Adding inexpensive tweeter to 1x10 cab?

[NighthawkGS]

I have a sort of homemade 1x10 cab, with a Eminence bp102 in it, that I really like. (Which is no small feat recently, finding a cab I really like...I seem to have a bad attitude.

Wondering if anyone can suggest an inexpensive tweeter solution to add?

Space is limited, weight is an issue, and doesn't seem like a place to spend big bucks... having a crossover and L-pad would be nice, but maybe not mandatory. Hacking into cab for a crossover mounting plate and adjuster knob definitely not a particular problem.

For those not familiar with the bp102, the frequency response falls off a cliff after about 2k hz. So, a typical 5K tweeter and crossover seems rather high. Love the meaty sound of this driver in this cab, though!

Goal: Small cab for quiet band practice, very small rock gigs, motorcycle-transportable.

Tried 4 different expensive Neo cabs so far, fine at home, but not generally working great in actual combat unless I really turn up.

Also open to 1x10 suggestions, but not interested in rear ports ever, or Neo currently, or whizzy, or 12 shoehorned into tiny boxes.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading!!!

 

[MarkA]

I don't know enough to suggest a specific driver, but it's possible that you'll find this old thread helpful: capacitor selection for tweeter

You might consider the use of a small mid-high driver, rather than a cheap "tweeter," to give you reasonable highs without leaving a big hole in the mids. If you like the sound of your cab as it is, you might make do (or actually prefer the results) with a simple, passive HPF for the high-frequency driver (letting the woofer run full-range) instead of a full-blown crossover.

As for a variable L-Pad, again, you might prefer the simpler solution of either having a fixed resistor value, if needed, to pad back the HF driver to taste, or something like a 3-way switch that lets you select between hot, half, and off for the HF driver.

Again, I'll leave specifics to those more knowledgeable in this area.

Good luck! Report back on what you try.

 

[agedhorse]

Just a thought, perhaps there is a better choice of 10" driver that negates the need for a tweeter???

 

[JimChjones]

Well, the classic low budget tweeter would be a high quality piezo. They have a bad rep, partly deserved, but partly down to poor implementation. They don't really match with LPADs for instance, as LPADs are designed for the behaviour of moving coil tweeters. You might like to review this thread.
DIY tweeter top box 2 - piezo units.
I built my simple box with the circuit in post #31, and within my limited expectations its not unacceptable. The sound is better to my ears with it than without it, which is some kind of measure. I am very glad I built the voltage divider in: I am sure the sensitivity of the piezo is higher than that of the 1*10 its partnered with and I run with the volume down a notch or two.
Important disclaimer - I put the circuit together myself without a proper understanding of how to do it: its very empirical, although I'm very grateful for advice I got, I don't know how well I understood it.

 

[AstroSonic]

You've spent enough money to get a decent bass guitar driver, but found that is has insufficient highs. You have two alternatives: 1) add a driver to cover the missing highs or 2) get a bass guitar driver that has enough highs.

That frequency range of 2-5K is pretty critical for bass guitar, at least for most players - especially the lower half of that range. A horn tweeter able to handle that range would have a fairly large horn - there may be insufficient area on your baffle board. Consider a Faital 3" driver ("FaitalPRO 3FE25 3" Professional Full-Range Woofer 8 Ohm" from www.parts-express.com!) in an Eminence subenclosure ("Eminence ISO-5 5" Midrange/Midbass Isolation Enclosure" from www.parts-express.com!) with a 2 kHz 2nd order crossover (Invalid Link Removed). The Faital matches up pretty well with the BP102 level wise so no L-pad or dropping resistor is required.

On the super cheap side, the GRS piezo horn ("GRS PZ1165 4-3/8" Piezo Horn Tweeter Similar to KSN1165A" from www.parts-express.com!) may do what you need, but will require a crossover (special for piezo drivers) and level matching resistor to get acceptable performance., along with some experimentation to get the levels matched. When done with the crossover, this can actually sound pretty decent.

For a single bass guitar driver with adequate highs, consider the Eminence S2010 - works quite well in 1-1.8 cf boxes tuned to 50-55 Hz. Not recommended for smaller cabs. There are other good options avilable, but for more money.

 

[NighthawkGS]

Thanks guys for all the detail replies!!!

A 10 inch driver with better highs would be the simplest solution, but kind of had poor luck buying speakers and throwing them in random cabs in the recent past.

Bought a eminence s2010, no joy so far. Horrendous tone, and very early farting, Maybe cuz I dropped the bix it came in. :-( My 10 inch cabs are all 0.6 to 0.9 cf. But I should experiment more, I seem to be coming around to enjoying my cn112 and ml112 cabs. (Separately!)

The eminence ca10 seems like an obvious choice ( thanks to help on TalkBass, actually). But worried if they not have the magic of the BP 102 in that particular cab, and, less low end.

Reading that thread on adding tweeters, makes me want to switch to acoustic instruments.

Funny and cool thing is, the bp102 actually sounds great for me when using a pick.

Thanks for reading and writing you guys, hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Thanks especially for the specific links and suggestions.

 

[agedhorse]

Buying speakers at random is not going to get good results.

 

[NighthawkGS]

I just thought I'd update or correct some things I said in this zombie thread.

The single eminence basslite s2010 has actually been working quite well for me. Disliked the hi hi mid content at first, and it farted if I just looked at it wrong. But, by using the drive channel on my mg800, and often using a pick, reduction in low end content has helped. Moreover, tho I hear farting when alone, never once heard farting on the rather loud open mic stage. Haven't really tried with rock band yet. Additionally, the Xmax and Xlim numbers for it are shockingly large. Pretty sweet lightweight solution for motorcycle transport.

Still love the bp102 for its incredibly stout low end, but insufficient frequency response above about 2000 Hertz. And I don't think a 5000 + Hertz tweeter would be the , since I usually turn those things off anyway.

Recently picked up a ca10, and ordered another... love the full range sound combined with some bass EQ boost at amp, and still using the drive channel. Thinking a 2x10 solution just might be my gig rig of the future.

The 1 x 12 lightweight super 12 cabs have not been working out for me so well yet, unless I turn way up... But haven't given up yet.

And all my tweeters are turned off... So, currently liking the full range speaker solutions! May try the evm 15L at next restaurant / bar gig...

 

[NighthawkGS]

Just a little more love for the eminence basslite S2010. No real questions here, just gabb and a bit about what's worked for me.

Threw it into a Eden ex112 cab (absolutely hate the 12in whizzer Eden speaker) and it delivered the goods at a living room party gig. Flogged it like a government mule with 400 watt amp, tone went downhill but no farting. That cab is about 1 cf, which includes driver and a shelf port that wraps up the back of the cab, must be 15 in long. Weird, but it works. Also added padding to most interior cab surfaces.

I think the rolling off of the low frequencies I get from the mg800 drive channel, plus the modest cabinet volume, allows that driver to take a lot of power. 4 string 78 pbass with stock pick up.

When using a pick, not something I usually do in bands, found that a single BP102 in a small cab does very well.

Hoping this 1 x 10 s2010, and my 2 x 10 CA10 project, continue to rock...GAS has been killing me so far. :-(