Both cabs looked fantastic, benefiting from Aguilar’s relatively recent push into stylish colored tolex coverings that, once seen, make regular old black carpet look lame. On the flip side, though, the tolex revealed scrapes and scratches more readily than carpet ever would. With a cloth grille and subtle metal corners, each cab had a cool vintage vibe, with the Chocolate Thunder color adding a bit of extra flavor. The construction looked tough, and as big cabs tend to spend a lot of time on tour, both Aguilars boast several road-worthy features, including big recessed handles, dolly-style wheels, and rear-baffle skid rails for sliding into a trailer. They’re missing a reinforced kick plate, however. The rear-mounted jack panel, which is recessed to protect it when the cab is on its back, has all the right connectivity, and a 50-watt L-Pad controls tweeter attenuation.
DB 412
Paired with a variety of big heads, including Aguilar’s remarkably powerful DB 750, the 412 performed in perfect line with Aguilar’s intended goal: a broad soundstage with a midrange poke for added presence. It was capable of dangerous volume, and didn’t break up with even the most intense high-output, low-frequency attacks. It’s not particularly delicate, and it seemed to prefer more aggressive, high-gain playing. The tweeter performed coherently with the drivers, although I found rolling it near off yielded the best full-bodied rock-style tone. It was particularly excellent as a burpy back-bickup fingerstyle cab; its strong lower-midrange presence was well matched to the mid-heavy technique. It didn’t shimmer when I played slap, but it did present a thick, barky tone more in line with a classic ’70s funk style sound. When I played uptempo, it kept up, without unwelcome blurriness or hesitancy.
DB 810
The DB 810 is a different animal entirely. Where the 4x12 demonstrated an obvious midrange hump in its frequency response, the 8x10 seemed a touch more even throughout the range, and felt fuller in the lows. It’s not much like an SVT 8x10 at all. Where the SVT feels like a single wall of propulsive thrust, the DB 810 is more detailed, particularly in its welltextured lows. Its B-string capabilities were ample, conveying strong fundamental without ducking in comparison to the higher-register strings. With a touch of distortion courtesy an overdriven tube amp, the DB 810 conveyed the furriness of my pickstyle tone, while retaining its full-spectrum balance and thickness.
The DB 412 and 810 are both welcome additions to the crowded big-cab population. Each offers a distinct voice—the 412 with its strong mids and woody presence, and the 810 with its full lows and across-the-board balance. While I don’t have the motivation (or the car) to schlep these monsters, I’d consider them strongly if I did. You should, too.
AGUILAR DB 412
Street $1,400
Pros Forward midrange and outrageous volume
Cons Heavy
Bottom Line A middleweight monster with output to spare.
AGUILAR DB 810
Street $1,575
Pros Thick lows and impressively balanced string-to-string coherence for a large multi-driver cab
Cons Heavy
Bottom Line For clarity and strength on big stages, it’s a solid bet.
Cabinet type DB 810, 8x10 + tweeter; DB 412, 4x12 + tweeter
Speaker manufacturer Custom-designed Eminence cast-frame drivers with P.Audio tweeter
Power handling DB 810, 1,400 watts RMS; DB 412, 1,200 watts RMS
Frequency response DB 810, 40Hz–16kHz; DB 412, 37Hz–16kHz
Sensitivity DB 810, 104dB @ 1W/M; DB 412, 101dB @ 1W/M
Cabinet material 13-ply birch
Weight DB 810, 184 lbs; DB 412, 149 lbs
Colors Classic Black, Chocolate Thunder, Monster Green, and Boss Tweed, White Hot
Made in U.S.A.
Warranty Three years limited
Contact www.aguilaramp.com (212) 431-9109