Powered cabs

[mrtcat]

As I venture further and further into the world of in ear monitoring I'm becoming more and more tempted to ditch my amp. There will always be odd occasions where I need one tho so I'm thinking of going down the preamp pedal route with a powered cab I can just plug in whenever I need backline.
The Barefaced fr800 looks absolutely perfect but is pretty pricey. Is there another option for powered cab I should be looking at?

[fretmeister]

I'm about to order some Yamaha DXR10 cabs to go with my Helix.

Mainly for guitar use but reports suggest they will be good on bass too. If so, I might have reached the legendary 1 rig for 2 purposes goal.

[mrtcat]

I had dxr12s but they didn't sound great for bass at all. We've got some rcf745s which do sound great with bass but they're the main pa cabs and as I don't own them outright I can't take them for dep gigs which is where I'd need backline.

[grandad]

I have tried the Phil Jones PB300 with just a Zoom pedal and to me it was a good match. Great build quality and an even clear sound across the frequencies.[attachment=244416:ebaypics 104.JPG]

Edited May 1, 2017 by grandad

[BassBunny]

Roland DB115X
Gallien Kruger do a 2x12 and a 1x15.
Bergantino IP series.
Bag End used to do a powered series.
or get a Class D amp module and build it into your cab of choice.

[Dan Dare]

For the money a decent quality powered cab' would cost you, you're probably better off with a separate class D head and cab. Won't weigh much, if anything, more, you can use it as just a power amp (use the FX in) and cab if need be, but it will do the full standalone job should you need it. I picked up a mint, hardly used Bugera 1001 head for a coupla hundred, which I use as a power amp to drive additional cabs and which doubles as a spare head if mine goes down.

[mrtcat]

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1493654192' post='3289753']
For the money a decent quality powered cab' would cost you, you're probably better off with a separate class D head and cab. Won't weigh much, if anything, more, you can use it as just a power amp (use the FX in) and cab if need be, but it will do the full standalone job should you need it. I picked up a mint, hardly used Bugera 1001 head for a coupla hundred, which I use as a power amp to drive additional cabs and which doubles as a spare head if mine goes down.
[/quote]
That's definitely a sensible call. Thinking maybe a nice combo that doesn't have too much of a coloured cab sound and an fx loop might work.

[fretmeister]

[quote name='mrtcat' timestamp='1493640653' post='3289582']
I had dxr12s but they didn't sound great for bass at all. We've got some rcf745s which do sound great with bass but they're the main pa cabs and as I don't own them outright I can't take them for dep gigs which is where I'd need backline.
[/quote]

did you use them with proper cab models or IRs ?

[mrtcat]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1493665575' post='3289857']


did you use them with proper cab models or IRs ?
[/quote]

I used them with a sansamp and then tried them with a line 6 pod with speaker sits. Finally I tried them through a digital mixer using the built in eq. Tye problem is that the yamaha are really designed as tops and need a sub to get the bottom end you can get from a bass cab.

[sifi2112]

I tried the preamp route .. 3leaf enabler preamp (B3K for grit) into a powered Bagend 212 cab but was a bit disappointed, underwhelmed .. howerever I took out the power amp (minima one) then used a B7K into a GK RB400-IV .. well the cab came alive & just roared ! In a good way for me at least ..

I still think it's an option as you can just take a small pedal board or just the preamp & plug into a pa or any amp / combo.

The Barefaced one is probably the best choice, it wasn't available when I was on the hunt for a powered cab tho .. not too many out there, at least when I last looked ....