Looking for a matching Cab for Ampeg V4B

[ben_lenna]

Hello bassplayingfriends!

How's it going? I'm feeling quite good, since I've recently bought an Ampeg V4B and it sounds just WOW!
But now I've got this stupid thing going on... I've got an Ashdown 2x12 CL cab underneath it and though it sounds great it just doesn't match (sizewise) when I put the V4B on top of it. And when I lay my cab flat on the ground it does fit, but then my amp is so low to the ground I can barely hear it.

So I'm thinking about either buying an Ampeg 2x12 or 4x12, but can anyone tell me what the difference is between a 2x12 and 4x12? Also I'm open to other suggestions, since it doesn't per se have to be Ampeg.

Thank you!

 

[One Drop]

Hello bassplayingfriends!

How's it going? I'm feeling quite good, since I've recently bought an Ampeg V4B and it sounds just WOW!
But now I've got this stupid thing going on... I've got an Ashdown 2x12 CL cab underneath it and though it sounds great it just doesn't match (sizewise) when I put the V4B on top of it. And when I lay my cab flat on the ground it does fit, but then my amp is so low to the ground I can barely hear it.

So I'm thinking about either buying an Ampeg 2x12 or 4x12, but can anyone tell me what the difference is between a 2x12 and 4x12? Also I'm open to other suggestions, since it doesn't per se have to be Ampeg.

Thank you!

The 212 AV is a perfect match and a great cab.

A 412 is big and cumbersome and not very common these days, people tend to go modular and use 2 x 212s instead, so you have a rig for smaller rooms or with a good FOH and a bigger rig for large stages or rooms without PA, for example.

 

[ben_lenna]

The 212 AV is a perfect match and a great cab.

A 412 is big and cumbersome and not very common these days, people tend to go modular and use 2 x 212s instead, so you have a rig for smaller rooms or with a good FOH and a bigger rig for large stages or rooms without PA, for example.

Thanks for your input! I've heard that the 212AV is the perfect match for it maybe I should give it a go one of these days.

 

[Bassmec]

Well one 212AV is good but two vertical 212AV's is 3dB better before distortion and tall enough to clearly hear when that occurs.
100 watt tube amp power but large speaker area and high voice coil count is what always worked fabulously well.X

 

[ben_lenna]

What about using DI? I've also got a sansamp, but I like the sound of my amp a lot better than the sound from my sansamp which people tell me to use as DI.
What should I use, the DI on my amp + a mic? Or tweek with the sansamp?

 

[Bassmec]

Well a speaker level Di like an Avalon U5 or something like that to capture the output tubes and transformer vibe would be good, nothing wrong with a decent mic though.X

 

[P-oddz]

SVT-212AV.
Search is over.
Done.

 

[ben_lenna]

That looks great man! I bet it sounds good too, I've just read a review about that cab and it's supposed to be very loud even comparing to a 810!
Think I'll have to save up for this one and a flight case I can put in on top of that to get that thing off the ground. Or is it loud enough standing on the ground when gigging too?

 

[P-oddz]

I haven't had any issues with hearing myself as the cab stands currently. You could experiment with lifting it off the ground to hear yourself better, but I haven't found the need to do so, personally. I don't really have experience with the 810 that people have been pseudo-comparing the 212 to, but I guess tonally they may fall into similar territory (per some folks that have more cab experience than myself).

The cab is punchy, round, pushes a large amount of air and is really a great pair with the V-4B. I have been loving this rig.

In fact, we just played a show where I allowed (loosely said) all the other bands to use my rig as a backline, so I got to hear 3 different styles of bass players on it, and it really sounded great for everything. Well, except for the bass player that insisted on using his Sansamp to get this horrible, clacky, abomination of a bass tone with it... but even that could have been smoothed out if I would've shown him how to work his own pedal.

 

[ben_lenna]

Haha yeah man! Thanks for the info about pushing air, I think it will push a lot of air since people are so enthousiastic about this setup! I'm gonna go for it as soon as I sold my old amp (Ashdown MAG300 + CL212 cab)!
I also use a Sansamp, it worked great with a SS amp but even better with this tube amp!

 

[DukeLeJeune]

I've never actually tried this, so it may be impractical for reasons I haven't thought of...

You might get good results with two narrow-footprint vertical 210 cabs. Place them side-by-side but toed-in maybe 20 - 30 degrees each, so that they are cross-firing. This will give you fairly uniform tone across a wider area than most bass cabs are capable of. Then your Ampeg goes on top, across the two cabs.

 

[BluesOnBass]

Love my V4B and my AV212. 'nuff said.

 

[JimmyM]

I've never actually tried this, so it may be impractical for reasons I haven't thought of...

You might get good results with two narrow-footprint vertical 210 cabs. Place them side-by-side but toed-in maybe 20 - 30 degrees each, so that they are cross-firing. This will give you fairly uniform tone across a wider area than most bass cabs are capable of. Then your Ampeg goes on top, across the two cabs.

I do a vertical stack with my V4B and 210av's sometimes. I love it, but I think the 212av is a better cab with a little extra bottom end but not too much, and I have to put the head on the bottom to use the 210av's in a vert stack. Will have to try your idea sometime, though. I know Bill FM used to recommend a similar cross-firing thing when he was on here.