Aguilar TH500... Matched cabs or other?

[Joe_T]

Hey guys,

Wondering if anyone can shed some light on this for me...
I'm after an Aguilar Tone Hammer 500. Portability and tone-wise it's totally perfect for my needs. As for the cab, I'm still a little bit at a loss. Obviously Aguilar's SL112 are going to sound great with this thing as they're pretty much built for it, but after trying one I found the enclosure depth to be pretty annoying and I'm looking at even smaller 1x12s that I could use.

Barefaced's Super Midget and Super Compact are mainly what I'm lookin' at. Has anyone out there had experience with this setup? Or could someone offer any alternatives?

Cheers
-Joe

[Leslie77s]

I'm after the very same amp and I fancy a pair of TKS S112 cabs

[stevie]

I'd have a listen to them first. You can't believe everything you read on Basschat.

[JTUK]

I can vouch for Bergs working with a TH500.
AE112's and CN112's match up very well, IME.

I have DB cabs but have never felt the need to try them with the TH.

[Leslie77s]

Good point Stevie. I'm intending on travelling about a bit in the new year to test different speakers but I definitely want the TH500

[Lozz196]

I tried a TH500 at the weekend through a Barefaced Super12T. Sounded great, BF cabs being fairly uncoloured the tone of the TH (coupled with my 78 Precision) really came through nicely.

[Matt P]

I tried a th500 through a pair of second generation midgets at the north east bass bash on Sunday and it sounded fantastic, as soon as I've got the cash I'll be buying the tonehammer.

Matt

[Joe_T]

Thanks guys, I'll take a look at all these suggestions... Suppose the tough part is going and actually trying this stuff haha. We don't really have any shops with that kind of high end gear up here

[Ben Jamin]

I received a Tone Hammer 350 today.

Bloomin' loudest 350W I've ever heard. Louder than the 500W Ampeg it's replacing by miles. It's got the same Bang and Olufsen poweramp as in a lot of 500W+ heads. If you're not fussed about the effects loop then I'd go for the 350.

My cab's a Barefaced Compact, generation 2. It sounds amazing.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1415208939' post='2597942']
I'd have a listen to them first. You can't believe everything you read on Basschat.
[/quote] what? Thats shocking news!

[Lozz196]

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1415208939' post='2597942']
I'd have a listen to them first. You can't believe everything you read on Basschat.
[/quote]
[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1415227964' post='2598294']
what? Thats shocking news!
[/quote]

So much so that I`m tempted to not believe it.

[Joe_T]

[quote name='Ben Jamin' timestamp='1415223929' post='2598219']
I received a Tone Hammer 350 today.

Bloomin' loudest 350W I've ever heard. Louder than the 500W Ampeg it's replacing by miles. It's got the same Bang and Olufsen poweramp as in a lot of 500W+ heads. If you're not fussed about the effects loop then I'd go for the 350.

My cab's a Barefaced Compact, generation 2. It sounds amazing.
[/quote]

Nice one man Yeah I kinda wanted the effects loop for some stuff. How Is the compact for weight/size? Kinda stuck between that and the Midget.

[molan]

I've used a TH500 through a variety of cabs from different makers. Working part time in a shop means I get some time to try the TH through quite a few different cabs. Obviously most of these will be things the shop stocks but we tend to use it as our first choice reference head for testing any pre-owned cab that comes in.

Until very recently it was also my main gigging head so I've used one a lot live.

From the Aguilar range the SL112's are a good match but I've also used it with DB112's, a DB210 and a DB410. A lot of the tone of a DB750 is in the TH heads so it's pretty happy wih any of the Aggie range really.

The cab I've gigged one most with is a Bergantino AE210. I really love this cab and its a shame that Berg don't make it any more. I've also tried it with a pair of CN112's and the CN212. Running one into the, 4 ohm, 212 is a great one cab solution for live work.

Most recently I've been testing it with a pair of TKS S112's and an S212. I really like the flexibility of a pair of 12" cabs and the TKS units are physically smaller,mane a shade lighter, than the Aguilar or Bergs which is really appealing for transporting around.

Another favourite of mine is the MarkBass Traveller 210. The TH sits nicely on top of one of these standing vertically and will cover most small gigs quite happily. A pair of them stacked vertically is a really cool little 4x10, 4ohm, rig.

I recently ran one through an Eden stack with a 4x10 and a 2x10 - that sounded huge!

To be honest I've yet to find a cab that doesn't sound good wih a TH (hence why we use it to test things). There are definitely a lot of cabs out there that I really don't like at all but I'm guessing the TH might make even those sound good

As others have said, if you definitely want a TH then you ideally need to hear it, back to back, with as many cabs as you can to make an informe decision.

[chris_b]

I'm running a TH500 with a Barefaced Big Baby 2. It sounds great but hasn't quite knocked my Barefaced CN212 off the top spot for the louder gigs yet. 2 BB2's might just do it though.

Molan is right, the TH500 will make any cab sound great. Same as Bergantino cabs make any amp sound great. I heard a generation 3 Compact awhile back and it was like listening to a Motown record. I loved it.

Why is the 18" deep SL112 a problem? The Berg 12's are 15" and the Compact is 12". Why is that extra 6" a deal breaker?

[stevie]

Molan, what's the difference between the TH500 and the Little Mark 3, in your estimation?

[Joe_T]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1415273461' post='2598579']
Why is the 18" deep SL112 a problem? The Berg 12's are 15" and the Compact is 12". Why is that extra 6" a deal breaker?
[/quote]

It's because I don't drive. So I'm after something that I can walk around with easily enough and i found that bit of depth made it feel really awkward

Cheers
-Joe

[JTUK]

Well, this is a thread in itself and I'll probably post that later but I can say a
TH500 sounds good with a CN112, SL112 and TKS S112.
Get down to BassGear if you can as they have a whole host of cabs to match up
and you'll be at fault if you make any of them sound less than great..

Other cabs I would have considered matching up just for the fun of it were
CN212, TKS1126, and ATS models but were beyond my 'test' brief and
you never have enough time in this shop to do everything anyway.

[xgsjx]

Get yourself to Guitarguitar in Corstorphine, take the aggy & your bass with you & try out some cabs. There's plenty decent shops around Edinburgh & Glasgow that stock a variety of stuff.
One man's awesome is another's awful.

[molan]

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1415275582' post='2598633']
Molan, what's the difference between the TH500 and the Little Mark 3, in your estimation?
[/quote]

I like both and would happily gig either. The MB feels a bit cleaner and articulate but it doesn't have the lovely vintagey warmth and roundness of the TH.

You can use the filters on the MB to approximate the tone of the TH but then these start to dominate to sound. It's not unpleasant but I don't find it as easy to work with as the TH. The Drive and Mid controls are really intuitive on the TH. I tend to use them to set up a core tone.

The MB takes a bit more work to get a tone I really like but I think that's just my ears not being as good as some people's! I know a couple of local players who get a cracking tone out of the LMIII and one of my favourite function band guys uses one (in a combo) and sounds really, really nice.

I guess he simple difference is that one is a bit more modern and the other a bit more vintage but both can be used to great effect with some tone tweaking and nice cabs

[Joe_T]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1415302050' post='2599065']
One man's awesome is another's awful.
[/quote]

Well said

I actually tried the Aggie stuff there but they're not a dealer anymore apprently. They seem to basically have TC and Orange stuff lying about nowadays lol.

[stevie]

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1415309487' post='2599168']
I like both and would happily gig either. The MB feels a bit cleaner and articulate but it doesn't have the lovely vintagey warmth and roundness of the TH.
[/quote]

Brilliant - thanks!

[Ben Jamin]

[quote name='Joe_T' timestamp='1415270675' post='2598541']


Nice one man Yeah I kinda wanted the effects loop for some stuff. How Is the compact for weight/size? Kinda stuck between that and the Midget.
[/quote]

For a 15 cab my Compact is pretty small - the new ones have 12s I think so I'm guessing they'd be smaller still! Fits in the boot easily enough. As for weight you can literally lift it with your little finger, which makes you look really strong and manly.

[Joe_T]

[quote name='Ben Jamin' timestamp='1415318415' post='2599280']
For a 15 cab my Compact is pretty small - the new ones have 12s I think so I'm guessing they'd be smaller still! Fits in the boot easily enough. As for weight you can literally lift it with your little finger, which makes you look really strong and manly.
[/quote]

Nice one Sounds like the way to go!

[Conan]

[quote name='Joe_T' timestamp='1415346226' post='2599357']
Nice one Sounds like the way to go!
[/quote]

Try one first of you can. If you can't, then Alex at Barefaced offers a one month trial where you can return the cab (at your cost I believe) if you don't like it.

The reason being is that you can't try them in shops, and not everyone likes Barefaced cabs. There are a number of reasons presented including core tone, quality of finish and style of handles...

On the other hand, there are lots of very satisfied customers too!

[Lozz196]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1415210838' post='2597975']
I tried a TH500 at the weekend through a Barefaced Super12T. Sounded great, BF cabs being fairly uncoloured the tone of the TH (coupled with my 78 Precision) really came through nicely.
[/quote]

Update on this, I now have a TH500 with BF Super12T and having just used it, I couldn`t be more pleased. I`ll add to reviews of each at some point but this et-up really works for me.