Cab Advice Please

[Sabs4001]

Hiya bass brethren,

I run a Matamp GT200mk1 into a Matamp 6x10 but my back isn't what it was so I'm looking to sell the 6x10 and replace it with a 2x12.

I'm thinking probably a Matamp or Zilla cab but I don't want to lose the low end, punch or all enveloping sound I get from my 6x10. Is this achievable with a 2x12? If so should I be looking at a sealed or ported cab? Neo or ferrite drivers? HELP!

I play in a very noisy 3 piece in venues up to a couple of hundred capacity. My main stick is a 76 Ric 4001 and I use a B7K preamp for somewhere between a vintage and modern tone.

[Lozz196]

I know there will be recommendations that this or that 212 will outperform a 610, but I`m yet to have the experience of one that does. Sure they`ll go loud, most possibly louder, but that huge all enveloping sound you get from a 610 imo is due to the amount of speakers all going together. Again I reckon that there will be disputes on that based on science/technology/efficiency etc, but I know that of the high-end 212s I've had they didn`t give that same all enveloping sound. However they did deliver on the low-end punch, no loss of that - they were Neos as well.

[Al Krow]

Not going to disagree with Lozz that an excellent 212 is going to "out perform" a 610.

But a 212 will hopefully perform very well indeed; and more importantly should perform more than well enough. And your back will love you forever...

[TheGreek]

I agree..there are plenty of 2x12 and 1x15 which will do "enough" - the audience is unlikely to notice the difference - after all we are only bass players. 😉😉

[Sabs4001]

Thanks for the replies. What about porting? My 6x10 is sealed but would a port add anything to a 2x12?

[chris_b]

If you are selling a cab that gives you a special sound then you'll be lucky to find another style of cab that'll sound exactly the same. Expecting cab x to sound like cab y usually won't work, so expect good cabs but sounding different.

Back problems never get better, so if you are looking for something lighter then it doesn't seem worth replacing your old cab with something smaller but still very heavy.

I think there are lightweight 12's out there which can get a big sound. There are some good ones made by Barefaced, Bergantino, Mesa, Genzler, Aguilar etc etc. The same companies make some great 10's.

Most cabs these days are ported. That will change the sound. The Barefaced Six10 is different, it's a neo cab emulating the sound of a sealed cab.

 

PS Just re read this. . . of course the BF 10's are not Neo.

Edited August 14, 2018 by chris_b

[Phil Starr]

Most 6x10's deliver a fairly distorted sound and don't have a flat frequency response.  A lot of relatively cheap drivers in a portable cab means that the speakers are technically underdamped and give an all enveloping warmth at around 120Hz as well as extraordinary efficiency. Modern fashion calls for a flatter, less coloured response. That's not inherent in the technology but that's what you'll find in a lot of commercial offerings, so it's kind of true but not for the reasons most people think.

I use 12's, One does most of my gigs, up to a couple of hundred people and it can go as loud as pretty much any drummer. If I take two it can be overwhelmingly loud, I don't like overpowering bass but after a mild argument with one drummer who kept asking me to turn up I did, to cut a long story short at the end of the first set he complained about not being able to hear his own snare drum. So yes they are loud enough and will give you a huge sound but it's likely to be a bit different from what you are used to.

Ignore the comments about neo speakers. Neo magnets are more powerful for the same weight as ceramic magnets but they are just magnets. You can use the extra efficiency of neo to make a lighter speaker or a louder one, or one with a longer throw for extra deep bass or even get a little of all three but there's no neo magic, they are still just magnets. In the end you need to listen and judge them on that.

Barefaced are making old school sounding cabs with modern drivers using their 10" units, they may be worth having a look at.

[Hellzero]

There is this solution : 

 

[Hellzero]

Or this, exactly what you're looking for :

 

 

[Lozz196]

18 hours ago, Sabs4001 said:

Thanks for the replies. What about porting? My 6x10 is sealed but would a port add anything to a 2x12?

I`m not sure, but I`ve found that I prefer sealed cabs, I think we have similar tastes in sound, I recently had my ported 410 sealed and the sound is soooo much more what I want.

The suggestion of the Barefaced 610 as made by others above is a good one, unless you need really shrill modern highs it will more than likely do the job and is easy to cart about. There is also the option of theier 410 and 210 together - these are a doddle to move about and then there`s the option of just using the 410 at rehearsals, adding in the 210 for gigs for the stack-approach.

[Sparky Mark]

On 14/08/2018 at 11:28, Lozz196 said:

There is also the option of theier 410 and 210 together - these are a doddle to move about and then there`s the option of just using the 410 at rehearsals, adding in the 210 for gigs for the stack-approach.

Can these cabs be used together and get equal power to each of the individual 10" speakers? The 410 is available as an 8 or 2 ohm variant and the 210 is switchable between 4 or 12 ohms. Does an 8 ohm 410 plus 12 ohm 210 split the power equally?

[Lozz196]

22 hours ago, Sparky Mark said:

Can these cabs be used together and get equal power to each of the individual 10" speakers? The 410 is available as an 8 or 2 ohm variant and the 210 is switchable between 4 or 12 ohms. Does an 8 ohm 410 plus 12 ohm 210 split the power equally?

Yes that`s what Alex advised when I bought them, 8 on 410 and 12 on 210 then both cabs get the same amount of power.

[Sparky Mark]

41 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Yes that`s what Alex advised when I bought them, 8 on 410 and 12 on 210 then both cabs get the same amount of power.

I assume you mean that each individual speaker gets equal power, i.e., 66% going to the 410 cab and 33% to the 210 cab?

[Lozz196]

Yes that`s right. It`s a complicated thing, all this ohmage etc but Alex did his best to explain it to me (it does go in eventually but I`m not the most tech-savvy around).