Are 15's too slow....

If your looking to fill out your sound, and you don't want all tens but are a bit nervous about 15s, then why not look at a box with 12's. You get some of the low that a 15 provides and it's a tighter faster speaker.

I also have to think that if you shop smartly for a 15 you could find one that's pretty fast and tight...speaker technology has come a long way.

 

For punk i prefer the sound of 10's myself, and i too thought 15's sounded slow, but whenever ive played a 2x15 cab, it seems to respond better than an individual 15, which i find odd (well, not really, the 2x15s i tried were different makes and models from the 1x15s ive used)

Hence i have a 215 and a 410

as burning skies said, a 2x12 could be good for you, a bit fuller than 10's and having more punch than a 15

 

For ol'school greasy fingerstyle playing 15" are great IMHO, but for a more aggressive playing 10" are hard to beat....though it also depends what amp you are using and bass....

 

When I work for my daughter's band (www.aroarah.com), I also get to see lots and lots of Screaming Boy Bands. They all sound exactly the same: pure thrash.

Not to rain on your parade, but from my vantage point it doesn't seem to matter at all between 10s and 15s. Mud is mud.

The punk players I've heard all want a massive wall of mush. I think 15s are probably better at generating mush with a big bottom. 10s are better at generating a wall of mush with cut-through.

 

Bag End 15's aren't slow in the least. I've found the S-15D & S-15XD cabs to be tuned to be quite punchy and focused, without that real extended low B huff type sound.

I find that I can cut thru the mix easier with B.E. cabs.

 

A 'slow' driver doesn't exist. This implies that the cone moves at a slower rate than the frequency of the note being played. If that was the case it would reproduce a different note. When's the last time you played a E and the speaker spit out an Eflat? If anything a larger driver reproduces low frequencies 'faster' than smaller ones, as the distance the cone has to travel to achieve the same volume of displacement is less. For instance, a fifteen has to move 240% less than a ten to move the same amount of air.

Where large and small drivers differ the most is in their ability to reproduce and widely disperse the midrange, and it's midrange that defines both tone and articulation. If you're using tens and want a fatter bottom add fifteens. If you're using fifteens and want more definition add tens. If you can't make up your mind use twelves.

 

Bill, I believe most people use the term 'slow' as shorthand for 'doesn't handle transients as well'. Tens are thought to have better dynamic response, while fifteens generally have more 'warmth' or 'mush', depending on the player's POV. Is that urban legend?

Also, doesn't cabinet design factor in? F'r instance, Bag End fifteens are considered to be 'quicker' and punchier than most.

 

I used a MAG 300 with an Avatar 2x10pro and an SWR 1x15. This was a great setup, it got the job done on stage also. 2x12 sounds like a good idea. I have no experience with 12's though. I wonder if the 2x12 would take a little more power to drive than a 1x15.

 

I find that some people on this board can not understand "generalizations" that well.

 

Bill is always there to either rain on your parade or make you feel very smart. We should have a Billfitzmaurice appreciation thread. But I am sure that Bill will say that the thread will not work well with the frquency responce of previous posts and will not cut through in the mix because the capodes are where the diodes should be and the flux capacitor is on the fritz since the 2.2 jigawatt surge when Curley switched the polarity of super conductor magnet within the kryptonite power transfer differential, plus we need a new johnson rod............LMAO

 

I think BFM refers to the fact that most tens have a better motor strength to cone radius/cone weight ratio then fifteens, thus tens handle transients better in most cases.
And yes, cab design is also a big factor.

 

Mike, I'd be very surprised if 15"s can't respond to anything you're going to play. Mine keep up with me...

 

PERFECT!!!

 

And they kept up with millions of recordings from the 50's-00's.

 

I see this as a clarification of terminology for those folks who may use it but are not informed as to what it reallly means. So if 'slow' is your short-hand term of choice while discussing this topic and know what the terms means; now the rest of the viewing public understands and are thereby better informed to discuss the topic with those participants. And by being better informed, one may possibly make better choices.

Back in the day, I had a 4x10 and 1x15 stack to get the best of both. Now, you can go with a 2-way (or 3-way) 1x10 and 2-way 1x12 and have a slamming rig.

 

I once played through 15s that were so slow that by the time I'd finished the song they were only at the first chorus.