Cabinet : speaker only or speaker + horn ?

[ErnieBallFr]

Hey !

I'm a Trace Elliot addicted playing on a 1048H (4x10" + Horn) and a 15".
I just bought an Ampeg SVT-VR head and was wondering why all 4 speakers Ampeg have a horn, and not the 8 speakers like 810.

More generally, do you prefer cabinet with only speakers or speakers + horn, and why ? (pros / cons).

Let me know !

[Eric Moesle]

Put me down for a cab with a speaker + horn, BUT with a knob to turn it down or off. Nice to have if you need it, turn it off if you don't.

Personally, mine are off but I have, on occassion, turned them up a tiny, tiny bit in certain rooms.

[rumblethump]

I voted speakers only. I disconnect the horns right after purchase.

[kevbassman]

Originally Posted by Eric Moesle

Put me down for a cab with a speaker + horn, BUT with a knob to turn it down or off. Nice to have if you need it, turn it off if you don't.

Personally, mine are off but I have, on occassion, turned them up a tiny, tiny bit in certain rooms.

+1.

I use it the same way........regardless if it's the Epifani UL410. Carvin 210, or my home made cab w/ Eminece speakers.

[genericusername]

Speakers only, because I'm poor.

[lokikallas]

When I had my ampeg 810 I never thought about a horn. When I went to a hartke 410 xl I thought it had a nice bite with no horn. Now I use an svt40hlf, and I can't see going back to no horn, or at least a tweeter. That horn can rip off your head though, so I dial it back 3-6db. Horn sounds great in my metal band, but I usually dial back even more when playing r&b and pop.

[Rockmusician]

My cabs have horns. I like the fact that I can add some highs when I need clarity and to help cut through the mix.

[EricssonB]

I had to vote "Speakers only" not because my amp doesn't have a horn, but because a capacitor on my crossover is broken and I haven't gotten around to fixing it.

If/When I do, I'll add a bypass switch to alleviate the load on the attenuator, which is what I think fried a cap. If anybody has an knowledge on the process (I can't seem to find the correct cap to order, actually) then please check out my other thread!

Fender Bassman 200 Crossover

[Jim Nazium]

Speakers only for me, because:
1. I like Phil Jones cabs, and that's the only way he makes them
2. I don't like a lot of highs in my sound, so even if my cabs had horns (or other tweeters) I'd probably turn them off

I'm not ideologically opposed to tweeters, I just happen to like the sound I'm getting without them

[PSPookie]

Depends on the day. Sometimes you feel like a horn. Sometimes you don't.

[klejst]

I play with speakers and horn on my Mesa PH 610, however keep the horn turned down because it makes a faint abnormal noise when turned up high, hardly noticeable to anyone, but not that I know it's there and it drove me crazy, plus I did not want to damage it further or anything. I will probably replace it here soon anyways.

[keyofnight]

Every time I use a horn, everything sounds "honky"—but maybe I just haven't used a cab with a good enough horn.

[TheBass]

I find myself switching the horn off most of the time on my 212 (2x Eminence 2512 Deltalite II + EBS Horn). I guess I wouldn't miss it.

[LouisV]

I also usually have the horn "off," (on Aguilar GS 112) but, yes, sometimes it actually helps in certain rooms. But even then, I turn it up just the slightest.

[DukeLeJeune]

Just as not all speakers are created equal, so too not all horns are created equal. And the imo most sound-quality-critical piece of the puzzle, the crossover, arguably varies even more in performance from one design to the next than speakers and horns do.

[DeathFromBelow]

I allways have at least one dirt pedal on, so horns are a no-no for me.

[deeptubes]

Much wider tonal range when a horn or tweeter is thrown in the mix.

[zachoff]

I dislike horns.

[JLS]

No horn for me.

[JimmyM]

Wouldn't mind a mid horn, such as on the cabs Duke makes. But a regular tweeter? On an 810e? Sacrilege!!!