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Are 15" speaker cabs the new 12s?

#41
I hated 15's until recently... my tastes have changed for sure but I also think the drivers in the 15s have come a long way. I think part of the reason were how crossovers and tweeters were handled historically which probably didn't help, it felt like there was this huge gap in volume between the frequencies covered by the different components.
 
#42
15s are the new 15s :roflmao:

When I started in the 80s 12s were for guitars, 15s for bass. When I came back from my family-raising hiatus a few years back, 12s were the new 15s for bass.

And now...

anyway, I'm happy with my 1x12 neo over my old 2x15+2x12, but I'm not playing loud music with loud guitars
 
#44
When I started playing bass it was through a Peavey TNT 100 1X15" combo. That setup evolved through a speaker upgrade to a BW, a Bass Mk3 head and a second 1x15 cab. As my shows grew so did my rig but I always loved that sound of the TNT 100 + 15" speaker. Later I collected my ultimate bass combo a Polytone MiniBrute III 100 Watts into a sealed 1x15" cabinet. Absolutely punchy heaven.
 
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#48
Pings Bass said:
15s are the new 15s :roflmao:

When I started in the 80s 12s were for guitars, 15s for bass. When I came back from my family-raising hiatus a few years back, 12s were the new 15s for bass.

And now...

anyway, I'm happy with my 1x12 neo over my old 2x15+2x12, but I'm not playing loud music with loud guitars
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10s are also nice for guitar, both Celestion and Eminence do some great 10" guitar drivers.
 
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#49
ficelles said:
10s are also nice for guitar, both Celestion and Eminence do some great 10" guitar drivers.
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I think we all know in the modern era diameter is just surface area, surface area equals volume and has nothing to do with frequency response, and that even tiny speakers can produce very low notes, just at relatively low sound pressure level.

But back in the day, we were convinced that you needed 15" drivers for bass, 12" for guitar and 10" also somehow for bass, but not guitar, and... well, none of it made sense, but we all pretended it did back then. These days I'd rather let the PA do all the work and schlepp as little as I can for my personal rig, all the way down to nothing when possible. I'll let the rockers keep the 15" cab market alive, because it wouldn't be rock and roll if you're not pushing that big bottom and making some ear drums bleed. :laugh:
 
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#51
I ditched my 1X15 cabs (SWR son of Berthas) a few years back in favor of 2X12 cabs (Tecamp S212)... not that I disliked the 15s, but the 12s just do everything better (to my ears).
 
#53
For my P bass with flats (and tort :D ) classic rock needs, 2 X 115 GK NEOs, singly or together, sometimes with only the top one hooked up, serve just fine.

1a reduced.jpg
 
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#54
OregonJim said:
That depends on how far back you go.

When I started (late '70s), 15" and 18" were the thing. Nobody even heard of 10" for bass.
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Pros were playing Ampeg 810s through the 70s, granted, these were not the kind of amps you'd see in the music store at the mall or that you'd buy as your first amp for a punk band, but 10s are nothing new for bass.
 
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#55
Pings Bass said:
Pros were playing Ampeg 810s through the 70s, granted, these were not the kind of amps you'd see in the music store at the mall or that you'd buy as your first amp for a punk band, but 10s are nothing new for bass.
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Yea, that's essentially what I said in a previous post. Tens were not available in the typical music store accessible to the local bands. Only the big acts used them (and most of us didn't even know that in the pre-Internet days).
 
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#56
chazsundance said:
For awhile now the 12" config. cabinets have been the hot thing. Lots of single 12 and double 12 options, but I've noticed a lot of people using the 15" speaker setup nowadays (myself included). I have the Aguilar DB115 and besides a quick few days with a Subway 215 cab, I haven't tried any of the other brands. The Mesa wasn't a good test since it was with an amp I didn't like. I hear great things about the Subway 15s though, What else are you guys liking in the 15" world? Has anyone compared my DB115 side by side with any other brands?
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have (1) 1-12 some 15s and 18s
Prefer tone of 18s and 15s as 2nd choice ; however, cannot dispute ease of carrying -12 neo.

15s just have more bass tone value VS 12s
But 18 folded horns contain Breath of Thor … and require a more youthful capability to heft though…
 
#57
OregonJim said:
Yea, that's essentially what I said in a previous post. Tens were not available in the typical music store accessible to the local bands. Only the big acts used them (and most of us didn't even know that in the pre-Internet days).
Click to expand...
I believe 10's were available in SWR and Trace products of the era, and Genz Benz had 10's back in the 1980's. Didn't Peavey and Fender have some 210 cabs/combos back then too?
 
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#58
agedhorse said:
I would say that it's fairly evenly split between 10's 12's and 15's, entirely dependent on each player's personal; tastes and needs.

Each cabinet/driver was designed to a specific target, looking back to our most popular cabinets and then using that as a guide to where we would have gone based on today's tastes, had the technology and drivers been available then. We didn't intentionally "recreate the past", but took the past as a starting point, as inspiration.

As an example, it's no secret that the EVM-15L is one of my favorite drivers, as is the JBL 2220 and even the 2220 series, but these drivers have limited power handling and low frequency extension that's necessary to be viable today. The 2225 has better low frequency extension and power handling but suffers in the high end extension. These drivers also perform better in larger cabinets, but that goes against what (many) players are looking for. The Subway 115 is voiced around these types of drivers but with adjustments made to tune well in a smaller cabinet with acceptable extension, have a smooth high frequency extension with similar off axis extension of the JBL drivers, high broadband sensitivity and it had to be lighter weight than those drivers. It's a delicate balancing of the various variables to develop a driver that works like this, not perfect/ideal at all these demands, but more than acceptable. It's the OVERALL solution that makes a speaker a good choice for the largest number of players possible, but not trying to please every player.
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Well sterling work sir, and thanks for the reply. The subway 15 is a masterpiece, I actually get a kick out of how good it is everytime I use it.
 
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