Woo Hoo - Aguilar Arrived Yesterday

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Wednesday Feb 22, 2006

Some of you may have known that I was in the market for a new cabinet. Musician's friend has been blowing out Aguilar's S series cabs at insane prices (they're also doing it with some QSC amps in order to make way for the new generation of power amps). I was primarily considering either an Ashdown or a G-K for my next cab, but the price of the Aggies were too good to ignore. Scoring an Aguilar at a good price is definatley something one shouldn't pass up. This company makes one of the most expensive bass heads on the market.

Anyways, it arrived yesterday and so far, I'm very happy with it. It has a lot of low mid-growl, almost reminds me of some of the SWR stuff. I haven't played one of the GS series cabinets, but many people say that the S series is voiced more towards mids than the GS series. The tweeter is 5x better than the one in my Avatar. I'm not sure what type of cross-over is used in the Aggie, but I'd say that it's at least 3rd or 4th order. Slapping and pick-playing sounds very clean and defined through the horn. The speakers appear to be very efficient, as my power amp doesn't have to work very hard to drive the cabinet. I got the 8 ohm version in case I wanted to add another cabinet and keep my amp bridged.

The box is made out of MDF, so we'll see how well it holds up. The cabinet appears to be very well-built, though. Either way, this weekend will be the real test as I'll be using it on two gigs. It expect it to cut through the mix very well. During the "living room" test, it handled my B string fine, and really spoke with authority when I fed it some serious juice.

I just wanted to let everyone know about these cabinets since they're at such great prices right now. Once MF sells these off, they're not stocking them anymore, so now would be the time to get one. I still prefer Eden, but the Aguilar is quite impressive. I'd love to hear an Eden head through it though.

slink · Post by **slink** » Wednesday Feb 22, 2006

Good for you!! I"ve read about Aguilar and they are supposed to be top of the line. I hope it sounds sweeeet.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Thursday Feb 23, 2006

Jim,

The Aggie sounds great. Like I said, I have to gig it to get a true idea of what it can do, but I'm pretty confident that it's going to work out great. I would place the sound somewhere between an Eden and an SWR. It has some of the Eden warmth, but a lot of the SWR growl. It can still do the hifi thing though, not hifi like a Bergantino or EA, but more of the SWR or Hartke hifi. Some people say Aguilars are like Ampegs, but only better. I don't know about that; "better" is kind of subjective. I would say they're like Ampegs, but "different". I think they have a lot more definition than an Ampeg. It's pretty well documented that I don't care much for Ampegs; they never sounded really defined to me, and it's always been in my experience that they get lost in the mix. Still, the Aggie seems to have the fat Ampeg bottom with more upper-mids and highs.

As I said, I went with the 8 ohm version since I may want to add another cabinet, possibly an Aggie GS 2x12 or another S 4x10 (or even an S 2x10). The cab's very compact and easy to move around. It came with removable casters, which made me happy. It's rear-ported, so the engineers could cut down on the profile. I could easily fit two of these in the back seat of my sedan.

P.s. With that killer price, I'm almost tempted to take this weekend's gig money and purchase an S 2x10.

orangekick · Post by **orangekick** » Thursday Feb 23, 2006

I regret selling my Aguilar rig. I had a GS 4x10 and a DB 750. It was the best bass rig I've ever played in my life, but things happen. I would say that the Aguilar stuff sounds like Ampeg only more of everything.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Thursday Feb 23, 2006

Orange,

Now is the time to rebuild your Aggie rig. The price of the S series is unbelievable at MF.

orangekick · Post by **orangekick** » Thursday Feb 23, 2006

I need to go and check out those prices...

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Sunday Feb 26, 2006

I gigged this cab last night. It performed flawlessly. Well, first I had to figure out why I couldn't get any output from my amp during the first set (turn up the gain, idiot!

), but after that, the cab cut through the mix like a knife. It was strange at first playing a cab that shown in the lower-mid register, since my other cabinet is voiced more towards the upper-mids (probaly due to the neo drivers). The horn added just enough brightness to bring out picking/slapping. The lows were very, very tight, never boomy or muddy.

I'd like a little bit more volume and performance out of my power amp, so I'm seriously considering adding a 2x10. Tonight, the Aguilar makes its Pelly's debut! It should sound capital on that stage.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Sunday Feb 26, 2006

Damn it, I just checked MF. It looks like they're sold out of the 2x10 cabs. If you've been thinking about one of the 4x10 or 8x10 cabs, now would be the time to order one!

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Thursday Mar 02, 2006

The cab sounded really great at Pelly's (It was christened by the Deathmaster). I'm still considering adding another cab to the mix a little down the road. I'm not sure if I want to add another Aggie (possibly another S 4x10 or a GS 2x12) or something else, possibly an Ashdown ABM 4x10 or 4x8. I really want to keep my sound quick and defined, so I want to stay away from 15 and 18 inch drivers. What do you guys suggest?

orangekick · Post by **orangekick** » Thursday Mar 02, 2006

I'd suggest the GS 2x12. It has lows like a 1x15 but it has a nice quick response.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Thursday Mar 02, 2006

Yeah, I've been considering the GS 2x12. It has the same dimensions as my 4x10, so I can keep everything nice and compact. Plus, I could still use either one as a stand-alone. I've been keeping my eyes peeled on ebay for a good deal on a GS 2x12.

orangekick · Post by **orangekick** » Thursday Mar 02, 2006

I would be very happy with a 4x10 and a 2x12 cab for bass. I like the GS 2x12 because the box is bigger than a lot of 2x12 cabs for bass so it gets a better low end response.

MOONDOGGY · Post by **MOONDOGGY** » Friday Mar 03, 2006

I'll throw two more cab companies into the mix for ya. I've heard good things about the cabs from lesser known companies Accugroove and Basson Sound. They're hard to find, and probably not cheap. A 110 Accugroove sold for $420 recently on Ebay and a 112 sold for $650. I also know that if you're playing extended range basses or just a five string or dropped 4, they're great for low end. Adler, the company that makes the Sub-Contra Bass is one of the people/companies that recommends them. Good Luck, and let us know what other deals you find.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Friday Mar 03, 2006

I've definatley considered Accugroove for a cab solution. I'd definatley be into something like an El Whappo. I like the idea of putting different driver sizes in the same box.

I haven't tried a Basson, but a lot of people who have said that they kind of sound muddy, so I don't know.

orangekick · Post by **orangekick** » Friday Mar 03, 2006

I know a guy with an Accugroove cab, I think he has the El Whappo and the only issue that he has is that it's really power hungry. It also doesn't sound very "rock 'n roll" either. I don't know how to describe it beyond that. Maybe it's a little too hi-fi?

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Friday Mar 17, 2006

Well, I was just at Musician's Friend. Aguiltar S 4x10 no.2 is on its way.

Now, I'm done buying gear for a long time!

slink · Post by **slink** » Saturday Mar 18, 2006

Two 4x10 cabs wow. You should be able to measure that on the Richter scale. Your definitely gone to move some air with that rig. Congrats!!!

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Saturday Mar 18, 2006

slink wrote:Two 4x10 cabs wow. You should be able to measure that on the Richter scale. Your definitely gone to move some air with that rig. Congrats!!!

Thanks Jim,

I was going to hold out and purchase a chocolate brown DB Aguilar (which is the cab that is going to take the S series' place), but then I talked to Dave from Aguilar, and the retail price is going to be more money than I wanted to spend. The DB appears that's it's going to be more expensive than the GS series. Still, they look like they're going to be cool cabs. Like I said, they come in chocolate brown, green, and even a color scheme that looks like the old Fender Bassman.

Pushing air is why I decided to order another cab. At 500 watts, it's a bit of a step down from my previous Avatar that was rated at 1200 watts (though the Aggie's are definatley superior in the tone department). For the year I had the Avatar, I don't think I ever came close to clipping it. At 101 db, the Aguilar is rather efficient, though I'd like to see efficiencies around 104 or 105 db for a cab rated at that wattage. For the record though, a single S 4x10 is pretty loud. I wouldn't want to lug around two Edens or Ampegs, but the Aguilar's are very compact, so it should be a breeze.

Also on the plus side, my DR Red Devil strings are going to arrive today. I hope they come soon, so I can slap them on before I leave and stretch them out for my gig tonight.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Thursday Mar 23, 2006

The S 2x10 is back at Musician's Friend!!!

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=601033

After being out of stock for about a month, Musician's Friend has S 2x10s at $200 again. The supplies are still limited.

I spoke with the FedEx people yesterday, and my other S 4x10 should be arriving tomorrow!

lonewolf · Post by **lonewolf** » Thursday Mar 23, 2006

Woo hoo, my Celestion Century Vintage neo speakers came in yesterday!...

Yanked out those harsh straight Celestion Centurys and put 4 Century Vintages into that Marshall MG412 cab.

The result? Sounds just like a 1960 cab (maybe a little louder) with chest thumping lows, warm sustaining mids and sweet crisp highs.

All that in a 26"x26"x12" cab that weighs 58lbs.

I see that you have abandoned neos altogether.

I guess not all neos are created equal.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Thursday Mar 23, 2006

That definatly seems to be the case. The speakers in the Aguilar sound much more tight/clean than the speakers that were in my Avatar. I don't know if that's just because the neos aren't as good of quality as the Aguilar speakers, or if that's a universal difference between neo and traditional speakers.

One of the reasons I decided to buy new cabinets was because one of the drivers appeared to be damaged in the Avatar. It would make this wierd, metallic, almost out of phase, rattling sound when I would play it with any significant amount of volume. I never found the problem, but I suspect that it was either speaker over-excusion or one of the drivers slammed up against a voice coil. I decided that I didn't want to have it worked on, so I sold it to Greg from Knight Sound at a very cheap price. I'll have to ask him if he located the problem the next time we play Pelly's.

Jeff, is that the Marshall that you just recently bought?

lonewolf · Post by **lonewolf** » Thursday Mar 23, 2006

Yes, its a Marshall MG412 that I got here on Rockpage from Killyourscene.

Not a bad sounding cabinet stock, but its amazing with quality vintage sounding speakers.

Not all neos sound alike, but most have more pick definition than traditional speakers. The straight Centurys had super tight bass and a lot of highs. Putting 4 of those together just hurt my ears, but 1 or 2 of them sound great in open back or ported cabs.

The Century Vintage sounds similar to a well defined Vintage 30 at about 1/3 the weight. Smooth and creamy with lots of bottom.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Wednesday Mar 29, 2006

I had both cabs running this weekend. The second Aggie arrived on Friday. God, they made a big production out of delivering this one for some reason. They were originally going to ship it as freight. Then they called to make sure someone was going to be home the day of delivery (I've never had that). Anyways, it arrived while I was at school. I plugged it in when I got home just to make sure it worked and that it was in phase with the other cabinet.

I used both on Saturday and it sounded capital. I bridged my Crown into both for about 1700 watts of power at 4 ohms, and they sung without any hint of clipping or farting out. I'd feel very comfortable using this rig at a big show without any PA support. Both cabinets are very managable and fit into the back of my Buick.

One thing I really like about these cabinets is that my B string "punches" rather than "booms". I prefer cabs to roll off before the B's fundemental, because it can get muddy. I'm defiantley happy with the equipment I'm using now.

bassist_25 · Post by **bassist_25** » Sunday Apr 16, 2006

I put one of my Aguilar's into a new situation last night. Usually, we run full production with everything going through the FOH. We played a really small joint last night and ran our own vocal PA. That meant that the Aggie was not just for stage purposes. I decided to only take one 4x10 since it was a small room and I had to haul some PA gear too.

I was very impressed with how a single cab handled the room. I was kind of afraid of clipping the speakers to get a desirable volume since I was driving it with a power amp that's rated at almost three times the cabinets wattage, but I got a good strong sound without any hint of clipping or farting out, even on the B string. Normally, I have a very punchy mid-range sound, but this room gave me a really "fat" sound that I really dug. Normally, I have to get rid of honkiness in my tone by scooping some highs and boosting some lows, but this room was the opposite. I sounded a little muddy at first so I had to boost my highs and cut some bass, but what I ended up with was a very fat tone that still punched through the mix. The horn added just enough presence.

The new Aguilar DB series should be coming out very shortly.

slink · Post by **slink** » Sunday Apr 16, 2006

I need to hear this rig sometime. Nothin like a big fat bass sound, to get the dancers movin. Keep on thumpin.