When it comes to bass amplifiers most musicians think about an amp head but a bass cabinet is as important as a head.
Yes, the sound and characteristics may come from the amp head but speakers and cabinet have a huge impact on the overall sound.
So, choosing the right bass guitar cabinet for your bass amp head is a very important thing.
What’s The Best Bass Cabinet?
Here you will find my favorite and one of the best bass cabinets that offer different sounds and configurations.
1. Ampeg SVT-212AV
Ampeg SVT-212AV is a top-of-the-line bass cabinet that offers an incredibly powerful and balanced sound. It features two 12″ speakers that deliver a deep, punchy low-end and a clear, articulate high-end. It’s a 600-watt cabinet which is enough for rehearsals and small gigs. Also, it’s one of my favorite bass cabinets for recording.
This Ampeg bass cabinet has some interesting features that make it more desirable. First, it has a high-frequency attenuator with three options and the second feature is a 1″ compression driver that allows controlling of the snap and definition.
2. Peavey Headliner 410
Peavey Headliner 410 is one of the best bass cabinets with awesome sound, power, and details. This is a 4×12 bass guitar cabinet that delivers a rich, full-bodied sound with plenty of headroom. And it produces a huge power with its 800 watts that make it a great gigging cabinet for bass guitar.
Headliner 410 doesn’t offer any additional features but it is a powerful and great-sounding cabinet. Also, I love its metal grille because it gives it a unique look. And having four different speakers gives you more flexibility while recording.
3. Orange OBC410
Orange has some amazing guitar cabinets but their collection also includes bass cabinets and OBC410 is my favorite. The cabinet features four 10″ Eminence Beta and it produces very focused mids and lows which is critical for a good bass guitar tone. Powerwise it can produce 600 watts and has 8 ohms of impedance.
Orange OBC410 features a horn tweeter switch and you can choose very different sounds. You can get a modern rock, R&B, or vintage sound with this bass cabinet. Great for any music genre or playing style and also like every Orange music gear this bass cabinet looks beautiful.
4. Mesa/Boogie Subway
Mesa/Boogie Subway collection includes superb bass cabinets with different speaker configurations but I have used a 2×12 one and it sounds amazing. There is a 2×15 version cabinet and I think it will sound even better and fuller. Also, they have a more stripped-down version with a single 15″ speaker. No matter which one you choose I am sure it will sound good because the one I tested was awesome.
This is an 800-watt bass cabinet with a closed-back design and is equipped with Subway Neodymium speakers. You can connect your amp to the cabinet with 4 ohms input. This cabinet also has a high-range control and I like the overall design of the cab.
5. Hartke HyDrive HD410
Hartke HyDrive HD410 is a very powerful cabinet for bass with 1000 watts of power. It is equipped with four 10″ HyDrive speakers that sound really good and is a great choice for those looking for a more modern bass tone. It’s a reliable and high-quality bass cabinet from a respectable brand and I think it will work with any genre of music.
Not only HyDrive HD410 sound good but it also has some cool features such as high-frequency attenuation. But a better feature for me is the option for multiple inputs because I can connect a bass head in parallel or in series. And this particular cabinet is great for recording bass guitar.
Summary
All the best bass cabinets listed here have great sound quality, some additional features and enough power to be used on stage or in recording sessions. They offer different speaker configurations and sizes, high-frequency attenuators, and other options. All you need to do is to try all of them, choose the right one, and couple it with your bass amp head.