I LOVE my little Promethean combo. It's exactly what I needed for playing out...manageable size/weight, decent power and a nice sound. I had no immediate intention of upgrading, even though for some time I've known I wanted to upgrade to a standalone cab/amp for playing/recording.
A month or so ago, we may a trip out to this huge music shop in New York near Albany (Parkway Music- highly recommended BTW!). I wanted to try out some of their pedals, and one of the sales guys set me up in a nice playing room with a Rickenbacker 4003 to try out the effects. In this room was a cab by the name of Bergantino, which I'd never heard of before. Turned the thing on (running a GK head) and was dumbfounded by the sound this thing made...absolutely incredible. I can't explain quite how incredible, since I've never heard anything remotely like it before. Really articulate lows, lovely buttery mids and fantastic treble that sounded great with the Rick. That old used Berg HT322 has haunted me ever since...
Fast forward to this weekend. I was browsing Guitar Center's used gear, and happened to check out bass amps. Lo and behold, the Boston store had a Bergantino HS410. I grabbed my Rick and headed into Boston to see what this beasty was all about. It was used, of course, but in almost mint condition with just a few scuffs on the corner protectors and the price was good. Started with an Orange Terror 500 head. The cab itself was amazing...but the head felt like a bit of a one-trick pony. The sound was good, but not terribly versatile. Moved onto an Ampeg SVT head (the solid state one) and really disliked that. It didn't seem to play very well with the Rick. Then grabbed an Gallien Kreuger 700RB-II. Holy moly, what a great head paired with that cab! Very clean, extremely versatile...I was in love. If you ever get the chance to play a Berg, do try it out! They are a bargain used!
So if you made it through all of that blah-blah, here is a pic as a reward.
Specs: Bergantino HS 410: 4-10" woofers w/ 56oz. magnet, vented pole piece, high intelligibility tweeter, power handling - 800 watts rms, custom phase - coherent crossover with tweeter level control, frequency response: 44hz - 15khz, sensitivity: 103db • 1 watt/1meter, impedance: 4 ohms, dimensions: 22 3/4"W x 25 1/2"H x 15 1/2"D, weight: 85lbs.
Bookmarks