Are 8x10s still in use?

[HelpImaRock]

I play through an 810 at our rehearsal space. I'd never buy one.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

I have a flat-back cab with the original speakers, which pairs with a blue-line SVT. For me, there isn't a better rock bass tone than the early Ampeg 8x10, and the later cabinets just don't do the thing. But mine lives in my studio purely for recording. I can't imagine trying to gig with it.

I've been attempting to find the differences in Ampeg 8x10 speakers actual construction thru the years...especially the early alnico versions...can anyone provide a link to any info?

 

[agedhorse]

Is that because of the array or other reason(s)?

When I was playing in the States, nobody knew Traynor. That has changed over the decades. I was surprised to see the name mentioned here, especially since it was Yorkville for so many years.

I borrowed another Traynor 810 for a few outdoor gigs. Tried it on the guitarist's side, but he preferred all 16 10s on my side. That was a nice sound.

If it was truly superior, it would have survived for whatever reasons.

 

[Bill the Cat]

riightt....that's what i used early 85, the flatback cab and traynor head, and eventually bought them from the rehearsal bldg manager. When ppl didn't pay their rent, he kept "stuff" as collateral, i got lucky .That cab was already old when i used it, im guessing late 60's mid 70's.

Wow no kidding. Same here, actually studio was closing and owner had piles of equipment kept as collateral. Sold dirt cheap
I bought 2 flatbacks from him, V4B horn loaded cab , Ampeg guitar Combo and multiple old Zildjian Cymbals.
One flatback had many blown speakers, other one good. Guitar amp dead reverb from weird impossible to find tube. Crackle 12DW7's
The Brass was good. V4B cab was good, sounded weird in small rooms.
Thinking back most of his holdings were likely broken stuff or unwanted items from bands offering holds for past due rent.
Aside from the Cymbals and all the stands.

Far as thread topic have a few more " modern" 810 meaning Typical Eminence that dont fart out like old Flatbacks.
2 stranded board One plywood. maybe 90's ...sure no clue how to date, Black grill White piping how many did they make LOL? Typical slide n glide rash on sides . Use all the time go to Cabs for years.
Typical issue is the wheels get eaten up over time. Replaced a few broken wheels and that is it.

 

[Wavy]

If it was truly superior, it would have survived for whatever reasons.

Typed with all due respect agedhorse...

One exception that may make the rule is that superior quality Betamax lost to longer tapes of VHS. I'm sure there are more examples in many industries.

Maybe production needed to be faster and less expensive.
Maybe the Custom Special and Super Custom Special heads were dropped and new models made less wide, and then two speaker rows looked better under the new heads.


Or maybe my brain interpreted what my ears sensed as two rows sounded muddier than three.

 

[Wasnex]

Typed with all due respect agedhorse...

One exception that may make the rule is that superior quality Betamax lost to longer tapes of VHS. I'm sure there are more examples in many industries.

Maybe production needed to be faster and less expensive.
Maybe the Custom Special and Super Custom Special heads were dropped and new models made less wide, and then two speaker rows looked better under the new heads.


Or maybe my brain interpreted what my ears sensed as two rows sounded muddier than three.

I don't think it's arguable which was more successful. This is an objective fact since the Ampeg is an iconic design that is still being produced, and the Traynor is not.

Which one sounded better? Well that is entirely subjective...and it's okay if you think the Traynor sounds. I had both at the same time and preferred the Traynor as a stand alone cab.

However, I wound up biamping my SVT, and IMHO the Ampeg 810 worked really well as a woofer. As I mentioned earlier, the Ampeg seemed to be more even and play lower than the Traynor. So my preference changed depending upon how I configured the rig.

 

[DWA2469]

Typed with all due respect agedhorse...

One exception that may make the rule is that superior quality Betamax lost to longer tapes of VHS. I'm sure there are more examples in many industries.

Maybe production needed to be faster and less expensive.
Maybe the Custom Special and Super Custom Special heads were dropped and new models made less wide, and then two speaker rows looked better under the new heads.


Or maybe my brain interpreted what my ears sensed as two rows sounded muddier than three.

I have read and seen it said multiple times, the only reason VHS beat out BETA was because the Porn industry chose VHS

 

[agedhorse]

Typed with all due respect agedhorse...

One exception that may make the rule is that superior quality Betamax lost to longer tapes of VHS. I'm sure there are more examples in many industries.

Maybe production needed to be faster and less expensive.
Maybe the Custom Special and Super Custom Special heads were dropped and new models made less wide, and then two speaker rows looked better under the new heads.


Or maybe my brain interpreted what my ears sensed as two rows sounded muddier than three.

With Betamax, part of the problem was not just any technical superiority but Sony's inability at that time to navigate to licensed sharing of their technology to improve their overall market position. While slightly better video quality, it too suffered from lots of the same problems common to the technology of the time.

Does anybody remember Sony's Elcassette (a "sort of" joint venture w/ Panasonic and Teac)? Just because it was technically "superior", when taken as a whole it was never adopted by that market because it was the wrong product for the marketplace at that time.

Elcaset - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[shug58]

I don’t see them much anymore. But what I think would be really cool, would be if someone like Mesa or GK would make a modern, lighter weight version that still had the tilt back/rolling capability. With that….you’d get all the volume you could ever need, better ergonomics than a 4x10, and the cool visual that only an 8x10 gives.

Of course, I know that it’s never going to happen. Especially because a lot of bands are going to in-ear monitors for everything.

I used a Musicman 810 (made by Markbass, I believe) on a European tour 3or 4 years back. Pretty light so neo speakers I'm guessing and easy to handle. Sounded like it should, too, with an SVT head.

GK made such a cab some while back, fairly compact but not lightweight.

Barefaced in the UK make high quality and lightweight cabs, including an 810. I use their 610 (3' x 2' x 13" and 65 lbs) and don't feel the lack.There are others.

There are still plenty of 810's about and just about every festival I play with supplied backline has one available. That's in the UK and Europe, mind.

 

[shug58]

AFAIK it's fairly common to pair an Ampeg 810E with a variety of amps, including the 800RB.

My perception is the 810E is not very transparent. By this I mean it tends to make everything you play through it sound fairly similar, rather than reproducing all of the fine details and nuances that distinguish various amps and basses from each other.

Also IMHO, about 80-90% of the sound most people associate with an SVT should actually be attributed to the 810E.

Absolutely +1 to that. I ran an SVT rig for years and on one show was forced by circumstance to drive the cab with the amp section of the guitar players spare Peavey Renown tranny combo and it still sounded great. I realised then what a huge part of the sound that 810 made.

 

[Wavy]

I have read and seen it said multiple times, the only reason VHS beat out BETA was because the Porn industry chose VHS

There may be something to that. I'd read that the porny princesses wanted DVD instead of Blu-Ray because the higher picture quality of the latter shows more skin imperfections.

 

[marko138]

I still use one.

I wanted an Ampeg 810 forever. When they started selling used for dirt cheap I finally picked one up. If the venue has an 810 I'll use theirs. If they don't I'll drag mine to the venue. If the venue is fairly small I'll use a pair of 210 cabs stacked.

 

[dsteinschneider]

used one disastrously with an 800RB

I think that story deserves telling

 

[Wicked G]

I had a Hartke 810 that I loved playing through. Great sound and the head was nice and high to adjust.

I loved that it was tall and I could park all my junk in top of it. Glasses, ear plugs, tuner drink.View attachment 7400205

Once I fell down the steps with it, I sold it the next week for a Darkglass 212 and never missed it.

I remember the first time I ever played out of a Hartke 810XL. It was quite an experience for me. It was an outdoor show in the middle of downtown and we opened up for Styx and Blue Oyster Cult. I didn't pay attention to the head but will assume it may have been a Hartke HA3500 just because of all the sliders. That was an excellent tone. I decided I needed to try Hartke cabs after that but didn't want to deal with trying to load it into my car so I got a couple of Hartke 115XL's instead. That was also pretty nice but I wasn't getting the same tight focused notes that I got with the 810. Anyway the only time I use 810's is when they pop up as backline.

 

[Speedbird]

Never used an 8x10… but here’s a shameless plug for a 4x15 I lugged for many years! I, sometimes, actually added a Sunn 2x15 for my treble p/u (Ric-O-Sound) when I played in a RUSH cover band! I was young & strong back then
IIRC - cameras were prolly 0.000000001 megapixels back then Pic circa 1980
View attachment 7398127

Dude, that's a Ram Jam "Black Betty" looking scene there! Rock on!

 

[Deloofs]

I see them as backlines a lot. I go to a lot of hardcore punk shows and they backline a lot of gear and there always seems to be an Ampeg 8x10 in the backline.