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Speaker Cabinet advice -- Guitar AND Bass

K

kneedriver

Sep 6, 2013
12
0
#1
Hi everybody

I am hoping you guys could maybe shed some light and provide some advice here.
I play guitar 60% of the time and bass/bass vi about 40% of the time in a few bands.

I use a Music Man 130 HD Reverb head which sounds AMAZING to my ears for what I'm doing on guitar (I used Music Man combos and Twin Reverbs before when I was exclusively playing guitar and love that sound).

I run some Fuzzes/Delays for effects - just stompboxes, nothing too nuts. The two bands I play in are loud volume-wise.

Here is my issue::
I am looking for the proper kind of cabinet to give me a classic sound for both guitar AND bass with my MM 130 HD Reverb head. The catch is I would like to keep it to one cabinet.

I love how the older rigs from Fender, Music Man, etc. worked pretty well - and were intended for - guitar and bass (and by bass I'm not talking about the 'tuned' modern bass sound). I tried a Music Man 212 RH ported cabinet at a shop near me which was amazing for both, but I hesitated and when I came back to the shop it was sold. If I found one of those it would be perfect -- otherwise wondering what you guys think for other similar options?

What about a Music Man 412gs? Anyone use that for guitar and bass?

Or those vintage Peavey 212 ported relfex cabinets?

I even thought about contacting Mojotone to see if they could build something for not too much $$. People say those Eminence Delta A are good widerange speakers, kind of like the old widerange ones of the past...

Just picking brains to see what you guys think. Thanks!
 
#3
kneedriver said:
Hi everybody

I am hoping you guys could maybe shed some light and provide some advice here.
I play guitar 60% of the time and bass/bass vi about 40% of the time in a few bands.

I use a Music Man 130 HD Reverb head which sounds AMAZING to my ears for what I'm doing on guitar (I used Music Man combos and Twin Reverbs before when I was exclusively playing guitar and love that sound).

I run some Fuzzes/Delays for effects - just stompboxes, nothing too nuts. The two bands I play in are loud volume-wise.

Here is my issue::
I am looking for the proper kind of cabinet to give me a classic sound for both guitar AND bass with my MM 130 HD Reverb head. The catch is I would like to keep it to one cabinet.

I love how the older rigs from Fender, Music Man, etc. worked pretty well - and were intended for - guitar and bass (and by bass I'm not talking about the 'tuned' modern bass sound). I tried a Music Man 212 RH ported cabinet at a shop near me which was amazing for both, but I hesitated and when I came back to the shop it was sold. If I found one of those it would be perfect -- otherwise wondering what you guys think for other similar options?

What about a Music Man 412gs? Anyone use that for guitar and bass?

Or those vintage Peavey 212 ported relfex cabinets?

I even thought about contacting Mojotone to see if they could build something for not too much $$. People say those Eminence Delta A are good widerange speakers, kind of like the old widerange ones of the past...

Just picking brains to see what you guys think. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Yep! I've heard of quite a few "bass" speaker drivers that do a good job with both bass and guitar. I built a 4.0 cu. ft. box with a single Eminence Legend CB15. It does very well with my bass, through an Ampeg PF-350 amp. I was pleasantly surprised that it sounds really good with my Tele through a Line6 POD, to the amp/cab. I use the same amp/cab with both bass and guitar with a jam band a couple times a month.
 
#7
i thought the EVM-12L / TL-808 sounds kinda thin for bass, but IIRC Geezer Butler got some mileage out of the 12L for bass.

I use the EVM-15L / TL-606. It's got a thicker sound because the LF extension is better for a 4 string by about an octave, but otherwise sounds just as good for guitar.

I'd say 12L or 15L for guitar, but 15L is better for bass. 4 string that is. Not so satisfying on a fiver.
 
#10
Another thumbs up for a TL606. Mine is loaded with a 4 Ohm Black Widow 1502.
Not a perfect bass cab, and not a perfect guitar cab, but it's the smallest one I have that does a passable job at both.
 
#11
I would say to go for the 4x12, it's pretty much the standard for guitar and will work for bass.

I have a couple 4x12 cabs loaded with Eminence Betas and they are garbage with guitar, very muddy and no top end at all. So you can rule those speakers out immediately.

Dare I say it, but if you loaded a bass 4x12 with guitar speakers, and used a low wattage bass head, maybe 1/2 or 3/4 of what your cab's wattage rating is, you'd PROBABLY be ok. A compressor/peak limiter would be a good idea too, or a fuzz/distortion if you use one. The thing that's going to kill your guitar speakers is too much excursion. Case in point- I've run a 4x12 for many years with some crappy Madison/Legion Sound speakers and a bass amp pushing it. The cab is rated at 400w RMS and I ran it about half the time with a 600w amp and the other half the time with a 100w tube head. I also ran a Big Muff so the signal was pretty compressed. The cab is still going strong to this day. The speakers were free so I figured what the heck might as well use them and if they blow, they blow. I haven't been able to kill them! lol. I'll bet if you ran some better speakers like something from the Eminence guitar line and follow my aforementioned advice you'll be OK.
 
#12
kneedriver.. have you looked at Acme cabs? (acmebass.com) They are "full range" ie they have mid frequency and high frequency response to match their extended bass response (down to a nice full 31hz!) Lots of choices for size and weight, and that seems to be a factor for you (but I'm struggling with an image of you loading a 4x12 into a limo!) These are real all-around cabs... great for bass, keys, pa, and guitar... just about anything. Very robust. have a look!
 
#13
I play both guitar and bass, and also build guitar and bass amps/cabs, so I've been tinkering in this realm for quite a while. If you are playing clean guitar, then you can get along quite well with a good bass cab. The challenge comes when you start introducing overdrive and distortion. I would nix anything with tweeters, and likely mid drivers as well, and look for a good full range speaker.

The best production cabs I've found to pull double duty are the Bag Ends - I have a pair of S15D's that work really well for both, and I'd think a pair of S12D's would be even better on the guitar side without giving up much on the bass side. They're compact and very efficient, so you should be able to keep up with a loud band.

Here's a video of the Bag Ends doing both:


So again, a pair of Bag End S12D's or even an S12 and a S15D should get you where you want to go and sound stellar on both. The Bag's are some of the best made cabs I've come across, and are a steal considering their quality and that they are made in the US. There are several online retailers that have them (Full Compass, RAL Audio, ACME Electronics), and I believe Basscentral and BassNW usually have them in stock as well.
 
#16
JGR said:
And you're rockin the sexy oiled birch!
Click to expand...

:bassist: just like my first S15 back in 1991! Which I also gigged with guitar briefly when my drummer's side cover gig fired both it's keys and rhythm players with a full schedule booked.

Now that I think of it, the original project we were in together (that drummer and I) was lead by a fusion / shred guy that used an original Peavey 5150 head mated to a matching 4x12 AND a Bag End D12 for his pair of EMG loaded Jackson "Dinky" guitars.
 
#18
BillyB_from_LZ said:
How about a small bass combo with an analog modeling preamp?.
Click to expand...

This makes the most sense to me. I think modelling is your best bet for combining bass and guitar in one cab.

If the solution just has to be a general-purpose cab, maybe give the Eminence Delta Pro 12A a shot. I've heard of guitarists using it as a substitute for the EVM-12L, and its parameters (including x-max) indicate that it could be used for bass.

But I like BillyB's suggestion better.
 

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