I'm trying to decide on a new (not used) Bass Cabinet, and have it narrowed down between these two.

Ampeg SVT 410HLF
Ampeg SVT 410 Heritage

I've played a current SVT 410HLF a few times and love it. But I can't find a SVT 410 Heritage to test without buying one.

The SVT 410 Heritage supposedly has a different speaker design. From what I have read, it can reach the same low and high frequencies, but has improved midrange frequencies. Also, they say it is built from better quality wood. It is only $100 more.

I just plan to run it with an Ampeg PF-800 amp to play 4 string bass guitar for now, until maybe I can afford a tube amp in the future. It would be cool if the cabinet could also be used for some 6 string standard guitar or baritone guitar in the future.

Can anyone share any insight? I'm just not sure if I should go with what I know, or take the chance on a SVT 410 Heritage.

Never tried then Heritage but I hated the HLF. It is a power hog that needs an insanely powerful amp (should be fine with the PF800 though) and it does not even sound deep and smooth but harsh and middy (maybe it is the point)
Anyhow, I'd love to try a heritage too.

Thanks! I'm looking for a dub reggae, super low end sound usually.

There are a lot of cabs on the market that would be better for that sound but if you ask me. My two favorites cabs for deep an creamy lows: A pair of Aguilar GS112 or even better, an Accugroove El Whappo. .It ain't cheap but you can hear the difference a mile away.

I was in a real Reggae band in Queens for a little while in the 80s. Rastas. Official. Used an enormous (like 9 foot tall ) Kustom bass amp (pleated Naugahyde, of course). Nothing but low, low, low end.

Get you one of those, mon. : )

I have a 410Heritage and I love it! Sure, it can be boomy for smaller stages when that happens I use an eq to take out some 200hz. It has a lot more low end and grit compared to the Aguilar (which I also play a lot on) That’s more like a hifi speaker in comparison😊

Thanks! I don't think any of my local stores carry these, so that I could test them before buying. I'll take another look though.

That sounds awesome! I don't have that type of room right now though. I think a 4x10 cabinet is the absolute most I could do.

Nice! Low end and grit sounds like what I need. Did you ever compare it to the Ampeg 410HLF? What are your thoughts on how it compares to that?

Honestly I just need something to play at home for now. I broke my last two small amps from playing too loud. I'm in a house for the first time in years, so thought I would buy something extremely over powered, so I stop breaking stuff. Maybe eventually I could use it live though.

You may want a 1x15 or a 1x18 cab instead. There is a 1x15 Heritage amp and its not very punchy but will work. I am partial to the Orange 1x15. Very versatile annd solidly made (but abit heavy). I also have a "dont know the brand" carpeted 1x16 box with an old Altec speaker in it - wool and low end for days. Bob M would be proud.

If you're looking for a derep reggae tone you should take a look at 18s, not 10s. The 18 should have a relatively light cone like the Peavey Black Widow, the old JBL K151, or the old Electro-Voice EVM18. Avoid 18s with heavy cones like Cerwin Vegas and similar speakers, they're mud buckets.

As far as the Ampeg cabs go, I'd go for the Heritage. I really don't care for the HLF.

Really only about 6 feet. 3 JBL 15s. Lay it on its side and it's really comfortable to sit on. I used to have two empty ones I used for a couch for awhile....

Excellent idea! I love the way old Kustom amps look. We had a Kustom P.A., too, in one band I was in. Like a Vocalmaster, but so much more elegantly upholstered. : )

If I'm not mistaken the behemoth that I'm talking about had 18" speakers. Couldn't swear to it, but I thought they were 18"s. And I don't think the treble control was in use at all. These guys [and the girl singer] were official Rastas though, for sure.

I have the Heritage 4x10 HLF. I think it has more than enough low end for home use. The front-ported HLF extends lower and higher than the sealed Heritage 8x10. I also have a Mesa 1x15 which doesn't get as much use as the 4x10 HLF. It has a different sound and feel, but there is no "OMG the 4x10 can't touch the low end extension of the 1x15" experience -- the 1x15 just has a clearer yet more sluggish feel to it. I once sent a photo of my Precision with a V4B and that HLF which I captioned "The Dub Squad." I think it's a great rig for the genre.

Can't advise which HLF is better for you. But I can say I have no regrets about buying my Heritage. It gets more use than any other bass cab here.

Nice! Thanks for the thoughts on it.

I do prefer the sound and response of all the 10 inch speakers I have played more than the larger ones like 15 inch. I know what you mean, that the 15s can sound more sluggish.

I think I'm hyped up enough to get the Heritage 4x10 HLF at this point. I just need to wait for a discount to come around again.

I don't really like most of the 1x15 or 1x18 bass cabs that I have tried. But I have been meaning to test one of those Orange amps in that size. All of my local stores only have the smaller Orange combo amps last time I looked.

As far as I know, Kustom never used 18" speakers, at least not in the tuck 'n' roll era. They did use a lot of JBL 15s, and in the PA cabs used 2x JBL 15s and one round 15" HF horn made by I don't know who, possibly Atlas or Utah. During the '60s I was living in central Oklahoma and Kustom had their factory in Chanute, Kansas, just to our north, so there was a huge amount of Kustom gear around Oklahoma at that time.

The Kustom PA really kicked ass on the Vocaldisaster with the 2 JBL 15s and one horn per cab driven by a 200 watt (IIRC) PA head that could drive (again IIRC) 4 cabs, unless the 4 speaker systems I remember also used an additional slave amp. The main problem with those Kustom PAs was that they were really ungainly to move around, with the very tall 3x15 cabs and the extremely long PA head. But in Oklahoma and Kansas there ware a lot of pickup trucks so..... (unless it was raining.....)

Many 18" cabs available these days have really horrible drivers in them with very heavy cones and stiff suspensions that make for a really muddy sound. The only acceptable and easily available 18" cabs I know of that are currently in production are the Peavey 18" bass cabs with Black Widows. The Black Widow was designed by engineers that Hartley stole away from JBL and EV, so they have a top notch pedigree. They have relatively light cones (for superior transient response and punch) and 4" edgewound voice coils like the old JBL pro series and they're really good. I have a pair in my garage I use for PA subs when necessary. Check 'em out!

I think that they came with Brand X drivers, with JBLs as an option. And I remember thinking that the Brand X ones sounded better than the JBL version.

IIRC the "Brand X" were Eminence and I never thought they sounded very good. That was long before Eminence upped their game.

I've always like JBLS, although I favor replacing the aluminum dome with paper to kill the "icepick". Most guitarists don't know this, but JBL's Pro PA series drivers (22XX) generally came with paper, not aluminum.

The 410HLF is the worst bass cab I've ever owned. It was extremely scooped. Very deep lows but also extremely muddy. Shockingly poor mids.

Deep lows may seem like a good thing for reggea but it wasn't THAT kind of deep mids. More like "80s blues band on a 5-string active bass". Very cold and lacking in the lower mids. It got completely lost on stage. Typically I could hear NOTHING once the band started playing yet the bass made the glasses rattle in the bar on the other side of the room. Completely useless for recording too, just a weak, washed out mess. I always ended up using just a DI in the studio because that cab sounded so bad. I got rid of it pretty fast.

Mine was an early 2000s model. I think I read somewhere that Ampeg changed the speakers in this model at some point. Which may explain why another poster described it as harsh and middy. Mine was just deeeeep, muddy and insanely scooped. I makes sense if they DID change the speakers because it sounded so bad that I honestly don't understand how Ampeg could put their name on it.

I would rather get an old Peavey 2x15 or something like that. Just make sure you get the larger/deeper Peavey 215 and not the smaller/shallower version. The big one is better IMO.

If you haven't already purchased the amp I would perhaps consider something else there too. I'm not sure the Ampeg sound is the best choice for reggea to be honest. With the right cab it will work fine of course, just that there might be better options and possibly cheaper too.

Simple. Ampeg wasn't/isn't Ampeg anymore. Since 1986 they've been a subsidiary of Loud Technologies, AKA Mackie, who have been milking the name for all it's worth.

The (real) SVT is a great amp for reggae. That's the 300 watt, all tube SVT, the other "SVTs" aren't SVT. SVT stands for "Super Vacuum Tube" (original meaning) or "Super Valve Technology" (revisionary meaning they use to attempt to justify selling a sold state amp with a tube in the preamp as a real SVT, which it ain't.) V-4Bs are pretty good, too.

ALL of them are better if you can get the older, pre Mackie versions.

The new all tube Portaflex amps look interesting but I have not had an opportunity to try them out. They are not, however, powerful enough for reggae live.