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Why Didn't Powered Cabs Catch On?

#101
Pontiac Thrasher said:
Why didn't powered cabs catch on?

They have caught on, but we pay little attention the people using them! Kinda kidding there, and really, I agree that a combo is a powered cab. SRV did really well with his combos : )

I just installed these old Peavey's today at our rehearsal space, as you can see we are all using stacks (Orange for Rhythm Guitar, Marshall for lead, and the Peavey's for bass) cuz we like the look, but we do have powered pa cabs.

View attachment 4842029
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Massive
 
#102
Riff Ranger said:
If it sounds too good to be true … ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I got the idea from having seen these out there, but upon closer inspection, even this has its own dedicated power cord.

44 Magnum | Power Amp - Electro-Harmonix

Maybe running two power cords from a pedal board isn’t that big of a deal, though. Just throw an ELF on the board and get a long speaker cable? :smug:
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Note the power supply requirement. 24v at 2.0 amp.
 
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#104
Because I can carry one high powered class D amp at 6 lbs. and two 12" neo speakers at 25-30 lbs. and be ready for almost any club gig or use it as backline at a large gig, AND it sounds fantastic. Powered speakers are just two more unnecessary heavy things to carry.
 
#105
Riff Ranger said:
I will add Bag End to this list, similar to Bergantino in terms of not-cheap, not-light.

I wonder whether a pedalboard-friendly power amp might do better. I’ve seen 44-watt ones the size of a typical MXR enclosure. How much bigger would something 200, 300, or 500 watts have to be? Could it run on 9v? If I could get 300 watts from something the size of a wah or volume pedal and running on 9v, I think I’d go for it.
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The Ashdown Ant came to mind when I read this. Pedalboard friendly, 200 watts, DI, phones out et cetera. But I does have an EQ/preamp, which I'm not sure you can bypass, so there could be an element of preamp stacking depending on what you're using in your pedal chain.

One caveat is that it needs AC mains power to operate. But it's a neat concept that you could definitely use with a passive cab, or just as a pre/DI.
 
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#106
skyline_01 said:
The Ashdown Ant came to mind when I read this. Pedalboard friendly, 200 watts, DI, phones out et cetera. But I does have an EQ/preamp, which I'm not sure you can bypass, so there could be an element of preamp stacking depending on what you're using in your pedal chain.

One caveat is that it needs AC mains power to operate. But it's a neat concept that you could definitely use with a passive cab, or just as a pre/DI.
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Cool device - I've never seen one of these.
 
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#115
IME powered cabs might be 'full range' but that doesn't really translate to good bass enclosures. The closest hybrid are keyboard combos. I'm not saying you can't get by with a full range powered cab, many people do, but they don't really have that ummph basses require. Of course, higher quality (and price point) power cabs are much better for the bass as sound reinforcement but they're typically priced above good combos.
 
#117
They didn’t catch on because they have a niche use case.

Covid definitely showed us that a majority of equipment sales are based on want and not need. Manufacturers in the MI space just had their best 2-3 year run in the last 30+ years, during a period where you couldn’t legally gig in half of the country.

So, it’s an industry based on the needs of people that are mainly bedroom players or enthusiasts. People in that category don’t need a powered cab, for the most part. Majority of players just need something to practice on or rehearse with a “for kicks” band.

Powered cabs just don’t fit into that paradigm easily.

Yeah, maybe a guy who buys a combo to practice on at home, will find out he could use a powered extension cab to be heard at a rehearsal. But often people in that situation will just go buy a head and a 4x10 or something, and treat it like they now “need” this new setup since they’ve “graduated” to playing with other folks.

So. Again. Like any other technology that doesn’t see wide adoption, it’s niche use case limits it’s applicability for most consumers.
 
#119
alex1fly said:
Why say they didn't catch on? They're out there in many bands.
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I also said they may have and I can't tell.
I haven't seen many "in the wild" as it were.
And my judgment that they didn't catch on was based on information I got from a Sweetwater rep that GK had discontinued their line. I assumed that meant they didn't sell much, and therefore, didn't catch on. But rag (Bob Gallien) said in another thread they're not discontinued, just waiting for parts to re-up production in early 2023. So, maybe this entire thread is moot, but it turned into some good discussion, and I learned about all the various powered cab options out there. Mainly I don't think a powered PA cab is really the same thing, and that the bass cabs out there not called GK cost way more than I want to spend.
 
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#120
I'm neurotic; I just really hate having to plug extra stuff in.
My small PA is all powered speakers. While I do appreciate the fidelity, flexibility and not least of all redundancy of that approach, I also frown at having to run power to every speaker location. If I could do it over, I would be very tempted to get a powered mixer with passive speakers.
The hassle would be less with a bass pre + powered speaker rig. But AFAIC so would the benefits.
YMMV - I've read some pretty convincing raves about those Bergantino IP cabs.
 

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