Conference napalm::guitar

>    I am looking to upgrade my bass rig and would like some
>    advice on equipment to look at. My current rig is a Sunn concert
>    bass head with a Sunn single 18" cab. The head is rated at 
>    200 watts into a four (4) ohm load. Ideally, I'd like to keep the
>    head and get a better cab or cabs. 

    To start out, what don't you like about that 18" cab? 
    
    I have no idea how big a Renault Alliance is, but I would advise going
    to New England Speaker (NEST) in Stoneham, MA and looking at their
    Sonic/EV cabs.   They have 15" EVM-15L speakers mounted in small Thiele
    cabs built by Sonic.  The 400W version is $310, the 200W a little less
    (maybe $275 or so).  These are quite small and easily transported.
    They sound very good to my ears and are quite popular in this area (I
    know three people personally who use them). NEST is at 617-438-1786. 
    
    I also saw a pair of Eastern Acoustic Works (EAW) VB-125 cabinets, also
    15" Thiele cabs, for $450 used last week.  These are larger than the
    Sonic/EV and may be too big.  The speakers are RCF, a European brand
    that EAW imports.  These cabinets sound *excellent*, but I can just
    barely get one into a Camaro, if that helps.  Send mail if you want to
    know more. 

    If your 18" is 8 ohms, you might want to consider combining it with
    a single 15", which should give plenty of bottom with a stronger
    mid and high.  Thiele cabs tend to be very efficient and "tight"
    sounding which will give considerable more punch than your 18" but
    if you like a fat "whoomp" on the bottom of your note, you might
    want to keep the 18" for that.

    
    
    	I tried out a Peavey 1516 cab today at a local music store.
    This cab has 1-15" and 2-8" speakers in a fairly compact cab. 
    It is rated to 400W peak, 200W continuous into a 4ohm load. 
    BTW, It is equipped with "Black Widow" speakers, which are
    Peavey's bet. I general, I liked the cab, but I'm going to 
    try it out with my bass and head before I decide. Price?
    $329.00 NEW. 
    
    	Now the questions:
    
    	Does anyone have any comments about this particular cab?
    
    	Any comments about Peavey cabs in general?
    
    	Is a cab with 8" speakers in it right for a bassist in 
        a rock band? (I know this is really subjective, but all
    	opinions are welcome).
    
    	
    	Tom
    

    A friend of mine has the exact speaker config. your talking about.
    It's a pretty nice sounding cab as far as I'm concerned...Of course,
    I'm a guitar player, not a bassist.
    
    On a general note, I have two Peavy 4x12 cabs with Scorpian(tm)
    speakers in them.  They sound great !  Black Widows are at the
    TOTL (Top Of The Line), so I would assume they would be even tuffer.
    
    I've had Peavy cabs for about 6 years and have broken one yet (and
    I beat up speakers good !).
    
    Ciao,
    
    jc

    
    The 8s in the 1516 cab only take the higher frequencies (when used
    full-range, not biamped, there is a passive crossover that does this)
    so you needn't worry about the speakers being damaged.

    Note that with your Sunn head you will not be able to add extra
    cabinets with this speaker either as it's already 4 ohms.
    
    My opinion of the cab is that its OK if you like a bright bass tone.
    Otherwise, the 8s don't have much to do.  You might compare the
    1516 to the 115BW cabinet, basically the same 15" driver without
    the 8s and see if you like what the 8s are doing to the tone.
    

    
    Re: .-1
    
    	I'm kinda leaning against the 1516. I really like the
    1820, but it's too big for my car. The problem with the 
    115(BW) is that it's rated at 4 ohms. I was at Daddy's in
    Nashua yesterday and the salesguy I talked to said that *if*
    he could find a pair of new 8 ohm (raw) BW speakers, He'd
    swap 'em 1 for 1 into new 115 BW cabs for me. Daddy's wants
    around $200 ea. for the 115BW cabs. This would be perfect.
    
    	To be continued.....
    
    Tom (who wishes He had a bigger car! :-( )

    
      I have the 1516 cab. I like the way it sounds and the flexibility
    of the 15 and 2 - 8's. I opted against the  1810 (18 and 2-10's) 'cause
    I didn't hear it as that much better.

      Get what *you* like as you have to be happy your equipment or
    perhaps you'll find you want to play less..i.e. you hate the way you sound.

    
       Bob

    
    I have the 1820. It sounds great to me. It is big, heavey and
    very hard to move around by yourself. If you have a hatchback type
    of car, it may fit. Do you have a good back? You will needed.
        

    
    I picked up a used Peavey 2-15" cab last night at Daddy's. I got
    a pretty good deal on it. The funny thing is, that after all the
    hassle I went through to find small single 15" cabs, the 2-15"
    fits in my car easier than the 1-18" I have. 
    
    I also auditioned an Peavey MK III Bass head and it sounded pretty
    good. I has the following features:
    
    	o Pre/Post Gain
    	o High/Low frequency shelving (What is this anyway?)
    	o 6 band graphic eq (may be more)
    	o Bright switch
    	o "Punch" switch 
    	o 150w @ 4 ohm
    
    As I said it sounded pretty good. Any comments on this head? The
    price seemed good to me ($249) and I am considering buying one.
    
    Tom
    

    
    
    	Tom, if you keep buying all this music gear.. you won't have
    any money left to support your computer habit... <grin>
    
    
    Steve
    

    
    Re: .8
    
    I think this got explained elsewhere, in another note, but:
    
    "Shelving" EQ:  This means that the EQ operates equally on *all*
    frequencies either above (for treble) or below (for bass) the turnover
    point. 

    For midrange EQ, graphics, parametrics, etc. you typically have
    "peaking EQ" where the EQ has most effect at the turnover point
    and increasingly less as you go above or below the turnover point.