Recommendation for FRFR Bass Cab at Gig Volume

Morbid

Morbid

Inspired
Hey folks! Long time. :)
Short and sweet: Bass player has blown 2 cabs over the years...starting to think it's a problem with his amp head (truly, he's not even THAT loud when this happens).

Since he's looking at having to replace these things anyway, I'm trying to talk him into taking full advantage of his Helix (yeah, sorry, not Fractal, lol) with an FRFR cab. We're gonna need something that can stand up to stage volume (playing at bars too small to mic, but too big to not be loud, if that makes sense).

Budget is of course a consideration, as he's not exactly ROLLING in the money, but he doesn't want to buy something that'll crap out on him from being turned up too much, either. So, what say you, gang?

EDIT: We'll be playing mostly Hard Rock and a little bit of metal here and there. Many of our gigs will be decent sized bars with no PA support for the bass (That's just how it goes sometimes :( lol)
 
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Morbid said:
Budget is of course a consideration, as he's not exactly ROLLING in the money, but he doesn't want to buy something that'll crap out on him from being turned up too much, either. So, what say you, gang?
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If you can, provide a max price point for this. Also, it would be helpful to know the context of the gigs and volume needed. Are we talking about a bar band playing loud rock with no PA support for bass, or something else?
 
jimfist said:
If you can, provide a max price point for this. Also, it would be helpful to know the context of the gigs and volume needed. Are we talking about a bar band playing loud rock with no PA support for bass, or something else?
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I'll try to get with him on a price point today when he gets out of work. Hopefully I can get a straight answer out of him...he's funny that way, lol.
We'll be playing mostly Hard Rock (a little metal here and there), and unfortunately yes, many gigs will be in decent sized bars with no PA Support for bass. I should have phrased it exactly as that in my OP...apologies.
 
This is a tough call IMO, especially if the bassist isn't already sold on the idea. Will wait to hear what he's willing to spend.
 
Budda said:
I’d also want to know why the cabs blew before spending anything.
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Greg Ferguson said:
Seriously. If he’s clipping his amp then he’s stressing the speakers. Speakers that are underrated for the amp would be another thing to check.
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I'd love to be able to answer that, but I really can't. I've seen his clip light come on before, but again, the volume isn't extreme. We're talking practice in a room volume. With that, though, the amp head is the only common denominator.
 
Morbid said:
I'd love to be able to answer that, but I really can't. I've seen his clip light come on before, but again, the volume isn't extreme. We're talking practice in a room volume. With that, though, the amp head is the only common denominator.
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I was in a band that giggedd 126dB ballpark with an svt classic and fender neo bassman 810. Never blew a cab or speaker. I think the full diagnosis needs to be done before he blows cab #3.
 
Budda said:
I was in a band that giggedd 126dB ballpark with an svt classic and fender neo bassman 810. Never blew a cab or speaker. I think the full diagnosis needs to be done before he blows cab #3.
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Got any suggestions on the best way to go about diagnosing the issue?
 
Budda said:
Taking his amp to the best tech in the area and if he still has either cab, identifying what part actually failed.
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I wonder if I might be better off just telling him to Ditch both and going with a DXR15, or just getting a power amp and different kind of cab.
 
Small update. He's not able to determine what the most recent blown cab is, because the information on the back has warn off from years of use.

However, the previous cabinet he blew (using this same amp) was a Gallien-Krueger NEO410/4.
The amp head is an Eden WTX500.
 
Was he using a cable with speakon or TS connector?
If TS connector, possible he used a guitar cable instead of a speaker cable?
Possible the cable gauge was too small?
Did he plugged/unplugged the cab while the amp was turned on?
 
Morbid said:
Small update. He's not able to determine what the most recent blown cab is, because the information on the back has warn off from years of use.

However, the previous cabinet he blew (using this same amp) was a Gallien-Krueger NEO410/4.
The amp head is an Eden WTX500.
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The head is rated at 500 watts and the cab at 800 watts, but I didn’t see what impedance ratings they had. Also, that doesn’t address distortion/clipping. Is he running a clean signal, slapping or popping, running heavy distortion? Does he run a limiter in front of the amp?
 
Greg Ferguson said:
The head is rated at 500 watts and the cab at 800 watts, but I didn’t see what impedance ratings they had. Also, that doesn’t address distortion/clipping. Is he running a clean signal, slapping or popping, running heavy distortion? Does he run a limiter in front of the amp?
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I answered Donald's question elsewhere, but just to keep everything up to speed here, he's using a cabinet cable, doesn't unplug or plug in the cab while the amp is on.

The ohm rating for both the amp and cab is 4ohms.
I will say, I've never heard any audible clipping, but I have seen the light illuminate on occasion. He does normally run a SansAmp pedal into the front of the amp, but it's not set for distortion. He doesn't do a lot of pop and slap, but his picking technique does result in the strings hitting the frets pretty hard on occasion, creating an audible clank when he does. Perhaps that's a contributing factor?
He does not run a limiter, just the SansAmp and Tuner. Not even a compressor, that heathen. lol

Edit: Looking at a photo of the amp head, I guess that's a "limit" light I see coming on. I see that same light illuminate several times during a demo video on Eden's YouTube Channel.
 
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