I don't think the op was suggesting a 412 guitar cab, but asking why aren't 412 bass cabs more common.
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4x10 and 4x12
- Thread starter themickster
- Start date
Two for sale on the GC Used site, and shipping is dirt cheap.
Traynor Bass Amplifier Cabinets | Guitar Center
Going through this with a lifelong friend atm. Dude will soap box his take like it's gospel while dismissing anything he does not agree with. We are feuding, as I kinda got tired of it and started pointing it out every time he contradicts himself and/or says something with no grounding in reality.
Pointless to engage in discourse with this "My cup is already full" type. All they are looking for is agreement with whatever take they have already decided on.
Likely way more common in the UK, as they weren't readily available here in the US.
It looks to me, from reading the thread, that OP's question has been answered a few times in a few different ways. I also suspect there's a good amount of agreement about that here too.
They can take it or leave it. That doesn't strike me as argumentative.
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My point exactly. Although it has been sort off untraditionally shaped. And no longer in production....
Maybe if something like this came in the classic fridge dimensions of height to width ratio of 2:1, and had silver sparkly grill cloth instead of a metal fence on the front......
Two for sale on the GC Used site, and shipping is dirt cheap.
Traynor Bass Amplifier Cabinets | Guitar Center
Threw it in my cart and saw you're correct on the shipping... less than $30. Hmmm.
one of the First bass amps was a 410 the fender bassman.. now bass the idea was to have more driver to transduce more sound cause bass requires more power.. to match the 212's that used at the time.. plus 410 is more modular.. and closer to the size of a 212.. now in them there days a speaker was a speaker.. so volume was the key..
Yeah, I bought three heavy cabs this year, all a tad over $30.
They do a good job wrapping them, as well.
The 4x10 is a trickle down from the SVT fridge, which was an interesting concept in the days when 15” and 18” were considered the proper driver for bass, although in the earliest days, there was the 4x10 Fender tweed Bassman. That had been changed from a single 15”, but both were flawed for bass use as both were open back. Suffice it to say, nobody really knew what they were doing when it came to low frequency amplification, but were slowly figuring it out. When Fender moved to the piggyback arrangement for the Bassman, they went with a sealed 2x12”, both horizontal and eventually a larger vertical cab, but what was additionally lacking was depth, which relates to why 8x10 and 4x10 are sucessful for bass.
Multiple smaller drivers, if they’ve been manufactuted to withstand the rigors of low frequencies and are in an adequate box(with or without ports)will provide a tighter response than corresponding multiple 15’s(one 15 comes close to the same cone area as a 2x10, but it’s really a matter of taste as to what you use). Multiple drivers will spread the low frequencies into a room in a more pronounced manner.
Your typical guitar 4x12 is going to be shallower than the garden variety 4x10 bass cab, and the drivers, with a different frequency range, probably won’t hold up for bass use, but that hasn’t stopped some people from trying. A 4x10 is going to be the rough equivalent of a 2x15, and I’m sure you’ve seen one of either(with a higher wattage head)going up against a Marshall style half stack.
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Ampeg did try 4x12 in the 70s with the V4 cabinet. Meant for guitar or bass, it was awkward and heavy and the drivers would shoot flames at you if you went above 100 watts with a bass signal.
I’m probably wrong here, but I’m willing to bet that there weren’t a whole lot of 12” speakers being manufactured back in the the 1960s that could handle bass in a 4x12 configuration at a loud volume. Ampeg went with 8 10” speakers with the fridge to handle the 300 watts of the SVT in the smallest possible enclosure. Yeah, you read that right. 15s were being made back in the day that could handle the excursion and higher power of bass amps, so Sunn went the 2x15 route with 200w heads. Pump 300w into an old Sunn 2x15 and you’ll probably smoke them, though. That left 12” speakers out of the picture, until the V4, which wasn’t really useful for bass above 100w.
Now that there are 12” speakers being manufactured that can handle higher power in a 4x12 cabinet, bass players don’t want them. Mostly because of what was said at the beginning of this thread: they’re too big.
edit: bass players except for @Marko 1 who has a pretty sweet 4x12 made for bass.
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This is my other 4x12, not split in half, though.
And still available from a small builder "KRUNCH", I got it from GC Used.
It came with tilt/roll, I modified for casters on each corner.
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Dude, seriously, get both. Build yourself a 16x10 stage sweeper.
For a definitive answer, I asked the algorithm:
The choice between using a 4x10 speaker cabinet or a 4x12 speaker cabinet for bass or guitar is influenced by several factors, including the sonic characteristics of each setup and the specific needs of the musician. Here are some general considerations:
4x10 Speaker Cabinet for Bass:
- Surface Area: A 4x10 cabinet has four 10-inch speakers, providing a larger total surface area compared to a single 12-inch speaker. This allows for moving more air and producing a fuller low-end response, which is crucial for bass frequencies.
- Midrange Punch: 10-inch speakers often have a strong midrange punch, which can enhance the clarity and articulation of bass guitar tones.
- Portability: Compared to a 4x12 cabinet, a 4x10 cabinet is generally more compact and lighter, making it easier to transport.
- Dispersion and Projection: A 4x12 cabinet typically features four 12-inch speakers, which can provide a wider dispersion and projection of sound. This is advantageous for guitarists who want their sound to fill larger spaces or to cut through a mix in a band setting.
- Full Range: While guitar doesn't require as much low-end response as bass, a 4x12 cabinet still offers a full range of frequencies. The larger speakers can handle the low end well while providing a well-rounded sound across the spectrum.
- Power Handling: 4x12 cabinets often have a higher power handling capacity, allowing guitarists to use high-wattage amplifiers without worrying about damaging the speakers.
- Iconic Sound: The 4x12 cabinet has become iconic in rock and metal genres, and many guitarists associate it with a classic, powerful sound. This historical influence has contributed to its popularity in guitar setups.
Original era Sunn tube heads were the 60 watt 200s with 2 JBL D-140’s, the 120 watt 2000s with the same JBL’s, but a larger cab, then eventually the Model T with 150 watts and a cab that had the the smaller 200s dimensions but with a redesigned port, and proprietary(i.e. not JBL)drivers that were in the CTS quality range. The solid state Coliseum and Concert heads that came along later were purported to be 300 and 150 watts repectively, but I think those numbers were derived by speaker ohm manipulation.
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If you start with four 12" drivers that are suitable for bass guitar, by the time you get enough volume in the cabinet for it to work well with a bass, it won't fit in your car. Think of gluing two 212 bass cabinets together, and how big that would be. The 410 usually will fit in your car.
With guitar, you don't need as much volume, so 412 cabs make sense (kinda).
