Weird—they all sound like my computer speakers.
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Obviously, Ampeg... They are all the true 15s, just like brothers are all different, but still brothers.Ampeg currently have four 15 cabs in their line up, each one sounds, and performs different.
MarkBass also have a few different 15's, they sound different from others in their line, as well as from the Ampegs mentioned above.
Then throw in an SWR 15, the GK Neo 15, a Mesa Subway 15 and a Peavey Black Widow 15 and we got all kinds of different 15 sounds and performances.
Which one is the "true" 15?
J/K, keep your tomatoes.
Sounds like we both found what we like.I have two 4x12s that sound completely different.
One I have to tame the bottom end, and one I add some.
They still sound different, both great to me, but someone could easily like one and not the other.
The math ain't mathin' here.
Loved sealed 8x10".
Highly like a good 15"
Used 4x10" too long to oppose their practical performance but.......
Settled for sealed 4x12" as the best alround with deep lows, clear highs and mids to punch the back wall when you are playing. Also generates the highest number in bass players coming for a closer look and asking questions. Never had another combination do that.
Highly like a good 15"
Used 4x10" too long to oppose their practical performance but.......
Settled for sealed 4x12" as the best alround with deep lows, clear highs and mids to punch the back wall when you are playing. Also generates the highest number in bass players coming for a closer look and asking questions. Never had another combination do that.
It's near impossible to objectively show the impact of the diameter of a bass speaker. Wayyyy to many variables.
There should be a sticky post stating, No, speaker size alone does not determine anything. Anyone who starts a thread arguing otherwise will be banned.
I think you are right if you are attempting to emphasize the cab design as an important a factor in a speaker sound.
When comparing basses, strings, amps and cabinets, I think only so much can be quantified. Most of my satisfaction has more to do with the response, how expressive I can play, and how much continuous inspiration is generated. If a particular brand cabinet & speaker size is one element (molecule) that drives you, it has a little less than what shows up on a spectrum analyzer, and more to do with how connected you are. The audience will notice that difference.
I've used 15's, 12's and 10's over the years. In the right cabinet they all do a good job. Once I started slapping back in the 80's I added a tweeter to any cabinet I played not matter what size speaker where in it.
Reminds me of when they used to advertise HD TV while watching SD TV.
When I put my ear to speaker I get different sound when I put it to port/vent.
Shouldn't port/vent be miked as well when comparing bass cabs?
Shouldn't port/vent be miked as well when comparing bass cabs?
speaker choice today is far different than when I first started playing bass in the 1970s. Back then for all practical purposes 15s were the primary choice (other than the Ampeg 810 that few could afford or were able to transport), and speaker cab design was relatively unsophisticated.
Over the past decade or so as speaker design has gotten more sophisticated, I’ve owned and used pretty much the whole gamut - 15s, 12s, 10s, even a 2x8 cab that punched way above its weight class and size. I’ve landed on 12s (I have two 112 cabs made by RevSound, each weighs 21 lbs) as striking the best balance for me of cab weight and performance (tone and volume). The reality is that any of the above speaker sizes, in a properly designed cabinet, could easily do what I need. So my conclusion after all these years is that the answer to the OP’s question is that it does not matter.
Over the past decade or so as speaker design has gotten more sophisticated, I’ve owned and used pretty much the whole gamut - 15s, 12s, 10s, even a 2x8 cab that punched way above its weight class and size. I’ve landed on 12s (I have two 112 cabs made by RevSound, each weighs 21 lbs) as striking the best balance for me of cab weight and performance (tone and volume). The reality is that any of the above speaker sizes, in a properly designed cabinet, could easily do what I need. So my conclusion after all these years is that the answer to the OP’s question is that it does not matter.
I have 3 Barefaced 112 cabs, the SC, SM and BB2. Same speaker, turn the tweeters off, different size cab, different sound from each.
