DB Amps..

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Thanks David.
I am currently borrowing a series II Contra and have been trying it at home. Unfortunately, I've got to give it back the first of next week so I can't try it on a gig. I have played through a couple of AI combos around town and always found them to sound closer to my ideal than anything else.
I like the tone I'm getting. It has a much more solid low end than my DIY cabinet. From top to bottom, it is very tight, almost like it is heavily damped. I wonder if loading the woofer downward adds some mechanical damping.
Anyway, when using a long cable, standing at a distance from the Contra it sounds very natural to me, where my cabinet sounds like an amp.
At this point, I am planning to go the AI route, either selling my Clarus and buying a Coda or Contra combo or possibly just buying a Contra EX.

[David Powell]

Well, I certainly won't discourage that approach, because the combo (Coda) is what I preferred over a separate head. Getting an EX cab is a good idea also. I don't know if it would be as loud as the Ampeg cabs, but if you don't need that, it is much lighter in weight.

I think the type of floor does make a difference in damping the Coda's woofer. I have better results on wood or concrete and acceptable results on carpet, but it seems to soak up some punch if the carpet is too thick. Whenever I use the Ampeg cab for an extension it still has the sound of the Coda. That 212H cab is super neutral. I have recorded from the direct outs of both the AI head and and Ampeg head and the recordings sounded as if I had mic'd the cab.