It's just a fact that in a mixed rig the smaller speaker will strain to keep up with the larger one, unless you're biamping, or doing something to even them out. Or unless they're mixed within the same cab and designed to work that way. For small-time guys like me matching cabs is the way.
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The Pros seem to favor mixed cabs
- Thread starter SouthTunnel
- Start date
Exactly right. And I'll add that there are plenty of great musicians using absolutely NON-state-of-the-art gear because they can't afford the cutting edge stuff, even if they did spend the time reading Bass Player or following TB, to stay up to date. Often when reading TB, I can't believe how many hobbyists there are who get rid of their month-old gear because something with more bells & whistles has come out.
I like to tailor my stage rig by the venue. (and if I'm going to the FOH)
If a mixed cab set up will work, then it works.
If a 4004 into a 4x10 will work, then it works.
If I have to use a 1x15 100w tiltback facing back at me, then it works.
Whatever I have to do to keep the venue owner and bandmates happy, and most importantly preserve my tone.
Like to keep it flexible, options open.
Of course, that means you HAVE to know what the venue situation is.
Had times where I brought an indoor rig to find out we're outside, or the other way around.
Those times I [DEL]throw a hissy fit[/DEL] take a deep breath and soldier on.
If a mixed cab set up will work, then it works.
If a 4004 into a 4x10 will work, then it works.
If I have to use a 1x15 100w tiltback facing back at me, then it works.
Whatever I have to do to keep the venue owner and bandmates happy, and most importantly preserve my tone.
Like to keep it flexible, options open.
Of course, that means you HAVE to know what the venue situation is.
Had times where I brought an indoor rig to find out we're outside, or the other way around.
Those times I [DEL]throw a hissy fit[/DEL] take a deep breath and soldier on.
I always bring my full rig. It sounds great turned down, but I dont want to come up short due to surprises like being outside.
I saw Willie Weeks playing with Eric Clapton a few years ago. It was an arena outside Atlanta that holds about 10,000 or so. Maybe more. Weeks had a single small Aguilar cabinet and amp. Clapton had one or two small Fender combos. Everybody was wearing inner ear monitors.
About halfway through the first song, the entire PA system went out. All you could hear was this tiny sound coming from the amps on the stage. Everybody in the audience is murmuring, and almost drowned out the amps. After 45 seconds or so, when Clapton just started singing the third verse the PA roared back on and everybody went nuts screaming an applauding. Clapton was startled- he evidently had no idea why everybody started applauding, and probably had no idea that the entire PA had gone out for a bit.
I think Clapton's amps were mic'd. Can't remember about Week's.
About halfway through the first song, the entire PA system went out. All you could hear was this tiny sound coming from the amps on the stage. Everybody in the audience is murmuring, and almost drowned out the amps. After 45 seconds or so, when Clapton just started singing the third verse the PA roared back on and everybody went nuts screaming an applauding. Clapton was startled- he evidently had no idea why everybody started applauding, and probably had no idea that the entire PA had gone out for a bit.
I think Clapton's amps were mic'd. Can't remember about Week's.
Ya know, a preamp into a power amp running stereo will allow you to tailor your volume/sound using mixed cabs.
You mean the magic bass cab and the magic running shoes were just ordinary junk and not magical at all? All I needed was the confidence to get up there and win? The magic was in me? You mean the tone really is in my fingers?
You evil bastards lied to me!
You mean the magic bass cab and the magic running shoes were just ordinary junk and not magical at all? All I needed was the confidence to get up there and win? The magic was in me? You mean the tone really is in my fingers?
You evil bastards lied to me!
You can WIN on your own.....but you can't impress your TV-watching neighbors, LOL.
Mr. Foxen
Commercial User
An American saying 'bugger' sounds weird to me, is it not a word used there much?
I agree. When I was on the road I took a modulus bass that I had used for years and a Warwick as a backup. Taylor gave me an acoustic bass for radio performances. I took whatever amp I got an endorsement with (mesa boogie ) and I used in ears for monitoring.
I let the tech and our FOH guy set up my amp however they wanted and then I decided if I liked the tone. If I did not, I could easily communicate the frequencies to change or anything else.
Don't get me wrong, there is always a tone that I want and I got it how I wanted. But I never thought much about it since I could get it dialed in 1 rehearsal, and as a result I believe it actually helped me define my sound better. I spent all my time working on technique and never really worried about gear too much.
I come here and it is wild to read about stuff like dead notes..neck dive..mixed cabs..I simply never thought about any of it. I played a major showcase through a carvin 15 and a hartke 4x10 and it sounded fine. It was not that expensive and it worked for me when I needed it.
This is a nice resource to have when you are looking for a new guitar or piece of gear, but I would stress that many people may be over thinking the gear aspect way too much.
I agree. I do thank TB for learning about all the latest gear/techniques/etc, but before I came on here, I didnt think about most of the stuff people post about. I could play pretty well though and thats what I concentrated on.
Nothing wrong technically with mixed cabs AS LONG AS you have a dedicated amp for each of the mis-matched cabs. A very flexible cross-over, like the one in the Yamaha PB-1, is also a huge plus to tune the overall system.
Lots of good thoughts here, but Jimmy nailed it. It's safer to use identical cabs, but you can get great results with mix'n'match.
I've shared this a lot, but: I once had a pair of 2x10 cabs. One was an Ampeg (rear ported, I think), the other was an EV-loaded Mesa/Boogie with front port. Both had tweeters. The Ampeg was all about the punch (even the tweeter didn't go all that high), the Mesa was definitely 'hi fi', deep and clear. In short, the stack sounded much better than each individually.
I also once ran a 2x10/1x18 rig that sounded killer.
On the downside, I tried some mixed rigs that definitely did not work. So... if you want to keep it simple, find one cab that works for you and add a 2nd just like it if you need more volume. Or, get a tall cab that you like.
