Is a horn a tweeter? kind of irrelevant though. I havent used my cabs in so long ive forgotten what they sound like. always recording
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Im officially a "No" tweeter guy
- Thread starter stonewall
- Start date
A horn can be anything from tweeter to woofer, but with woofers it depends on the build of the cab.
Doug Parent
Supporting Member
horns usually cover lower frequency ranges, hence larger in format. tweeters (which suck here
usually extend higher.
I use a te 410 and a 210 with a horn (1028H) the horn is tunable. I leave it set about 12 0clock. I mostly use my heads for pre's going DI these days. I miss the sound of my cabs
hasbeen
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- Sep 23, 2004
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I'm not sure what a lead bass player is. As a bassist, I certainly take solos. Pattituci and Anthony Jackson were big influences on me. I played jazz and a lot of latin jazz for a lot of years. I would solo when it came around. When I wasn't taking a solo, I funtioned (or tried to) in the more traditional bass role.
hasbeen
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Nothing wrong with that. I'm for whatever anyone wants their sound to be. I quoted Beans' months-old post in my sig, but only because it's funnyJust wanted to make that clear to those who might think I'm goofing on their tastes with that sig. However, I'll probably pull it just because I don't want to insult my bass friends who like the highs. I guess as I get older, political correctness appeals more and more to me
But re: the 4000 sq ft house, I thought I would like a big house like that too until we moved into a house that had 1000 more sq ft and I realized that just meant more cleaning and more vacuuming
don't pull it. It is funny and it doesn't offend me. You and I are always good Jimmy. I think it is perfectly valid for a person to not like tweeters. I was commenting mor on FFTT's question as to why does somebody "need" one.
You're a working pro and you bring the tools required to get the job done. You also get the job done when you're supplied a backline that you don't care for. I respect your professionalism.
I worked in a 5 piece full time band with 5 vocalists and a ton of gear, performing over 900 shows.
My job was to hold the bottom as much as possible because there was so much else going on.
Sure we all take solos and add grace notes to a degree, carefully structured to fit the material, but when you're in those higher registers, the bottom can drop out very easily and compete with other parts.
In an instrumental or jazz group, or power trio, the priorities may be different.
I was inspired by paying my mortgage on time, standing room only crowds and honeys from
Georgetown & AU sling shotting their unmentionables up on stage
My job was to hold the bottom as much as possible because there was so much else going on.
Sure we all take solos and add grace notes to a degree, carefully structured to fit the material, but when you're in those higher registers, the bottom can drop out very easily and compete with other parts.
In an instrumental or jazz group, or power trio, the priorities may be different.
I was inspired by paying my mortgage on time, standing room only crowds and honeys from
Georgetown & AU sling shotting their unmentionables up on stage
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So, I get the not liking tweeters and all, and not using them in bass rigs. But what about FOH? Eventually a DIed bass runs through the FOH tweeters, no? Not trying to be antagonistic here, just wondering.
I don't know; it seems a bit ironic to me hating on something that we end up being forced into anyway.
I don't know; it seems a bit ironic to me hating on something that we end up being forced into anyway.
I'm not forced into it. I have little gizmos I can use to erase everything past 5k. And I can request soundmen to cut everything past 5k, and I often do if I don't bring my gizmos.
I don't like the sound of piezo tweeters in a lot of combos myself, but the Fostex diaphram/horn tweeter in my Triad cabinet sounds pretty good.
It wouldn't be considered a high-end component, by any means, but it has a certain smoothness to it that I like.
It wouldn't be considered a high-end component, by any means, but it has a certain smoothness to it that I like.
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Hmm. Recording wise, Im not really seeing anything above 5khz anyway, and I prefer an annoyingly bright tone, I play with blue steels and a pick, even with my spector or jazz above the octaves. I suppose there might be some harmonics past it some of the time, but its pretty minimal I guess. I suppose tweeters might emphasize that in a cab. Idk, I dont really have a dog in the fight. If you have them in your cab and can hear them...great. If not....great. I suppose there are probably people that swear they can and some that say they wont. Im wondering if a tweeter even produces useful sound? I have a hard time noticing the horn in mine...
If going through a tweeter helps you hear your part in a live situation, I can understand that application to a degree, but then it makes me think the real problem is a lack of proper monitoring, or a more serious high frequency hearing loss.
I am severely hearing impaired and don't play out any more because of it, so I can relate to not being able to hear yourself in a live band mix.
At the same time, what makes it easier for you to hear your part, may be ear splitting painful to listen to out front.
I am severely hearing impaired and don't play out any more because of it, so I can relate to not being able to hear yourself in a live band mix.
At the same time, what makes it easier for you to hear your part, may be ear splitting painful to listen to out front.
Doug Parent
Supporting Member
A lot of guys (including myself) dial in a slap tone that requires a high freq driver to deliver the intended result. If this is not your bag or you don't get it, you won't get it. It has nothing to do with not hearing oneself or monitoring. Some guys like the sound of them. Some guys don't. Some players (Like Marcus) evolved a "sound" that ended up on a lot of recordings. "As we speak" by David Sanborn is a good example where Marcus's signature J-Bass tone is prominent all over the entire body of work. I chased that tone for years and finally realized in the 80's I needed a tweeter to get what Marcus was doing in the studio. Cut around 1khz and boost around 4khz. A tweeter gets you there, a woofer won't.
But doesn't a good 10" driver like in the SVT AlNiCo cabs, more than cover that range?
Just an example camera mic only, guitar through SVT cab.
Camera mic is getting slammed even 20 feet away.
256 watts RMS clean.
Totally OT, but just stumbled onto an old live recording of Johnny 1979 when he won
The best guitarist in D.C. Contest. He wasn't even old enough to be in the club legally.
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Doug Parent
Supporting Member
I have an old EV Force 10" driver that EV claims goes up to 7khz. While it sounds great for guitar, it won't get that crisp snap that a small tweeter renders. Whether or not a speaker is "good" is subjective. It just is what it is. The freq response numbers only tell part of the story.
It may not be your preference, but that doesnt mean that it isnt viable for other.
One comment I heard Duck Dunn make
With the classic Stax recordings he was listening to his tracks solo'd. He thought that there were way too much highs. But when he listened to the entire mix the bass didn't sound bright--it sat perfectly in the mix.
If he had the treble rolled off so that it sounded good to his ear solo'd, it would have sounded really muddy.And I think we could all agree that Duck got a pretty dark sound--I don't remember any brightness. But when we listen to these tracks----even on a cheap stereo---the balance of the highs is reasonable.They don't draw attention to themselves.That's what highs are supposed to be like.
I'm 50/50 on upright and electric. I go for a REALLY dark sound on upright. The highs on most bass cabs are unusable on upright. But good highs give an air of definition to the sound---without any brightness.
With the classic Stax recordings he was listening to his tracks solo'd. He thought that there were way too much highs. But when he listened to the entire mix the bass didn't sound bright--it sat perfectly in the mix.
If he had the treble rolled off so that it sounded good to his ear solo'd, it would have sounded really muddy.And I think we could all agree that Duck got a pretty dark sound--I don't remember any brightness. But when we listen to these tracks----even on a cheap stereo---the balance of the highs is reasonable.They don't draw attention to themselves.That's what highs are supposed to be like.
I'm 50/50 on upright and electric. I go for a REALLY dark sound on upright. The highs on most bass cabs are unusable on upright. But good highs give an air of definition to the sound---without any brightness.
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