18" bass cab?..

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Jouni

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I made the order for the Ashdown 575w head for bass. :cool:

Now, I've got this dude building me the cab.
(Has done'em before for various artists, at the moment makes a living on PA/soundsystems to yachts, clubs, festivals etc.)


To my proposal (a 2x15" plus 2x10") he countered with a 1x18" and 2x10" in two separate cabs to help moving them, watts to 800.
Birch plywood enforced corners, steel grille, colors as wished, speakon plugs... starts as soon as finds appropriate speakers (didn't ask the brand, duh!..) price in neighborhood of 600 euros..

Now, assuming the craftmanship is all there, what's your opinion on the speaker choice? :confused:

Not the everyday setup to my knowledge.
 
I would stay away from the 18"...I have owned a few cabs in the past that had 18"'s in 'em and I never really liked them that much...

My favorite cab is my Ampeg 1540HE...4 10's and 1 15'...

It has a very solid low end, and lots of punch....

what style of music are you going to be playing predominantly?
 
Yes, style is important to know. If he can get some good speakers, that's a very fair price if you ask me.

18" is basicly a monster that will give you nothing but the subs. This can be a good thing, especially if you have a good 2x10" with it. If you play heavy 5 string stuff, an 18" can really help, but it can muddy things up tremendously aswell. The transient response of this thing will be slower than your grandma though.

I use a 2x10" Eden which goes down to about 42hz, which is the lowest frequency my 4 strings can produce, so I don't need more lows. Mind you, not many "average" 10" speakers can handle things that low, but the Eden does it well. I think most higher end cabs, like Amper, SWR, EBS etc. will be able to produce about the same lows. But an 18" can be literally earth shaking, if not shattering.
 
I play in two bands, both metal, other slower, the other death-metal. Other band plays mostly from 5-string B, the slower a step down, D or low A.
So, the low-end is a factor...
I now play through a 1x15" combo, sounds middy to me, enough highs and attack, no convincing lows.
 
I've always wanted a 2x10 to complement the 1x15 I currently have, but the reality is I don't gig as much. When it gets large enough, they end out running a direct line in the PA anyway. Maybe you could go 2x10 + 1x15 and could be easier to move from gig to gig.
 
I think it depends on what kind of music you are playing and also what kind of bass. If you are using a 5-string you will definately want to have something that can go down to about 30 Hz. Personally, I'd go with the 1x15" and 2x10" configuration.
 
At one time I owned an acoustic 370 and two 301 18" CV-loaded folded horns. No 10's, no 12's, but I still got plenty of highs and monstrous lows. If you can get the dimensions for a 301 cab, AFAIC you can't do better for against-your-chest punch...

Eric
 
I reccomend not doing an 18. My AMpeg 4 10 HLF cab has good 10's in a well designed and ported cabinet and is capable of handling all the lows my 5 string can dish out at about 600 watts. 18's are too muddy, IMO, even in conjuntion with 10's. Combining 15's and 10's gives a good solid sound, but not as tight as all 10's. But as stated before, your style matters a lot. You might want the looseness 15's give you....or even 18's for that matter. It depends on what your sound is.
 
18s are good for sludge bands and other slow heavy styles. personally i found even a 15 to be a bit too much low end to be reasonable.
 
18 is a big sucker.

I have a pair of 18" subs that spend most of the time put away, while my sound system relies on 12" woofers and decent power - and does a good job for the venues and styles I do - bars, small halls and rockabilly. I use the 18" cabs when there's an outdoor gig or a bigger hall than I'm used to. But then there are the subwoofers' amps that have to get trucked around...
 
i like monstrous low end...

i've never used an 18" bass cab, i've used 18" subs, complemented with both single 15's on top, as well as dual 15's on top, as a PA.

when we've run the bass through the PA, it sounds great IMO. as far as a bass amp is concerned, i wouldnt 'think' it would be much different. my bass amp is 1x15, and i'm happy enough, i dont play bass. i'd like to get a 2x10 on top of it, but it's not really important at the moment.

i'd say why not..

don't let him push you over because hes the so called 'expert'.. i like the 2x15 and 2x10 idea better. i'd put the 2x15 in a single cab, mounted diagonally adjacent of course, with a separate 2x10 mounted horizontally.
 
wow! i've never heard of an 18"...i play through a Sunn 4x15" cab..sounds great, but its such a lug..kinda wish i had a 4x12 or somethin runnin along with it to pickup my mids/highs a bit better though!
 
Thanks for input for ye all!

It seems generally 18" is too much... But hell, it's just money :rolleyes:
I'm thinking that I'll get the 18" AND have him build a 2x15" afterwoods :D
..or a 8x10"..

I posted a song, just 5 tracks of bass in mp3-clinic a while ago, that's the tone I'm after...

I'm just listening a bloody good record, band is called "I" record between two worlds, old members of Immortal and other black-metal legends formed this "black and roll" band. This shit is AWESOME!
Really cool heavy-rock. ..and I've got a really good hungover. :cool:
 
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