Dilemma (4x8 Ashdown Mini, Genz Benz 2x10, Other?)

[Ultima2876]

I have about £200, £250 at a real push. I could always get one, then get another when I get paid next month (Pretty much what I planned to do with the Ashdown Minis; get the 48 now and get the 15 next month or maybe the other way round)

[RandomBass]

In which case I'd get one now, and like you say, another later. I know that the Mk2 version of the MBE is due soon (and will most likely be around £350 at a guess), so the ones on offer at Thomann are most likely end of line stock. I see the 4 Ohm version is already out of stock.

[AnalogBomb]

I'm considering selling my SWR goliath ii 410 if you're interested? Good condition. £175?? I'm just after something a tad smaller.

[ken_white]

I got a GK MBX 410 and tha copes well with the 2 marshall half stacks and a loud drummer..

They do sound good for the money, plus with 212 cab it'll be more flexable..
I think that option has potential..

[LukeFRC]

I used to use the Ashdown mini cabs (both of them) as the house rig at church for years. Er... go for them if you want but... IMO they arn't very good, and not very light - but are compact.
I used to turn up when I could be bothered with a dinky little techsoundsystem 2x12, which was about the width of your amp and only 12 inches high and it could blow both of the ashdown cabs away for clarity and distribution around the room. As a reference- I sold that cab for £150.

[Ultima2876]

One thing about the GK 212MBE that's worrying me - I've read a lot of kind of worrying stuff about their sturdiness; particularly that if you stack 2 2x12's on top of each other... the stack would be wobbly o_O I'm not so bothered about the lack of damping and bracing stuff, but if they're slimsy enough to wobble in a stack I don't know that they'd be right for me after all. The last thing I want is for someone to lean on them and they topple over and destroy my amp or whatever... that, and I've read a few reports of them just kind of falling apart after a while (not literally, but things going wrong, jack problems, tweeter problems etc). It makes me a little worried and makes me think that maybe it wouldn't really be a very good investment at all.

I'm not super bothered about weight - I think stability is more of a priority. I'd say tone > volume > stability > compactness > weight > aesthetics > other stuff for me... If the minis are beaten out by a £150 2x12 in terms of sound, and aren't very light then they're probably not the way to go. But I also don't want to spend £200 (potentially anotehr £200 again in a month too) on a cab that will fall apart on me or risk toppling over on down the line. I have a habit of sitting on my amp cabs at rehearsals too, which could be a problem with something that's a little cheaply built.

Opinions? Is that cheapness/instability/problems after a year all stuff that I shouldn't be worried about (exaggerations/buyers remorse, unlucky defective units etc)? Is that just something I'll have to put up with unless I'm able to fork out the extra cash? Am I reading into all this too much and I should just make up my damn mind? Haha.

Just from this thread I'm getting bad vibes about the ABM Minis - and also if I'm reading it right, the fact that within a day of asking I've got 3 offers on the table to sell ABM Minis to me... does make me think that maybe people are wanting to get rid of them. Whereas I haven't seen many of these GK units for second hand sale... coincidence?

As always everyone, thanks for any and all input - it's all appreciated and I know that when you guys help me come to the right choice, it will be the RIGHT one!

EDIT: Also, RE: 4x10, probably will be a little too big... I also need to be able to squeeze my rig into a car along with my guitarist's fender twin... so modular is the way it's gotta be if I need a rig of that kind of size!

... man, I really wish they had the 8 ohm version of that Genz Benz cab at GAK

Edited November 27, 2012 by Ultima2876

[AnalogBomb]

It's not as bigas you might think. They made them pretty compact. Can get that, my head and my guitarists ac30 in the back of my fiesta!

[Ultima2876]

[quote name='AnalogBomb' timestamp='1353978464' post='1880544']
It's not as bigas you might think. They made them pretty compact. Can get that, my head and my guitarists ac30 in the back of my fiesta!
[/quote]

I'll have a wee look into them! Your avatar gif brings back memories - been a while since I've seen that!

[Ultima2876]

Aaaaah, screw it!

Ordered the GK.

Thanks everyone! Will post and let y'all know what I think!

[BluRay]

[quote name='Ultima2876' timestamp='1353990454' post='1880559']
Aaaaah, screw it!

Ordered the GK.

Thanks everyone! Will post and let y'all know what I think!
[/quote]

Probably a good choice. I love the ABM sound - but didn't really get on with the 115. And what would worry me about the 4x8 is whether you could get a spare (matching) driver for it if you ever needed one.

[Matt P]

grr wish i hadn't read through this topic, i came in to put some good words for the 4x8 as i use one (albeit with replaced neo speakers which makes it 20kg) i quite like mine and was only thinking of upgrading when i had the cash for some barefaced goodies but now i'm looking at the gk 2x12 and thinking that do the job pretty well (pub blues/rock band with no pa reinforcement)

how do people think it would pair with an abm 4x8? or should i buy 2?

(this might all be moot as i don't have any money till friday and the gk cabs might have sold out by then (or i might just give into the Barefaced Compact GAS)

Matt

[ken_white]

[quote name='AnalogBomb' timestamp='1353978464' post='1880544']
It's not as bigas you might think. They made them pretty compact. Can get that, my head and my guitarists ac30 in the back of my fiesta!
[/quote]

Me and lead guitarist fitted my 410 cab, a marshall 412 cab, a flight case with his head,
plus my amp, guitars and 2 basses plus other bits, all in the back of a Corsa lol

Only thing was we had to take his wheels his cab lol

[Musicman20]

To be honest, for £200.00, you can't expect it to be absolutely amazing, considering some 1x12 neo drivers cost more than that just for the driver!

But, I bet it will be quite a good cabinet. Light, small profile, and a good price.

GK manufacture their own paragon speakers so they save money that way.

I think for £200.00 you've made a good choice. I would have recommended a TC Electronics RS210 but your amp wouldn't sit on it, and its about £400.00.

[Mudpup]

Ive run the GK 's as a vertical stack for quite a few gigs now and theres no problem with them toppling over. It works well if you're a bit cramped for space.

Normally i run them stacked on their sides though - simples! Its about the same size as a Marshal 4 x 12.

[IMG]http://i1271.photobucket.com/albums/jj640/mudpup1/Guitars/f32cef4459363ba5baffc9a166291610.jpg[/IMG]

[Ultima2876]

[quote name='Matt P' timestamp='1354011537' post='1880681']
this might all be moot as i don't have any money till friday and the gk cabs might have sold out by then
[/quote]

Hm, I think it's unlikely that they will sell out that fast - people were thinking they might sell out back in July, so I think you'll be good to order on friday If you can wait until I get mine I can run it in and drop you a PM with what I think about stability etc when I get it?

I think I'll probably be happy with it - to be honest, my current practice "rig" is a Fender Rumble 15 combo worth £30 (and I rent an Ashdown MAG 1x15 combo at the rehearsal studio). If I really do have concerns about it I can always use Thomann's 30-day money back guarantee though!

I'll definitely report back here anyway!

[Matt P]

[quote name='Ultima2876' timestamp='1354024166' post='1880947']
Hm, I think it's unlikely that they will sell out that fast - people were thinking they might sell out back in July, so I think you'll be good to order on friday If you can wait until I get mine I can run it in and drop you a PM with what I think about stability etc when I get it?

I'll definitely report back here anyway!
[/quote]

thanks, a report would be great, i've posed another thread asking my questions better (i hope) but those gk cabs are half the price of a secondhand barefaced compact. so wouldn't require me to save up quite so long,

GAS is a terrible thing!

Matt

[Ultima2876]

Indeed, GAS is nasty. I thought I was done with it a few months ago, but then I joined a band playing bass... coming from a guitar background, I have pretty much all the stuff I'd ever need for guitar. But bass? Nope. Not even close - when you require something it's very easy to let GAS seep in and end up spending 1.5-2 or even 3 times what you originally intended to spend!

[TheRockinRoadie]

I ordered one of the GB 2x10 cabs after reading the referenced thread. I've hidden it away until Christmas, but its a decent size, not too heavey, and the corner handles are awesome! I have a 2ohm head, so I'll be running it with another 1x15 for bigger gigs, or just on its on for small gigs.

Really looking forward to hearing it Christmas morning!

They really seem to be excellent value for the money!

[Roland Rock]

[quote name='TheRockinRoadie' timestamp='1354279983' post='1884358']
I ordered one of the GB 2x10 cabs after reading the referenced thread. I've hidden it away until Christmas ....
[/quote]

That is some serious willpower. There's no way I could do that.

[xgsjx]

[quote name='TheRockinRoadie' timestamp='1354279983' post='1884358']
I ordered one of the GB 2x10 cabs after reading the referenced thread. I've hidden it away until Christmas, but its a decent size, not too heavey, and the corner handles are awesome! I have a 2ohm head, so I'll be running it with another 1x15 for bigger gigs, or just on its on for small gigs.

Really looking forward to hearing it Christmas morning!

They really seem to be excellent value for the money!
[/quote]

It would make more sense to add another 2x10.

When one of you guys get the cab, you should pop a review in the "review" section.

[Ultima2876]

Got mine today! I'll post a proper review after I've gotten more acquainted with it, but my first impressions are that I'm very satisfied! I saw the box and immidiately thought "holy crap, have I made a mistake? It's huge" but despite the more formidable size than expected it was light enough to carry up two flights of stairs with ease (and I'm a videogames programmer so not exactly the strongest guy around!).

Paired with my Ashdown ABM500, I can quite easily get to uncomfortable volume in my loft-room. About 12 o'clock on the volume (with 11 o'clock "input") gets me to the comfortable point of feeling the rumble, annoying the neighbours and not hurting my ears too much. I think this thing will be capable for any gig I have to throw at it, and if it isn't I can very easily add another (kind of tempted to pick up another one next month anyway, even if I don't strictly need it. I mean £200 - why not?!).

I also love that I can run my guitar through it and it sounds great for that purpose too - I've actually got my guitar set up through it (and my other guitar rig, in stereo) and it has never sounded better. I have the tweeter turned off and the full range of both my guitar and bass is excellently represented (with the tweeter on I can hear very little difference, slight hiss, more string noise etc. It makes my fuzz sound a little more 'jagged' but I actually prefer the tone without the tweeter on all counts).

Cons would be the expected - as has been mentioned, you knock on it and it sounds hollow. I say big whoop - it doesn't sound particularly 'boomy' to my ears, and doesn't feel particularly flimsy. I don't have the sudden urge to pull it apart and mod it. Perhaps compared to a cab three times the price... but you'd be paying three times the price. It sounds fantastic and for the money actually seems very well built. My biggest complaint would be the carry strap - I would have loved side handles, and the carry strap actually seems kind of small and tight. I have huge hands so it's maybe a little bit of a squeeze. If I had two I definitely wouldn't attempt one in each hand. It also looks great in person. Pics:





All in all, well worth the £200. I'd have been happy if I paid £400, maybe even £500 for one of these.

Edited November 30, 2012 by Ultima2876

[TheRockinRoadie]

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1354281716' post='1884389']
That is some serious willpower. There's no way I could do that.
[/quote]

Unbearable pain...