Laney bass cabs....any good?

[alwoodcock]

OK, so I have a CV Jazz bass sorted, a Hartke HA3500 sorted!

Now there's this Laney 4x10 cab available at a good price, but are Laney any good?


.......And am I better off going 1x15 for the bottom end?


Al

[ICBM]

OK, so I have a CV Jazz bass sorted, a Hartke HA3500 sorted!

Now there's this Laney 4x10 cab available at a good price, but are Laney any good?

They're generic boxes with generic speakers in. They work, aren't expensive, but don't expect anything amazing. They're also rather heavy in relation to their power handling.

The Hartke is on a slightly higher level and you'd probably get better results from a better cab.

I'm not having a go at Laney in general - they make some nice guitar amps - but their bass gear is definitely in the "it will do" category. When did you last see a pro bass player with a Laney?

.......And am I better off going 1x15 for the bottom end?

It depends on the type of sound you want and also on the cabinet design. 10s are punchier, and if the cabinet is designed to do so can produce just as much bottom end as 15s.

If you want a very traditional, soft deep bass sound and you're on a budget, a cheap 1x15" will do that better than a cheap 4x10", but if you're looking for something more modern or you're spending more, 4x10" is probably the way to go. Don't discount 2x12" either, a lot of modern makers are using those with good results.

In my experience multi-speaker cabs are slightly more reliable too - it's not that if one fails you still have a working cabinet (it doesn't work like that, if you blow one speaker in a 4x10" you'll then usually blow at least one more and then the cabinet will stop working anyway), but that they actually seem more robust in the first place, when the power is applied to several voice coils rather than one - even with the same total power rating.

[koneguitarist]

My bassist used to use a 1x15 now uses a Galien Kruegger 4x10, the GK sounds louder on stage but the 1x15" always projects further. Best rig would be to get a 1x15" cab then add a 2x10" later . on stage the 2x10 will help you hear yourself on stage and the 1x15 will project your sound out front On stage It can be difficult to hear yourself with a 1x15 especially when you are right on top of it, as you often are on small stages. The 10`s give more sound immediately hence you so often see 10`s on top of a 15 on stage.

[funkyfraz]

a 4x10 will give you enough bottom end normally. I personally prefer the feel of the bass from a 1x15 though. Don't know if that makes sense, but hopefully you get my point. A cheapo 4x10 will do as others have said, but it wont blow your mind. Cant remember every playing through a laney cab, but I probably have. That might give you the point I'm getting at.... perfectly useable but not mind blowing.

It will be heavy though! Saying that, were you not looking at a 8x10?? Well perhaps the weight and bulk isnt an issue! haha

Hopefully we'l get to hear this rig when its put together. Looking forward to it!

[alwoodcock]

Thanks for the input peeps.

I was never sure that Laney guitar gear was any good. A guy I knew years back used to use one, and I always thought it sounded thin and 'fizzy' but I never knew if he just set it up badly or whether it was a reflection on Laney quality. I've always steered clear!


I'm looking at getting a Peavey 1x15 300 watt cab, so that will get me started, at least!


Al

[funkyfraz]

Ah! a peavey 1x15! Can't really go wrong with one of those!

[keeno86]

A rehearsal room I used a few times had a Laney 4x10 - no idea on model - and it was perfectly reasonable. Not amazing, but then again they're not priced to be amazing. Sounded decent enough, good projection and lots of bottom end from my 5 string. If the price is right you won't be disappointed.

[thebeagle]

I used Laney for years (B1 head and 4x10 and 1x15 cabs), no problems except for a stupidly over-sensitive trip circuit on the head. As has been said - heavy, but robust and will sound fine. Just like most low-to-mid-range Peavey, Hartke, Marshall, Trace...

Oh, and re. pros using Laney - the Nexus bass amps are AWESOME, I'd use one in a heartbeat (and quite a few pros do ).

[ICBM]

Oh, and re. pros using Laney - the Nexus bass amps are AWESOME, I'd use one in a heartbeat (and quite a few pros do ).

I haven't seen any using them yet, but I may just need to get out more .

On the other hand loads of pros use Ashdown, and they're crap, so maybe it doesn't mean much anyway!


(*As in, good-sounding when they work, but poorly-designed, poorly-built and unreliable.)