n00b bassist, speaker help!

[PunkRockDunn]

hey, i'm not very smart.

my gear:

2001 Fender Mexican PBass in Sage Metallic Green with a Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder in it...(great passive tone actually)

- Hartke 5500 Bass Head -
http://www.samsontech.com/products/p...fm?prodID=1719

GK Goldline 2x10 (aluminum piece of ****)

GK Goldline 1x15 (also aluminum, less *****)

heres my problem. i hate my speakers, especially since they are a pain to fix and not very tasty sounding. unfortunately i'm not the smartest bassist.

i want new Eminence neodymium speakers, but what ohms, impedance, and watts would go perfectly with the Hartke 5500 head, in my GK cabs, to replace all the speakers?

id love if they could have a perfect match...all i need is the OHMS, IMPEDANCE, and WATTS, kay?

[Thor]

Just sell them and upgrade to better used stuff.

[PunkRockDunn]

nobody wants this ****, seriously...ive tried selling...

[Thor]

You will have to use WinISD to model the boxes. FAQ's
explain it all.

The link doesn't work, I am assuming the Hartke has a minimum load of 4 ohms.

Replace 1x15 with a suitable 8 ohm replacement driver you
have modeled.

Replace 2x 10's with either 16 ohm drivers wired in parallel
or 2 4 ohm drivers wired in series.

Then each cab will have a nominal 8 ohm impedance and if
you run both the nominal impedance is 4 ohms.

Or you could lower the price and just sell the stuff. Or trade it
in for better stuff and avoid all that.

[kesslari]

Seriously, take a few hours here and read the sticky threads about speakers.
You will learn a great deal and be able to make much better decisions - regarding whether to buy different gear, or how you may be able to change out the speakers in your cabinets effectively - and which will get you better results and be more cost effective.

Hint - "what's the cheapest thing I can do?" usually gives a different answer than "what can I do that will improve my sound?".

[lbwdog]

While I hate to say anything bad about G-K, I must admit the Goldlines are most undesirable to me. I've never played one personally, but have heard 'em being played at GC. No likey!!

From what I understand, they're the product of some sort of agreement with G-K and MF/GC, to hit the budget wannabee market. The ones I've seen are made from MDF and are very heavy. The drivers typically have low power handling capacities as well.

If you were to model replacement drivers (let's say Eminence Neos), and find a good match for the internal cab volume, port tuning, etc., you'll still have a heavy box with speakers that aren't designed for it, and for just a little more money, you could find a couple of good quality cabs. Actually, the latest G-K Neo cabs are priced very attractively, but I can understand your frustration with trying to sell a little desired cab.

Another thought; One G-K 4x10 Neo would give you better sound, power, and weight than both of the ones you already own, so unless you just must have a two cab stack, that would be a good choice. Just advertise your's on CL at a blow out price. There's always a buyer for the right price!!

[Rick Auricchio]

I presume the reason for replacing the speakers is that the OP destroyed them? If so, what will prevent the new ones from suffering the same fate?

And just to join the others, this is the 50-zillionth thread where people think you can just drop some speaker into an existing cabinet. Doesn't work that way. Cabinets are specifically DESIGNED to work with their speakers. They don't just build a box and slap speakers in. Doing so is a crapshoot, and probably a waste of money.

[lbwdog]

LOL!! Rick, it seems to bug the heck out of you when someone mentions swapping out drivers, so let me play devil's advocate for a minute. (all in good fun)

Originally Posted by Rick Auricchio

I presume the reason for replacing the speakers is that the OP destroyed them? If so, what will prevent the new ones from suffering the same fate?

I suppose none of us can guard him 24/7 and slap his hand when he goes to turn up the volume and bass boost.

Cabinets are specifically DESIGNED to work with their speakers.

Not always the case. It sometimes seems that they just build a box and slap some speakers in.

They don't just build a box and slap speakers in. Doing so is a crapshoot, and probably a waste of money.

Maybe....Maybe not! Over the years I've swapped out many drivers with varying results. Some excellent. ferinstance, I've installed JBL, EV, Peavy, Altec, and Jensen speakers in the same 1x15 cab. While they each sounded different, none sounded what I would describe as "bad".

I agree that a properly designed cab will be optimized for it's particular driver but there are so many cabs with very similar measurements, that will accept a number of similarly speced drivers, and if homework is done, the two can be matched up successfully.
Otherwise....It is a crapshoot.

[Rick Auricchio]

Yeah, you're right...I see so many of these questions that after a while I want a rubber stamp reply.

It's just that I hate to see people gamble on a speaker retrofit. We all spend way too much money on equipment as it is.