What Configuration?

[Libertad]

If your going to be buying quality gear, I'd get a nice 410 setup and then add a 15 (or 212, or 18) if you want/need it later. Many 410's will get the job done nicely or be more than enough but I think it's likely that you'll find you want a bit more, I did. Another 410 cab is something to consider. If you don't need huge low end, and have good 410 cabs with nice lows, you might get the sound you want from all 10's. That's alot of speakers (loud!) and alot of punch. I'd stay away from 810's b/c of transportation issues. Plus there's not as many options. I think the 210 + 15 setup would probably be a little too focused on the 15. Remeber, a 15 has more speaker than a 2x10. If you want some bigger speakers, whether to go with 12's, 15's or 18's is purely subjective but I like 15's. I think of 12's as giving a little more traditional sound and 18's as being overkill unless you want ALOT of low end. 15's are great IMO if you have 10's untop of them. These are all generalizations of coarse, but pretty much all the info you'll get on speaker sizes will be. Make sure the cabs have nice tweeters, that can make or break the slap tone IMO. As far as amps go, I go for a similar sound as you and find the hybrid designs to be the best fit for me. As far as manufacturers, look at Eden, G-K, SWR (little thin/too hi-fi for me), Genz Benz, Schroeder (I think of schroeder as being a bit more rock than funk but others might disagree. most high quality gear is pretty versatile anyway), thunderfunk, epifiny, aguilar, there are many others. So yeah, anyway, I'd go with 4x10 + 4x10 or 4x10 + 15. As far as specific gear goes, I'd suggest looking at an Eden head, the WT550 and WT800 are great, and an Eden 410xlt (+another 410xlt or 410xst or 115xlt). There are other great companies, I just have much more experience with Eden and like it alot. Good Luck

Great info i appreciate it! I will be looking into Eden, Epifini and Shroeder. When you say that you think of Shroeder as being a bit more rock than funk is it because it does not have a good slap tone to it??
It sounds like I will be going with a 4x10 and then maybe add a 15 or a 2x12 unless I go with Shroeder then I dont know which one to go with (1212L or 21012 or probably the 410). On the Shroeder website they say this about thier 4x10 "if you love the sound of a 4x10 but don't want to add a 15" cabinet this model can do it without hesitation. One of the smallest 4x10's in the market and a real "Bad Boy""
I finally feel like I have narrowed down my decisions and feel more relaxed about this search for the right fit. I should have asked this a long time ago.

 

[MikeBass]

IMO, the differences between the "sound" of 10's and 12's is so small it wouldn't matter at all. It's more how the box is designed/tuned and what your putting in to it.

I'd be willing to bet if you put up a curtain with a 410, 212 most would not be able to tell much, if any difference at all.

This whole debate of 10 sounding "faster" to me is kinda silly.
If that was the case, then why not just get a 6x8 or an 8x8. If the logic is such as suggested that smaller speakers are faster sounding, then it seems that 8's would trump 10's.
And there are a few companies doing some serious cabs with 8's these days.

Suer, there will be a difference. You can't argue the physical size of a 12 can be moved as fast as a 10 given the same input. IF they had the same specs. But by the time you drop those things in a cab, tune the cab, add a horn, crossover. IMO all bets are off.

I have played some 10 loaded cabs that sounded more livly and punchy, but having played 12's from a number of different compainies, I can't tell that much of a difference, if any at all.

 

[MikeBass]

A good three-way cab works great for just about any style. Only a few brands break the tradition of the standard cookie cutter configurations. They're worth seeking out and trying.

LDS (Low Down Sound) does three way cabs.
AccuGroove, most all of their cabs are three way as well.

 

[SnakeAnthony]

Not to jack the thread, but for this same style of music, what would work better, a 2x10 stacked on top of a 4x10 with a horn, or a 1x12 with horn on top of a 4x10, also with a horn? I want to say the 12 because of the added low end, but I'm kind of an amp noob. What do you guys think?

 

[jokerjkny]

For funk and slap stuff, I find 10 inch speakers work better for me. Faster, more punch.

+1

FYI, i use a pair of 12" epifani cabs, but only cause they react like 10" speakers.

 

[jokerjkny]

well i own an Epifani UL410 and am about to buy 2 UL112s

when i tried out the 12s i found them to be great, real responsive like a cross between 10s and 12s, great punch and forward motion, like you can feel it in your chest.
(...)

+1

weird, arent they? not quite the quickness of a good ol' epifani 10", but out of all the 12" cabs i've used, the ul112's just kick like a mule.

 

[Jazzin']

I would personally go for 410+212 since I don't really like 15"s that much.

 

[AaronS]

If it were ME, and I wanted Flea's tone, I'd go GK, being that is what Flea uses. My tastes are somewhat different, but if that's what you're looking for, you can't beat the "original" a 1001RBII and a RBH410 cab, would make a fairly reasonably priced KILLER slap/funk rig.

My thoughts exactly. That is far from what I play or enjoy listening to for very long, but for that type of music I think Cheezewiz hit the nail on the head. Stay away from the Backline series, check out Invalid Link Removed for the best prices and you will have a very reliable, good sounding, relatively inexpensive rig that will be plenty loud.

 

[jokerjkny]

(...)

This whole debate of 10 sounding "faster" to me is kinda silly.
If that was the case, then why not just get a 6x8 or an 8x8. If the logic is such as suggested that smaller speakers are faster sounding, then it seems that 8's would trump 10's.
And there are a few companies doing some serious cabs with 8's these days.

Suer, there will be a difference. You can't argue the physical size of a 12 can be moved as fast as a 10 given the same input. IF they had the same specs. But by the time you drop those things in a cab, tune the cab, add a horn, crossover. IMO all bets are off.

I have played some 10 loaded cabs that sounded more livly and punchy, but having played 12's from a number of different compainies, I can't tell that much of a difference, if any at all.

couldnt be more true.

and why dont more peeps make 8" loaded cabs? *shrug*

all the while, i'm more and more convinced that 10" speakers, no matter who's droppin' em, will sound best in whatever cab from whatever line for most whatever gigging situation. they've been around for so freakin' long, everyone and their cats know how to make them sound best.

for me, the real contention comes w/ EQ'ing. smaller sized speakers seem to take to dramatic turns of the dial more readily than larger speakers. i.e. tuning on the verge of the dramatic for that low mid punch that sounds great on a 10" loaded cab, starts to sound more nasal and peaky in a larger 12", or 15", or even 18" cab.

but i think its safe to say that with the higher echelon guys like epifani, and your current cab du jour, accugroove, speaker size generalizations start to get blurry. heck, my epifani 12s are already quickly making me rethink my 10" speaker predispositions.

little OT, and speaking of epifani, when nick was developing prototypes of his new UL line, i got to hear a few cabs with differently designed 12" speakers that nick was trying out. all the same kind of cab for each, but it was amazing how the speaker alone dictated that overall feel of the cab in terms of tone, feel, and yes "quickness". still, when nick moved me to the 10" speakers he was developing, it felt like home.

course, if i had your chops, i couldnt give a second crap about all this, cause i'd be perfectly content playing thru a cardboard box.

 

[Modern Growl]

IMO, the differences between the "sound" of 10's and 12's is so small it wouldn't matter at all. It's more how the box is designed/tuned and what your putting in to it.

I'd be willing to bet if you put up a curtain with a 410, 212 most would not be able to tell much, if any difference at all.

This whole debate of 10 sounding "faster" to me is kinda silly.
If that was the case, then why not just get a 6x8 or an 8x8. If the logic is such as suggested that smaller speakers are faster sounding, then it seems that 8's would trump 10's.
And there are a few companies doing some serious cabs with 8's these days.

Suer, there will be a difference. You can't argue the physical size of a 12 can be moved as fast as a 10 given the same input. IF they had the same specs. But by the time you drop those things in a cab, tune the cab, add a horn, crossover. IMO all bets are off.

I have played some 10 loaded cabs that sounded more livly and punchy, but having played 12's from a number of different compainies, I can't tell that much of a difference, if any at all.

thank you dude! first post with some sense!

No one should definitively say "for this style, you should play only 10's", or "for that style, play a pair of 2x10's w/ 1x15"
There's so much more to the equation! Tuning, Porting style(if at all), Woods used, Cab dimensions, so on and so forth.
You need to examine different companies and models offered by those companies. Some companies are more know for deeper sounding cabinets. Some known for punchy, midrange cabs... There's also different models within the companies that are designed for differing tones.
There's some 1x15's that are more punchy then some 2x10's. There's some 1x12's that are deeper sounding then some 1x15's.
What your going to need to do is listen, and play them yourself. Don't let the inches of the woofer used in a cabinet decide tone without hearing the cabinet as a whole first! You could be dismissing awesome sounding cabinets because the size of the woofer isn't what you would "think" sounds like what your looking for.