Acoustic Control Corporation 408 Cabinet

408 bass cabinet, I purchased new in 1978 with a 320 head. Have played since 1966, many bass rigs over the years, ( Ampeg SVT, Peavy, Fender, etc). This is the absolute best bass rig I ever owned, bar none, and I have kicked my arse repeatedly for selling it. I just purchased another 320 head in very good condition and am looking for a 408 cabinet to put under it (don't care if it has working speakers in it, I will replace the originals if necessary, would like to have the wiring in tact as these were wired in series to pull the 2 ohm load. I have had absolutely no luck finding one to date.

The 408, by design, is one of the most versitile bass speaker enclosures ever built. The two front loaded speakers, top and bottom, handle the upper end of the scale very nicely, and the two center loads in the middle chamber carry the hz down to the basement. LOUD and proud, designed to cover large venues and outdoor concerts, but sensitive enough, with the 10 db cut capability of the 320 head, to play smaller venues if necessary, and still keep the full tone and punch where other amps fall off.

Owned my first one for over two years, never a minutes trouble with it.

Came with a lifetime warranty card (now a moot point, company out of business for over two decades). Never had to use it.

My original 320 head listed for $849.00. The one I just bought cost me $300.00. My original 408.00 cabinet listed for $789.00. I would be willing to pay up to half of that for a decent used one that is completely playable , if I could find one.

Four 15's, two facing outward, two inside pointing up and down. The cab is 2 ohms, which isn't too much of a problem, depending on what kind of heads you have to choose from. I don't have any Acoustic heads to go with it, but I have a bunch of Peavey solid state and tube heads that all handle a 2 ohm load. It can be easily rewired to 8 ohms, since the speakers are 8 ohms each, but I opted to add a second jack, with one going to the two outward facing speakers and one going to the two inside speakers, 4 ohms each. I use a Peavey Nitrobass dialed clean running the two outward speakers and a Sunn Beta Lead running the two inside speakers distorted. I might also consider adding a series out jack for patching the two 4 ohm jacks for using a single head at 8 ohms.

The mix of clean and distorted tones I get from it is amazing. Bleed over tones from two signals running two speakers in the same enclosure don't really seem to be an issue, as they haven't with any other single cab-two head configuration I've used.

This thing is built like a tank, and I couldn't even imagine anything close to a liability aside from my own rewiring (which isn't really that much of a liability). If you're using solid state heads, you may just have to be a little careful what kind of power you're putting out. I believe the cab was built to go with the 320 head, which put out 300W at 2 ohms, so the cab should be rated somewhere above that. I try not to turn my 300W @ 4 ohm Peavey solid state up too much because it's only going to two of the speakers, but the good thing is that I never really have to turn it up that much because the cabinet is just so damn loud. Despite the cabinet's relatively large size, I find it much easier to move than my other 4 x 15" cab that I built myself (it has tilt-back wheels like the 408, but it's too wide to fit through most doorways rolling in that direction), so if you're used to moving a lot of equipment all the time, this cab isn't really a big deal to move.

I guess Acoustic exists again now, but I have no idea what kind of support they would offer for old equipment, but I've never had to use it. I also have an Acoustic TC-118B cab that I never had problems with.

This is an amazing cabinet, and is worth buying immediately if you ever find one, which may be slightly tough. You shouldn't really have to pay too much for one, especially if you find one in a music store (since the cab is large, most stores would price it low because they're paying for space). Cabinets like these are real gems nowadays when the only new bass cabinets being made are 4 x 10's, 8 x 10's, 1 x 15's, and 1 x 18's once in a while (I don't even see new 2 x 15's anymore!) I'd take the 408 over a comparable 8 x 10" any day regardless of price. Old equipment has character.

Just as the previous reviewer described it, a 4 x 15" monster. However, I bought mine new back in the mid to late 70's at it had Cerwin Vega speakers so I suspect the previous reviewer had a cabinet with replacement speakers. I also don't recall any issue with the cabinet being 2 ohms.

Is that a herd of buffalo? An elephant stampede? An earth quake? Heck no, it's an Acoustic 408 cabinet. This thing rules. I ran mine with an Acoustic 220 head which I still have (The 408 never made it to the States from England when I emigrated.) and I would match it up against any of today's whimpy 10" cab's. The amp was one of the fist with a 5 band GE and also has a boost and a bright switch. Easily enough high end despite the 15" speakers. Hey, it's bass, you've gotta move air and this thing moves air. It could flap my trouser leg from six feet away.

Built like a tank and weighing almost as much, this cabinet is as roadworthy as any out there.

Oh dear, they are no long. A shame. When I started getting interested in playing again (Some years after my move to the States) I went looking for another 408 only to find the company had gone belly up. My understanding is that the line of amps just after the 220/360/etc., line had flaws that weren't discovered until they had been sold and replaced the previous generation. Truth or rumor? I don't know.

Prior to my Acoustic rig I had a Marshall half stack. Standing side by side on stage I could barely tell the difference but as soon as the band started up the Acoustic clearly exceled and standing at the back of the room it was like night and day. This cab (with an acoustic head) was just the sweestest bass sound (and feel) I've ever come across.

This is the top of the line late 70's Acoustic bass cabinet. It looks like anAmpeg 2 15" layout from the front, with an extra grille space in the middle. Upon closer inspection you see that it is like two smaller cabinets with a space in between, and there are 2 more 15's in the middle section, one pointed up and one pointed down from the top. Also ported in this middle section. Eminence 75 Watt square magnet speakers, all 8 ohms for a total impedence of an uncommon 2 ohms... This is a problem unless you have an approproate acoustic head, but can easily be wired to 8 ohms. Most heads will get fried by this cus it will draw too mch power out of it. Wiring it at 8 ohms is no problem cus it is the loudest bass cab ever so that won;t hurt it.

This is even better than an Acoustic 301 18" folded horn setup as far as low end response goes, and due to the 15's it has way better mids than any 18" could dream of. This thing will knock you down and blow your ears out! The label on the back says "CAUTION - LEVELS WITHIN 10 FEET MAY EXCEED 120 decibels!"

Built like a tank! weighs in at 142 lbs but has convenient kick back wheels and handles. Acoustic gave a lifetime warranty option, but it really wasn't needed. My speakers were fried probabbly due to someone using the wrong head with it... It was rated at 300 watts @ 2 ohms... Most bass heads go down to 4 watts max load. If you run a head that is 300 Watts @ 4 ohms, with a 2 ohm cabinet plugged into it, you get more like 390-420 watts out of the head, which melts the speakers and the output transistor on the amp... Aside from the low for today's heads 300 watt 2 ohm rating, the acoustic cabinets are the most solid things ever built. I have 4 200 Watt EV 15 B's at 4 ohms each in it, making it a lot heavier, but now I will never worry about blowing it. They are wired in each cabinet in series (top and bottom at 8 ohms each), and then the upper and lower enclosures are wired in parallel to the speaker jack (bringing it back down to 4 ohms).

Not needed. They had a lifetime warranty but are out of business. The speaker thing can be expected with a 25+ year old cabinet. Just recone them at $40 each to a 4 ohm or 16 ohm voice coil and you will be set. The enclosure is built like a tank and needs no warranty.

This is the ultimate bass cabinet with a few mods. Nothing can touch it unless you want to sound like Les Claypool. Like another review on here, paired with an Acoustic bass head like the 360, 370, or 450, this is the best thing ever if you want to sound like Lemmy!