10"s vs 12"s. What's better?

[DrayHoleman]

From my limited knowledge, the larger the speaker, the lower the frequency it can reproduce.
Then why are most multi-speaker bass cabs 4x10s or 8x10s?
And guitars have 4x12s? or two of them?

[James Hart]

Originally Posted by DrayHoleman

From my limited knowledge, the larger the speaker, the lower the frequency it can reproduce.

Wrong, the speaker (no matter the size) reproduce frequencies they are designed to reproduce.

Originally Posted by DrayHoleman

Then why are most multi-speaker bass cabs 4x10s or 8x10s?
And guitars have 4x12s? or two of them?

Marketing

[lomo]

Do a search. Heart speaks the truth. Speaker size has little to do with cab freq range. Most 410s go lower than most 15s, Phil Jones cabs go low using 5" drivers, etc etc etc....

[BassmanPaul]

For a guitar player a 4x12 stack is a standard from way back. This is also true of the open back 2x12 format. Folk tend to buy what they are familiar with.

As James posted the thought that a larger cone equates to more lows is a myth plain and simple.

[will33]

Mr. Hart nicely condensed what can be found in greater detail here... AMPS FAQ!! Info on OHMS, Allsize RIGS-OverUnderPowerCabs DIY TechTalk-Links

Lots of myths and assumptions out there, mostly because "that's the way we've always done it". Marketing pushes and people buy what "looks right". Too many of us listen with our eyes.

[B-string]

412 cabs (one straight face and one slant face 412) was the gold standard Marshall guitar stack. 8 12" with 100 watt Marshall head produced a lot of sound in the days when PA's were lucky to cover the voice only.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by DrayHoleman

From my limited knowledge, the larger the speaker, the lower the frequency it can reproduce.

Not true. A dozen odd factors determine how low a driver may go. Size is not one of them. You can read about them here:
Understanding Loudspeaker Data | Eminence Speaker

Then why are most multi-speaker bass cabs 4x10s or 8x10s?

Habit. There's no technical reason to favor them, and quite a few against them. But most players have no more knowledge about how speakers work than you do, so they buy what they see others using, who bought what they saw others using, who bought what they saw others using, ad infinitum.

And guitars have 4x12s? or two of them?

Because their knowledge of how speakers work is even more limited than yours.

[Mr. Foxen]

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

But most players have no more knowledge about how speakers work than you do, so they buy what they see others using, who bought what they saw others using, who bought what they saw others using, ad infinitum.

It goes back to 'because that's all you could get at the time' eventually.

[B-string]

Originally Posted by Mr. Foxen

It goes back to 'because that's all you could get at the time' eventually.

^ Yes.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by Mr. Foxen

It goes back to 'because that's all you could get at the time' eventually.

Not really, there were plenty of 2x12s, 1x15s and 2x15s in the 60s. Tens didn't become really popular until true bass tens became available in the 70s. I never bought into them myself, I used mainly fifteens until about 15 years ago.

[dog1]

Yup. It used to be that 15's were the only speakers accepted for bass guitar. Now, I personally prefer 12's. But in the wrong cabinet, 12's sound no better than any other speaker when it comes to bass guitar.

It's not necessarily the speaker size. It's the cabinet.

[Aussie Player]

I used 12" from '71 to about '78, then 12's + 15's to about '88. then back to 15's to about 2005 then 10's + 15's then only 10's now I am back to a paid of boxes with 15's and 10's but driven by separate heads and blended to room for volume and tone.

Also revisited 12's a couple of years back and didn't like them. Neither the punch and clarity of the 10's or the tone of the 15's.

[JazzbassArt]

The vocal minority, pompus, berating posts, by people with secondary motives, is what drives me away from internet boards.

[B-string]

Originally Posted by JazzbassArt

The vocal minority, pompus, berating posts, by people with secondary motives, is what drives me away from internet boards.

Sorry.....what???

[kesslari]

Originally Posted by JazzbassArt

The vocal minority, pompus, berating posts, by people with secondary motives, is what drives me away from internet boards.

Cabbage.

[JazzbassArt]

Moderator deleted

[geddeeee]

I cannot stand 10 inch speakers. Most tens 'fart out'. I'm not talking frequency ranges, just the fact that bigger speakers (12 or 15) seem to have a tighter, punchier bottom end.

I've been playing for 33 years now, and I have yet to find a decent 10 inch set up that does the business. Mixing 10's and 15's is a standard rig these days, but I don't see the point.

10 inch speakers should be consigned to computer subwoofers, where they belong!!!!!

[canadian*eh]

quote moderator deleted


WOW Some one woke up one the wrong side of the amp today!! Most of mix matched ohm loads

[cchorney]

I've had 215s, 115s, and currently rock a 210. I've owned 215s that sounded terrible and 215s that sounded great, likewise the 115s and 210. It really depends on the box, the driver, the amp & bass, and the bass player's ear & preferences. And all cabs can be pushed to overload (farting out) if enough juice is applied.

You gotta get in the the math of total cone area and excursion to get a sense of how much air is getting pushed but like James Hart replied early on in this thread, any given driver will reproduce the frequency response range it was designed to reproduce.

[B-string]

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