speaker sizes?

O

oh_the_blood

New member
i want a bass cab but im not sure which speakers would sound best.

what do 8" 10" 12" and 15" sound like

whats the main difference between them?
 
I always figured a mess-of-tens gets you the most cone/driver surface/density per inch of cab space and possibly the chance of being the most neutral, all things being equal -but all things never are so...
maybe a nice sloppy 18?
:D
 
how low the frequency response is.

But, with a lower response like with a 15", you loose the immediate 'punch' of something like a 10".

Thats why a lot of bassist will use multiple cabs. The best sounding I have heard (and I don't have a clue to what amp were running) had an 8 10" cab with a 2 15" cab. It hit ya right in the gut
 
Bigger speakers- more rumble, smaller speakers- more clarity. Our bass player uses 2 cabs, one with 4 10 inch and another with 2 15s, it gets depth with clarity. He used to use just 15s but recently added the 4X10 cab and it made a world of difference.
 
Why would someone leave me negative feedback for that post? I didn't call anyone and asshole for once and I get it on that.

Go fuck yourselves you fucking flaming closetcase butfucker.
 
Outlaws said:
Why would someone leave me negative feedback for that post? I didn't call anyone and asshole for once and I get it on that.

Go fuck yourselves you fucking flaming closetcase butfucker.
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I didn't do it. But welcome to the club. If you haven't received a totally stupid and pointless negative, you're still a homerecording.com virgin.
 
When I played bass I used 12" speakers ... kind of even s things out.
The bass player in one of my old bands used 18' speakers in 2 folded reflex cabinets. The ground shook. I like 12's.
 
Henry Mars said:
The bass player in one of my old bands used 18' speakers...
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HOLY CRAP!!! 18 feet!

Yea, basically the smaller it is, the more clarity you'll get. But not as much low end.
 
IronFlippy said:
HOLY CRAP!!! 18 feet!
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Almost got 'Taps Stonehenge prop thing going here -reversed of course. :D
Yea, basically the smaller it is, the more clarity you'll get. But not as much low end.
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Perhaps only because of a bit more top relatively speaking? Tens in mass can move a lot of air on the low end.
 
mixsit said:
Perhaps only because of a bit more top relatively speaking? Tens in mass can move a lot of air on the low end.
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That's what I would say. You can get tons of LF from a good cab design and good 10" drivers. Bigger drivers usually struggle a bit on the top.
 
easychair said:
If you mix sizes, I think it sounds better to use a crossed over design, either passive or active/biamped.
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+1, I don't like mixing sizes, generally. You get wierd phase issues unless there is a crossover.

What has been said is true, smaller speakers are generally more accurate & focused. I've had cabinets loaded with 8"s and they were awesome. I use 10"s and 12"s now. 15"s are great too, but can be a bit more "flabby" depending on the maker, but still good for certain applications.

10"s are probably the best all-around, do-anything size, IMO.
 
Henry Mars said:
When I played bass I used 12" speakers ... kind of even s things out.
The bass player in one of my old bands used 18' speakers in 2 folded reflex cabinets. The ground shook. I like 12's.
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Uh 18" inch I mean.
 
i'd say mix and a match with a crossover of course... maybe an 18" or 15" for rumble.. a couple of tens for mid (aluminum cones for tightness) and possible a lil horn for high .. carvin makes a couple of cabs kinda like that.. and the bassist i play with swears by the metal cone 10"s..
i use a dual 15" personally... it really depends on the style of music youre playing ... if you do a lot of chording or thrashy high grind stuff.. go all metal cone 10" if youre playing jam rock.. a pair of 15"s will do fine.. just really consider the sound you want to hear.. or better yet look at your current eq curve (if you have one) and design the cab to match that..

gl
 
seismetr0n said:
i'd say mix and a match with a crossover of course... maybe an 18" or 15" for rumble.. a couple of tens for mid (aluminum cones for tightness) and possible a lil horn for high .. carvin makes a couple of cabs kinda like that.. and the bassist i play with swears by the metal cone 10"s..
i use a dual 15" personally... it really depends on the style of music youre playing ... gl
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My take on this, and no doubt all the methods just get you there in different ways, is that the strength in bi-amping is in driver efficiency and fidelity in a full range mixed mode. Electric bass tends to be along the line of single note events (Vs say doing bass and a clean top at the same time.)
Here's a quick check with the calc. (Hopefully Pi is still 3.146. :rolleyes:
With a two-ten plus 1-15 combo, there is 157 sq. inches on the two tens, and 177 on the fifteen. An 18" bumps it up to 256 sq. If you split these with a crossover you're tossing almost half of the cab space not doing- bass. :eek: A single 4-10 box comes in at around 315 sq. inches.
You get to consider that again (or every time) you switch modes- You know, from musician to rodie/truck driver. :D
All that aside though, there's those Peavey 2-10/1-18 cabs that are just fairly monster sounding. They really do seem to really nail it on a whole different level.
Wayne
 
oh_the_blood said:
is it the same for guitar speakers?
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I'd say yeah, kinda sorta'. In that in each case the tone is the variable. But maybe more so with guitar.. we tend to make the speaker a big part of the tone, if that makes any sense.
Being personally on the guitar end, I have found that not only speaker type, the amount (or cab size) can be relevant. I.e., a smaller cab in smaller rooms (and recording perhaps) sounds right', but might fall apart outside or on a large stage, and vise versa.
(YMMV disclaimer) :)
Wayne
 
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