# Best cab for tight low end and good bass response???



## broj15 (Dec 30, 2011)

Title basically says it all. I just got my 5150 II delivered to me via ups yesterday and now i'm in need of a cab. 

I'm leaning towards an orange ppc412 but i'm not sure if the closed back or the open back would be better for my needs. I need something with good bass responce and a VERY tight low end. 

I'm currently switching back and forth between my old school c-7 hellraiser (replaced the 707 in the bridge with a 81-7) for drop A and lower stuff and my Ibby saber (dimarzio's of some variety but will be getting some bkp aftermaths soon enough) for drop B stuff. 

I've heard the the golden formula for a brutal tone is usually 6505/5150 + celestion vintage 30's + tube screamer-esque pedal = bruatl tight tone. After i purchase a cab i plan on getting a maxon od808 and a isp decimator. 

Basically i need good cab reccomendations to get a good amount of tightness and still have enough low end. Price isn't really an issue. I'm willing to save up as much as i need to in order to aquire quality gear (but lets try to keep it under $1200)


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## ST3MOCON (Dec 30, 2011)

Anything with v30's will make you happy but here is what I know. 

Mesa oversized 412 v30- tons of base, bigger than the average oversized cab. A little too much bass IMO. The back of the cab always rattled lose. 

Marshall 1960 lead 412 v30- supper tight! Not very much compared to the boogie but it has a lot of mod range growl. 

Randall oversized 412 v30 - in between the Marshall and the boogie in tone. Growl and bass. Bigger in size compared to the Marshall, smaller than the oversized Mesa cab. 

I think oversized cabs all sound pretty similar as long as they arnt as big as the Mesa oversized which sounds extremely sloppy when used with a rectifier. With a 5150 not so much but still very bassy. 

Krank dimebag 412 Texas heats eminence- utter shit. No bass treble up the ass. I hated it, but I only played my friends. 

Those are the only cabs I have a lot of experience with anything else I have no clue. Hope that helps.


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## TRENCHLORD (Dec 30, 2011)

K-100 loaded cab is about as tight as they come while still having lots of tone.


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## Deliverowned (Dec 30, 2011)

You want closed back, opened back are are everything but tight in the lows.
A sure bet would be a mesa traditional 412 thhat you could fin used in a good shape for cheap 600$. Or an oange as you mentioned theyre tight and darker. Vaders would do it too. Im playing ym 5150 with a Fryette D412 but the fatbottom would be even tighter. I sold my v30s of a cab cause i didnt like them that much. They sound really good but i think i better like the eminence tone more.

You got a lot of options especcialy with that price range.


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## romper_stomper (Dec 30, 2011)

Vader did the trick for me. Tons of head room and loads of controlable low end. Higher wattage will cause your tone/low end to be tighter than most other cabs. Best piece of equipment I ever purchased.


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## Adrian-XI (Dec 30, 2011)

Orange closed back, as stated above.


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## broj15 (Dec 31, 2011)

I've heard a lot of good things about vader cabs but i have never looked into them. I talked to Corey "buddha" Arford from carnifex and he said that his vader cab was the shit but he also said it was "expensive as fuck". 

I've read that they are absolute tanks (some one had a story of one falling out of the trailer going at highway speed and it still functioned properly once they gt to the venue) so that is a plus. 

I believe i also read them reffered to as "active cabs". I'm not entirley sure what that means if anyone more educated on the matter (or who actually ownes one) could enlighten me.

I would like to try a cab from DAR as well but i'm not sure if they are currently taking orders. i've been checking the thread on here about them and it looks like they are priced at around $1300 witch seems pretty reasonable.

I know that Engl makes great heads for getting that tight sound but what about thier cabs? I'm sure they have several models out there and if anyone could shed some light into that area it would be much appreciated.


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## oliviergus (Dec 31, 2011)

Do you want a 4x12? Becuase the 2x12 can tighten up the low end.
Ive just got the Zilla super fatboy with V30s, its tight.

I'm quoting Paul (the creator of the cabs):


> The Fatboy is effectively a cross between the Orange PPC212 and the Mesa rectifier 2x12. I took both cabs and altered all the things I thought could be improved on them. I designed the Fatboy to give the same kind of depth of sound but tightened up the bottom end a little and put a bit more punch in the midrange.


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## Dead Undead (Dec 31, 2011)

Emperor. You can get your choice of speakers. I got mine with their stock Webers but you could get something like K-100's if that's more your liking. They're great people to deal with and the prices are reasonable . They look great, but more importantly they SOUND fantastic. I use a Laney VH100R through mine and the lows are deep and clear and defined. Cleans are beautiful and warm and crunch and distortion sound so powerful. If I can get tight tones out of my Laney through one, you won't have a problem with a 5150 and a boost.
Highly recommend them.


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## Captastic (Dec 31, 2011)

VHT FB 4x12...


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## KAMI (Dec 31, 2011)

Captastic said:


> VHT FB 4x12...


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## 155 (Dec 31, 2011)

marshall here...


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## TomAwesome (Dec 31, 2011)

Tight response? Huge but clear low end? 5150? Vader.

They don't have to be expensive as fuck. The regular price for a used 4x12 is $500. They're not active.


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## amarshism (Dec 31, 2011)

For a 5150 go Mesa trad. The fryette fatbottom can't touch it. I have both cabs.


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## TemjinStrife (Dec 31, 2011)

The Mesa oversized 4x12 + 5150 is THE recorded metal tone.


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## op1e (Dec 31, 2011)

How are the G Flex? I see they've come down in price a lot. Thats another option.


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## Sepultorture (Dec 31, 2011)

trad or stiletto as it's called cab, still gunna crush, but tighter low end but still plenty of lows, a marshall 1960 cab with v30's or K100's will get there too


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## Koop (Dec 31, 2011)

Port city 2x12. The difference between my Port City and my old Mesa recto 212 is night and day. The PC is very tight while still sounding open and rich in bass. People seriously need to look into these cabinets.


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## edsped (Dec 31, 2011)

op1e said:


> How are the G Flex? I see they've come down in price a lot. Thats another option.


G-Flex 2x12s are great. If you want a lot of tight low end get a good ported cab.


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## DrakkarTyrannis (Dec 31, 2011)

If you can find a Marshall MF280 cab I'm sure you'd dig it. It's Marshall's answer to the Mesa Recto cab with custom V30s that have better bass response.


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## wakjob (Dec 31, 2011)

I have a Peavey Penta slightly ported back with Celestion t75's, a Bogner Uberkab with V30's and t75's in X pattern, and a Marshall MG412..........I use the Marshall more than all of them.

That compact size of the MG is just about perfect for my metal needs. Less bass/tighter. Just about to order some WGS speakers for it.

The Uberkab is sick, smooth as butter, but too much BOOM! Would be a great match for a thin sounding amp.


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## BabUShka (Dec 31, 2011)

Ubercab is amazing. 

I've owned a Hughes&Kettner 4x12 V30 cab, and it was really solid.. Great bulding quality and lots of bass. Chugged like hell with my old Fireball. 
But I bet you'd be happy with any 412 V30 cab.. Mesa, ENGL Pro, Ubercab, Orange, Vader.. you name it. 

I now own a 2x12 V30 Framus cabinet, its really tiny in design and smaller that the H&K 412. Yet still it deliver lots of bottom.


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## broj15 (Jan 1, 2012)

what are everyones thoughts on Avatar cabs? i notice alot of people have them, however i also see alot of people selling them to get money for something better.


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## Empryrean (Jan 1, 2012)

Mm, chime in about the gflex's. They're brilliant, open and fill the room, yet can be very tight as well. I wish I had an amp for mine :s


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## EOT (Jan 1, 2012)

Another vote for Vader here. Marshall 1960 would be my second choice based on what I've tried.


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## mphsc (Jan 1, 2012)

ST3MOCON said:


> Anything with v30's will make you happy but here is what I know.
> 
> Mesa oversized 412 v30- tons of base, bigger than the average oversized cab. A little too much bass IMO. The back of the cab always rattled lose.



I play more sludge than Djent or whatever, but my Framus Corbra cab sounds great & it's surprisingly light.

But I've never heard anyhting bad about a Vader cab either.


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## Horizongeetar93 (Jan 1, 2012)

I got the Mesa Traditional 4x12 cab a few months back. The bass isn't as boomy as the oversized but IMO it's tighter and as for most v30 cabs it's as clear as the summer sky. +1 Mesa


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## KAMI (Jan 1, 2012)

what about 4x10" guitar (not bass) cabs?

also, engl cabs are very tight and have huge bottom end, check check out their xxl cab


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## Sepultorture (Jan 1, 2012)

KAMI said:


> what about 4x10" guitar (not bass) cabs?
> 
> also, engl cabs are very tight and have huge bottom end, check check out their xxl cab



an FB100 on the XXL cab is the ultimate in brutal as fuck high gain, epic tonnes of low end than a traditional sized cab but still tight as hell


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## DrakkarTyrannis (Jan 1, 2012)

mphsc said:


> I play more sludge than Djent or whatever, but my Framus Corbra cab sounds great & it's surprisingly light.
> 
> But I've never heard anyhting bad about a Vader cab either.



Vader cabs are great..however they don't record well and IMO there are better options out there. It has this hollow percussive tone which sounds great for many applications..but you may find yourself growing tired of it. I owned a Vader and my Marshall MF280 destroyed it in terms of thickness and presence of sound.


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## FireInside (Jan 1, 2012)

ST3MOCON said:


> Mesa oversized 412



This^


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## KAMI (Jan 1, 2012)

how are the Marshall MF280's btw?

are they tight?


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## DrakkarTyrannis (Jan 1, 2012)

KAMI said:


> how are the Marshall MF280's btw?
> 
> are they tight?



They are. Oversized but they have that strong low end without being boomy. The V30s have a lot to do with it


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## groph (Jan 1, 2012)

The "best" cab is going to depend on the rest of your setup but since we're working with a 5150...

I've heard pretty sweet results through a Vader 4x12, really crisp, sort of dry but really aggressive sounding. The consensus on this board might be the Mesa Rectifier 4x12 with Vintage 30s, or an Orange PPC412. In theory the PPC412HP with K-100s will be tighter, since the speakers are more powerful.

I've also heard good results with a Marshall 1960A. Really, any mainstream 4x12 cab that is remotely designed with metal in mind will get you what you want. Lots of custom options out there, too. Personally I'd probably go with a Vader since that's what I've actually heard and liked the best.


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## TemjinStrife (Jan 1, 2012)

Avatars are great options. Customizable for color and speaker, and built fantastic. Great customer service. They're just not "trendy."


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## myampslouder (Jan 1, 2012)

Check out a Rivera cabs.

I run a K412t with v30's and it is tight as hell.

The Mick Thompson cab is supposed to be pretty awesome as well


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## warlock7strEMG (Jan 2, 2012)

Orange PPC 412


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## philoking (Jan 2, 2012)

There's a reason Andy Sneap records pretty much everything through a Mesa Boogie 4x12 and an SM57. It's a golden combo. If you do some reading you'll find it to be exceedingly common. I have about a half dozen different cabs and I've come to the same conclusion. SM57/Rectifier 4x12 for the win.


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