Is the Bogner Cube the best 1x12 cab out there?

[olectric]

I am interested in putting together a head/cab rig as opposed to my combo rig. I like the sound of combo amps okay, but I think they maybe lack a little punch? For those of you using head/cab rigs, what are all the pros/cons when compared to combo amps? Is the Cube the best all-around 112 cab?

What are the sonic differences between open back combo cabs and a closed-back cab like the Cube?

[tom]

i'm a head and cab guy all the way. to me the cab has deeper bottom and fatter mids. for my low volume situation, it also is nice to have no sound coming out the back. i play with the cab facing me. i've tried a few others, but certainly not all, and the bogner and carr are my fav's. the bogner is more scooped than the carr, and the carr pushes harder in the middle. i have them both loaded with c rex's, and also have a bogner with a v30. the c rex has a softer top end for me.

[guitarzan]

the attractive part of a head/cab situation is that heads are almost always cheaper and it allows a guy to swap amps out randomly with less damage to the bank account (or the sea of matrimonial love). Additionally, it allows me to keep the head in the control room and be able to track with the cab elsewhere- same goes for live stuff. The ability to separate the controls and the sound source has been a bonus.

the downside is that it's one more trip to the car during load in and load out (excluding Suriel and Mike B).

My understanding of open vs. closed back is that the closed back is "punchier" while the open back is "breathier" and fills the room with more sound (because of the fact that there's more than one sound source). I always associate closed back with being beefier or bassier, but that's probably more of a function of my experience with closed backs being 4x12 cabs hooked up to Marshalls. ToneLounge would be a good guy to chime in here, but it seems to me that a cabinet is gonna have more of an acoustic response simply for the fact that it has a limited number of holes cut in it compared to a combo. That's just me speculating, though.

[ckofahl]

I have a number of different cabs, from the bogner 112 with v30, to several different 212 cabs with various combinations of celetians speakers, my favorite to use either live or in the studio is the bogner 112. You don't have to push it as hard to get the kind of cab/speaker give and take as you would say a 212 cab. Last week I did a session using the bogner 112 v30, and my andersons. The producer was so pleased with how huge the 112 sounded, he had me re-cut several other tracks that someone else had played on. For live use at church or depending on the venue, I will always try and face the cab towards me. THe closed back really helps the sound man keep control over the FOH. I played for the State fair last year and the sound man ran up on stage wanting to know where was the 412 cab I was using. I smiled and pointed to the bogner 112 and he couldn't believe it.

[olectric]

I play at church, and I need to be a little quieter. The Cube sounds right for me. And with the ability to have the head in the control room doing sessions! Great stuff, guys.

I know there are some Carr users and some Mesa users here; anyone use anything else with their Cube? Dr Z?

Would you Cube users say it favors certain amps over others?

[ckofahl]

The last session I did, I was in the control booth and we place my cab out in a large room. I'm not sure if it favors any paticular head or not, but it is rated at 60w. I use mine with a vht50cl and ultra-lead at half power. It handled both of them great. I mic it up close with just a simple sm57, slightly off center. I've also used it with a pre-rocktron TOL100 head. It sounded great with it as well.

[Devnor]

This afternoon I just put a Bogner Cube 1x12 on layaway at Charleys. Probably will pick it up this thursday/friday. I intend to use it with Mesa Mk III & Mk IV amps. I'll let ya'll know what happens.

[Stys]

I swear by the Mesa 1x12 Thiele cabinet. Although, I have never tried the Bogner. I used the Mesa Thiele with my MKIV for many years. This combination really worked well.

[olectric]

I swear by the Mesa 1x12 Thiele cabinet. Although, I have never tried the Bogner. I used the Mesa Thiele with my MKIV for many years. This combination really worked well.

What kind of stuff do you use it for (hard rock, pop, country, ect...)?

[tom]

i did compare those 2, the boogie is very hard and brittle sounding compared to the bogner.

[Stys]

Thanks, Tom. Comments like that will put me on the phone tomorrow trying to find a Bogner Cube.

I use the Boogie for mostly rock stuff. Guitar instrumentals. I mean, what else is there? Currently, my F-30 head drives the cabinet.

[tom]

i only mention it because i was surprised at how different they sounded. they are both ported, and about the same size, and had the same speaker so i figured they'd be pretty close. they weren't.

[Devnor]

Hey Mark there were 3 more at Charleys (2 of them used but in exc condition). Very lightweight cab btw.

[olectric]

Hey Mark there were 3 more at Charleys (2 of them used but in exc condition). Very lightweight cab btw.


Mmm hmmm....I see....

[Stys]

Oh, man...you guys are killing me. Another UPS delivery and I will be shipped out. But, there is always a way, right? Thanks, Devnor!

[olectric]

Hey Mark there were 3 more at Charleys (2 of them used but in exc condition). Very lightweight cab btw.


Make that 2. :)

[ckofahl]

Olectric,

Did you purchase a bogner cube? If so, you will enjoy, it is really easy to transport and the sound is great. enjoy!

[Suriel Zayas]

i have used the mesa thiele and currently own 2 cubes, one with a v30 and the other with c-rex. i will never look back. the mesa has a very hard edge, certainly not pleasing. the cubes just sound so good. excellent mids and very tight lows, the engineers just love 'em. and just think about it from the mesa to the cube at least 10 pounds less.

[olectric]

Olectric,

Did you purchase a bogner cube? If so, you will enjoy, it is really easy to transport and the sound is great. enjoy!

Yeah, I ordered one of the used ones from Brian at Charley's. I need to get a head for it, but in the meantime, I'll run a cord from my GT to it.



and just think about it from the mesa to the cube at least 10 pounds less.

Suriel, you're so thoughtful of your roadies!

[Rhys]

with your cube, or any other cabs for that matter, what ohm? i know you have to match it up to your head, but if you have switching options on your head, what ohm cab do you go for and what difference does it make?

[olectric]

Mine is a 16 Ohm cab. Most guitar amps need to see 16 Ohms of resistance (although it's switchable on the back of the amp in most cases). If you're running multiple cabs in series, the formula for total resistance Rt is:

Rt = R1 + R2 + ... + Rn

What that means is that the total Ohms is just the sum of the Ohms of all the speakers you're hooking up in series. For example, if you have an amp that needs to see 16 Ohms and you want to run two cabs in series (which is more of a pain than running them in parallel), they'd better both have an 8 Ohm rating.

If you're running multiple cabs in parallel, the formula changes:

1/Rt= 1/R1 + 1/R2 + ... + 1/Rn

Two 16 Ohm cabs run in parallel will result in a total resistance of 8 Ohms, as

1/16 + 1/16 = 1/8.

You'd better flip the switch on the back of your head to 8 Ohms if you want to do that.

Similarly, two 8 ohm cabs wired in parallel will give a total resistance of 4 Ohms.

That's the best that I understand it. If anything is wrong, please correct me.

[tom]

if you don't have a switch, it's better to fun a higher impedance spkr than a lower one. often times i like the sound of a 16ohm load on a 8 ohm output tap. you should get a bit less power with a higher load.

[Suriel Zayas]

Suriel, you're so thoughtful of your roadies!
when i'm lugging my rig around the city, where are the roadies?

[guitarzan]

when i'm lugging my rig around the city, where are the roadies?


wait- wait. you don't keep them in the trunk?!

[Suriel Zayas]

wait- wait. you don't keep them in the trunk?!
:D :D :D ;)

[olectric]

wait- wait. you don't keep them in the trunk?!

I know I would!

[enr1co]

Hey Mark there were 3 more at Charleys (2 of them used but in exc condition). Very lightweight cab btw.

Talk about "TAG team" sell job...

With all the great comments on this cab, I impulsively called Brian this AM to see if he had anymore of these available ... he did :)

Thanks for all the info guys!

e

[Suriel Zayas]

the "supreme commander of the anderson empire" turned me on to these cabs. however, steve carr also makes one hell of a cab, ooooppps his cab is heavenly.

[tom]

they are both great. if i had two of the carrs, i'd leave one at church, but i have 2 of the bogner, so i leave one there. i may get brave and leave the carr cab there, or when i get my head back from the lower power mod, i might not mind taking the cab with me weekly.

[olectric]

I picked up my Cube today at UPS. CloudMan (an experimental rock band I'm playing with) have a gig tomorrow night at a bar in Wichita. I plan on running my Groove Tubes Soul-O amp through the Cube. I'll probably just leave the speaker in the GT unplugged.

Will post some results in a few days!

[olectric]

I picked up my Cube today at UPS. CloudMan (an experimental rock band I'm playing with) have a gig tomorrow night at a bar in Wichita. I plan on running my Groove Tubes Soul-O amp through the Cube. I'll probably just leave the speaker in the GT unplugged.

Will post some results in a few days!

Well, that's exactly what I did, and man, it was incredible. I was about ready to GAS the GT away, but then I plugged it into that Cube and it was a. maz. ing. I don't think I can really say anything about it that hasn't been said, but I really liked it. I think I may build a box to put the GT amp in so I don't have to lug it around as a combo anymore.

The only negative thing I can say about the Cube is that it's really directional. In a live setting with no mic (the only situation I can think of where this is negative), it can be tough for the rest of the band to hear it depending on where they are in relationship to it onstage. For example, the drummer and Rhodes player were both behind me (oddly-shaped stage forced this set-up), and they had a little trouble hearing the Cube.

For what it's worth, I highly recommend this cab.

[Devnor]

+1 on the recommendation

Cube sounds fantastic but is quite directional. Not a problem in my situation. The MkIII combo sounds so good thru this that I'm planning on getting a short head enclosure and a second Bogner. After playing thru this rig, I cant go back to the 15 y/o black shadow speaker.

The petrucci 7 piezo output into Mark IV clean channel to the Bogner was pure bliss. The rig just paid for itself because I dont need to buy the Roland acoustic amp.

Of course my Anderson classic owns everything else tonality-wise. I was getting sounds from the Anderson + Mesas/Bogner I've never experienced on equipment I've owned. Just one word : wow!

Thanks all!

[Janine Doubly]

I agree with all of the assessments of this cab. I also find its bandwidth when loaded with a V30, to be much more open and wide than any other cab using the V30. It almost doesn't sound like a V30 anymore. My Dr. Prescription ES head has a ton of top end sparkle and the Cube brings this out in the very best way. Tom, I agree, I was amazed at how different the Cube sounds compared to the Mesa Thiele cab, when they seem to be so similar in specs. The Bogner is just so musical.

[andersonguy]

For a long time I was running two Bogner cubes with a Shiva Head.
This combination along with my Hollow T classic was crushing. Very punchy, articulate and clear. Setup is easy. Its true though, they are very directional so for a gig you need to be mic'd up and run through stage monitors for others to hear you.

[olectric]

For a long time I was running two Bogner cubes with a Shiva Head.
This combination along with my Hollow T classic was crushing. Very punchy, articulate and clear. Setup is easy. Its true though, they are very directional so for a gig you need to be mic'd up and run through stage monitors for others to hear you.

So you found something you liked more?