6 10's for 6 strings?

[f'nar f'nar]

Hey guys! A new 6er has come into my possession recently and I am really loving it! Would love to make it my gigging bass real soon (currently gigging with 4 string Jazz). I did a search and whilst the information was useful, nothing really answered my question fully.

Right now I'm running an Ampeg SVT-7 head through an Ampeg 6x10. I play mostly clean, with maybe some verb/delay every now and then. Now, from what I can tell the 6x10 handle's the low B and the high C fairly well, I can't really fault it. But that's only because I've never really tried a 6er through much else.

But it seems to me that if one had a 4x10 and a 1x15 the bigger 15 would be more useful than the extra 2 10's.

If anyone has any experience in these matters I would love to hear your thoughts!

 

[CL400Peavey]

Just stick with your current 610. There is no benefit to using a 410 and a 115, but there are a lot of downsides. Matched cabs are always more predictable and consistent. If you are going to mix cabs, a 410 and 115 pairing is among the worst and dangerous for your gear.

 

[f'nar f'nar]

Did NOT know that! Thanks!

 

[JimmyM]

Your belief, while commonly believed, is myth. Why?

1. Speaker size is immaterial when it comes to frequency response. Your 610HLF goes lower than most 115's.

2. A 410 is a LOT louder than a 115. 115's can sound great, but there will always be loudness issues vs a 410 run from the same head.

3. Non-matching cabs can introduce phasing issues in a band mix, where some notes are louder than others, and some notes virtually disappear. Doesn't always happen, but it's totally unpredictable, whereas matching cabs don't phase and their behavior is much more predictable. Yes, I know famous bass players do it, but being a good bassist doesn't mean you know anything about audio.

4. It's cheaper to hang onto what you have.

 

[f'nar f'nar]

Wow! I'm glad I didn't get very far into trying this out! Saved me a buttload of time!! Thanks!

 

[Mr-Wunderful]

610 is perfect you have one speaker for each string.

 

[f'nar f'nar]

I think if you even tried to wire it that way it may induce seizures.

 

[CL400Peavey]

For my sound the 610 HLF is the only single Ampeg cab that would be on my "To use" list. I dont prefer a sealed cab, its my opinion. The 410 HLF I played didnt suit me. It was an older one, was very scooped and muddy. I have been told the newer ones have improved.

 

[wcriley]

Your playing style and taste may be different than mine, but here's my experience:

I spent several years playing 6-string bass guitar as the lead instrument in a rock oriented band.
Although my experience with cabs is limited to the few I've tried, my overall favorite was (and still is) a fEARful 12/6 with an Alpha mid driver and no tweet, followed by an Acme B2.

Both of those cabs have a nice full bottom for the few extra notes on the B string.
Playing in the upper registers of the neck/stings, with a clean sound, I prefer the nice mellow "archtop jazz guitar with flats" sound of the fEARful. The Acme lacked a bit of "something" in the mids and was shrill in the highs.
When copping distorted blues/rock "lead guitar" lines the fEARful is my ideal cab. The natural rolloff of the mid driver sounds a lot like typical guitar drivers.

 

[klejst]

Just stick with your current 610. There is no benefit to using a 410 and a 115, but there are a lot of downsides. Matched cabs are always more predictable and consistent. If you are going to mix cabs, a 410 and 115 pairing is among the worst and dangerous for your gear.

+1 to this. However the whole 410+115 thing you may find out works for you and your sound. Question is are you willing to take the gamble? Sure you can also split up the cabs, however when traveling I would like to have just one cab to move instead of two. That's just my 0.02 though.