Tweeter part of your "sound"?

[jjk2007]

I was playing in a room I'm familiar with for a short set, and noticed something wasn't quite right with my sound. Couldn't figure it out but I chalked it up to having three different gigs in a 4 day span and maybe my ears were thrown a little off. Well, it turns out my amp tech turned off the horn switch on my Hydrive 410...(ok, it was actually my 1.5 year old sometime at home but hey, a guy can dream) Anyhow, setup is quick, teardown is quicker and the room is usually fairly dark leading to me originally missing it as I was plugging in. At the end as I was tearing down is when I noticed it was off. I know, shame on me for not doing a better check, but it is what it is. Anyhow, the next time playing there everything sounded great (horn on) and it made me realize that little thing is key to my sound. I've played through a few tweeterless cabs and even though they sounded good to me, I've just got to have the tweet!! Anyhow, anyone else feel the same?

[AwkwardLoudness]

A typically don't use a tweeter, but they are useful depending on one's desired tone, style, type of cab, crossover freq, and quality of the tweeter.

The cabs i typically use (TB153) have mid-range drivers with range up to 5,000 hZ where the crossover sends the higher frequencies to tweeter. 5,000 hZ is high enough for what I do. Many tweeter equipped cabs have a lower crossover frequency though.

[fenderphil]

i found the full on tweeter to be harsh on my hydrive112 as well as on my buddies hydrive 4X10, but switched to -6db sounds killllller!

[jjk2007]

Originally Posted by fenderphil

i found the full on tweeter to be harsh on my hydrive112 as well as on my buddies hydrive 4X10, but switched to -6db sounds killllller!

I use the -6db setting too.

[VS]

It's definitely part of my sound these days. I can't do a cab without a horn unless it's a 15" cabinet. -Luke

[CopperheadLXXIX]

Originally Posted by fenderphil

i found the full on tweeter to be harsh on my hydrive112 as well as on my buddies hydrive 4X10, but switched to -6db sounds killllller!

Same cab, same thought. All the way up is too harsh, all the way off a tad too dark, but the -6db sounds just right.

[David1234]

Treble is definitely a part of my sound, and although I'm open to alternatives (like a 6" driver for mid and treble, or a wizzy coax) a tweeter is usually my thing.

Some tweeters work better for me than others. I've found that I really like the LeSon piezo's in early mid priced SWR cabs [the same type used in some MarkBass cabs, I think] over the 'better' tweeters in some higher end products, which produce too harsh a treble for my taste.

When I've played with other people's cabs with no tweeter at all, I am usually disappointed with the tone.

[Sartori]

Yeah, I generally don't use tweeters. They tend not to like overdrive very much.

[skruch]

Definitely part of my SWR Workingman's 10 sound. Me likee!

[Marton]

They're part of my sound when they're off, does that count ?

[jjk2007]

Originally Posted by Marton

They're part of my sound when they're off, does that count ?

Umm....no. Lol

To each his own!!

[VS]

I think horns are only relevant when your playing style utilizes it's capabilities. -Luke

[bassplayer8953]

All of my 2 x 10 cabs have them. If my sound, at a particular time, is too trebly, I might adjust it down, or turn it off completely. That's what controls are for. But better to have, than not...

[Phendyr_Loon]

Originally Posted by Marton

They're part of my sound when they're off, does that count ?

Same for me too. All of my tweeted cabinets if ever own had the tweeter turned off, down, or disconnected. The tweeters in bass cabinets are often capable of frequencies up to 20khz. I don't believe the range of an electric bass, even a 6 stringer, comes close to 10khz.
Of coarse I personally don't have distinct overtones in my sound, maybe then I'd use only the bottom cusp of a tweeters range.
For my sound I could better utilize a mid crossed over at 500hz.

[derridiandrift]

no tweeters, thanks.

[zachoff]

No tweeter present in any of my recordings, ever.

[Chowowbus]

I de-tweetered my avatar b410...it is way to harsh when I use overdrive...which is all the time...

[wcriley]

Personally, I find nothing useful above ~5K.
I guess slap/pop players or others wanting a scooped-mid sound would be happy with a woofer/tweeter cab. I'll stick with my woofer/mid cabs.

[BigBassBob]

I use the tweeter on my Aguilar DB112 about a third of the way up. To my ears it adds just the right amount of highend bite to my (already satisfactory) sound.

I could live without it though (unless I used a pick or slapped more often live).

[Russell L]

My hearing is so bad I can hardly tell the difference with the dang thing on or off. But, I usually run the tweet at about half-steam on my Markbass 151P cab. I can't hear it that well in the mix, but it sounds good solo. I darken it a tad, depending on the tune. Easy on my Little Mark II with the VLE knob (I hear that knob is like an attenuator for the tweet---it does cut the highs, that's its purpose). The VLE and eq knobs are the only controls I have for it on my Markbass CMD 121H combo.

The old Workingman's 12 was my first experience with a tweeter. Not bad sounding, but the only attenuation was an on/off switch.

The only thing about the tweeter sound is all the fret rattling, and other noises I get from my right hand flopping around. However, it makes me play more precisely to avoid all that.

Overall, I guess I use my tweets a fair amount. Don't mind the sound, unless I'm going for the oldschool sound (which is where most of my playing is).