Should you match bass amps to cabs by the same manufacturer ?

[Roger Eve]

A question Ive always asked my self over the last 50 years of playing, and as I am at that  point now after having my amp malfunction and damage my cab. What are the advantages of buying the same make of cab as your amp, or is it better to buy a high quality amp and a high quality cab from different manufacturers ? I have been looking at the Darkglass gear, looks good and sounds good, any comments?

[Doctor J]

I can only think of two reasons why you'd stick to the same manufacturer for both

 

- their amps and cabs are exactly what you're looking for

 

- they're paying you to be seen with their gear

 

Other than that, buy amp and cabs which best match your requirements and budget, regardless of brand. There's not really a technical reason to stick to the same brand. Most of them don't make their own drivers anyway.

[chris_b]

There is no rule here. Build the signal chain where each piece compliments the other and gets the sound that you want and like. It may be one make or two, use what sounds best.

[Muzz]

The last time I had a matching amp and cab from a manufacturer's POV was an SVT and 810, back when I could be bothered to shift them. Having said that, I also had a Peavey Mk.VI head for when the SVT (inevitably, and fairly frequently) went bang, and I liked that, too.

 

For the last twenty-plus years I've mixed and matched, driven by various factors like what sounded good, and, increasingly, what I can be bothered to shift around.

[Bunion]

Go nuts, I play Bag End Cabs and they don’t make dedicated bass or guitar amps. 
I’ve put Ampeg, Mesa boogie and now having moved to a preamp/Power amp set up, all manner of makes and brands through them.

You can choose cabs for their sterile clarity or because you feel they give you the right ‘colour’ as long as the technical setup is correct your good to go. 

[Steve Browning]

There's certainly no law to say you must. I would suppose manufacturers that do both would test their cabs with their amps (and vice versa). Additionally, @agedhorse has previously said that Mesa cabs are designed to compliment each other. It stands to reason that you will get closer to what the amp manufacturer wants, but that may not be what you want.

 

I have always been delighted with my (entirely) Mesa rigs. That would be equally true if I wasn't an endorsee (only my TT-800s have been bought as an endorsee).

[casapete]

I’m sure that ( like me ) there are a lot of Barefaced cab users who don’t give a hoot about matching rigs. 😆

Having said that, I also use a GK amp and cabinet set up, and have been very happy with it.

Horses for courses and all that......

[stewblack]

As above.

Sit the amp on a Barefaced cab or two. Any amp. Literally. It'll sound dynamite.

[Bolo]

I'll never be able to quiet the voice that keeps whispering at me to get a Kustom Tuck'nRoll rig, but my sound is dynamite as it is.

Engl amp through a Basstown 412.

Edited March 29, 2022 by Bolo

[Lozz196]

For someone like myself with a touch of OCD I prefer to have matching amps & cabs, but in the past when I had mismatched rigs it didn’t bother me anywhere near as much as I would have thought.

[Dan Dare]

An amp malfunction is likely to damage any cab, same make or not. A cab is just a drive unit (or units) in a box, plus a few bits of wire and input connectors. A lot of bass cab manufacturers use the same or similar drive units (often from Eminence). The goals of the designers may differ, but not to any major extent. Nearly all are some type of reflex design. Of course, manufacturers big up how unique their take on bass cabs is, but the truth is there's little difference. Mix and match to your heart's content and find the combination that suits you. As long as impedance and power handling match, you'll be good.

[Merton]

1 hour ago, stewblack said:

As above.

Sit the amp on a Barefaced cab or two. Any amp. Literally. It'll sound dynamite.

I almost concur.

The only caveat is that someone other than me needs to be playing the bass.

🤓

[Bunion]

36 minutes ago, Merton said:

I almost concur.

The only caveat is that someone other than me needs to be playing the bass.

🤓

I always sound much better after beer, I’ve even been known to bob my head a bit flea style!! 

[Downunderwonder]

Most of us probably bought a matching first new rig or someone's matching cast off first new rig. Only because we didn't know any better, and because it looked cool and made sense all at the same time and when does that ever happen?

[Owen]

25 minutes ago, Downunderwonder said:

because it looked cool

We are all shallow enough to understand this.

 

If I was buying a cab now I would be all over the Greenboy cab in the classifieds. Drive with any amp you fancy.

[Bunion]

2 minutes ago, Owen said:

If I was buying a cab now I would be all over the Greenboy cab in the classifieds

Alas if it’s the one I’m thinking about it’s sitting in front of me and sounds Devine 

[Owen]

Ah well. They are lovely, lovely cabs

[Bunion]

I’m a die hard Bag End guy but I’m really shocked at how good this is for a 112 it responds well to poking some power up it’s bum too 

[yorks5stringer]

I'm a matching curtain and pelmets type of guy...

[agedhorse]

4 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

An amp malfunction is likely to damage any cab, same make or not. A cab is just a drive unit (or units) in a box, plus a few bits of wire and input connectors. A lot of bass cab manufacturers use the same or similar drive units (often from Eminence). The goals of the designers may differ, but not to any major extent. Nearly all are some type of reflex design. Of course, manufacturers big up how unique their take on bass cabs is, but the truth is there's little difference. Mix and match to your heart's content and find the combination that suits you. As long as impedance and power handling match, you'll be good.

If this were the case, if there was little difference in drivers, then why would some designers choose expensive drivers over cheap drivers?

 

Because in most cases, drivers with higher performance cost more (sometimes a lot more). Yes, driver performance can be very different from model to model, and some designers actually have a good idea of what players are looking for and are willing to spend to achieve this. You just don't know this (yet).  

 

Fortunately, I can design around whatever performance I need, and the cost doesn't matter all that much for our customer provided the speaker delivers the necessary performance in the size and weight box that the player is willing to accept. It's actually nice to design around performance and not have to worry about the cost (within reason), and for those players that feel that the cost is more important than performance, there are plenty of other options out there.

[Dan Dare]

7 hours ago, agedhorse said:

If this were the case, if there was little difference in drivers, then why would some designers choose expensive drivers over cheap drivers?

 

Because in most cases, drivers with higher performance cost more (sometimes a lot more). Yes, driver performance can be very different from model to model, and some designers actually have a good idea of what players are looking for and are willing to spend to achieve this. You just don't know this (yet).  

 

Fortunately, I can design around whatever performance I need, and the cost doesn't matter all that much for our customer provided the speaker delivers the necessary performance in the size and weight box that the player is willing to accept. It's actually nice to design around performance and not have to worry about the cost (within reason), and for those players that feel that the cost is more important than performance, there are plenty of other options out there.

 

Read what I said again. I did not say there is "little difference in drivers". I was referring to cabinets. Of course, I appreciate that paying more for a driver generally equates to better performance, but the cabinet is key. A modest driver in a well matched cab will give a better account of itself than an expensive one in a poorly designed cab'. The Basschat 1x12, which uses a reasonably priced Beyma driver in a simple/cheap to build but well designed box, is a case in point.

 

Look at cabs from the major manufacturers at any price point and you will see they are pretty close in size, design and performance. Many use the same or similar Eminence drivers. Eminence publish detailed performance figures and even suggest suitable cabinet sizes, so anyone with WinSD or similar can devise a suitable cab for their products

 

I "don't know this (yet)"? I actually use PJB cabs, which are not exactly bargain basement. I bought them because I tried them against the alternatives and preferred them. Just my preference. Others will have different opinions.

 

Perhaps, as you are a designer/manufacturer, it is in your interest to promote the notion that the differences are greater than they are and that paying more for your wares is worthwhile. 

[Lozz196]

9 hours ago, yorks5stringer said:

I'm a matching curtain and pelmets type of guy...

As Sean Connery`s Bond said, as long as the collar & cuffs match

[JapanAxe]

You’re all missing the point. Not only do you need a cab to match the head, you need both the 1x15 and the 4x10 that the same manufacturer has thoughtfully made available, so that you can be certain to cover the entire audio spectrum.

[Downunderwonder]

8 minutes ago, JapanAxe said:

You’re all missing the point. Not only do you need a cab to match the head, you need both the 1x15 and the 4x10 that the same manufacturer has thoughtfully made available, so that you can be certain to cover the entire audio spectrum.

Can you name any mainstream manufactured 410 115  where the 410 doesn't have at least+5dB of sensitivity and twice the power handling of the 115?

[Sparky Mark]

4 hours ago, JapanAxe said:

You’re all missing the point. Not only do you need a cab to match the head, you need both the 1x15 and the 4x10 that the same manufacturer has thoughtfully made available, so that you can be certain to cover the entire audio spectrum.

Ooh, you are a tease!

Edited March 30, 2022 by Sparky Mark