Cabinet recommendations

[Eric***]

Hello everyone,

Before I start looking around and get my hopes up, can anyone offer up some recommendations for cabinets? I'm always looking for the lower-cost options, but would like to know what you think is worth it when it comes to brand, config (1x12, 2x12, 4x12, 4x10...), sound vs. portability, etc.

This will most likely be coming out of a Crate Powerblock (if/when I get one), which is 75w mono/150w stereo, but I think the amp/cab will operate primarily as my personal monitor, with a separate line going to FOH.

I've only had combo amps up to this point, so I know little to nothing about cabinets.

My main application for this will be the weekly church playing (which can get pretty loud), but in general I play mainline rock/punk pop/britpop/classic rock, with maybe a touch of prog and/or indie rock.

Gracias!

[ZMAN]

I swear by the Avatar brand of Cabinets, (not the movie). They are reasonably priced, you can order what speakers you like, the color, the style.
I have a 2/12 with Eminence Legends, and I use my Marshall combo amp to power it. You can usually use just about any amp as long as it has an output jack, and you match the output impedence. I unplug the internal speaker and use the Marshal as a 40 watt "head" . I have also put my Blues Junior and 65 Deluxe reverb through it. Check out their website.
http://www.avatarspeakers.com/
Oh and I forgot to mention they are very well constructed. A lot of cabs now come with fiberboard, these are birch plywood, with really sturdy metal handles, and very good quality speakers.

[rev156]

Crate GT112SL

I picked this up cheap to use as a companion to my 2x12 and it is fantastic.
Great sounding, 100w, and as I just found out when I googled it, it's made to go with the powerblock.

http://www.guitargearheads.com/modul...hp?storyid=174

Cheers,

[R.B. Huckleberry]

www.lopoline.com



...They made the 1x12 I put my Dr. Z MAZ 18 through. I bought it loaded with a Celestion Vintage 30. Built like a brick house, and sounds great!

[Eric***]

Are there any rules of thumb I should bear in mind if I go craigslisting?

Since this won't have anything to do with the house sound, I'm thinking about something on the cheap end of things. I'm not sure if there are any red flags or names I should look out for or avoid altogether.

[Commodore 64***]

The only rules of thumb I can think of for Craigslisting is the type of cab you want...open back, ported, front loaded, whatever. My VHT is a front loaded, closed back cab, and quite frankly, I wish it was open back. It's just too boomy for me. I've always got the bass knob on my Blackheart at like 1 or 2.

Almost wish I'd have got a 10-inch cab or at least an open back 12.

[Eric***]

open back, ported, front loaded

OK so I know what open back is, though other than your comments about bass, I don't know how it really affects things.

What do ported and front loaded mean?

Also, how do you match up impedance with cabs? Crate says the powerblock is mono 150w RMS @ 8 ohms and stereo 75w RMS @ 4 ohms. I suppose it would be best to get it to match up directly, but is there a direction in which you can safely err?

I was trying to figure this out and went back to P = I^2 x R and V=I x R, but I still wasn't sure of anything. If you assume the power is constant, then higher resistance would lead to lower current, which seems like it would be OK, since then you wouldn't fry anything. Any help on this one? I'm not sure of many/any of my calculations.

[Plank_Spanker]

The Power Block is solid state - as long as you don't go below the minimum rated impedance (4 ohms) you're golden.

Front loaded cabs have the speaker mounted on the front surface, instead of behind the mounting board.

Ported means the cab is closed back, and there's a hole (port) to allow air to move in and out of the cab. This, in theory, loosens the bass response.

All of this does impact the tone.........................but not by any degree that would be a show stopper. Your main concern will be the speakers.

A 2x12 cab sounds perfect for what you're seeking. ZMAN mentioned Avatar cabs. They have a solid reputation, and they won't cost you an arm and a leg depending on what speakers you load them with. An 8 ohm mono cab should fit the bill for you.

Then you have to choose speakers, and that's another issue where you'll get a thousand different opinions................................

[Eric***]

A 2x12 cab sounds perfect for what you're seeking. ZMAN mentioned Avatar cabs. They have a solid reputation, and they won't cost you an arm and a leg depending on what speakers you load them with. An 8 ohm mono cab should fit the bill for you.

Thanks for answering this. I think it helps clear up some stuff.

[Plank_Spanker]

Thanks for answering this. I think it helps clear up some stuff.

Good luck on your quest, Eric. What stuff are you not clear on?

[Commodore 64***]

Speakers:

For Clones (I have a Green Beret in my 1 x 12"): http://warehousespeakers.com/
For Eminence: http://www.parts-express.com/wizards...AT&srchCat=565
Webers at Eurotube (pretty bad website, folks love eurotubes): http://www.eurotubes.com/euro-weber.htm
Celestions and Hellatones (horrible website, you gotta dig for them): http://www.avatarspeakers.com/

[Eric***]

Good luck on your quest, Eric. What stuff are you not clear on?

Basically just how the impedance works with cabinets. I feel like I should find a website and do some reading on it, because I'm still not sure how everything fits together.

[Plank_Spanker]

Basically just how the impedance works with cabinets. I feel like I should find a website and do some reading on it, because I'm still not sure how everything fits together.

Let's assume that you get a 2x12 cab and wire the speakers mono for 8 ohms:

You wire two 16 ohm speakers in parallel = 8 ohms. This cabinet would match and play well with your Mono Block.

SS amps like the Mono Block are pretty forgiving on the speaker impedance - as long as you don't go below the rated minimum impedance, which appears to be 4 ohms for this amp. Wiring a 2x12 cabinet for stereo operation is basically a waste, and the only way to wire it for stereo (unless someone knows a way around Ohm's Law) is as a dedicated stereo only cab.

My bottom line suggestion to you:

Avatar 2x12 cab loaded with the speakers of your choice (16 ohms wired in parallel) to give you an 8 ohm mono cab.

Clear as mud now?

[Eric***]

So...with something like this, I take it the head should be a max of 50W?

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/msg/1606624288.html

Doesn't that seem like kind of a low threshold for a 2 x 12? I dunno...just my gut reaction. Is this a good deal? Still calibrating my inner shopper...

[Eric***]

BTW, while I'm surfing craigslist, I have another question: in this post, what's the difference between a powered monitor and a powered speaker?

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/msg/1603307004.html

I thought they were pretty much the same thing.

[tunghaichuan***]

So...with something like this, I take it the head should be a max of 50W?

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/msg/1606624288.html

Doesn't that seem like kind of a low threshold for a 2 x 12? I dunno...just my gut reaction. Is this a good deal? Still calibrating my inner shopper...

Yeah, if the head put out 50 watts, you'd think that H&K would put in two 50W drivers for the safety factor. Mating a 50W head to a 50W cabinet is just asking for trouble.

The only way to be sure of the ratings of the speakers is to pull them and see if the wattage handling is on the speaker anywhere.

Edit: found this link on H&K's site:

http://www.hughes-and-kettner.com/pr...ode=prod&id=26

That is really weird, two 25W drivers in a 2x12 cab. Maybe you're supposed to use two for a 50W head?

[Plank_Spanker]

So...with something like this, I take it the head should be a max of 50W?

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/msg/1606624288.html

Doesn't that seem like kind of a low threshold for a 2 x 12? I dunno...just my gut reaction. Is this a good deal? Still calibrating my inner shopper...

The Power Block is SS and needs some clean headroom. At its 75 watt rated output, that's shaving the headroom. That cab should be fine with the Power Block...................you're not going to dme it.

[duhvoodooman***]

Late to the party, but a couple of years ago, I bought a 1x12 cab from THIS GUY through eBay, and it's really nicely made. He obviously used to work for Lopoline--he's located in the same city and his construction looks identical. But his prices are significantly lower. You can see my 1x12 here:

http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=4242

[Eric***]

Late to the party, but a couple of years ago, I bought a 1x12 cab from THIS GUY through eBay, and it's really nicely made. He obviously used to work for Lopoline--he's located in the same city and his construction looks identical. But his prices are significantly lower. You can see my 1x12 here:

http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=4242

Wow, those are nicely priced. I might go that route when it's time -- either that, CL, or Avatar, anyway. Thanks for the tip.