Cab question.....what's best for my situation?

[Snowdog79]

So I've recently come down with a case of GUS. Not GAS--this is Gear Upgrade Syndrome, as the basis of it is trading in my cabs for something more appropriate for the gigs I do. This may be a little long and winding, but it's because I'm trying to figure out what would be best for these situations, and because I don't have enough money to simply buy three different rigs

 

The types of gigs I play:

 

(A) Rock & Country: I play clubs that have a good PA about 75% of the time, and only use my cabs for onstage sound. The other 25% of the time we use our own PA (which is currently underpowered), and I wind up having to fill the room with my stage sound.

 

(B) Big Band: About what you'd expect. No PA, but I don't need to be super loud.

 

© Small jazz combos: Trios or duets. Don't need a lot of volume, don't usually have a lot of room.

 

I have an Eden 2x10 XLT and an Eden 1x15, both 8 ohm cabs. Right now I use them both for the rock and country stuff and I use the 2x10 by itself for (B) and © above.

 

Okay, now that that's all explained, here's what I want advice on. Sometimes I feel this rig isn't putting out as much sound an I need to for situation (A), and the 2x10 by itself is too big and a pain to load in for situation ©. I've been thinking that a 4x10 and another small cabinet, possibly a 1x10 or 1x12, would work better for these situations. A 4x10 would push more sound for situation (A) when I have to play off stage volume, and while it is more than i'd need for (B) it would work. A single small cab would be more appropriate for situation ©.

 

I'll be using an Eden WT-300 amp in all these situations, playing both upright and electric basses.

 

So, in conclusion,

1) Would a 4x10 sound louder than what I'm using now?

2) Can any one recomend a good small cabinet for duet or trio jazz gigs?

3) Does this plan of mine make any sense?

 

Thanks for your help. Like I said, once I get signed and become a rock star, I'll just buy three rigs. Or when I win the lottery.

[musicfiend]

For your musical situations it might make sense to find a 12" cab and 15" cab that complement each other. Scratch that. FORGET IT.

I just had an idea

 

get two tri 112s from accugroove. use one for smaller gigs, and two for bigger gigs.

[musicfiend]

Ok letr me explain why.

With these full range cabs, you get more volume than with normal 112's. It also seems for your styles a pure tone is needed. NO overly scooped mids or whatnot. Also, because of the extra drivers in each one, I'm sure they could hold their own soundwise, in terms of volume, and in terms of moving air.

pretty portable too

[alexclaber]

I'd get a Schroeder 1210 or 1212. I would have suggested a pair of EA Wizzy cabs but their combined impedance would be too low for the WT300.

 

If you're really struggling with volume I'd consider getting more power - the 210XLT and 115XLT are very efficient cabs, as are the ones that I've suggested, but they can handle a lot more power than you're giving them.

 

A head rated at ~1000W would allow you to get every last ounce of volume (and tone) out of the above cab combinations.

 

Alex

[Rick Hoffman]

Murphy's Law - You buy all new gear for the gigs you do, then your gigs change.

 

When it comes to gear, I never worried about where I'm playing or who I'm playing with, really. I just worry about how I sound, how much headroom I want, and if I like it or not. There's always a way to EQ something into a workable situation, right?

[Cup_dup1]

Snowdog, totally off topic here, but your tone in "Flower Mound" is fantastic. Sounds like an upright, am I correct?

[Snowdog79]

Yeah, that's an upright I bought four years ago at Hammond-Ashley in Seattle. It's a cheap Romanian "student-level" bass that somebody disassembled and sanded down from the inside to open up the sound. It's not gonna get me into a symphony orchestra, but at the same time I'm not worried about dragging it into a smoky bar.

 

And C Alexander, the amp is next on my list of upgrades

[Gruuve]

There seem to be a few Bergantino HT-322's on Ebay used right now (usually go for around $700-800)...I've got one of those and love it. I'd say the HT322 might be a good candidate for the "A" gigs (it's a 4 ohm cab though...just FYI!). With enough power (I'm using 800 watts), it's loud enough for at least a mid-size venue by itself. Combining it with a 210 would probabloy be ridiculous. The smaller side isn't my area of knowledge, so I refrain from making any suggestions there...although SteveC seems to really love his Berg HT112...

 

[begin shameless plug] I've got two Carvin RL-410T's for sale right now if you have any interest...just PM me. [/End shameless plug ]

 

One thought though...I agree with another post that you ought to just try more power into your existing rig first. Your existing cabs ought to sing quite loud with more juice!

 

Dave

[coyote]

?????

Originally posted by Snowdog79:

and the 2x10 by itself is too big and a pain to load in

A 2x10 is half the size of a 4x10, and 4x10 bass cabs are NOT huge things.

[LLroomtempJ]

c alex is definitely right.

 

you should look into more power before you look into a different speaker combination.

 

maybe an eden wt800?

 

if your set on buying another cabinet, you could get another 8ohm 210. I'm pretty sure that eden stuff can handle 2ohm loads.

 

edit: To address the weight of your 210...the eden 210s are exceptionally heavy (i think something like 10 more than most other 210s), but it's still 30 pounds lighter than a 410

 

jason

[mcbn]

You can always try to just add a power amp to your existing setup rather than upgrading your head.

[Snowdog79]

I know a 4x10 would be heavier, but I'd have it on casters. The 2x10 is just a pain when you have to load in through the kitcheh, up the stairs, and through the restaurant....

 

Besides, I'd use my smaller cab for these situations anyway.

[LLroomtempJ]

Is a power amp a power amp a power amp? or are there quality issues with maintaining the original signal as it's traveling through more stages of amplification?

 

pretty much i'm asking if a more expensive power amp would do him better than the store brand. (krogerfoods power amp)

 

jason

[mcbn]

Peavey makes good in-expensive gear. A PV 900 will deliver 600 Watts @ 8 ohms for around $300. Good clean power. I used to have a PV 1500 and it was very clean sounding w/ both PA and when I ran it w/ a couple different bass rigs.

[BenLoy]

You could go for one of the "small box/big sound" designs that have been becoming more popular.

 

Euphonic Audio makes cabinets that are astonishingly loud for their size. In fact, their iAmp 800C Combo might be just what you're looking for:

 

http://www.euphonicaudio.com/2005/products/iamp800c.jpg

[Snowdog79]

Thanks for all the advice--I think I'm going to wind up looking into upgrading my amp first, and then seeing how that works out before I make any decisions involving my cabs. I appreciate all the help!