Which cab out of these 2?

hobbio

I'm buying a cab, was looking at HB 2x12s from Thomann but I've decided to go for a 1x12 instead for space reasons. Which one out of these 2 is the better bet?

Jet City cab 100w

HB G112 Vintage 60w

I'm leaning towards the Jet City, but I don't understand some of the specs stuff. Does it matter that the Jet City is 16 ohms and the HB is 8 ohms? What's the difference between a closed and open back? I know the Celestion Vintage 30 speaker in th HB is a good one, but I know nothing about the Eminence in the Jet City. Does the DI out on the Jet City disable the speaker or would they work simultaneously?

So many questions! All help is very much appreciated

guitarfishbay

16 ohms vs 8 ohms only matters if:

- You use a solid state amp and need it to be loud.  It would be louder into 8 ohms than 16 ohms.

- You intend to buy more cabs and run them together, for a valve amp you'd ideally want to match.  Be aware two 16 ohm cabs = 8 ohms and two 8 ohm cabs = 4 ohms, so you have to have an amp that can handle that.

- You ideally run a match with a valve amp, so your amp would need an 8 or 16 ohm output.  Though others can advise when/if mismatches are ok, I don't feel confident to comment on that.

Closed back vs Open

- Closed back sounds punchier in the bass, and is more directional.

- Open back spreads the sound more (I actually find this problematic at home but YMMV, everything ended up rattling at 'fun' volume, whereas I could point a closed back cab the way I wanted).  It also has less punch, and a slightly more open sound with all other things being equal.

I have no experience with either of those cabs, but from personal experience I've preferred a V30 in a bigger cab than a smaller one.  Though that is with closed cabs, I've never tried an open back 1x12 with V30s, only open 2x12s.

bazxkr

Might just depend on what kind of sound you are looking for. Both the eminence and V30 are good. me, I'd go the V30 route cos i like those speakers although I actually prefer the Jet city as a cab.

I've had the HB 2x12 without the V30s & that was still very good. You would struggle to buy the V30 speaker on it's own much cheaper than that price.

You can always get a bit of thin mdf and create your own back board so you can open or close as you prefer. 

ICBM

If it was me I'd get the HB. I'm not a fan of those (or most) Eminences.

8 vs 16 ohms only really matters if the amp doesn't have a correct output impedance for one of them - either would be safe to run with any amp I know of (except a 2 or 4 ohm-only valve amp, eg an older Fender, which might not be safe with a 16-ohm cab), but you will lose some power and tone with a mismatch.

The built-in DI on the Jet City is interesting though - it won't turn off the speaker, but it does give another option for recording or going to a PA rather than mic'ing.

hobbio

Thanks @ICBM

It's the DI thing that's pushing me towards the Jet City, especially as I've just noticed the rear panel is removable so it can be converted into an open back cab as well. It looks nicer too, and is two quid cheaper.

I suppose there's nothing to stop me replacing the Eminence with a V30 at some point anyway (unless there is!).

hobbio

I've ordered the Jet City, for versatility and looks. I can always change the speaker at a later date if I don't get on with the Eminence.

Now I just need a head....

digitalscream

You won't be disappointed - I've had the 1x12", although I got rid because it wasn't really practical for me. I've got two of the 2x12" cabs, though, and they sound great; a slightly more modern sound, but a lot more controllable than the shoutiness of the V30s (to my ears, anyway). The DI out does work quite well, too...I've used it at a couple of gigs, although it's obviously never going to be quite as good as a mic in front of the cab for tone.

The only issue you might find with the DI is that the signal is apparently very hot, according to the sound guys at those gigs.

hobbio

Wonderful, thanks for the info mate.

Dave_Mc

i'd say a v30 is a better speaker than the eminence in the jet city. at least in my opinion. (unlike ICBM i like plenty of the "real" eminences.)

I haven't tried either specific cab you mentioned there though.

ICBM

hobbio said:

I suppose there's nothing to stop me replacing the Eminence with a V30 at some point anyway (unless there is!).

Usually not, but if the mounting holes are at one extreme of the diameter tolerance range (inner end, for this swap) it might be difficult or impossible to get the bolts to fit. I recently had that problem trying to replace a Celestion with an Eminence in a Cornford amp.

Luckily there are plenty of Eminence modes that sound better than the Jet City one, even if I don't like all of them .

hobbio

Well, it's arrived this morning. I won't even have time to unbox it until the weekend probably, but I'm impressed with the service from Thomann.

therose789

The jet city on is prettier 

hobbio

That's the one I bought mate

randomhandclaps

hobbio said:

That's the one I bought mate

Personally would have gone with the JC just as it's slightly bigger with IMO makes a difference in 1x12s.

hobbio

It was the looks and the DI out on the Jet City that swung it for me. Can't wait to get it plugged in but it's not looking likely for a good while yet sadly.