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18 inch speakers?

#102
(Slight tangent ). When I went into Andertons the assistant reckoned what I needed was a pa speaker rather than a bass amp. Obviously you would need a dI pedal like a sans amp for this to work. I didn't like the way it looked and couldn't face leaning over the back of it to adjust the volume.
However one advantage of this set up is that a big speaker like an 18 inch could sit behind the drummer and the bass player with both the kick drum and the bass coming through the speaker. We did this for the kick drum (only) once before and the drummer absolutely loved it.
Maybe an 18 inch speaker would by nature be a sub woofer . Too big or perhaps too muddy. But a 15 inch speaker tilted upwards?
 
#104
Geri O said:
I half-agree.

Based on many years of experience with both.
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Done well with good execution and especially good taste can be great, but done poorly is usually worse than just not going there to begin with.
 
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#105
Toby S said:
(Slight tangent ). When I went into Andertons the assistant reckoned what I needed was a pa speaker rather than a bass amp. Obviously you would need a dI pedal like a sans amp for this to work. I didn't like the way it looked and couldn't face leaning over the back of it to adjust the volume.
However one advantage of this set up is that a big speaker like an 18 inch could sit behind the drummer and the bass player with both the kick drum and the bass coming through the speaker. We did this for the kick drum (only) once before and the drummer absolutely loved it.
Maybe an 18 inch speaker would by nature be a sub woofer . Too big or perhaps too muddy. But a 15 inch speaker tilted upwards?
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Keep in mind a powered PA sub cabinet will most likely have a low pass filter applied as part of the processing built into the power amp module. With that the top end of the sub would be something around 120hz give or take depending on make and model, not ideal for a stand alone bass guitar amp/cabinet.
 
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#107
This whole "18s are muddy" only applies if they're all you're using. The Faital I have for my new 'big' rig is now using an EVM12L in a TL806 (but sealed) as a temporary above 400Hz whilst I'm waiting for the 12" coax I ordered to come in. Use the drivers where they work best. The whole 'only use one size driver' thing is an anachronism that needed to die a long time ago.
 
#108
crazycloud said:
This whole "18s are muddy" only applies if they're all you're using. The Faital I have for my new 'big' rig is now using an EVM12L in a TL806 (but sealed) as a temporary above 400Hz whilst I'm waiting for the 12" coax I ordered to come in. Use the drivers where they work best. The whole 'only use one size driver' thing is an anachronism that needed to die a long time ago.
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Back in the 70's I used to have a guitarist plug into the second channel on my preamp and we'd both lay waste to anyones ears within proximity with a single 18" and 300w head. It did not sound bad. Granted my tonal discretion has come a long way since then, but an 18" can do quite a lot by itself. Maybe not the best choice now, as a single driver, but if you combine it, sure, why not?
 
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#109
BassicJazzy said:
Back in the 70's I used to have a guitarist plug into the second channel on my preamp and we'd both lay waste to anyones ears within proximity with a single 18" and 300w head. It did not sound bad. Granted my tonal discretion has come a long way since then, but an 18" can do quite a lot by itself. Maybe not the best choice now, as a single driver, but if you combine it, sure, why not?
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I gigged steadily for seven years in my last band with a Carvin 1 x 18" cabinet with a slot for a port across the bottom. I'm glad I didn't know then that it sounded terrible, at least according to this thread.
 
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#111
Guitalia said:
I gigged steadily for seven years in my last band with a Carvin 1 x 18" cabinet with a slot for a port across the bottom. I'm glad I didn't know then that it sounded terrible, at least according to this thread.
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agedhorse said:
Memories are often inaccurate, highlighting the good while conveniently forgetting the bad.
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If that's a response to my post about gigging happily for years with my Carvin cab with one 18, since it was only 8 years ago that I quit the band, I'd remember if I'd thought it sounded bad or if anyone else had criticized my bass rig.

Given that (like, I suspect, many old-school bassists) I usually rolled the tone control(s) on my basses down 50 to 75 percent, I'm not sure where that cab would have come up lacking.

I mentioned my 1977 P bass, but I owned and still own close to a dozen basses that I rotated through from gig to gig for fun, including an original Danelectro/Sears Silvertone, a 3/4-scale SX P bass copy from Rondo Music, and a mid-'60's Japanese hollow-body copy of the original Gibson violin bass. So I've never worried much about getting that one perfect tone.

Our sound guy did once mention to me at a Maryland State Fair gig that the P bass was the pick of the litter from his point of view. "Interesting!," I thought, and moved on to the Gibson SG bass for the next gig, or maybe it was the Gretsch Junior Jet.

(Come to think of it, the Precision was and is my only bass with Fender heavy-gauge flat-wound strings, so maybe the sound guy liked how non-peaky the signal was that he was getting from me.)

I'll leave it to others to use oenophile terms for bass tones. The Carvin cab sounded fine to me, and I'd gig it tomorrow.
 
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#112
Masonc said:
Hey all, I've come across a cool old sunn 1x18 cab and was wondering what people's opinion are on 18 inch speakers. I currently run 2 4x10 cabs and am looking for a bit of variety.
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Not a huge fan. I had an Acoustic 301 bottom. I'm not sure if it was the one 1-18, the cab design or both, but let's say I was not impressed. If I was going to set up a rig it would probably be a 1-12 cab on top of a 210. That said, in this day of FOH support, pedal boards, with wireless in ears and good ear buds, I'm not sure where I'd need anything other than a 112 that can handle 300 watts.
 
#115
agedhorse said:
The memories of how things sound.
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Well, this is true. When I listen to recordings now that sounded good to me back then they often sound like crap, and I wonder what I saw in them at the time. Tastes change. Back then I made noise, and if it wasn't good enough I made sure it was at least loud enough. At least the 18" was indeed "loud enough."
 
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#116
crazycloud said:
This whole "18s are muddy" only applies if they're all you're using. The Faital I have for my new 'big' rig is now using an EVM12L in a TL806 (but sealed) as a temporary above 400Hz whilst I'm waiting for the 12" coax I ordered to come in. Use the drivers where they work best. The whole 'only use one size driver' thing is an anachronism that needed to die a long time ago.
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Looking at my Mesa Subway 215 and chuckling, nay, laughing out loud. Damn….🤣🤣🤣

No, seriously, that's just too much of a blanket statement. You may feel that way and that's totally fine. I do not, especially after living with my Subway 215 for a few years now. I don't want to feel my pants leg, I want to be part of a well-controlled stage volume. Just me.
 
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#117
Guitalia said:
If that's a response to my post about gigging happily for years with my Carvin cab with one 18, since it was only 8 years ago that I quit the band, I'd remember if I'd thought it sounded bad or if anyone else had criticized my bass rig.


I'll leave it to others to use oenophile terms for bass tones. The Carvin cab sounded fine to me, and I'd gig it tomorrow.
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As long as you're Carvin bass grooves, pun completely intended, and enjoy the sound and no one's complaining, I don't see a problem. Sure, a 1x18 without a mid or horn will not be the best choice in some music genres due to limited hf response and reduced off axis response that gets worse the higher the sound frequency goes.

I personally wouldn't mind a 18" cab, but I probably add a 10" mid bass, and a horn that is switchable.
 
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#120
FWIW, I wouldn't say no to an 18" version of Fane Crescendo in NOS shape. Quite an interesting speaker for its time, at least on paper. Given that I own a 15" from that series which I love and a buddy of mine has a 2x12" guitar cabinet sporting Crescendos as well we could have some fun comparing the merry bunch...:cool:
 

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