What cabs do you play for what style of music?

[Stofferson]

Stonerish rock / grunge, fingers, lots of fuzz and distortion when needed.

 

Never had an issue going through any cab, although I've only just started integrating tweeters, play a lot of gigs with shared/provided cabs so played through plenty, a good amp / eq, and a nice pedal board will go through anything.

Just had two BF super compact T's delivered last week. sound immense, got 2 BF two10's at home, sound immense! although i think the fuzz thing is heavily reliant on my sansamp at the end of the chain, just makes anything gainy sound better, less like a bag of wasps

[BigRedX]

My reading of the OP is that they were asking what kinds of cabs people were using along with the genre and playing style.

 

I stated that my preference was for no cabs, what I should have added is that I play post-punk/goth and mostly (but not exclusively) with a pick.

 

In this genre no backline is becoming increasingly the norm. My band did a couple of all-day events earlier this year. At the first not a single act had any kind of backline, and the FoH sound seemed all the better and more evenly balanced for it. It's certainly produced the best sounding phone video of my band that I have seen to date. At the second only one of the acts had any amps and they most definitely had the most uneven sound of the day.

[Stub Mandrel]

On 27/09/2024 at 08:51, Bassy said:

Hi, I'm always reading everyone's point of view regarding bass cabs, make and speaker configuration. But very rarely does anyone state what style of music they are playing, what bass, and finger or plectrum? This makes all the difference to how you hear your bass sound. I feel some cabs are better suited to certain music styles.

I play a P bass with a pick into Gk legacy 800 with 2 Eden D210XLT. Mainly rock, noisy indie, punk. The sound when I play clean is great, warm and thick, but with clarity. But the cabs do not like any drive/fuzz pedals, as the tweeters become very harsh with distortion. This makes me think that the Eden cabs were designed for soul, funk, motown, country, jazz but not distorted rock.

I used to use a Mesa Boogie 4x10 and this cab loved distorted bass sounds. Tweeter switched on was no problem. But it weighed a ton...45kgs?

So what cabs are out there that can deal with a grindy bass sound. Is it still only Boogie and Ampeg?

 

Why not fit a tweeter attenuation switch or wirewound pot?

[Stub Mandrel]

I used to use (in the 80s) a 1x18. Rock and roll/rock covers. Changed to a 2x12 (a closed guitar cab) and enjoyed the clarity and portability. Then (90s)added a home made 2x12 with two full range Mackie PA speakers. Indie rock, then pop rock originals. Then added two high powered piezo tweeters in a home made 'bright box', and never used the attenuator.

 

Big gap.

 

Trace 4x10 combo, was excellent for rock then a big mix of covers from funk to pop and rock. Added a peavey 1x15 but never used it in anger.

 

Now a little GR Bass 2x12. Great for everything. Mostly blues rock and heavy rock, also general stuff.

 

Not sure ifvthat tells you anything exceptvthat I try and make the best of whatever I have.

[Mykesbass]

A pair of (Zoot Bass) Purple Chili 112s without tweeters. They are Celestion loaded, very lightweight, and to my ears, have a little bit of built in colour - not at all FFRR (or FRFR whichever way we're calling it now). Ideal for me playing fingerstyle, Blues, Blues Rock, Americana. Not sure how they would sound if someone wanted bright sparkly tones, but the mellowness suits me - I love 'em. 

[NancyJohnson]

Gone through pretty much every conceivable speaker combination over the years.  [Edit: Gave this some thought - 1x18, 1x15, 2x15, 4x10, 2x10, 2x12, 4x5, 1x12, 15/6.  Bonkers.  Most had a tweeter/horn of some description.]  Currently I run a pair of Darkglass 1x12s and the Barefaced Big One that I won in the SE Bass Bash a few years back.  Musically I play alternative rock, gnarly tone.

 

Tend to favour one or two of the 1x12s in most situations; they're capable and it's more about portability.  There's really not much difference tonally between all the enclosures.  They all do clean/gnarly with equal gusto.  I've done side by side tests and I don't claim to really have heard too much difference between cabinets.

 

I suppose that you just change kit because you're searching for something different, don't really know what, as tone is fairly subjective.  For me it just came down to not wanting to have to cart around huge cabinets any more and the Darkglass cabinets fulfilled that.  They're small and sound great irrespective of what you push through them.  I can use one (or two).  Or I cab use the Big One.

 

 

 

Edited October 1 by NancyJohnson

[uk_lefty]

20 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Not sure ifvthat tells you anything exceptvthat I try and make the best of whatever I have

I think that's it... We can all GAS after this and that hoping that spending just a little more helps us get the exact sound we are after... Or we can get as close as we can with the gear we have/ can afford and concentrate on giving the audience a good time.

[bremen]

On 29/09/2024 at 21:26, uk_lefty said:

I play pop and indie covers from the 2000's in my band, which I guess is what counts. I've tried 15s and 2x10s but for me it's two 15s. I play fingers or pick, often it will depend on what mood I'm in or what bass I'm playing rather than anything else. I will use overdrive, distortion, fuzz, clean... Two 15s is just my preference. If I could try anything I'd like to have a go with a 4x10, if weight were no issue then a couple of Trace Elliott 18s could be fun... But for me there's a more rounded and deeper sound from a 15, the focus of a 10 is just something I don't like. I used to have the Ashdown RM 2x10 and 1x15 at the same time and I didn't like them together, it did give me the opportunity to compare them. The 15 was always my preference. So I now run an ABM600 through two ABM NEO 15s.

 

I've got a Fender Bassman TV 12 which has a 12" speaker and that sounds special, bit that's probably more down to the valve preamp. 

 

Perhaps the most sensible cab combo for me would be a couple of 12s if I could run a 600w head through them. 

I think you and I are probably the only players left standing that prefer 2x15!

 

It's probably habit with me though, loved the Peavey and ampeg I used in the 80s and lightweight alternative I prefer nowadays.

 

Playing opaque melodies that would bug most people, sometimes heavy on the bass.

[uk_lefty]

8 minutes ago, bremen said:

I think you and I are probably the only players left standing that prefer 2x15!

 

It's probably habit with me though, loved the Peavey and ampeg I used in the 80s and lightweight alternative I prefer nowadays.

 

Playing opaque melodies that would bug most people, sometimes heavy on the bass.

If they weren't lightweight I don't think I'd do it. I would love to try a decent 2x12 that's portable and can handle 600w plus but absolutely no plans to change anything now unless something breaks.

[BassAdder60]

A point  I have discovered and I guess it relates to all genres with cabs is how the cab works with the amp and your style of playing.

 

Ive played Ampeg, Ashdown arguably the two biggest reasonably priced cabs often seen in most stores but in truth they were in the main heavy, flubby or struggling with power handling often resulting in needing additional cabs. 
Since using a LFSYS Monaco cab and my Vanderkley I now see why better speakers and cab build actually do more for your tone and sound than many amps do. 
There are exceptions to this but that has been my experience and I think cabs make the world of difference to clarity and punch in a band where backline isn’t using a PA 

Edited October 1 by BassAdder60

[bremen]

9 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

absolutely no plans to change anything now unless something breaks.

Mods! Please expel this apostate!

[Baloney Balderdash]

I use a 15" woofer + 1.7" tweeter (crossover 2.3kHz) FRFR PA speaker with my setup before it emulating a bass amp and cabinet, amplified by going into the Effects Return (poweramp input) of an old 160W Peavey SS guitar amp, with lots of effects, for a sort of stoner/doom rock project, and I get an incredible punchy tone, with a monstrous heavy and ballsy distortion when I need that.

 

Edited October 5 by Baloney Balderdash

[itu]

On 01/10/2024 at 10:23, bremen said:

Mods! Please expel this apostate!

But hey, didn't you notice that he's lefty. That market is limited.

 

 

(Where's my coat...)

[msb]

Mostly old school blues , but a good range of grooves over a night. Bergantino cabs , I mostly play mid sized rooms where there’s just vocals in the PA , the stage sound is the room sound. I have HDN 112 and 210 cabs but most of the time I’ll just bring a 112 , more than adequate.

[jazzyvee]

I use Barefaced 12" speaker cabs for all my needs.

For reggae gigs it's always the BTII, though I do have a Dubster II if the need arises. For jazzy stuff i still use mainly the BTII or BBII if i'm in the PA.

I'd like a One 10T.

[bassbiscuits]

Yamaha BB604 bass with a Markbass Little Mark 2 or 3 head into two Markbass cabs (usually a Traveller 2x10 and Traveller 1x12.)

 

I play mainly loud rock and blues, and I’m quite heavy handed whether I’m using a pick or fingers.
 

For an allegedly clean sounding set up it can get surprisingly gritty and gnarly at volume. Sounds great tho. 

[dclaassen]

On 27/09/2024 at 14:52, cetera said:

I find a good 2x12 reproduces everything I need, whether in a rock show or a disco/pop function band. My cab of choice is the now discontinued GenzBenz Neox 2x12. Full range, bass ports, tweeter, 600W at 4ohms and a relatively lightweight. 

I use 2 Genz Benz 1x12's for most pub gigs and get a really nice sound as well. Old TE GP-12 SMX head, 5 string fretted and/or fretless. I am almost always trying for a vintage country or rock tone, but occasionally tone it down clean for jazz. 

[dclaassen]

On 30/09/2024 at 10:22, stevie said:

 

That sums it up very nicely.

Okay, but both quotes still beg the original question of which amp/cab combination, specifically. Also need to consider price point. If I was willing to plonk down a largish bundle of bills, I would probably go all Mesa, but I'm realistically going to go with what sounds great with a limited budget, and also what does not kill me to lug up a flight of stairs. 

[dmccombe7]

This is a great thread, really enjoying it.

My favoured rig has always been a 210 cab atop a 15. 

I currently use a Mesa TT800 into Subway 210 and 115 cabs. On hindsight 2off 210's or 2off 115 cabs would have done pretty much all i need.

I like the idea of the Mesa SW 410 as i once played thru a TE 410 Combo back in 80's with my Warwick Thumb and it was a tremendous tone but really heavy and i was only 9.5st back then.

I use the Mesa rig for my Glam covers band, Punk covers band and now an 80's rock band. I occasionally run a hint of overdrive and it sounds great. Mostly i prefer a cleaner warm tone from the Boogie channel. I've used the Mesa cabs including my old Mesa PH212 for almost every kind of music including rock, punk, function, funk, prog and it just works so well for me.

I did have 2off ae112 Berg cabs and they were ok but not quite right for me. Could never put my finger on why. That was a Deep Purple tribute band. 

One of my all time fav cabs was a Bergantino HT322 (12, 2x10's and horn). It was sublime but just far too heavy at my age but i loved the tone and it could handle any amp i ever used with it. I also used that with the DP tribute band.

Dave

[Stub Mandrel]

For bass I feel cabs should be efficient, capable of taking plenty of power without distorting, light and tonally pretty transparent (i.e. without a strong character as with guitar cabs).

 

This does tend towards expensive, but you can compromise on efficiency (if you have a powerful amp) or weight if you are young and strong.

 

I feel that your basic tone comes chiefly from your technique, the bass you play and your amps overdrive characteristics. Pedals might extend your pallette but your cab should be reasonably faithful to what you put into it.

 

You could get one of the ~£25 bass multifx from Aliexpress that has a series of cab sims in it, put it through a hifi amp at modest volume and see if anything particularly suits your taste. But what effect you get could probably be achieved with eq...

[BassmanPaul]

My choice for a speaker cabinet is the Acme Sound B2 2x10 three way. They handle the Low B of my six strings without any problem. I own four but usually just use a pair in a vertical 4x10 'skinny stack'. They are a delight to play through.

 

[diskwave]

On 09/11/2024 at 14:50, Stub Mandrel said:

I feel that your basic tone comes chiefly from your technique, the bass you play and your amps overdrive characteristics.

This 100%, but not forgetting also and just as important, this too which has always given me great punchy tone. What ever cab you buy or use and in whatever situation you use them none of them will perform at their optimum unless you dial back the amps bass a bit and push the mids a bit.  

[SimonK]

On 09/11/2024 at 14:50, Stub Mandrel said:

I feel that your basic tone comes chiefly from your technique, the bass you play and your amps overdrive characteristics. Pedals might extend your pallette but your cab should be reasonably faithful to what you put into it.

 

 

...and then irritatingly last night I used exactly the same cabs and amp in exactly the same room as three weeks ago, and they sounded all boomy and horrible despite the fact the same set up was fine last time!

 

I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that multiple EQ options make more of a difference than anything else...

[msb]

I play in the house band that does a weekly jam night. I let other players use my bass and rig. Same bass , amp and settings … and it sounds completely different with different players. 
 

And the same room can sound completely different depending on the number of people and  volume … and sometimes I swear the humidity makes a difference. 

[Acebassmusic]

12 hours ago, msb said:

 … and sometimes I swear the humidity makes a difference. 

 

Yep, I believe that's known as "tone humidity".......🤣