Cheap cabs alert

[Mudpup]

Just spotted these at Andertons....

Wharfedale cabs in a  2x10, 4x10 and 1x15 flavour along with a 2x10 combo. If anyone needed to build a low budget setup i don't think you'll find much cheaper new. apparently a cancelled bulk order 6 years ago thats sat in a Chinese warehouse  until now and Andertons picked them up for a steal.

https://www.andertons.co.uk/wharfedale?#facet:&productBeginIndex:0&facetLimit:&orderBy:3&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&

 

 

[Newfoundfreedom]

Wow! That's just nuts!!!

Thanks for the heads up. I really struggle to get decent priced gear out here in Bulgaria because there's almost no second hand market and new stuff is silly money. 

I've just ordered a 1x15 and 2x10. Including delivery to Bulgaria for under £240. That's just insane! I couldn't buy the lowest of low price budget gear for that much, let alone a brand name half stack. An absolute no brainer at that price. 

Edited December 22, 2018 by Newfoundfreedom

[No. 8 Wire]

What are the specs though? There isn't even a weight on the site.

[chris_b]

Cheap is a very poor way to decide what musical gear to buy.

[Newfoundfreedom]

And of course, cheap will also mean poor quality to all the gear snobs. 😏

I can't speak specifically for bass or guitar speakers obviously, and I know hifi speakers are a different kettle of fish, but every Whardale speaker I've ever owned has been fantastic. 

Edited December 22, 2018 by Newfoundfreedom

[Japhet]

11 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

And of course, cheap will also mean poor quality to all the gear snobs. 😏

I can't speak specifically for bass or guitar speakers obviously, and I know hifi speakers are a different kettle of fish, but every Whardale speaker I've ever owned has been fantastic. 

Don't believe a word of it. I now gig regularly with a Harley Benton bass and a load of cheapo pedals and it all works and sounds just fine and dandy.

[Newfoundfreedom]

12 minutes ago, Japhet said:

Don't believe a word of it. I now gig regularly with a Harley Benton bass and a load of cheapo pedals and it all works and sounds just fine and dandy.

Thanks. That's precisely my point. I'm not a professional musician (far from it) and I don't have unlimited funds for gear. I currently play a Squier Jag and a Gretsch Junior Jet. The most expensive of which was just over 200 quid. To me they sound great, and spending hundreds, or even thousands on gear wouldn't really do me any good at the level I play. OK maybe the overall sound would be better, but it would be negligible to me, and probably unnoticeable to anyone listening. Certainly not bang for your buck when you're just in a weekend warrior garage band. I've been playing though a Behringer head and 2x10 cab up to now so these will do me just fine. 😋

Edited December 22, 2018 by Newfoundfreedom

[Newfoundfreedom]

46 minutes ago, No. 8 Wire said:

What are the specs though? There isn't even a weight on the site.

According to the comments on the video the IT lads are on the case and supposed to be updating the site with more details shortly. 

[chris_b]

59 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

And of course, cheap will also mean poor quality to all the gear snobs.

Cheap can and often does mean poor quality. That's a fact that has nothing to do with "gear snobbery".

Not all good gear is expensive but you need more than just the price to know if anything is good or not.

[Phil Starr]

I've no knowledge of these models but Wharfedale's PA stuff is the best bang per ££ available IME. I currently use a Wharfedale EVP PA with RCF's as monitors. The difference in quality is there but not as great a difference as the price would lead you to expect. Everything has been faultless to date and the Wahrfedales have to be 15 years old so probably not too much of a risky buy. It's not like they are an unknown brand. Andertons have been OK with me when I've returned stuff in the past too. It all depends upon whether you like the way they sound though.

[Newfoundfreedom]

18 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Cheap can and often does mean poor quality. That's a fact that has nothing to do with "gear snobbery".

Not all good gear is expensive but you need more than just the price to know if anything is good or not.

The only way you can really know whether something's good or not is to buy it and see. Even trying something in a music shop doesn't give you much of an idea of what it will be like in a real life scenario. Tone is subjective. Durability can only be tested over time. Build quality is probably the only real immediate deciding factor. Even then. Some cheaper stuff is really well built, some expensive stuff is not so well built. 

The thing most people don't seem to be taking into account is budget. If you only have a couple of hundred quid to spend then how can you go wrong? Granted you could get something second hand, but most people won't post cabs so for some of us that's not an option. Even if they do then shipping abroad is cost prohibitive. 

I'm willing to, and have, taken a punt. At that price I could easily sell them on over here for what I paid for them including delivery. 

I'll be happy to report back once I've given them a good going over. 

[Mudpup]

1 hour ago, No. 8 Wire said:

What are the specs though? There isn't even a weight on the site.

They're 200, 300 and 400 watts at 8 ohms respectively. And not going to be super light for that money but i don't think they'll be bought on the weight or frequency response basis. Plenty of people out there on a limited budget, fancy a punt as an experiment or just need a cheap cab for home use. 

[Dan_Q]

41 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

Plenty of people out there on a limited budget, fancy a punt as an experiment or just need a cheap cab for home use. 

that's practically what I thought when I saw these- i've not much experience with different amps, and I only have 2 because I play / live in two locations. They are both 15w combos with a 1x8 speaker.

out of interest- would a 300w head and a 1x15 or 2x10 actually be able to be used at very low bedroom volumes?

I have a 12w (valve) 2x10 guitar amp, and even that struggles to be quiet enough- but i suppose that could be different with solid state / bass applications?

[No. 8 Wire]

8 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

They're 200, 300 and 400 watts at 8 ohms respectively. And not going to be super light for that money but i don't think they'll be bought on the weight or frequency response basis. Plenty of people out there on a limited budget, fancy a punt as an experiment or just need a cheap cab for home use. 

I'm sure you're right, however while they might not be lightweight in the absolute sense, if they aren't too crazy though I might be interested in one for the shed.

[Mudpup]

10 minutes ago, Dan_Q said:

that's practically what I thought when I saw these- i've not much experience with different amps, and I only have 2 because I play / live in two locations. They are both 15w combos with a 1x8 speaker.

out of interest- would a 300w head and a 1x15 or 2x10 actually be able to be used at very low bedroom volumes?

I have a 12w (valve) 2x10 guitar amp, and even that struggles to be quiet enough- but i suppose that could be different with solid state / bass applications?

As long as you have a volume knob they'll be fine! Might find a 2x10 suits better at lower volumes because the sound is usually a bit tighter than a 15

Edited December 22, 2018 by Mudpup

[casapete]

Some limited stocks available too at PMT stores.

https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/brands/wharfedale

[Marvin]

Andertons have done a video about these cabs and they sound pretty good.

For the money it’s a bit of a no brainer. Andertons seem to have  a good reputation 

[Dan_Q]

34 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

As long as you have a volume knob they'll be fine! Might find a 2x10 suits better at lower volumes because the sound is usually a bit tighter than a 15

Ok that’s cool cheers for the response 👍

I know what you mean about the volume knob but my guitar amps don’t make any noise at all, then cut in at a certain decibel level, which on larger amps can be a bit much 🙂

[No. 8 Wire]

49 minutes ago, Dan_Q said:

that's practically what I thought when I saw these- i've not much experience with different amps, and I only have 2 because I play / live in two locations. They are both 15w combos with a 1x8 speaker.

out of interest- would a 300w head and a 1x15 or 2x10 actually be able to be used at very low bedroom volumes?

I have a 12w (valve) 2x10 guitar amp, and even that struggles to be quiet enough- but i suppose that could be different with solid state / bass applications?

Something I picked up in the video was that the 15 didn't have a tweeter, so maybe not good as a stand alone, low volume cab?

[Dan_Q]

14 minutes ago, No. 8 Wire said:

Something I picked up in the video was that the 15 didn't have a tweeter, so maybe not good as a stand alone, low volume cab?

That’s good to know, cheers 👍

i know absolutely nothing about bass amps, so it’s all good to learn 👍

[Lozz196]

2 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

The only way you can really know whether something's good or not is to buy it and see. Even trying something in a music shop doesn't give you much of an idea of what it will be like in a real life scenario. Tone is subjective. Durability can only be tested over time. Build quality is probably the only real immediate deciding factor. Even then. Some cheaper stuff is really well built, some expensive stuff is not so well built. 

The thing most people don't seem to be taking into account is budget. If you only have a couple of hundred quid to spend then how can you go wrong? Granted you could get something second hand, but most people won't post cabs so for some of us that's not an option. Even if they do then shipping abroad is cost prohibitive. 

I'm willing to, and have, taken a punt. At that price I could easily sell them on over here for what I paid for them including delivery. 

I'll be happy to report back once I've given them a good going over. 

Good points there, some of the best sounding gear I`ve heard in isolation has sounded pony is a band setting. We did a cab shootout a few years back and whilst the winner was a Bergantino someone brought along some very affordable PA cabs and the difference in sound between them and the Berg wasn`t as much as what the price tags would suggest.

Likewise being able to get a giggable full-stack for not much money, especially if in a country where it`s difficult to get hold of reasonably priced gear, well has to make sense.Look forward to hearing your views on these.

[No. 8 Wire]

3 hours ago, casapete said:

Some limited stocks available too at PMT stores.

https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/brands/wharfedale

Bit more info on the PMT site - says that the 210 is 23.2 Kg and the 115...... 12 Kg(!?).

Doesn't sound right though does it?

 

 

[LukeFRC]

These cabs were discussed on here 9 years ago too...

 

[Newfoundfreedom]

36 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

These cabs were discussed on here 9 years ago too...

 

Interesting stuff. Thanks for the link. 

[Bob Lord]

£139 for a 4x10's got to be worth a punt, even if it turns out to be not amazing sounding, and not something you'd take on the road for 20 years.

Having said that, I'd rather try and pick up a second hand Ashdown ABM 410 from ebay, for about that price - there seems to be a lot of cheap ashdown gear out there, and I think probably a safer bet in terms of sound and durability than an obscure chinese brand (didn't wharfedale make cheap stereos you'd get in argos, like alba?!)