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Xsonics Club
- Thread starter kringle77
- Start date
I'm pretty sure Nick can offer the 212CF with the Faitals. The 3012HO is standard, but the 12PR300 was an option. I chose the Faitals for my cab. I play very percussively, which can get pretty clanky, and my amp is a Mesa Carbine 300, which doesn't have a parametric eq. This makes it hard to dial out the rising mids that the Eminence neos seem to have (I haven't used the HO's, but I've had the 2512's, and they were too much for me in the upper mids). The Faitals are a smoother, more "ceramic" sounding speaker. This would probably make them sound "bassier", but I think the specs would favor the HO's for actual bass output.
All that being said, you mentioned you use flats/tapes for 70's rock/blues...so you're not going to be doing anything to excite the upper mid spike of the Eminence's, and they may even be a better choice to cut through. With your Genz heads, you've got good control of your mids, anyway. Nick plays 50's/60's gigs, with his HO loaded 212CF, so they definitely work for "old school".
The older model Genz 212T is one of the best regarded cabs going...I highly doubt the new version is anything but a very slight tweak, as far as sound goes. I can't see getting the new version, and hearing anything different, that a small eq adjustment wouldn't fix.
The 212CF will be quite a bit more manageable. A few inches here or there makes a big difference when you're talking about a cube. A Faital loaded 212CF only weighs 38 lbs.! If the size of the Genz doesn't bother you, you should seriously think about The Xsonics 215 offerings...one of those will surely outdo the Genz.
The Xsonics are worth a try...you can always return it.
Give Nick a call!
hey thanks for that info, very helpful. A TBer posted his very nice looking, home built 212 cab with the 3012HO drivers. I plan to take a ride out to his place this weekend to check it out.
I'da jumped on a Xsonics 212 or 215 cab sooner but just wanting to research the different 212 cabs that are out there now, so I'm in research mode still. (aka "footdragging")
And with owning a few cabs already and slow gig schedule with a new band, I'm taking my time to see if its worth investing in a new cab or just stay with what I have which includes the NeoX 212T, a TB153, a UL410 and 2x TC-E RS 210's. I can appreciate the lighter weight of these new 212's but I'm not loaded down with super heavy cabs now.
And I try to budget my GAS with band gigs $$. As you can see above cabs' list, I had a good run with 4-5 bands past couple years. But things have changed now.
So as typical here, more wanting than needing a new cab. (GAS is a b*tch ) If this new band takes off, will def look into a new, lighter cab to temporarily cure my GAS.
I'da jumped on a Xsonics 212 or 215 cab sooner but just wanting to research the different 212 cabs that are out there now, so I'm in research mode still. (aka "footdragging")
And with owning a few cabs already and slow gig schedule with a new band, I'm taking my time to see if its worth investing in a new cab or just stay with what I have which includes the NeoX 212T, a TB153, a UL410 and 2x TC-E RS 210's. I can appreciate the lighter weight of these new 212's but I'm not loaded down with super heavy cabs now.
And I try to budget my GAS with band gigs $$. As you can see above cabs' list, I had a good run with 4-5 bands past couple years. But things have changed now.
So as typical here, more wanting than needing a new cab. (GAS is a b*tch ) If this new band takes off, will def look into a new, lighter cab to temporarily cure my GAS.
hey thanks for that info, very helpful. A TBer posted his very nice looking, home built 212 cab with the 3012HO drivers. I plan to take a ride out to his place this weekend to check it out.
I'da jumped on a Xsonics 212 or 215 cab sooner but just wanting to research the different 212 cabs that are out there now, so I'm in research mode still. (aka "footdragging")
And with owning a few cabs already and slow gig schedule with a new band, I'm taking my time to see if its worth investing in a new cab or just stay with what I have which includes the NeoX 212T, a TB153, a UL410 and 2x TC-E RS 210's. I can appreciate the lighter weight of these new 212's but I'm not loaded down with super heavy cabs now.
And I try to budget my GAS with band gigs $$. As you can see above cabs' list, I had a good run with 4-5 bands past couple years. But things have changed now.
So as typical here, more wanting than needing a new cab. (GAS is a b*tch ) If this new band takes off, will def look into a new, lighter cab to temporarily cure my GAS.
Lol! I can completely relate! Too many cabs/amps not enough time playing them.
hey thanks for that info, very helpful. A TBer posted his very nice looking, home built 212 cab with the 3012HO drivers. I plan to take a ride out to his place this weekend to check it out.
I'da jumped on a Xsonics 212 or 215 cab sooner but just wanting to research the different 212 cabs that are out there now, so I'm in research mode still. (aka "footdragging")
And with owning a few cabs already and slow gig schedule with a new band, I'm taking my time to see if its worth investing in a new cab or just stay with what I have which includes the NeoX 212T, a TB153, a UL410 and 2x TC-E RS 210's. I can appreciate the lighter weight of these new 212's but I'm not loaded down with super heavy cabs now.
And I try to budget my GAS with band gigs $$. As you can see above cabs' list, I had a good run with 4-5 bands past couple years. But things have changed now.
So as typical here, more wanting than needing a new cab. (GAS is a b*tch ) If this new band takes off, will def look into a new, lighter cab to temporarily cure my GAS.
GAS is a very evil affliction no doubt. I am super happy I let my take over in this case though. I had enough cabs to do just about any situation, but none of them worked like the Xsonics does. The last few shows I did not even go over in my head which I wanted to take as I usually do, this one seems to cover about any need for me thus far. Still have some playing around with it yet too. Today I have switched it into two way mode and will leave it there for awhile instead of back and forth, kinda get my ear used to it.
I think I'm freaking out my new bandmates. Each of last past 5-6 Sundays I've shown up with a different cab/amp to try at rehearsal. I have to take advantage of the band mix to see what rigs work. Right?
Rehearsing at home alone with my gear doesn't tell me all I need to know, so I take different combos of gear to see what works in a live band mix.
It's sorta helping me. Out of all my small gear I ended up taking my Epi UL410 cab and BBE B-Max pre/Crown Coredrive 1500 amp to our first gig last Friday. Bridged @ 8 ohms, about 1100 watts.
Hey these ph*ckers get loud just at practice levels so i wanted to be sure I packed plenty of heat. Turns out it was more than enough and yeah, I prolly made them go even louder with this rig. Bad move maybe.
But I was told by them and freinds/fam in crowd the bass sounds great. Seems we might play this same club once a month now. So guess what? I'll be bringing a different cab/amp to those gigs to try em out.....
Hey man, I gots to know!
And new band has only seen my P5 so far. Wait til they see my other 7 basses at rehearsals/gigs.
I'm enjoying the new band so far...........
And to sorta get back OT, if this band gets more regular bookings like this each month; just might justify a new Xsonics cab afterall. peace y'all.
Yes I saw that to, I have been really busy testing out the new 2125cf that arrived this past Wednesday . And I am pretty impressed I like what the mid adds to the cab compared to the 212cf but I wouldn't call it a deal breaker if you are interested in 212cf it is an awesome cab to and has its own distinct character . The 2125cf just adds a midrange that is switchable between two and three way operation. So I guess it just a mater of personal taste and preference . I am really diggin the 2125cf at this point though . I will have to give it some gigs to really know for sure .
I've read it and said it a number of times these past couple years, "It's a great time to be a bass player!". With all the new micro amps bringing us more power and lighter weight, neodymium speakers and now new incarnations of smaller cabs to go with them. It really is exciting to try out new products and see where technology will take us.
I just got through my first couple of gigs with the CF212 this weekend. I was really skeptical to all the seemingly outlandish reviews and talk about these cabs. I was still intrigued about the what if its true side of what I read. The tone sounded pretty decent to me in both the online vids and sound samples. I thought I'd order one to try and see how much of the talk was just talk and what was legit.
I'm not going to spin off a huge sales pitch to everyone and tell them they all need to go try one of these but I'll say that I'm really impressed with what this cab does. To say that I wasn't completely satisfied at my recent gigs with the form factor, tone, and performance of the CF212 would be a lie.
It's funny that in my small home studio I kept dialing in more and more low end to achieve the sound I wanted. I wasn't all that pleased with the tone. My Bergantino AE410 sounds so sweet by itself in there. Then I started playing along with some practice tracks on my P.A. system in my basement and noticed the 212CF felt a lot like jamming with my old Eden D410XLT4 behind me. I used to often dial in a bunch of low end on that cab as well. IMO the 212CF sound isn't an exact copy of the XLT but it's certainly a very close cousin if my memory of my old XLT is still in tact.
My first gig was a small bar without P.A. support as we only need vocals and acoustic in the P.A. I usually bring my 50 lb Walkabout Scout 12 to a gig like this but the Xsonics 212CF is not much bigger and actually lighter when I use a 4 lb Eden WTX500 micro amp with it. The fist thing I noticed is my studio settings were too bass heavy and I dialed them back right off the hop. I was really surprised at the low end I was getting. I didn't want for more at all. This particular gig can get busy and more volume would be required. Friday night unfortunately was not one of those nights so the volume stayed low. The 212CF seems to have a bit of a deeper sound when it's at lower volumes. It's tone was exceptional and I think I prefer it to my Scout combo. It was warm and articulate. The B string isn't as deep as with the Scout combo but it was well heard and I never felt I needed more deep lows to keep me happy over the whole gig.
The next night was a large bar with my own P.A. full mic'd drums and a decent size stage. This was a full band and a loud rock drummer. The 212CF just killed this gig. I loved the aggressive sound of it and really appreciated the feeling of every note pounding through the floor and in my back. I hadn't felt like this on a gig since the last time I hauled that D410XLT out. IMO this cab will totally achieve typical 410 levels. I wouldn't hesitate to take this 42 lb wonder to any gig that I would have brought my 410 in the past. The difference is I would bring more power with this cab as it seems to be able to take it and use it.
I was very happy with the B string at loud levels. There was no stage rumble and the low end was never soft. This sound really lends itself to the rock music I was covering along with my active Musicman sound. In the third set I brought up some lows to hear the cab really hit and it did so no problem. I brought them back again with a smile knowing that if I needed them they could be there. I was using my Markbass LM Tube 800 on this gig. The 212CF never sounded stressed even at the highest volumes I reached.
If I had one gripe it would be that I typically end up using my amps EQ a little more with this cab than with my other cabs. This makes going to the P.A. post eq a little bit of a problem for me. I ran my DI out on the amp, Pre-EQ and used the board to dial the sound in a little bit. My old Eden WT400 is post EQ only. I would have liked to use it on this gig but with the EQ settings I had on the WT400 in my studio the DI out sounded bad in the P.A. Once I got this cab out on a gig and dialed the lows back it may have been o.k. but I still had my highs cranked. I'll be replacing the tweeter in my 212CF with one of the upgrades Xsonics offers.
The other guys in the band all thought the cab really performed well and they didn't say they liked my Berg 410 better. The singer even said he preferred the Xsonics cab to my Bergantino and told me "It sounds like your old cab" referring to the Eden XLT. Nice!! The main complaint they had about this cab was that it didn't look ROCK enough for them. It's puney size just didn't cut it image wise. They suggested Xsonics should design and offer an optional faux Eden D410XLT face that would collapse and convert to a cable box after the gig. LOL!!
Because the Xsonics company is new I thought I'd do a full review and make a thread for it here. I think this company has something real special to offer us working bassists. I'm not going to be the new poster boy for Xsonics or will I go out of my way to promote the brand after this, at least not any more than I would the other equipment I like and use. I just wanted to validate it as a decent product that IMO does what it was designed to do.
I just got through my first couple of gigs with the CF212 this weekend. I was really skeptical to all the seemingly outlandish reviews and talk about these cabs. I was still intrigued about the what if its true side of what I read. The tone sounded pretty decent to me in both the online vids and sound samples. I thought I'd order one to try and see how much of the talk was just talk and what was legit.
I'm not going to spin off a huge sales pitch to everyone and tell them they all need to go try one of these but I'll say that I'm really impressed with what this cab does. To say that I wasn't completely satisfied at my recent gigs with the form factor, tone, and performance of the CF212 would be a lie.
It's funny that in my small home studio I kept dialing in more and more low end to achieve the sound I wanted. I wasn't all that pleased with the tone. My Bergantino AE410 sounds so sweet by itself in there. Then I started playing along with some practice tracks on my P.A. system in my basement and noticed the 212CF felt a lot like jamming with my old Eden D410XLT4 behind me. I used to often dial in a bunch of low end on that cab as well. IMO the 212CF sound isn't an exact copy of the XLT but it's certainly a very close cousin if my memory of my old XLT is still in tact.
My first gig was a small bar without P.A. support as we only need vocals and acoustic in the P.A. I usually bring my 50 lb Walkabout Scout 12 to a gig like this but the Xsonics 212CF is not much bigger and actually lighter when I use a 4 lb Eden WTX500 micro amp with it. The fist thing I noticed is my studio settings were too bass heavy and I dialed them back right off the hop. I was really surprised at the low end I was getting. I didn't want for more at all. This particular gig can get busy and more volume would be required. Friday night unfortunately was not one of those nights so the volume stayed low. The 212CF seems to have a bit of a deeper sound when it's at lower volumes. It's tone was exceptional and I think I prefer it to my Scout combo. It was warm and articulate. The B string isn't as deep as with the Scout combo but it was well heard and I never felt I needed more deep lows to keep me happy over the whole gig.
The next night was a large bar with my own P.A. full mic'd drums and a decent size stage. This was a full band and a loud rock drummer. The 212CF just killed this gig. I loved the aggressive sound of it and really appreciated the feeling of every note pounding through the floor and in my back. I hadn't felt like this on a gig since the last time I hauled that D410XLT out. IMO this cab will totally achieve typical 410 levels. I wouldn't hesitate to take this 42 lb wonder to any gig that I would have brought my 410 in the past. The difference is I would bring more power with this cab as it seems to be able to take it and use it.
I was very happy with the B string at loud levels. There was no stage rumble and the low end was never soft. This sound really lends itself to the rock music I was covering along with my active Musicman sound. In the third set I brought up some lows to hear the cab really hit and it did so no problem. I brought them back again with a smile knowing that if I needed them they could be there. I was using my Markbass LM Tube 800 on this gig. The 212CF never sounded stressed even at the highest volumes I reached.
If I had one gripe it would be that I typically end up using my amps EQ a little more with this cab than with my other cabs. This makes going to the P.A. post eq a little bit of a problem for me. I ran my DI out on the amp, Pre-EQ and used the board to dial the sound in a little bit. My old Eden WT400 is post EQ only. I would have liked to use it on this gig but with the EQ settings I had on the WT400 in my studio the DI out sounded bad in the P.A. Once I got this cab out on a gig and dialed the lows back it may have been o.k. but I still had my highs cranked. I'll be replacing the tweeter in my 212CF with one of the upgrades Xsonics offers.
The other guys in the band all thought the cab really performed well and they didn't say they liked my Berg 410 better. The singer even said he preferred the Xsonics cab to my Bergantino and told me "It sounds like your old cab" referring to the Eden XLT. Nice!! The main complaint they had about this cab was that it didn't look ROCK enough for them. It's puney size just didn't cut it image wise. They suggested Xsonics should design and offer an optional faux Eden D410XLT face that would collapse and convert to a cable box after the gig. LOL!!
Because the Xsonics company is new I thought I'd do a full review and make a thread for it here. I think this company has something real special to offer us working bassists. I'm not going to be the new poster boy for Xsonics or will I go out of my way to promote the brand after this, at least not any more than I would the other equipment I like and use. I just wanted to validate it as a decent product that IMO does what it was designed to do.
pablomigraine
Commercial User
Okay so.... forgive me here.... Im just seeing these units today.... are the two drivers set out of phase like the little GIF on the website?
Whats the logic here?
Whats the logic here?
As far as I can tell its design is to move a lot of air in a little cab. The inward firing Eminence 3012HO has most of its mids attenuated by a combination of firing direction and the internal deadening material inside the cab. The low end from the second driver seems to couple with the front facing driver and it gives this cab a pronounced bass peak not unlike the Eden XLT series cabs. It's performance to size and weight are rather remarkable.
Anyone do the tweeter upgrade to their cab(s)?
Just saw Muthafunk's gig thread of his Xsonics. Very nice descript. I really, really like that he too says this cab is like a Eden 410XLT. That was my fave cab til I got too lazy to move it after buying some neo cabs. Heck I was looking in local ads for a 410XLT last week.
Sure don't want that weight again but if a Xsonics 212CF can get me almost there, schweet. I think I'd opt for a tweeter upgrade as well. After some long thread reading past few days I put the Berg HD212 on my shortlist. But again, that weight thing.
Now watching the Xson threads again.
My shortlist is getting shorter.
Just saw Muthafunk's gig thread of his Xsonics. Very nice descript. I really, really like that he too says this cab is like a Eden 410XLT. That was my fave cab til I got too lazy to move it after buying some neo cabs. Heck I was looking in local ads for a 410XLT last week.
Sure don't want that weight again but if a Xsonics 212CF can get me almost there, schweet. I think I'd opt for a tweeter upgrade as well. After some long thread reading past few days I put the Berg HD212 on my shortlist. But again, that weight thing.
Now watching the Xson threads again.
My shortlist is getting shorter. 
Great review, thanks. Are you saying that, on your Rock gig, the LMTube's 800 watts was not enough ? It sounds like you said you wanted to try more power ? I'll soon be getting one of these cabs and wondering what head I should get for it. I figured 500 watts should be enough for my Blues gig. Also, why the tweeter upgrade ?
The LMT800 was plenty for that loud gig. I would have been fine with my 400 W Eden WT400. I'd think a 500W amp would be fine for most gigs. There really is no substitute for ample headroom though...
I want the tweeter upgrade because I like a lot of zip. I do a bunch of slap bass tunes and a pronounced tweeter is really nice to have. I currently run the tweeter on max and still dial in a lot of treble on my amp to get the sound I want. It gets there but Nick at Xsonics said I can expect a 3 db increase with the upgraded Eminence tweeter. That should bring this cab closer to fitting my needs. I'd say for most people, the stock tweeter would be fine but if you're a "tweeter" kinda person, you may want to opt for the upgrade.
I want the tweeter upgrade because I like a lot of zip. I do a bunch of slap bass tunes and a pronounced tweeter is really nice to have. I currently run the tweeter on max and still dial in a lot of treble on my amp to get the sound I want. It gets there but Nick at Xsonics said I can expect a 3 db increase with the upgraded Eminence tweeter. That should bring this cab closer to fitting my needs. I'd say for most people, the stock tweeter would be fine but if you're a "tweeter" kinda person, you may want to opt for the upgrade.
If I remember correctly, he has that tweeter crossed over quite high (maybe 5K). Not much meat to the treble up there, which most likely explain why you have to turn the tweeter up so much. With the band passing of that second driver, you get that nice low mid meat of the old XLT cabs, but it does make the cab a bit less 'bright sounding up top for slap. The tweeter will add some 'click' to the top end, but probably a bit hard to get that key upper midrange response that is key for a slap top end to not be eaten up by cymbals and keyboards in a mix.
Not sure if the tweeter swap will fix that, but it will make that very upper treble a bit louder, which might work for you.
