Recommend a second cab

[JimmyM]

Do a summed phase response with identical cabinets (which have to be at different acoustic centers because they can's exist sharinbg the same physical space) and you will get an identical real world plot due to the short time offset between sources (that aren't even point sources).

What appears to be valid in theory does not translate to practice when ALL of the variables are taken into account. We are not talking about 2 point sources in space, we are talking about 2 sources that are anything but point sources and they do not occupy the same acoustic center.

This is where understanding the engineering "big picture" is critical to understanding why many folks have good results even though (pure) theory might seem to contradict. If you are going to use theory, don't simplify it to the point of being unrepresentative of the real world devices and environment you are proporting to model.

I'd agree with that.

 

[Calaverasgrande]

I'm struggling to understand why anyone would do this. Of the three speakers involved, the one in the single cab would always be twice as loud as the other two. And if you turned up your amp to the point where the 115 was just under its max excursion limit, the other two wouldn't even be breaking a sweat. It all just strikes me as willfully inefficient.

Although, I distinctly recall Chef saying once that he really liked his GK Neo 112 on top of the Neo 212. Said it sounded great, but I still have the same questions...

because I happened to own the 1x15 and 2x15 version of the same cabinet. I Had never got around to using them together because "you arent supposed to do that" for all the reasons listed here. However when I did plug them in together they sounded great.
For those that arent familiar with the old EVM 15L speakers, they have a lot more midrange than most 15" speakers. They also have a distinct tone when overdriven. And I kinda like how it sounds to run one of them a lot harder than the other two.
There is also that neat thing with setting my input gain, master and the tone just so... in addition to using these kinds of drivers, I get that awesome touch response that you really only find in tube land. I can go from clean to very overdriven, just by varying my playing pressure.

 

[will33]

because I happened to own the 1x15 and 2x15 version of the same cabinet. I Had never got around to using them together because "you arent supposed to do that" for all the reasons listed here. However when I did plug them in together they sounded great.
For those that arent familiar with the old EVM 15L speakers, they have a lot more midrange than most 15" speakers. They also have a distinct tone when overdriven. And I kinda like how it sounds to run one of them a lot harder than the other two.
There is also that neat thing with setting my input gain, master and the tone just so... in addition to using these kinds of drivers, I get that awesome touch response that you really only find in tube land. I can go from clean to very overdriven, just by varying my playing pressure.

+1

The best my bassman ever sounded was through 15L's. They're loud, great midrange and top. Can't handle a lot of bass, but the bassman doesn't have enough oomph to send them flying out of the box or anything. They seem like sort of a "heavy duty" guitar driver.

 

[scottfeldstein]

However when I did plug them in together they sounded great

Well, you're not the first to make that kind of observation and I suppose you won't be the last.

Still, standard good advice to a noob would be "avoid it."

 

[agedhorse]

+1

The best my bassman ever sounded was through 15L's. They're loud, great midrange and top. Can't handle a lot of bass, but the bassman doesn't have enough oomph to send them flying out of the box or anything. They seem like sort of a "heavy duty" guitar driver.

A nice mix of EVM's is a 215 with 15B's and a single 15L on top. No issues (in similarly tuned cabinets) with summed response either.

 

[MaddAnthony_59]

If you could get an Aggie 2X10 with the same impedance of the Aggie 1X12 you have, I think you'd be in Heaven! The 12 should handle the bottom smoothly and the 2X10's will give you the Punch/Snap you are looking for. You may want to consider a 4X10 and a 1X15 down the road as your volume (And Budget!) requirements premit.

Personally, I think mixing Brands of Cabs looks tacky. I've got pictures of some Horrible looking examples from my misguided youth to reflect on. But they sounded great! <shrug> Looks on stage mean alot. Just make sure you Sound at least as good as you(And your Gear!) looks.

Currently play a GBE 600 into an Aguilar 1x12. The rig was more than enough for playing with friends in jam sessions. But, I'm playing out more now and I'm finding an added cab gives me a rounder tone as I don't have to push the Aggie cab too hard to get enough volume.

I liked the Eden 4x10. I REALLY liked the Epifani 4x10 and 2x10 they had. Big punchy thick tone but still very transparent. They didn't have an Epifani 12" cab.

So, with that, I need to decide on a adding a 2x10 to my Aggie 1x12, or an Epi 1x12. The 2x10/1x12 combo seems a bit weird to me. Anyone done this?

Also, still open to other suggestions.

 

[scottfeldstein]

You may want to consider a 4X10 and a 1X15 down the road

 

[will33]

A nice mix of EVM's is a 215 with 15B's and a single 15L on top. No issues (in similarly tuned cabinets) with summed response either.

The B's do help fill in the bottom, and they do seem to play nice together. That was as close as I got to making the bassman a go-to gigging rig and still keep it practical to haul around, but, I like to keep it in it's "warm but still sorta clean" tone area, not run it into a bunch of grit. So, I would still run into situations where it couldn't quite cut it, eventually gave up and went other directions with bass gear......maybe 3-15's was the answer.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

Really. Six years a member and still hasn't seen the #1 recurring topic.

 

[agedhorse]

The B's do help fill in the bottom, and they do seem to play nice together. That was as close as I got to making the bassman a go-to gigging rig and still keep it practical to haul around, but, I like to keep it in it's "warm but still sorta clean" tone area, not run it into a bunch of grit. So, I would still run into situations where it couldn't quite cut it, eventually gave up and went other directions with bass gear......maybe 3-15's was the answer.

Except for the weight of course...

 

[butcher]

Yeah, but he specifically said the 115 and the 215 were both 8 ohms. The speakers would definitely not be receiving the same amount of power.

Exactly. The 8 Ohm 115 cab has one 8 Ohm driver - simple. The 8 Ohm 215 either has two 4 Ohm drivers in series or two 16 Ohm drivers in parallel.

If they are using the typical method of connecting two cabs together (either at the amp w 2 outputs or chaining them cab-to-cab) they are 99% probably connecting them in parallel. In which case there are different currents being presented to the 115 driver and each of the two 4 Ohm or 16 Ohm drivers in the 215. That's just physics.

Also, if you read through the TS parameters of drivers there is usually a bit of difference between the different versions of even the same model driver (the 8 Ohm vs the 4 Ohm or 8 Ohm vs the 16 Ohm, etc.) which will impact their character as well.

So, pairing up "matched" cabs isn't just about matching their diameter or brand. It is about matching up the same driver in the same box with the same tuning (ports, batting, etc.).

Again, all of this about getting the best sound you can everywhere you can as best you can.

Most of the time I see guys playing mixed cabs etc. stacked whatever way either looks best to them or balances or fits their rack on top etc. made up of whatever cabs they can afford, find, borrow. And usually nobody in the room notices (except the bass players and the sound guys) and they still rock out and they still get paid.

I just saw a seasoned player have his Markbass 115 combo on top of a mark bass 210. Probably the only way he could combine them and get to the controls. It was loud and thumpy but probably could have been better.

But, if you are going to ask for recommendations... and you have the CHOICE and the MEANS to get what works best, then it kind of makes sense to consider these guiding principles don't you think??

 

[scottfeldstein]

I don't know what you're getting at, bro. I just know that someone suggested running a 115 cab and a 215 cab--both rated the same ohms--and then, when I raised an eyebrow, someone else chimed in and said that the cabs would probably be rated at different ohms. I pointed out that it had been specifically stated otherwise. The end.

 

[butcher]

I don't know what you're getting at, bro. I just know that someone suggested running a 115 cab and a 215 cab--both rated the same ohms--and then, when I raised an eyebrow, someone else chimed in and said that the cabs would probably be rated at different ohms. I pointed out that it had been specifically stated otherwise. The end.

Sorry - I started out in support of your response and then found a soapbox to stand on regarding how that combination would be okay because both boxes were rated the same, which somebody else mentioned.

I always forget to do the multiple quote thing.

My last bit was toward the OP. If he hasn't spent the money yet, might as well get what will most likely work best.

Like the guy in I saw the other day. That Markbass stuff isn't cheap - the same $$ could have been spent on a much more effective rig more than likely. On the other hand, maybe he borrowed the 210...

 

[RickenBoogie]

If you could get an Aggie 2X10 with the same impedance of the Aggie 1X12 you have, I think you'd be in Heaven! The 12 should handle the bottom smoothly and the 2X10's will give you the Punch/Snap you are looking for. You may want to consider a 4X10 and a 1X15 down the road as your volume (And Budget!) requirements premit.

 

[will33]

Except for the weight of course...

I could bring it in no taller than an SVT fridge and probably 40-50lbs. lighter. Adjust the dimensions to look nice with the amp, maintain tl-606 style 40hz, 55hz and sealed tuning options and hide it all behind a big pretty piece of silver/turquoise stripe grillcloth.

Thanks man, for yet another big, loud bassman daydream.