12's?!! For Bass?!! Oh come now! Really?!!

[The boa]

I run a 4x12 and love it. Looking for plans for a 2x12 all day today. Speaker design is complicated.

 

[InnerBass]

So you're trying to tell ME, that a 2x12 cab. is gonna be deeper, punchier, warmer and clearer than a 1x15? (or two 1x15's)? I'm a firm believer that 15's are the ultimate cones/cabs for Bass guitar, and now someone comes along and tells me that 12's are where it's at for Bass! Are you serious?

Yes

 

[Thrust Meatnozl]

The only piece of gear I'm fiending for is a 412 to replace my old-ass Goliath. If only the gigs were there to justify it.

 

[mmbongo]

I recommend trying the Mesa traditional powerhouse if you haven't yet.

@HolmeBass, I agree!

..or the Mesa Subway 12. Deeper, louder, and weighs about half of the Powerhouse 12!

 

[Joebone]

Hey, I've loved 12" for bass ever since first exposed in the early 1980's. I recall a pair of small cabinets, built to a Thiele formula, with Electro-Voice EVM-12 speakers.

Currently have both 12" and 15" around, and loving the newish, tighter 1-15" cabinets that ... sound more like twelves!

It's tens that I've never quite gotten on with when it comes to playing with any volume...

 

[pbass2]

I LOVE 12"s. I grew up with 15"s and still have a soft spot for 'em, but these days give me 1 or 2 lightweight single 12 cabs and I'm a happy camper.

 

[Al Kraft]

Yeah I gotta say that I always enjoyed most cabs I've tried, but on a whim I gave a Mesa 2x12 a go. All I can say is it blew my mind! IME best of both worlds...but it could be that it's a Mesa hahahaha

The PH212 is easily one the best in the PH line. I loved my PH410 until I tried the PH212 and then I bought two of them. The PH212 cabs have a kind of grand piano like tonal quality to my ear (very full, round notes), and volume-wise they're not far behind the PH410.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I've been using this setup at a little dep gig tonight, and dialling low frequencies out because the EBS 112 has such a deep sound. So not only did I use a 12 but I also mixed drivers and didn't have them time aligned. I did have a P with a tort scratchplate though.

 

[MasonMinor]

I'm glad your 15" loaded cab delivers what you're looking for. However, in something the GK Neo line I think you'd be a little disappointed with a 115 over a 112 or 212 given your stated tonal/voicing preference.

Yeah, I hear GK stuff is super bright. And that's a good sound, don't get me wrong. It's just not my sound. Is the whole Neo series really bright?

 

[TheRealKong]

I have 'em all: 810", 215", 212", 410"......

I am just testing a brand new 14" plus 5", and all I can say until now is, that it blows me away!

 

[baileyboy]

So you're trying to tell ME, that a 2x12 cab. is gonna be deeper, punchier, warmer and clearer than a 1x15? (or two 1x15's)? I'm a firm believer that 15's are the ultimate cones/cabs for Bass guitar, and now someone comes along and tells me that 12's are where it's at for Bass! Are you serious?

I'm not sure if 12s beat out 15s, but my 212 Mesa Radiator Scouts fulfill all my gigging needs so no need to go with 15s.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

So you're trying to tell ME, that a 2x12 cab. is gonna be deeper, punchier, warmer and clearer than a 1x15? (or two 1x15's)? I'm a firm believer that 15's are the ultimate cones/cabs for Bass guitar, and now someone comes along and tells me that 12's are where it's at for Bass! Are you serious?

uh...

trolling, being funny... or... what?

 

[nostatic]

I'm gonna vote "what". Not really enough what around these days. Where it went I'll never know...

 

[two fingers]

Link Removed

5s are where it's at!

I would so love to stand in front of that and pound out some incredibly mediocre bass awesomeness.

 

[Hevy T]

I'm a lifelong 410/810 user. I've used 12's, 15's and 18's. you just can't beat the 410 cab. YMMV

yup

 

[Al Kraft]

Yeah, I hear GK stuff is super bright. And that's a good sound, don't get me wrong. It's just not my sound. Is the whole Neo series really bright?

Actually, that's the odd thing in GK's Neo line. The 12" Loaded cabs are very balanced and full across all frequencies. The 410 is super heavy in the low end and fairly present up top, making it sound more scooped than it may actually be. The Neo 115 III is unusual (for me) in that it is the most mid focused of the line, not at all more bass dominant/focused than the 112.

To my ear the GK design approach is to provide voicing (in amps and cabs) that optimizes the quality of sound out in the audience at the expense of being the best "bedroom, living room, showroom" sounding gear. Once that dawns on you and you've had a chance to hear you rig from both the stage and an audience seat, you start to wonder why all bass gear isn't voiced more along those lines. Following that logic, the Neo 115 III, as a single cab solution will sit quite well in a mix with its rich mids, but lack some that up-close super full, warm bass you might expect.

Warmth in a tone is great, but getting the tone to sit well in a mix from an audience's perspective may mean less warmth/more bite when you're standing next to that cab. To me this is something you only get to appreciate if you spend time on stage and in the audience. I read an interview with Bob Gallien one time where he talked about this and how it was a foundational element in all his designs.

 

[Super Bass]

Oh, I love me some 12's

 

[Chris 'Wighat' Jordan]

HOLY COW! Five pages and only a faint hint at science policing. I can barely stand it. But I also really like it. It's like I'm being held down and tickled.

 

[TheGreatSealof]

So you're trying to tell ME, that a 2x12 cab. is gonna be deeper, punchier, warmer and clearer than a 1x15? (or two 1x15's)? I'm a firm believer that 15's are the ultimate cones/cabs for Bass guitar, and now someone comes along and tells me that 12's are where it's at for Bass! Are you serious?

I agree with you

 

[kittywithabanjo]

I love me some 12s been rocking them for years.