New Trace Elliot 1818 with 1528?

[Klarm Yai]

Hello,

I´m in trouble with selecting the best cabs for my Fender 300 PRO all-tube bass head (will buy only 2 cabs) - choices are below.
I´m looking for the GREAT REGGAE and OLD MOTOWN sounds and also it should be fine for the classic-rock.

A: Trace Elliot 1818 (1x18") + Trace Elliot 1528 (2x15"). Can´t find any reviews about these new cabs....

B: SWR Big Ben (1x18") + SWR Son Of Bertha (1x15").

C: SWR Son Of Bertha + SWR Son Of Bertha

D: Fender 215 PRO (2x15") + Fender 215 PRO. These cabs were released in June 2008 - no reviews anywhere.

E: Fender 215 PRO + Fender 610 PRO (6x10"). These cabs were released in June 2008 - no reviews anywhere.


Many thanks for your help. I think I finally got some help here, at least, concerning the Trace cabs...

Best regards, Klarm Yai

P.S. 18" looks really cool and 15" quite cool too

[danlea]

Not having used these specific cabs I can't really comment on the relative merits of each make, but you I don't think you can really go wrong with any of those listed. For reggae and motown the 18's are you're friend, but for classic rock I'd always recommend having some 10's in their for the mid-range. The reason I say this is because the classic rock guitar sound is generally pretty bassy and flabby (c.f. Marshall rigs) and hence are much bigger competition for the bass. You might be able to get what you want from 15's, but you might find the overall rock band sound lacks 'oomph'.

I've gotta say you don't see many people using such large rigs - part of the reason being that it seems a bit overkill for any venue where you're able to get good deep bass projection without a PA, and pretty unnecessary for places with a good PA system (awe factor excepted). If you have you're heart set on a 6x10 to go with you're 1x18 rather than a 4x10, then power to you - I just feel sorry for whoever's going to be shifting your gear!

Dan.

[bass_ferret]

Unfortunately the belief that you need 15's and 18's to get deep bass is a common fallacy.

If you get full range cabs you can always turn the treble down and the tweeters off - but if you decide at a later date you need more top you wont be able to dial it in if the cabs cant make it. 18's are not very popular these days but they do shift lots of air if the cabs are up to it but they usually are not simply because a cab large enough to make the most of an 18 woukd be too large to handle.

+1 for Dan's comments about being overkill. If you need that much you should be going into a PA that can handle it and the drums mic'ed.

[Klarm Yai]

Hello,

Thanks for your inputs. I think, I´ll go with SWR Big Ben (1x18") and SWR Goliath Jr III (2x10"). Trace Elliot dealer in Thailand is not willing to reply me, but Fender dealer IS.....But that combination (1x18" + 2x10") should work for Reggae & Motown and Classic-rock now?

Many thanks for your help.

BR: Klarm Yai

[danlea]

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='259570' date='Aug 10 2008, 10:08 PM']Unfortunately the belief that you need 15's and 18's to get deep bass is a common fallacy.

If you get full range cabs you can always turn the treble down and the tweeters off - but if you decide at a later date you need more top you wont be able to dial it in if the cabs cant make it.[/quote]

True, decent large cabs based on smaller drivers [i]can[/i] provide deep bass given a sufficient xmax (the Celestion BN10-300X for example apparently goes down to 40Hz as a usable frequency, although sacrificing the highs somewhat), but then for a really bass heavy sound it's not particularly efficient in terms of the weight of all the drivers in the cabinet as the overall volume level will need to come down to accommodate it. Of course the weight issue doesn't sound like it's a problem here, but the other thing is that the sound you get from a 15 or 18 is just different to what you'd get with 10's EQ'd to the same spectrum. Some would say it's just flabbier, while others would say it's a warmer sound (it's definitely worth getting a really good 18" driver to ensure a decent response from it). Of course I've seen reggae artists using just a 4x10 on stage because you just don't need the deep end on stage when it's pervading the entire venue from a huge PA (assuming modest sized stages, this was the Easy Star All Stars playing 'Radiodread' and 'Dub Side of the Moon' at Dingwalls in Camden). For rehearsing and without a PA though, an 18 (or at least a 15) really is what you want for reggae.

Klarm, as you might guess from my rig (1x18 + 2x10) I'd say in essence it's a good setup for almost anything needing a fair amount of deep bass, but definitely for reggae plus a bit of classic rock, and I can't imagine SWR letting you down.

I'll finish with a quote from Aston “Family Man” Barrett of Bob Marley and the Wailers: "I had two 18” cabinets and two 4x15 cabinets. You need them that big to get that sound, because reggae music is the heartbeat of the people. It’s the universal language what carry that heavy message of roots, culture, and reality. So the bass have to be heavy and the drums have to be steady."

Now you're original choice of cabinets seems almost modest!

Edited August 11, 2008 by danlea

[Lfalex v1.1]

If the newer Trace cabs are like the OLD Trace cabs, then the 1818 is an 8ohm, and the 1524 is 4ohm. Can your head tolerate a cabinet combination that yields a total impedance of less than 4 ohms? Not many can, so you might have to rule that out.
Also, the 1524 is one BIG cabinet. Taller than an 8x10, and probably 50% deeper. I don't think it even has wheels or a bar handle. Hope you've got some serious transport lined up, which ever route you end up taking!

[Klarm Yai]

Many thanks for your inputs. it was 1528 - not 1524, so both of the cabs (1818 and 1528) are 8 ohms...

BR: Klarm Yai

Edited August 14, 2008 by Klarm Yai