I have smaller cabs and I'll use them often, but I have an 810 (soon to be two) because there is just nothing like it, and no other cab on the market gives me the boneage that it gives me.
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How popular are 8 x 10 cabinets?
- Thread starter Thomas Kievit
- Start date
I find that having an 8X10 or a 2X15 tends to scare people. (club managers, sound guys, engineers etc.). I used to run a 2X15 and would get asked to turn down more often regardless of volume level. I started using a 1X15 and people stopped asking me to turn down as often, even when I had the thing cranked to ear splitting volumes. I just got a second matching music man 115rh as it allows me to have a fuller richer sound at lower volumes with my sunn 2000s, we shall see how people react to all 6 feet of that. I would recommend the convenience of two 1X15's or 4X10's. gives you more options rig wise. as well as making van tetris a hell of a lot easier. your back will thank you as well, what was once a painful and cumbersome 2 man job is now two easy one man jobs.
Let's go with that:
So then an 8x10 doesn't sound like an 8x10
And a well designed 1x10, could sound like a well designed 1x12
A lot of emphasis is put on 8x10 being a magic number.
I think the point here is that tone has nothing to do with speaker configuration. it has to do with cab design. i.e. there is no 8X10 tone, there is instead the tone of a specific cab that happens to be 8X10. not to say that speaker config does not effect tone, it is just to say that it is far more complicated then that. and probably damn near impossible to isolate the variables well enough to distill the differences in tone that can be chalked up to speaker config.
so saying that you like the way any given 8X10 sounds more than any given 2X15 (or what have you), and therefore 8X10's sound better is simply an illusory correlation.
subject 1 has trait x
subject 2 has trait y
subject 1 is better than subject 2
therefor x is better than y
is just bad logic
so saying that you like the way any given 8X10 sounds more than any given 2X15 (or what have you), and therefore 8X10's sound better is simply an illusory correlation.
subject 1 has trait x
subject 2 has trait y
subject 1 is better than subject 2
therefor x is better than y
is just bad logic
Early in my playing life I had a SVT 350 (1973 version) with two 8x10 bottoms .. cost me 1300. I very rarely used it because it was why too big and way too heavy. It was a very poor decision on my part. I did a gig backing up an oldies group at a large concert and provided for the bands was the same SVT and two 8x10 ... I never heard anything so good and moving. Damn thing shook your insides. I vote for a 4x10 and add a 1x15. For a smaller gigs I go with a 1x15 and a 2x10. I believe what sounds killer to one bassist could sound like trash to another. Modern equipment is so much more user friendly.
Very true, NGH. So I should specify that when I refer to liking the 810, I'm referring to the Ampeg 810 
I have always owned at least ONE 810 (Ampeg, of course)... I currently own two 410's and a 210 also. But the 810 is THE Sound to my ears. I'll use the Fridge whenever and wherever space allows...
It means you can hear a balanced response with tighter mids. I have never played a 15 that sounds as tight. I am sure they may be out there, but it's probably a pain to find and expensive.
There is a reason the most toured with cabs are the 8x10s. They sound incredible and also look good on stage (on a big stage this is always nice). They also are a PITA when you don't have a crew and are doing smaller venues, and that is why I go with 4x10s.
I also go direct through the PA and use the cabs as my monitors, so spending a ton of cash on speaker cabs to me is not worth it. The Mesas were given to me and they sounded great. We never micd my cabs on tour, and I used in ears, so i mainly got to learn the nuances in my ears prior to touring. I owned 1x15s, and switched the 4x10s rather fast.
Im just a 4x10 guy, and all the dudes I toured with all agreed with me. I feel like the best places to invest $$ into bass gear is your bass and your DI.
"Balanced response" w/tighter mids. Again, as with many things musical, subjective.
The 3015 & 15PR400 are two 15s with "tight" mids. They're easy to locate. More expensive than the 10s you're talking about, yes (although not much more than the best 10s available). But a couple of them can outperform eight of the 10s you're mentioning.
If someone likes (or loves) the sound of a certain 810 or two 410s (almost always Ampeg referenced), fantastic. But every bit as much the reason as their tone for their choice is the fact that they've been around so long & used so many times that it's just expected that they should be used. In short, they're traditional. They've ruled the roost so long that some think they still do & always will. If they aren't seen, lots of people (many of whom are only vaguely familiar, if that, with newer options) automatically think the rig is sub-standard, when it might be vastly superior.
You mention you owned 115s but switched fast. No worries. It's your gear. If you didn't care for it/them (at least in comparison to some 410), then you didn't. But a 115 isn't a 115 isn't a 115. Not all 115s are the same, just like anything else. The question is which 115(s) did you use? And if you haven't had the opportunity to play a 115 with the mentioned 3015 or 15PR400 (or similar driver, & there are some), or a 115/6 with the 3015LF & a top quality mid, then you just haven't experienced & aren't aware of what a top notch 115 or 115/6 is capable of.
"Vastly superior" is in the ears of the beholder. Tradition or not, if the Ampeg 810 didn't work so well, nobody would use it. I can think of a hell of a lot of "classic" gear that went the way of the Edsel. If it doesn't hold up to scrutiny on today's terms, people wouldn't use it.
Well, it has to be at least pretty good or better, sure. No argument. But would many use it just because they've seen it so much & therefore think it must be top notch? I believe the answer is affirmative.
I'm not saying that the classic Ampeg fridge isn't good. I know it is. What I am saying is that, for me, a 215 (or 2x15/2x6.5) or two 115s (or two 115/6.5s) with the drivers I've referenced outperforms the Ampeg "fridge" in every way imaginable. And it's simply my belief that most guys who do an honest taste-test between these specific options would agree that the fridge is the less good (not bad) choice.
I've done it. I liked it. Not as much as the fridge, though. So no, not in every way imaginable. To you, sure. But you aren't everybody
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
How popular are 8 x 10 cabinets?
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Pretty much everybody like the sound they make ... and pretty much nobody wants to move one.
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Pretty much everybody like the sound they make ... and pretty much nobody wants to move one.
That's cool, but I already explained why I don't invest a ton of $$$ into cabs unless I'm on tour, and then I take what I am given (its always 10s).
I truly prefer the sound of 10s to the point where I would not look for an alternative.
Correct xD 
Still get a lot of pain in my back if I think about moving the 8 x 10 around I did a few years ago xD
Still get a lot of pain in my back if I think about moving the 8 x 10 around I did a few years ago xD
Believe it or not, some of us actually buy, and move our own gear. We might even play shows where we dont have PA support.
I've done it. I liked it. Not as much as the fridge, though. So no, not in every way imaginable. To you, sure. But you aren't everybody
No I'm not. Then again I didn't contend to be
. I still think that of guys who are really open & willing to do a true & honest comparison, the vast majority would not go for the fridge first.A couple of things - installing casters isn't brain surgery, and TBH, if you need help lifting less than 70lbs, you oughta hit the gym - unless you're injured, old, or a female, that is...
Lastly - there are plenty of working musicians that use 810s on a regular basis, that have more than enough experience "to know better" - what works for them, and what doesn't - just sayin'...
- georgestrings
