So let me point out the obvious...

[marantz10]

Why would a bass cabinet have a tweeter (when basses are obviously producing such low frequencies) and guitar cabinets don't typically come with tweeters?

I used to have an Ampeg BA115 in which I disconnected the tweeters and still achieved the amount of 'highs' that I wanted coming thru the 15 inch cone.

[PDGood]

Because it adds to the definition of low notes. Without highs everything would sound like a mudbucker.

I have an Eden 210 which has a tweeter and Peavey 1-15s that have a horn. I really prefer the frequency that the horn adds. It's easy to dial it out if you have too much. You can't always add it in if you don't have enough.

Also, sometimes on a gig, if the stage is wide, the other side of the stage will hear the low end rumble without definition. It can help to have something on that side of the stage so that they can hear the distinction between notes.

[GrooveWarrior]

I just got a brand new GK 115MBX with a GK MB200 head, and the cabinet sounds 100 times better with the tweeter on. So much so, that I could never see myself turning it off. Really allows the crispness of the string attack to come through.

[jelwood]

Bass is fundamentally a percussive instrument. The high end that the tweeter gives is like the high end of the cymbals your drummer is hitting. Not to say that a tweeter is necessary, it just helps your bass be heard. I personally defeat the horn on my cab, I don't need it nor do I like it much.

[Stumbo]

Without highs everything would sound like a mudbucker.

Adding a rumble/high pass/subsonic filter to your rig may help clear up the very low end.
Here are a couple of threads to check out:
1 Benefits of a rumble/lowpass/subsonic filter
2

Also, IME/IMO, from what I've heard the 15/6 cabs are the way to go for stage/FOH dispersion and to obtain clarity w/o the clank.

As far as tweets go, fine for you! I've never used them. IME, I use old school 2x15's with 120w tube heads with a Fender Jazz bass (played with pick or plucked) and always achieved clarity and fullness FOH at sat in the mix perfectly. In venues with a high echo factor, I played with a pick and cut the bass a bit and turned up a bit. Played in 3/5/9 piece groups.

[BurningSkies]

Let me point out the obvious.

The bass is a full range instrument with a frequency range from down in the 30+hz range up to 20khz.

Let me point out something even more obvious.

We don't all want the same tone you do.

[marantz10]

So far nobody has explained why guitar cabs don't have tweeters though.

I would understand why bassists have tweeters if guitarists had them, but so far I just see irony.

[One Drop]

Because a speaker designed for guitars can reproduce highs better than a heavily built speaker with a big magnet like they use for reproducing lower frequencies, i.e in bass cabs.

[B-string]

Guitards like to run with distortion (covers up lack of skill?), anyway distortion sounds really really bad through horn or other tweeter when it is being fed directly from the guitards amp head. Thats why, try it sometime it sucks bad.

[marantz10]

Good enough explanations

Thanks!

[chaosmic]

I find that a bass cab with a tweeter gives me an accurate idea of what my bass sounds like coming from the venue's PA.....especially when my signal is sent to FOH (via a DI box) before going into my amp. In other words, a tweeter really helps me to know what the audience is hearing.

I believe the reason guitar amps don't have tweeters is because a guitar's signal is very rarely sent FOH via a DI box.....guitar cabs are almost always mic'd IME. Therefore the sound coming from a guitarist's cab is a more accurate representation of what the audience is actually hearing.

I suppose a different scenario would be the rare occasion when my cab has been mic'd and the tweeter doesn't really affect the signal sent FOH.

[Passinwind]

Originally Posted by marantz10

So far nobody has explained why guitar cabs don't have tweeters though.

I would understand why bassists have tweeters if guitarists had them, but so far I just see irony.

Many, many acoustic guitarists with a dedicated amp do have a tweeter.

[chaosmic]

Originally Posted by Passinwind

Many, many acoustic guitarists with a dedicated amp do have a tweeter.

Very true. Acoustic guitar signals are almost always sent FOH before going to a player's acoustic amp. The tweeter in their amp allows them to hear what the audience is hearing through the PA (which is most often a 2 or 3-way system).

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by marantz10

Why would a bass cabinet have a tweeter (when basses are obviously producing such low frequencies) and guitar cabinets don't typically come with tweeters?.

Electric guitar cabs don't use tweeters because the clipped and compressed tones of guitar sound bad through them, and also tend to blow tweeters out. Bass cabs should be loaded with midrange drivers, not tweeters, but tweeters are cheaper.

[walterw]

guitar is a mid-range instrument, so no tweeters or subs. hell, the most pleasing guitar speakers are usually pretty lo-fi as well, further narrowing the frequency response.

besides, tweeters sound hideous with distortion.

[derridiandrift]

Originally Posted by billfitzmaurice

Bass cabs should be loaded with midrange drivers, not tweeters, but tweeters are cheaper.

+1

[Sartori]

Originally Posted by B-string

Guitards like to run with distortion (covers up lack of skill?), anyway distortion sounds really really bad through horn or other tweeter when it is being fed directly from the guitards amp head. Thats why, try it sometime it sucks bad.

A lot of people make this "distortion covers up your mistakes/lack of skill/whatever" statement and I really don't understand it. When using overdrive, bad technique can very easily turn your sound into muddled noise. I've found that overdrive really calls attention to one's mistakes because lots of those mistakes tend to make really wretched noises.


Anyway, guitarists use overdrive more than bassists generally do. Overdrive often sounds unpleasant through tweeters.

I think you'd find that a lot of the bassists who do use overdrive don't tend to use tweeters.

[JimmyM]

I don't like tweeters but I don't begrudge anyone who does. No skin off my nose.

Also, forget generalizing bass into the guitar category. There are similarities in looks, but that's about where it ends.

[Jerrold Tiers]

Originally Posted by BurningSkies

Let me point out the obvious.

The bass is a full range instrument with a frequency range from down in the 30+hz range up to 20khz.

Sort of.....

Thick strings limit response, and usually the pickups also limit response pretty severely, at least older or more "standard" types. it's a resonance thing.

The highs are "there", but at very low levels in many basses.

Tweeters can sound OK, or really rotten, depending on wants, skill, etc.

BTW the comment on distortion bringing out all mistakes is 100% true. Getting a clearly articulated distorted sound* is pretty hard unless your technique is very good. Try it
sometime.

* no that is not an oxymoron......

[chadds]

I like a smooth full range platform. Some cabs without tweets like JBLs D140s had all the highs. Some cabs like an SWR GIII perhaps designed for the slap & poppers, which I rarely do, gave me what I wanted with the tweeter barely on.