Horns

klejst · #1 06-14-2011, 10:57 AM

I discovered the other day a small light sounding but noticeable at close range static sound coming from the horn in my Mesa Powerhouse 610 cabinet. I called Mesa/Boogie and talked to their support and asked about it. Their rep said the horn may be going bad and I could either replace it all together, or simply turn it down or off on the back of the cab, or totally unplug it and not use it at all. He said it is only 40 something bucks to replace, however my question is does a horn really do much anyways? I have heard it adds to the highs end, however if you have a good head amp you can simply increase the treble to make up for no horn. I usually play with a pick 95% of the time. What is everyones take on horns? I am only asking because my band has a gig tomorrow night and don't want to have any problems obviously.

rpsands · #2 06-14-2011, 11:02 AM

Horns will get the highs around the room. Your 10's will have a lot of that hf content but only if folks are standing in line with it.

Only way you can know if it does anything for your sound is to turn it off and see

Gearhead17 · #3 06-14-2011, 11:04 AM

The horn does all of the high end above what the speakers do. Is it truly useful in a live environment? Not really. High frequencies are very directional especially on bass speakers. The tweeter/horn is not designed to spread very wide and you will only hear it really well if you are in a straight line of it and are near your cab. Otherwise, as you move to the right or left, you will notice the extreme high end disappear. Tweeters will give you extra clarity and all of your finger noise. I find a little bit of high end is helpful for clarity, but I do not need it.

For pick playing, a good boost at 1khz to 3khz is key to getting a good pick tone. It comes through the speakers, not the tweeter. It's also quite loud in that range!

Think of it this way, the Ampeg 810e is on stages nationwide - it has no tweeter. I do not think bass players really miss it....

EDIT: PA systems - the horns on those speakers spread high end much more efficiently when compared to what bass players use on stage.

nysbob · #4 06-14-2011, 11:04 AM

I would follow his advice and unplug it.

funkinbottom · #5 06-14-2011, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nysbob

I would follow his advice and unplug it.

+ 100

fishtx · #6 06-14-2011, 11:38 AM

I would replace it so you have a fully functioning cabinet...you can always turn it off...but if you want to use it at some point...get it fixed.

klejst · #7 06-14-2011, 12:03 PM

Thanks for the replies. I guess I will just experiment and see what will be best. It really stood out to me what was said about the Ampeg 810e and it not having a horn, yet being one of the most widely used and seen cabs by all sorts of players.

rodl2005 · #8 06-14-2011, 01:23 PM

I unplugged mine & took the crossover outta the situation. That lets the speakers get the full range-usually up to around 5K, instead of the 2.5-3k they get when the x-over is in the circuit. Much better imo.

klejst · #9 06-14-2011, 08:08 PM

So you are saying the PH 6x10 actually sounds better and more defined with the horn completely unplugged and not even being used? That was a option I was thinking about. My band for example is a rock band and we play not at blasting, yet high volumes. And like I said I play with a pick almost all the time.

will33 · #10 06-14-2011, 08:33 PM

You can disconnect it completely but leave it mounted in there just to plug the hole so it doesn't throw off the cabinet tuning for the other speakers.

rodl2005 · #11 06-15-2011, 12:25 AM

If I was you, i'd be sure to make sure the speaker is connected directly-making sure to bypass the x-over, otherwise the x-over may still be 'in the mix' & affecting the sound.
I wasn't that impressed with the Mark Bass HR151std-thought was 'boxy' sounding.
I disconnected the tweeter & x-over & it was immediately better-to my ears. I since added some dampening material, & it's even better

klejst · #12 06-15-2011, 06:42 AM

Basically my only "worry" and focus right now is on the horn in my Mesa because that is the only thing that is having problems. I may try turning it down and see if that helps or if not I may just disconnect the horn all together. I just do not want to have any problems or anything sound bad tonight at the gig.

rodl2005 · #13 06-15-2011, 11:46 PM

So, how'd you go?

klejst · #14 06-16-2011, 05:02 PM

The gig went awesome and I played very well. As for the horn I simply turned it down (or close to off) on the Player Control Network and it sounded really good at the show. I may see how it sounds at practice and then see if it really is still making a noise because at the gig I could not hear if it was. I may just spend the 40 something bucks and replace it.

CapnSev · #15 06-16-2011, 05:11 PM

Cabs that use horns are typically designed differently than those without horns, especially when it comes to speakers.

Tweeterless cabs usually use a full-range speaker that is capable of producing decent highs. Cabs with tweeters often times use a speaker that is designed to roll off highs and let the tweeter take the job of producing the highs instead. You typically don't get the sound of a tweeterless cab on your horn-loaded cab by simply turning the tweeter off.

If I owned a cab that had a horn die on me, I would replace it to get the cab to sound 'correct', then turn the horn down.

will33 · #16 06-16-2011, 05:20 PM

Most bass cabs don't have real xovers. The tweet will have a HPF but the woofers already run " full range" , they just fall off in response before the tweet picks up.