AudioKinesis Hathor 1203 Bass Cabinet

This post is a review of the AudioKinesis Hathor 1203 bass cabinet. I have been gigging either one or a pair of these cabs for over a year and a half now. I generally use a Monique 700 when I gig two of these cabs and either the Monique, a Thunderfunk 550B or Aguilar TH500 when gigging one. I use two of the cabs when gigging my Americana/Rock/classic country bands in theaters and/or outdoor gigs. A single 1203 handles rehearsals and the acoustic gig.

The primary reason I purchased the 1203 cabs was the insane weight. Each of my cabs weigh 24 pounds. Yes, 24 pounds! Another reason was the rather small size. They are so easy to load in/out. They easily fit in my "Tour Bus" (2002 Toyota 4Runner) with all my other gear. Plus, they sound great! Of course the sound was a big consideration. Thankfully, several TalkBass members posted audio files of the 1203, so I had a pretty good idea of what I could expect.

Rehearsal rig

When I started doing research on a pair of new cabs, weight and clear, clean tone was the primary focus. Several cabs were in the running. Baer, Bergantino, Greenboy builds, as well as the Aguilar SL series. The Baer 12 cab was getting a lot of attention due to it's weight and the fact that it had two paper drivers. The Berg 12 was really hot, was really light and had the tone I was looking for. Then I started looking into the offerings of Duke Lejeune at AudioKinesis got my attention. His Hathor line was fairly new at the time and causing quite a stir. Primarily the weight and size was just unreal. Plus, the tone was big! Add to that, several respected bassists were successfully using them, and they really caught my eye. So, I called up Duke and placed an order for two of his 1203 cabs.

My first impression when I received the cabs was, "boy are they small". And they are. At 18"tall x 14" wide x 13.5" deep, they looked tiny compared to my Aguilar GS112 stack. Next, I was impressed with the build quality of these cabs. Duke's attention to detail is greatly appreciated. His work is first-rate. When I got them home, I checked everything out, stacked them and connected the Monique to them.

Speakon Connectors

OK, so I'm finally playing through them. Yes they are loud. But I don't push them yet. They are clear, really clear. Compared to my last stack, it' like a blanket has been pulled off of my cabinets! Wow, they are so clean. They do, however, have a little grind when pushed. Nothing drastic, and it is very musical. The 3" paper cone does a great job of keeping the highs musical and organic. Very different from tweeters. The thing that really hit me was the mid frequencies. Boy these cabs are strong in the mids! It's not like these cabs has any strange dips or peaks, but the mids are very present. In fact, the transition from lows all the way to highs is very smooth and even. After playing through a stack with a substantial dip in the mids, I was pleasantly surprised. After about an hour of playing through this stack, I'm thinking "this is just too good to be true. Something has got to be wrong".  So I start pushing the cabs a little more. They respond with a great, strong tone. Nothing funny. At this point, I am pleased with my purchase. All is good. I have to add, the Monique pre by Jule is a top notch, hand-built tube pre amp. At that time, I was using Monique paired with a Crest ProLITE power amp. That combination can make anything sound pretty good by comparison. So I start adjusting the EQ and Sensitivity control on Monique to see how the 1203 stack will respond. The Hathor cabs respond in positive way. The lows are low but not muddy or boomy. The highs are clear and high without that shrill, sterile sound. Of course the mids are Heaven. The more I adjust the Sensitivity, the more aggressive the cabs get. I generally have the Sensitivity at 8:00 or 9:00 for a good clean tube bass tone. I bump it up to 1:00 or 2:00 for a more aggressive tone. The Sensitivity control on Monique paired with the 3" cone on the Hathor cabs puts forth a bit of grind that will put a big smile on your face.

At this point, I am completely satisfied with the Hathor 1203 cabs. They are great sounding cabs that are light, easy to carry and, what I think, a great bargain. If it ended there, no problem. But it gets better.

The Switches

After I get (somewhat) familiar with the noticeably different tone and characteristics of the 1203, I start experimenting with the "switches". What are the switches? On the rear panel you will find two toggle switches. The top one switches out the top-end from 3.5kHz to 12kHz. The bottom one switches from smooth mids to a more aggressive mid with a bit of grind. These switches are a very important part of the overall performance of these cabinets. Although not earth shattering, you can hear a noticeable difference in tone and presentation. With each cab, you have four switch position combinations for a total of eight positions with my stack of two cabs. The switches are a big selling point as far as I am concerned. With eight switch combinations, you can literally change your cabs with a simple flip of a switch. And no, there is no annoying pop or noise of any sort when flipping the switches.

I'm sure anyone reading this will wonder how I feel about the 1203 cabs after over a 1 1/2 year period. I am still totally satisfied with these cabs. They have held up well, and still sound just as good as the first time I played them. One cab could handle about 75% of what I do. We have FOH support about 80% of the time. But when I use both of them, it is just a fun experience. They are sweet sounding cabs. I currently use a Monique 700 about 70% of the time and the Aguilar the rest of the time with an occasional nod to a Thunderfunk head. I play one of 3 Fender Precision American Standard basses most of the time. Sometimes I use either an American Standard Jazz or Mexican Jazz on my acoustic gig or at rehearsals. This combination is so versatile. Any combination of gear works great. I think each piece of gear plays an integral part of the tone I get. Granted, each part is good solid gear. But, I can take the same gear, and use it on different cabs and immediately hear a difference. I can deal with it, but I certainly like having the AudioKinesis 1203 as part of my equipment.

Monique 700 Perched on Hathor

So, is there anything about the cabs that I am not crazy about? As a matter of fact, yes. A couple of things stand out. Although not big enough of a deal to make me switch cabs, I must mention them unless you think I am a total sellout! First, although the stackable corner protectors have held up well and do their job just fine, I prefer the corner protectors on the Aguilar GS112. The GS protectors are more rounded and look a little slicker by comparison. I know that is nit picking, but it is something I noticed. It hasn't bothered me enough to change them. Nor has anyone came up to me and explained that my cabs corner protectors offended them :-) . The other thing, and many people on TalkBass and other forums have mentioned this: the cabs, in their vertical position, are rather narrow and a full-size head hangs over. Heck, my Monique rack hangs over on all four sides! But I guess you can figure out that it hasn't bothered me enough to switch. Not gonna happen! The Aguilar ToneHammer head fits perfect as I'm sure most micro head will. But My Thunderfunk's and Monique do hang over. Most of the time, this doesn't bother me. However, on a few occasions, I have stacked the cabs horizontally to give the head more room. On a couple of occasions, i have placed the head on another surface, just in case. I would only do this on an unstable stage. Otherwise, I just live with it. But you must understand that these cabs were built with specific dimensions for a purpose. They are small, light and loud. The fit perfect on a tight stage, where real estate is at a premium. Plus, with vertical stacked cabs, you get much better dispersion. So there, the cabs aren't perfect. But they are close enough that someone will have to come up with something a LOT BETTER to make me even think of trading them in! It would take a lot. In fact, the Hathor 1203 cabs have taken the place of the Aguilar GS112 cabs as "cabs I will never sell". If I ever purchase another pair of cabs, I'll probably just buy additional cabs instead of replacing the 1203s.

Rear View of Hathor 1203
Notice center port.

In review: The AudioKinesis Hathor 1203 cabs are 8 ohm, 500 watt cabs that are 18"tall x 14" wide x 13.5" deep and have an advertised weight of 25 pounds (mine weigh in at 24 pounds each). They use the Eminence Kappalite 3012LF driver and a Faital 3"driver. The 3" driver is in it's own chamber that had two small top ports and two side ports. These are for distributing the highs & high-mids so the performer can better hear. At the time this blog was published, the cabinet cost $650.00 plus shipping. The cabinets are ported and come shipped with a port plug for additional tuning. The cab has two rubber covered switches that control the highs as well as mid smoothness. Each cab has two speakon connectors.

How do I describe the tone of these cabs? First, the pair is loud, very loud. But they never sound like they are straining or running out of steam. Granted, I don't play crazy loud gigs, but some of the gigs get pretty loud and the hold up just fine. Tone? The tone is what I would say is my ideal tone. Plenty of smooths lows that are never muddy, or flabby. You will not hear a bunch of sludgy low notes just rolling around on the stage. The lows are tight and controlled. The highs are just right. I am sold on small paper cones to handle the high-mids and highs. Very musical highs. The mids? I am in love with the mids. They allow the bass notes to sit perfectly in a band situation. Plus, I would much rather have the option of EQ'ing some of the mids out as opposed to trying to EQ in mids when using a mid scooped cab. That rarely happens, but I would much rather have the mid forward cab any day! I can go from smooth and solid, to solid and aggressive with the flip of a couple of switches and/or some additional Sensitivity control (or a little EQ). I have used these cabs to perform Classic Country, Americana, Bluegrass, Classic Rock, Pop, folk, and even some Southern Gospel and they handle it all well. Keep in mind, I believe a lot of your tone and feel come from the way you play and your control of dynamics, touch and finger position. But it really helps if you have good equipment. I am blessed to have great equipment and I am still working on the dynamics thing. And yes, I use the switches.

Hathor Stack

Is the Hathor 1203 for everybody? Probably not. Especially if you are a player that likes "Thunderous Lows that tear your clothes off with each Earth shattering note". Personally, I have never cared for that type of tone, but to each their own. If you like a solid, tight, organic tone that has mids enough to be heard, with solid lows and musical highs, then yes, you will no doubt love the 1203. Don't get me wrong, these cabs go plenty low for me and has good high frequency representation, but they do have their limits.

In closing, bassists have some great gear to choose from. From micro heads to boutiques cabs and hand-built heads. Quality instruments, and accessories. We are fortunate to have inventive creators such as Duke Lejeune building equipment for us. If you get a chance, check out the AudioKinesis line. I think you will like 'em!