How to choose a cab!

[Waddycall]

Out of interest - how do you go about choosing a cab? I live in the south west and the options for demoing anything at volume are zero. I guess it’s the same for most. So how do you choose?

[scalpy]

How loud do you need to be?

What are you prepared to carry/ transport?

Does the manufacturer have a reputation for a baked in sound?

What does it look like? If it looks like a Halfords bass bin for a Vauxhall Corsa I’m out!

[Lozz196]

After joining Basschat in general by threads/recommendations on here, however I happened on my love for Ashdown gear by accident. For a while a lot of the shared/provided gear was Ashdown and I really liked it, so decided that had to be the way to go.
 

From there I’ve had a heavy ABM set up, but that got too much for me, luckily they brought out a NEO ABM range so went that way. 

 

All of the theory and specs in the world can’t make your ears decide which they prefer, on paper my rig prior to my Ashdown gear should have been much better (and maybe in technical terms it was), but my ears liked the Ashdown more. 

[lownote]

Money.  Now I'm retired the days of Barefaced stacks are gone.  Sadly too is the Markbass line up, by far my favourite sound with the right EQ.  Now I'm an Ashdown player because to my mind its the best trade off between size, sound, tone and price. Plus the sound is ideal for my current band, which plays blue rock from the early sixties.  But a lottery win (always my benchmark) would have me back knee- deep in yellow. 

Edited August 22, 2021 by lownote

[Newfoundfreedom]

Price

[Ed_S]

Light weight, decent build quality and some evidence of it actually having been engineered instead of just stuck together from parts that hit the target price.

 

Then recommendations from BC and from friends in bands, and occasionally personal experience of hearing that brand or range at a gig.

 

Then aesthetics and price, either of which could veto something outright no matter how well specified or highly recommended it is.

[Al Krow]

In no particular order:

 

- Quality of sound / articulation;

- RMS power handling (and whether 8 ohm or 4 ohm);

- Speaker size (12" or 10" for me);

- 1x12 or 2x12 (or 2x10);

- Weight;

- Price;

- Build quality. 

 

Having tried a lot of cabs from budget to high-end over the past few years, my experience is that a cab is the part of my rig that seems to give me the single greatest return on investment, in a way that extra spending on an amp or bass generally can't match.  As it's the bit of our signal chain that connects all our gear to the audience, the quality of your cab can make a big difference. I'd always recommend getting the very best one you can comfortably afford, whereas with a bass, a £500 used Yamaha BB 1025 (for example) can hold its own with basses costing several times as much. 

 

FWIW I've ended up with a BF BB2 and a Fearless F112, which I use by themselves - although I should maybe try pairing them some time as they are both 8ohm cabs: together they would then present a 4ohm load which would unleash the full wattage available from my amps!

Edited August 22, 2021 by Al Krow

[itu]

- elements (2 x 10" or 2 x 12")

- sensitivity

- RMS power handling

- weight and shape (has to fit my little car)

The rest is details.

At the moment I could consider GR Bass' lightweight cabs, but I do not need anything at the moment.

[TheGreek]

Knowing what sound/ tone that you're after and what gear is being used to create that sound - for me, even though I've tried loads (and loads) of gear what I was really after was that distinctive 80s Trace Elliot tone package. 

 

As Lozz says, your ears tell you what you like - Vanderkley and Ashdown, for me, are the closest tone package from "modern gear".

Edited August 22, 2021 by TheGreek

[Dan Dare]

Given that gear is not a trivial purchase, you simply must try/demo things. I've taken a couple of days of leave from work and travelled to try things out in the past. It's enjoyable to plan a day or two away and if you go on a weekday when shops aren't busy, you can try things to your heart's content for hours That's what I did when I was looking for my current rig. 

[Phil Starr]

If you live near Exeter then Mansons is worth a try. They have a room full of bass gear where you can play at decent volume and the staff are great, there are even bassists on the staff. there are a couple of other music shops in Exeter too.

 

For me there are a list of practicalities that have to be met. I need something reliable and portable for gigging so I can set up quickly, plug and play and get home at a decent hour. It has to be loud enough to match a drummer and fill a room without PA support. I prefer lightweight but it has to be compact. There's lots of gear around that fits that spec but I've kind of settled on a couple of 1x12's as a starting point. One will match the drummer two for bigger/outdoor gigs with a 300/500W amp into 8/4ohms.

 

The most important thing is sound though and the only way is to try it all out. Increasingly I'm moving towards a clean sound rather than anything coloured so I'm happy with PA speakers. So long as PA support is good I'm happy to use floor monitors or in-ears but I'd never go out without a backline amp. Too many sound engineers out there who don't do monitoring well so my gear sits on stage with me even if it is turned right down or off.

[Friskydingo]

South West? Unless you're in turo both Exeter and Bristol have loads of options. Try living in Suffolk. 

It's going to be hard to recreate the sound of your band in a shop but as others said above;

-power

-sound

-weight 

-price

Then find it second hand somewhere

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

23 hours ago, Waddycall said:

Out of interest - how do you go about choosing a cab? I live in the south west and the options for demoing anything at volume are zero. I guess it’s the same for most. So how do you choose?

 

The last cab I bought, which was admittedly a few years ago now, was a Barefaced Big Twin II Gen 3. I put a deposit down as soon as they were announced and received one of the first. Speaker size and impedance were big factors for me. I knew I wanted 12's as I had tried 10's before. I also wanted to go 4 ohms for the reasons stated above. You could try speaking with Alex @ Barefaced and telling him what you are after in terms of sound. Alternatively watch this overview of their range. 

 

 

[Doddy]

For me, picking a cab is still ultimately about tone before anything else. That's always the main thing for me with any piece of gear.  Weight is definitely a factor when you have to carry your own gear, and unfortunately I prefer the sound of ceramic speakers over neo ones. That's why I've been using 2 1x12 cabs instead of my 4x10.

Price can be a big factor but there are so many good deals on used gear, that you can get a quality cab for a very good price.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

1 hour ago, Doddy said:

For me, picking a cab is still ultimately about tone before anything else.

Uh oh. You said the “T” word 😂.

 

Joking aside, the tone bit of it is complicated when you throw in playing style, strings, bass and amp. For me, the cab needs to shift air, be reasonably light and be able to handle lows really well. Barefaced ticks all the boxes for me and I’ve put quite a few different amps through it. That said, I think us bass players are spoilt for choice. 

[Doddy]

47 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Uh oh. You said the “T” word 😂.

 

Joking aside, the tone bit of it is complicated when you throw in playing style, strings, bass and amp. For me, the cab needs to shift air, be reasonably light and be able to handle lows really well. Barefaced ticks all the boxes for me and I’ve put quite a few different amps through it. That said, I think us bass players are spoilt for choice. 

I didn't think that tone was a bad word?

I need my cabs to be able to handle anything I throw at them, from a flatwound strung Precision to an active 6 string, heavy effects usage (especially octaver), and even double bass and Moog bass.  If my signal path starts with quality gear, and don't want the final part of the chain to negatively affect it. 

I also prefer the sound of an actual bass amp and cab, over the current full range/flat response trend.

 

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

1 minute ago, Doddy said:

I didn't think that tone was a bad word?

I need my cabs to be able to handle anything I throw at them, from a flatwound strung Precision to an active 6 string, heavy effects usage (especially octaver), and even double bass and Moog bass.  If my signal path starts with quality gear, and don't want the final part of the chain to negatively affect it. 

I also prefer the sound of an actual bass amp and cab, over the current full range/flat response trend.

Not bad at all. Let’s say contentious 😀. Yes, I wanted something that was going to be solid through a variety of application. Barefaced, Bergantino, Ashdown, Vanderkley, Darkglass and others. Loads to choose from. Have we ever had it so good?

[gjones]

I've been through a lot of gear and the only way you can be sure that it's right for you, is to play it with your band, at gigging volume.

 

Basschat is a good resource to get others opinions on gear but ultimately it's a bit of a lottery.

 

[garyt]

I think your gear purchase kind of evolve.  You start off buying a cheap amp, then realise you need to upgrade.  Maybe you’ve heard your mates amp, or one at a gig.  You buy that, but that’s probably not your final amp.  You realise it hasn’t quite got that tone, output, etc.  During this time, you’ve tried various amps, read different reviews, and you’re saving for your dream cab.  At some point the Ampeg 810 may be too big, and then you downsize.   

I guess the thing is, narrow the cabs down in your price range, and your needs.  Then seriously try and get a demo of at least one of those cabs.   And if you can’t, just buy one and move on - I mean, a Mark Bass cab (say) is not going to be stinky poo, and if you aren’t going to be able to demo, you’re never going to know until you own it. 

 

[Waddycall]

Thanks for the input. I’ve currently got a fender rumble 115 I bought from  Mansons in Exeter about 5 years ago. I was able to try it in their demo room and there’s wasn’t really much else to try except the ampeg 115 and some Markbass combos (as far as I can recall). Anyway it suited my previous bands quite well but my new band is a bit more towards the pop end of the rock spectrum and I wondering if I’d be better off with something more like a 212. It’s probably boredom fuelled gas but I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up in a purchase.

[Chienmortbb]

1 hour ago, Waddycall said:

Thanks for the input. I’ve currently got a fender rumble 115 I bought from  Mansons in Exeter about 5 years ago. I was able to try it in their demo room and there’s wasn’t really much else to try except the ampeg 115 and some Markbass combos (as far as I can recall). Anyway it suited my previous bands quite well but my new band is a bit more towards the pop end of the rock spectrum and I wondering if I’d be better off with something more like a 212. It’s probably boredom fuelled gas but I wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up in a purchase.

Why not go to the South West Bass bash. LOts of stuff to try there.

[Waddycall]

21 minutes ago, Chienmortbb said:

Why not go to the South West Bass bash. LOts of stuff to try there.

What’s that?

[BigRedX]

If your bass goes through the PA then your choice of cab(s) is all but irrelevant as the only one benefiting from them will be you, and not even then if your regularly play venues with decent sized stages and proper monitoring. Certainly IME I could only hear the "sound" my cabs if I was stood directly in front of them, otherwise the bass guitar sound provided for the other band members in the foldback was always much louder.

 

If you rely on your rig to produce an audible bass guitar sound both on stage and FOH then unfortunately there is no substitute for trying out cabs in a gig situation. No matter how loud your local musical instrument shop allows you to play, hearing the bass without the other instruments in your band mix tells you very little about how the cabs will perform with the whole band playing.

[thodrik]

For me, for the purposes my location theses, my main query is 'do they deliver?'  or 'will they cooperate with me making arrangements for a courier to collect?'. Generally however my main concerns are:

 

- what can I afford?

- what amp am I using it with?

- what is the impedance rating?

- what is the watts rating? 

- if it is used, have any drivers been replaced?

- can I lift it?

- do I actually need it?

 

As a result I have bought exactly one cabinet in the last 12 years.

[okusman]

What ever you buy, don’t be scared of buying 2nd hand off BassChat.

Even ‘new’ kit will be cheaper and older/heavier stuff goes for Peanuts.

What head and bass are you using?