Help me decide - 1x12 or 2x8 cab?

[CookPassBabtridge]

Hello,

I’m in the market for a new cab and think I’ve settled on the GR Aero range.

However, I can’t decide whether to go with a 1x12 or a 2x8. I want something that is easy as possible to carry around (potentially on public transport if necessary) and will cover me for home/band practice and small gigs. I’m liking the look of the 2x8s but wonder whether the 1x12 will a better ‘all rounder’.

Does anyone with experience of these cabs - or just speaker sizes - have any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Speaker size alone doesn't indicate what a cab is capable of. GR Aero doesn't publish the technical data which does tell one what any cab is capable of, so the only way to know for sure how these cabs compare is to take the time to try them, side by side. That said, all else being equal a 1x12 will usually outperform a 2x8. The problem is that all else is never equal. 

[EBS_freak]

I wouldn't get a 2x8 based on the fact that it's an odd size for bass. If you ever need to move it on, the audience is going to be limited.

As Bill suggests, your typical 1x12 is going to be a better performing cab. Cant speak for the GR stuff though - don't even know what drivers are in them

 

[stevie]

I think they're Sica, who do a wide range of drivers, from cheap and cheerful to very very good. If you need to carry the cab on public transport, one magnet assembly is lighter than two. It's all very theoretical though. You really need to try them out if you're spending that kind of money.

[ebenezer]

I would go for the 112, i had a tc 208 cab and found it wanting.

[40hz]

3 hours ago, CookPassBabtridge said:

Hello,

I’m in the market for a new cab and think I’ve settled on the GR Aero range.

However, I can’t decide whether to go with a 1x12 or a 2x8. I want something that is easy as possible to carry around (potentially on public transport if necessary) and will cover me for home/band practice and small gigs. I’m liking the look of the 2x8s but wonder whether the 1x12 will a better ‘all rounder’.

Does anyone with experience of these cabs - or just speaker sizes - have any suggestions?

Thanks!

Do let us know what you think of them, I've had my beady eye on them for a while now . . . . but there is nothing out there on them really. Strange given the fact they might just be the lightest cabs on the planet.

Edited January 29, 2021 by 40hz

[CookPassBabtridge]

Thanks All, yes fully intending to try these out before buying, I suspected the 1x12 may be the better option generally but the interest in the 2x8s was based on my experience playing through a Henri 8x8 a few years ago. Loved the punch it gave me so was just wondering whether that was broadly inherent to 8” speakers (while appreciating there are other factors at play).

@40hz I shall defo let you know when I try them and how I get on, whenever that may be! 

[Phil Starr]

Like everyone else I think you need to try them. Two eights have a slightly lower cone area than one 12 but not by much. The smaller speakers also mean they might beam the mids a bit less but we don't know the crossover frequencies for either cab so who knows. Their ads boast a lower frequency response for the 2x8's and the 2x8 is lighter but the 12 is advertised as noticeably louder by a couple of db's. the 2x8 looks an easier shape to carry on public transport. Only you can decide what is most important to you.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Cone area alone is almost meaningless. What matters is displacement, cone area times excursion. Most eights have less excursion capability than most twelves. It's easy to come up with a pair of eights that would have half the displacement or less of one twelve. All things considered displacement is a far more important spec than either driver size or thermal power capacity. It's the equivalent of going into a pub and ordering an ale by the color or the price, while not knowing whether the container is a pint or a dram.

[Phil Starr]

Not really, cone area is related to dispersion and to efficiency. Like going into a pub and ordering on the basis of hop variety perhaps? Though in this case the radiating area is little different so it isn't going to be much of a factor.

[Nebadon2000]

The 2X8 is a 4 ohm cab standard but you can special order an 8 ohm. Have not been able to hear GRbass Aero Cabs but their number one on my radar.

For me I am eyeing the 2X12 Slim but 4x8 is a consideration. The Trace Elf 2X8 I listened to was impressive

[Killed_by_Death]

 

TE's 2x8" is nice, but it's loaded with Faitals

RevSound has a fantastic 2x8", but it's loaded with Celestion

I prefer any two-driver cabinet over a single 12", IME the smaller two driver cabs have more Punch, & that's what I want.

 

[CookPassBabtridge]

Thanks again All, once I get to try them it will likely come down to what importance I put down to portability vs. sound. I do already have a non-GR 12” that is good but not easy to transport around and isn’t quite transparent enough. 

10 hours ago, Nebadon2000 said:

The 2X8 is a 4 ohm cab standard but you can special order an 8 ohm. Have not been able to hear GRbass Aero Cabs but their number one on my radar.

For me I am eyeing the 2X12 Slim but 4x8 is a consideration. The Trace Elf 2X8 I listened to was impressive

Yeah if I did I’d likely go for the 8 ohm as I like the idea of potentially expanding to 4x8 for bigger gigs/when driving to a gig.

9 hours ago, Killed_by_Death said:

 

I prefer any two-driver cabinet over a single 12", IME the smaller two driver cabs have more Punch, & that's what I want.

 

Yeah that’s my view too, once I try them I’ll have to report back how the 2x8 compares to the 12 in terms of punch.

[Chienmortbb]

Strange that they cover the top and back with Tolex. Probably means that they have wood panels there? The tweeter on the 12 Cube seems almost hidden by the grille. Lots of other things that I would not like but you can't argue with the weight.

 

Interesting YouTube video on carbon fibre here

 

[EBS_freak]

Ive never understood why they only went half baked - unless it's a pricing thing. I hate the outer bracing on the GR cabs. Looks like one of those awful kitchen surface joins instead of a proper biscuit joint.

Would like to take one a part to see their construction - because from the outside alone, I can tell there's a lot that could be improved upon... but as I say, I don't know if these cabs are being built to a budget.

[Chienmortbb]

48 minutes ago, EBS_freak said:

Ive never understood why they only went half baked - unless it's a pricing thing. I hate the outer bracing on the GR cabs. Looks like one of those awful kitchen surface joins instead of a proper biscuit joint.

Would like to take one a part to see their construction - because from the outside alone, I can tell there's a lot that could be improved upon... but as I say, I don't know if these cabs are being built to a budget.

That just about sums up my concerns.

[40hz]

Having looked a bit further into it, looks these GR Aero cabs just have a carbon wrap as opposed to full carbon structure. Bit naughty on the marketing side isn't it?

[CookPassBabtridge]

1 hour ago, EBS_freak said:

I hate the outer bracing on the GR cabs. Looks like one of those awful kitchen surface joins instead of a proper biscuit joint.

I dunno, I kinda like the design. I see what you mean though, won’t be to everyone’s taste.

2 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

The tweeter on the 12 Cube seems almost hidden by the grille. Lots of other things that I would not like but you can't argue with the weight.

Yeah I noticed that too. Overall they could do with putting some more general info out there, a bit lacking at the mo. I guess a lightweight alternative to the 12 would be a BF Super Midget, the cloth grill version is only 1.5kg heavier than the GR cube. 

[la bam]

Itd be a 1x12 for me.

Lots of people practice and indeed gig with a 1x12.

I just think if you get a 2x8 and it doesnt work, you'll be stuck.

If a 1x12 doesnt work you can always add to it and have a modular rig.

To be honest if the 1x12 doesnt work, it's a fair bet the 2x8 wouldnt have done.

 

[martthebass]

It'd be a 1x12 for me also.  I use a 1x12 for rehearsal work (MB NY121) and it's fine for that task but also doable in small gigs.  For larger venues it pairs up nicely with a second 1x12 to give a very versatile rig.

[lownote]

I went from a Markbass 1x12 to 6x7 (Phil Jones 27 plus 47).  Different tonality but I like both and found them about equal in oomph.  If I drop the 47 and play just with the 2x7 I find that pretty weedy.  if that helps?

[CookPassBabtridge]

8 hours ago, lownote12 said:

I went from a Markbass 1x12 to 6x7 (Phil Jones 27 plus 47).  Different tonality but I like both and found them about equal in oomph.  If I drop the 47 and play just with the 2x7 I find that pretty weedy.  if that helps?

Yep that's helpful thanks - sense I'm getting is that generally speaking a 2x7 or a 2x8 will be nice and punchy but lacking in oomph compared to a 1x12. A 4x8 may be a better bet but that removes the portability aspect.

[Matt P]

I started out with an Ashdown 4x8 (neo swapped with Ashdown drivers) and it did have plenty of Punch and didn't seem to struggle with the low B on my old yamaha, I swapped to 1x12's for portability and extra oomph, bought a pair of the Gen 2 Barefaced Midgets, I get more oomph out of one of them than the 4x8 could offer, it just moves more air, and there's still plenty of punch.

admittedly I'm comparing 2 quite different approaches to cab design though (the Ashdown was 20kg whilst the Midgets are 9kg each.)

 

Matt

[4000]

I once had a Trace Elliot V type 4x8 combo. It was punchy (and weighed a ton) but is comfortably outperformed by my 2 x Barefaced One10s, which together weigh considerably less than half as much. Which doesn’t help you any at all. Sorry.  😁

[CookPassBabtridge]

17 hours ago, 4000 said:

I once had a Trace Elliot V type 4x8 combo. It was punchy (and weighed a ton) but is comfortably outperformed by my 2 x Barefaced One10s, which together weigh considerably less than half as much. Which doesn’t help you any at all. Sorry.  😁

Haha, actually it does help. Aligns with a lot of the feedback so far that the 8s will likely give a nice punchy tone, but I’d probably need 4 of them to outperform a single 12. So thanks 😁