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

#101
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#106
Jeff Scott said:
Back in the early 1980s my brother had a subwoofer with a 13" Seas driver in it; We were not very impressed with it. :woot:
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Of course not. In the 80's, every band from arenas to bars was doing solos in their set - yes, even bass solos. After a couple poorly done 5 minute bass solos, nobody was impressed or even wanted to hear bass.
 
#107
Al Kraft said:
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.
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I didn't know that about the Neo stuff. GK is a really cool company, I used to jam with a friend who had a GK head and a Peavey 212. Sounded great. Quite loud. That said, I played super bright back then. I could get some really good Entwistle-y sounds out of it with my p bass. I may have to try the Neo 212 if I can find one, that description of the sound was very helpful.
 
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#111
"I'm a firm believer that 15's are the ultimate cones/cabs for Bass guitar,"

So, why stop at 15" go for a 18" for real bass response. ... I've used 12" since 1979 when I realized that for every action there's a reaction. ... and 12" have the best/quickest reaction to action. ...
 
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#112
madjazzbass said:
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? :cool::cool::woot:
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in my experience and opinion 10s give the best punch!
 
#114
The question of 12s vs any other speaker cone size comes down to unchangeable laws of physics, enclosure tuning and what kind of sound you're looking for.

What 12s have over 15s is speed - or better transient response because the cone is smaller and lighter. 12s also have wider dispersion (the larger a cone is the more directional it is in its upper frequency range). A 12 can go as low as a 15 although it can't move as much air. Of course a speaker enclosure with a 12 is somewhat smaller than a 15 would be.

Like lits of other things, you make your choices like other tradeoffs we have to face
 
#116
Worldeeeter said:
I had a PH212 and a PH115. The Bergantino blows them away and weighs less than half as much.
Speaking of which, I'm selling two 12" Scout cabs and a Walkabout head in the classifieds.

Their slogan should be: Mesa - wood never weighed so much.
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I'll have to try out a bergantino one of these days then. I agree that their cabs are heavy, being so large definitely attributes to that. I still get amazed by the sound of em after 3 years though.
 
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#117
Novarocker said:
I'll have to try out a bergantino one of these days then. I agree that their cabs are heavy, being so large definitely attributes to that. I still get amazed by the sound of em after 3 years though.
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I love my Berg CN212, and compared to the Mesa's it's a like moving a bag of popcorn compared to a sack of cement. I honestly like both the Mesa and Berg cabs, but if pressed to pick my "all things considered" favorite 212, it would probably be the Berg.
 
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#120
madjazzbass said:
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? :cool::cool::woot:
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Pretty much any size mass-produced speaker can be made to work.
 

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