good cab. If your budget is especially tight buying used will stretch it quite a ways. A decent used head will typically run $200 - $300. Try to get one with at least 200-300w into a 4 ohm load. Then buy a cab that you like. If you plan on gigging, you will not be well served by a 2x10. An 8 ohm 1x12 or 1x15 will get you started, but you will want to get a second identical cab in the near future. The resulting 4 ohm load (from running 2 cabs in parallel) will allow maximum power delivery from the head, and the additional cone area will increase sensitivity. Audition a few if possible. Watch the TB classifieds for heads and cabs. When one is within budget, search the forums for information on it. If you buy locally, be sure to audition loudly enough to hear any problems (vibrating cab panel or grill, blown drivers). There are several manufacturers of durable and reliable cabs Eden is one of them.
The cab.
Don't skimp on cabs.
If you get a crappy cab, everything you put through it is going to sound way crappier than it otherwise would.
Also, what kind of sound are you looking for and how loud are you planning to get?
Loud enough for maybe playing in a gym nothing too major... I'm not really a tone freak so I'm not sure... Maybe a good punchy sound I guess
The cab is important for sure, but sp is the head. Why would most of TB members buy, sell, try out and do write ups about them otherwise?
Many heads have a strong baked in voice that is hard or impossible to totally dial out. Best to make sure you like the voicing before you buy.
I think I personally could live with a so so cab a lot easier than I could with an amp that I really didn't like the sound of.
YMMV.
Many heads have a strong baked in voice that is hard or impossible to totally dial out. Best to make sure you like the voicing before you buy.
I think I personally could live with a so so cab a lot easier than I could with an amp that I really didn't like the sound of.
YMMV.
See, for me it's the opposite. I've made quite a few different heads work, but there are some cabs I've played that made even great amps sound blech at every setting.
This also goes for me.
I don't think many people will hear the difference between a couple of 410's of teh same budget to be honest..
Offcourse, if you take a EBS 410 next to a blown out whatever...you'll hear it
My opinion
Bad bass + bad amp + good cab = good sound. Good bass + good amp + bad cab = bad sound. Every single time. That doesn't mean the head is any less important, but if I were to single out one for the honor of being most capable of jacking your sound, cab.
Two different 4x10 cabs of about the same budget can be voiced completely differently.This also goes for me.
I don't think many people will hear the difference between a couple of 410's of teh same budget to be honest..
Offcourse, if you take a EBS 410 next to a blown out whatever...you'll hear it
Hell, just two Ampeg 4x10 cabs, the 410HE, and the 410HLF, sound radically different. The first works for me, the second does not, at all.
I agree with JimmyM.
If Cab sucks, theres practically no way around fixing your tone/sound.
If head/amp sucks, you can try to bypass the EQ section and use your bass preamp to shape your tone somewhat and use the head to amplify that sound.
Bass = tone
Head = amplifier
Cab = your sound
Edit: Depending on the head you go with, it can equalize your tone.
Head units also have distinctive characters - example:
Aguilar TH series amps sound vintage and not hifi
Gallien-Krueger RB series amps sound aggressive in the mids and have a hifi modern tone.
If Cab sucks, theres practically no way around fixing your tone/sound.
If head/amp sucks, you can try to bypass the EQ section and use your bass preamp to shape your tone somewhat and use the head to amplify that sound.
Bass = tone
Head = amplifier
Cab = your sound
Edit: Depending on the head you go with, it can equalize your tone.
Head units also have distinctive characters - example:
Aguilar TH series amps sound vintage and not hifi
Gallien-Krueger RB series amps sound aggressive in the mids and have a hifi modern tone.
I agree with JimmyM as well.
My basses don't have preamps, but I find that even an okay or mediocre head sounds better through a good cab than a good head sounds through a mediocre cab.
