The proliferation of lightweight bass rigs makes it easy to forget that we once all boasted about how heavy our gear was, how far we had to carry it for a gig, and how big of a car we had to own to haul it around. Yeah, those were the days. Okay, not really. One of the companies that has significantly contributed to the growing number of bass players with happy ears and happy backs is Aguilar Amplification. Well established as a leader in bass innovation — from amps to pickups to pedals — Aguilar has been pushing the envelope of what lightweight gear can offer with the Tone Hammer amps and the SL series of cabinets. Recently, we tested the newest members of these lineups: the Tone Hammer 700 (big brother to the Tone Hammer 500) and the SL 115 cabinet. Aguilar sent along three SL 115s, the TH 700, and a SL 410x, so I was able to put together various configurations. My first chance to test this gear came when I was leading a music workshop with Victor Wooten at a local university here in Nashville. When playing with another bassist, Vic tends to privilege the higher end of the sonic spectrum, leaving the lower range for the other player. As such, I decided to build a rig that was all about the bottom. I took two eight-ohm SL 115s, the Tone Hammer 700, and my MIJ Fender ’75 Reissue Jazz Bass (with a Sadowsky three-knob preamp installed). With a SL 115 in each hand, the amp in my gig bag’s outside pouch, and the bag strapped on my back, I only needed to make one trip from the car. Super-light, indeed. As expected, this setup delivered meaty lows, but I was surprised by the punchy, clear, and crisp tones coming from the midrange and even the upper end. Dave Boonshoft, president/CFO of Aguilar, explains that while some 1x15s are specifically created to act as a subwoofer, Aguilar designed the SL 115 with full-range capabilities. Its frequency response is listed as 35Hz­–4kHz, but it had no problem reproducing tones beyond that. I could easily see gigging with two SL 115s and the TH 700 head. Back home, I set up a couple different rigs. First, I paired the TH 700 with an eight-ohm SL 115 and the SL 410x. For the other, I ran the TH 700 with a single four-ohm SL 115 to try that out as a standalone option. I then played a variety of basses through each. Both setups produced distinctively warm and punchy tones without any heavy coloration. Not an accident, says Boonshoft. “We don’t want our speakers to act like filters, but rather simply be a good transducer.” I should also mention that I own a variety of amps and cabinets from Aguilar, including DB 412, GS 410, and AG 500 heads (none of which are lightweight), so I had a good baseline for testing the SL series. While the SL series has its own character, I found it to be comparable in quality, power, and transparency. Stacking the SL 410x (44Hz–16kHz) on top of the SL 115 made for the perfect combination. I couldn’t believe the rumble it produced when I played one of my 5-string b