Small speaker in the studio?

[Gubbe]

I'm thinking about building a small speaker for the studio. The problem whit 4x10" whit tweeter, and an extra 15" for the low end is that it's no pick-nick to Mic them!
Any ideas on what would be a good starting point, if I want a more vintage, "speaker compressed" sound, that goes low, and is just about to break up around 30-50 Watts?

 

[nysbob]

Well, you want the prototypical studio amp - Ampeg B15N.

Another way to go might be to get a good old tube guitar amp and drop a beefier speaker in it. Since you don't really have to move a lot of air, it opens up a lot more options.

 

[Petebass]

With existing technology, there is no single driver thata can cover such a broad frequency range and do it well. From PA's, to Hi-Fi, to Bass rigs, all of them rely on multiple drivers to cover the full range of frequencies produced.

Have you considered Distance miking? You don't have to go too far back for the ic to capture the sound from all your speakers at once, proabably only 6" or so (don't be affraid to experiment). I find it works best if you run a distance mike on one track, and either a DI or a close mic on a seperate track. Then blend them as best suits the song.

 

[SoComSurfing]

Lately I've been using an old black-face Fender Deluxe Reverb with the speaker changed out to a Mesa Black Shadow. My main other amp to mic in the studio is a silver-face Super Reverb that someone changed the 4x10s to a single 15". With either amp, or with a true bass rig, I'll always run a direct signal, as well, and I'm pretty well set.

 

[DaveMcLain]

I think you'll find that if you use a high quality 10 inch speaker and mic it closely with a large diaphram condenser you'll have a great tonal balance. The real secret it to not have it playing very loud, in that situation the design of the cabinet doesn't seem to have all that much effect on the sound. I've used this setup a lot with a variety of cabinets but mostly 2x10's with the tweeter turned off. Experiment you might find that a speaker with a very light cone will work better at low volumes or something smaller, you just never know. Personally I feel that a mic'ed speaker sounds more "real" than a preamp but having said that a Sansamp can sound very very good too.

 

[bassbrad]

I have a small ported 1x10 that I use with a GK MLS that I use for guitar and bass with very good results. I mic it with either a SM57 or one of my condenser mics. It was made by a local custom speaker builder, Walter Box, using half of the dimensions of their compact 2x10.

 

[bassjus]

Have you considered Distance miking? You don't have to go too far back for the ic to capture the sound from all your speakers at once, proabably only 6" or so (don't be affraid to experiment). I find it works best if you run a distance mike on one track, and either a DI or a close mic on a seperate track. Then blend them as best suits the song.

I find this best, and you could always use more than one mic.