Why are guitar cabs 12 inch and bass cabs 10 inch?

Brighton is quite a cool place. I did quite a few Jump Jive gigs there last year. Place really rocks when it wants to..
 
Brighton is quite a cool place. I did quite a few Jump Jive gigs there last year. Place really rocks when it wants to..
actually sounds like a cool place ..... I just did a quick google to find some unusual region in Britain as a reply to the 'simultaneously everywhere' remark.
 
I've been to Brighton once.. unintentionally.

Took the wrong train out of Portsmouth. :(
 
actually sounds like a cool place ..... I just did a quick google to find some unusual region in Britain as a reply to the 'simultaneously everywhere' remark.

Brighton has the reputation for being the gay capital of the UK. It was once just an elephants graveyard now it is a really cool place to spend a few days or if you want a relaxed and culturally diverse life it is a good place to head for regardless of anything else. I like the place but it will never be the centre of the universe.
 
Brighton has the reputation for being the gay capital of the UK. It was once just an elephants graveyard now it is a really cool place to spend a few days or if you want a relaxed and culturally diverse life it is a good place to head for regardless of anything else. I like the place but it will never be the centre of the universe.

unless you reach light speed in which case everywhere will be the center of the universe!
 
I hate to break up the back and forth going on about Brighton, but I'ma sneak in real quick to answer the OP. xD

The way I understand it, it's kinda an ego thing. The guitarists want a big ol' cabinet so it looks cool. That's how my live sound teacher explained it to me.

I mean, because of the way four 12" speakers couple, you can get that thing throwing out frequencies below 20Hz. You'll never need that on a guitar. Not to mention a 12" can't get the kind of high frequency response a 10" can (and when you throw 4 of those together, you're still getting down to like, 25-30Hz from the speakers coupling).

Personally, I prefer 10" drivers for guitar as opposed to 12" for this exact reason. It just doesn't make sense why you'd give up the high frequency response that can give you more bite and whatnot to get a lower response that you won't ever reach with a guitar.
 
I hate to break up the back and forth going on about Brighton, but I'ma sneak in real quick to answer the OP. xD

The way I understand it, it's kinda an ego thing. The guitarists want a big ol' cabinet so it looks cool. That's how my live sound teacher explained it to me.

I mean, because of the way four 12" speakers couple, you can get that thing throwing out frequencies below 20Hz. You'll never need that on a guitar. Not to mention a 12" can't get the kind of high frequency response a 10" can (and when you throw 4 of those together, you're still getting down to like, 25-30Hz from the speakers coupling).

Personally, I prefer 10" drivers for guitar as opposed to 12" for this exact reason. It just doesn't make sense why you'd give up the high frequency response that can give you more bite and whatnot to get a lower response that you won't ever reach with a guitar.

That's an interesting explanation.
 
Interesting. It's been a long while since my SuperReverb, but I've never felt highs lacking on 12's (regular drivers or the d-120's or 130's.
I do understand that a speaker and cab combination's size does effect the size and heft' of its sound. That can come into play as far as a cab's size being a better fit for the room you're in

add.. As far as highs' go-- I'd say the tone of those highs (speaker choice..), and the beaming/uneven coverage are way in front of cone size
 
Interesting. It's been a long while since my SuperReverb, but I've never felt highs lacking on 12's (regular drivers or the d-120's or 130's.
I do understand that a speaker and cab combination's size does effect the size and heft' of its sound. That can come into play as far as a cab's size being a better fit for the room you're in

add.. As far as highs' go-- I'd say the tone of those highs (speaker choice..), and the beaming/uneven coverage are way in front of cone size
right ..... you can just look at the specs. Some 15's like a JBL D130 goes just as high as any 12 or even higher than some.
That's an old speaker, of course, but there simply has to be modern ones the same way.

Beaming is a different issue and larger speakers are beamier and don't send as much highs spreading around the room.
 
"4-10's have more surface area than an 18"
Not so. If you calculate for EFFECTIVE area a 15 comes out at 154sq ins and 4 x10 at 115sq ins. That is allowing for the lost area due to the suspension. Naturally different speaker constructions will change this a bit but generally a 15 is a bigger "cone" than 4 10s. The latter might well have a much greater total power handling capacity tho' and at least the same displacement so they might well go louder, cleaner.

And let's lay this "speed" demon to rest. The response of any "system" is a function of its passband, frequency response, be it an amp or a speaker. Big, heavy things can move fast, just down to how much force you have available to accelerate them (and stop them!) 15"speakers tended to be in reflex cabs and probably not very well designed reflex cabs at that. Ported cabs need an amp with a vicelike grip to control the cone but most "music" grade amps don't have really good damping and VALVE amps have ***t all!
Tens on the other hand (the Ampeg classic) are almost always in sealed boxes.

12" Guitar speakers: Sound is all about "size". The radiation pattern of a 10"cone (12" chassis) is specific and neither 8's 10's, nor 15's do the same. Historically guitar amps used 12" PA speakers because the PA industry found them a good compromise of power handling, response and size/weight. That is the "sound" we have come to know and love.

Dave.
 
This is always a bone of contention with guitar players. The history runs a little like this. Bass used to be felt rather than heard. The Ampeg B18 was the amp of choice. Then there were the Fender Bassman amps, and the guitar players got ahold of them for tone. Now the room is more important. The new Bose tower systems use the room and little 4" speakers to avoid feedback and a loss of presence. The reason the bass guitar can get away with speakers as small as 8" is that the bass frequencies are unidirectional. That means that you cannot tell where they are coming from. So the bass speaker can use the room as a cab as well.
I hope this helps
NewYorkRod
 
"4-10's have more surface area than an 18"
Not so. If you calculate for EFFECTIVE area a 15 comes out at 154sq ins and 4 x10 at 115sq ins. That is allowing for the lost area due to the suspension. Naturally different speaker constructions will change this a bit but generally a 15 is a bigger "cone" than 4 10s. The latter might well have a much greater total power handling capacity tho' and at least the same displacement so they might well go louder, cleaner. ..
My bad. I should have been thinking 15" not 18 -but I just tried it again and it looks like I'd still be off. With 4- 7's vs a single '14' they both come in at about 154sq in. (does that compensate for the suspension ok?

So I'm really curious now though as I don't recall any '15 cab doing what the SWR 4-10 for example does..?
 
"4-10's have more surface area than an 18"
Not so. If you calculate for EFFECTIVE area a 15 comes out at 154sq ins and 4 x10 at 115sq ins.



I think the math is off a little here, or some incorrect assumptions.

Looking at the Eminence website for their bass speakers, the surface cone area for the Legend BP102-4 is 345 sq cm x 4 which is 1380 sq cm for a 4x10. And the Legend CB15 has 856 sq cm of area. 4x10's have more surface area.

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Legend_BP102_4.pdf

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Legend_CB15.pdf
 
I think the math is off a little here, or some incorrect assumptions.

Looking at the Eminence website for their bass speakers, the surface cone area for the Legend BP102-4 is 345 sq cm x 4 which is 1380 sq cm for a 4x10. And the Legend CB15 has 856 sq cm of area. 4x10's have more surface area.

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Legend_BP102_4.pdf

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Legend_CB15.pdf
Wow ok that's wild. So they're using 8.3 inches dia for a 'ten, but only about 13 for the '15".
(If I didn't screw that up- Making my way to metric 'round here.. inch by inch :D :drunk:
 
I think the math is off a little here, or some incorrect assumptions.

Looking at the Eminence website for their bass speakers, the surface cone area for the Legend BP102-4 is 345 sq cm x 4 which is 1380 sq cm for a 4x10. And the Legend CB15 has 856 sq cm of area. 4x10's have more surface area.

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Legend_BP102_4.pdf

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/Legend_CB15.pdf

Incorrect assumptions my bandanered friend. Well, wrongly remembered dimensions.
You are perfectly correct.

Dave.
 
Wow ok that's wild. So they're using 8.3 inches dia for a 'ten, but only about 13 for the '15".
(If I didn't screw that up- Making my way to metric 'round here.. inch by inch :D :drunk:

Yeah, I avoided the conversion and just stayed in metric. Oi, my head hurts just thinking about it.

Incorrect assumptions my bandanered friend.

Arrrgh!! :)
 
The way I understand it, it's kinda an ego thing. The guitarists want a big ol' cabinet so it looks cool. That's how my live sound teacher explained it to me.

I mean, because of the way four 12" speakers couple, you can get that thing throwing out frequencies below 20Hz. You'll never need that on a guitar. Not to mention a 12" can't get the kind of high frequency response a 10" can (and when you throw 4 of those together, you're still getting down to like, 25-30Hz from the speakers coupling).

Personally, I prefer 10" drivers for guitar as opposed to 12" for this exact reason. It just doesn't make sense why you'd give up the high frequency response that can give you more bite and whatnot to get a lower response that you won't ever reach with a guitar.

I like 10s too, but I gotta admit 4x12s can just sound better than a 2x12 or 1x12. I don't know why - it doesn't make sense other than maybe the way the speakers all phase together - but I completely understand why they're popular and I don't think it's necessarily an ego thing. Even with just little bitty amps and not cranked. In the same vein, I don't understand why 4x10s aren't more popular w/ guitarists too.
 
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