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Re: recommendations for a 15" speaker for sealed bass-guitar
Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 2:01 am
by Mikey
Bergerac wrote:thx for the tip cause it appeals! But what I did not see on the page is the mentioned variant: 16"w T39 with a 12" speaker
Here ya go ... straight from the SPL Charts section of this forum ...
Have you tried this single sub / stereo mids arrangement yet? If not, I strongly suggest that you try it with cabs on-hand or borrowed cabs before you build this rig. I tried this sort of arrangement for my son's bass rig at one point, and it wasn't at all what we'd hoped-for. It only sounded good if you stood right between the speakers. Off-center, it sounded like ass (my technical jargon). If you just stand in one place throughout your entire gig, and have the speakers placed accordingly, that's cool, but the other issue is that it interferes with the mains in a real bad way.
Re: recommendations for a 15" speaker for sealed bass-guitar
Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 3:42 am
by Bergerac
Mikey wrote:
Have you tried this single sub / stereo mids arrangement yet? If not, I strongly suggest that you try it with cabs on-hand or borrowed cabs before you build this rig. I tried this sort of arrangement for my son's bass rig at one point, and it wasn't at all what we'd hoped-for. It only sounded good if you stood right between the speakers. Off-center, it sounded like ass (my technical jargon). If you just stand in one place throughout your entire gig, and have the speakers placed accordingly, that's cool, but the other issue is that it interferes with the mains in a real bad way.
What I had for some years was a similar arrangement for my home hi-fi - great!
What I tried for some years with bass-guitar was 2 fullrange cabs (2x 4x10" or 2x 2x12" or 2x 1x15" + tweeter) in alternating distance from each other. This - as you mentioned - sounded just good in perfect hearing position. I ended up in putting the 2 cabs side by side with no distance (otherwise the bass-punch was bad). So I personally had some stereo sound but nobody else.
What you mention is important. I guess my idea is a good one when the crossover frequency is not too low. I guess >= 1kHz willl do it. Anyway I plan to make it switchable. (Linearity in the upper mids/highs is not so crucial for my purpose)
What was the crossover freq in your son's arrangement? what rolloff? you remember?
Re: recommendations for a 15" speaker for sealed bass-guitar
Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 4:45 am
by Gregory East
Your >1kHz recipe is tailor made for comb filtering up the wazoo.
Re: recommendations for a 15" speaker for sealed bass-guitar
Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 4:51 am
by Bergerac
Gregory East wrote:Your >1kHz recipe is tailor made for comb filtering up the wazoo.

PLease more explanatory.....
Re: recommendations for a 15" speaker for sealed bass-guitar
Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 5:18 am
by Gregory East
Comb filtering is the alternate reinforcement and cancellation of frequencies, distributed across the listening field. So one note sounds out loud, the next quiet, but each listener gets a different "mix". aka "sounds like arse"
This is the reason we don't split subs unless in a really really big room. The town hall I'm playing in tomorrow is too small to split them.
Horse to water, gonna take a drink?
Re: recommendations for a 15" speaker for sealed bass-guitar
Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 5:31 am
by Chris_Allen
Gregory East wrote:This is the reason we don't split subs unless in a really really big room.
or a really, really small one.
Re: recommendations for a 15" speaker for sealed bass-guitar
Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 7:19 am
by Gregory East
Ha, true that, might come up against that one soon enough too.
Re: recommendations for a 15" speaker for sealed bass-guitar
Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 9:33 am
by Bergerac
Gregory East wrote:This is the reason we don't split subs unless in a really really big room. The town hall I'm playing in tomorrow is too small to split them.
I dont plan to split the subs, i.e. the 15" cabinets, I plan to stack them and put them in a "middle position". I plan to split the frequencies above 1kHz, or 2kHz, or 3kHz. This is more easy to experiment with.
What is not so easy to experiment with is which speaker in which cabinet ?
And I want to repeat my question, do somebody of you know of a 15" speaker with low fs, low EBP, rather high Xmax and a good SPL ? i.e. One that can be used ported or sealed.
Re: recommendations for a 15" speaker for sealed bass-guitar
Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 10:10 am
by Bill Fitzmaurice
Bergerac wrote: do somebody of you know of a 15" speaker with low fs, low EBP, rather high Xmax and a good SPL ? i.e. One that can be used ported or sealed.
There are none that I know of. For one thing there is no marketplace demand for it. And low EBP, high sensitivity and high xmax would be an engineering challenge, as those factors tend not to be complementary.
Re: recommendations for a 15" speaker for sealed bass-guitar
Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 10:21 am
by Bergerac
Bill Fitzmaurice wrote:There are none that I know of. For one thing there is no marketplace demand for it. And low EBP, high sensitivity and high xmax would be an engineering challenge, as those factors tend not to be complementary.
Thank you!
At least I know that I do not have to look further. Then Maybe the Kappalite 3015LF is a good compromise.
Re: recommendations for a 15" speaker for sealed bass-guitar
Posted: Fri Aug 26, 2011 1:19 pm
by Mikey
My son's rig was a 2x15 cab and a 4x6 cab. I took the 6"ers out and built two cabs for two 6"ers each. Sounded great for rehearsal, but at the gig it sucked. The 6"ers went back into the 4x6 cab right after that one gig. It was THAT bad. Not onstage so much, but out front. The crossover was 800hz, 24db.
Again, I encourage you to try a makeshift similar rig first, at a gig. While the band is playing, walk out front and hear what it does to the sound, walking around the room.
Honestly, I'd suggest KISS (keep it simple, stupid) for your stage rig, and let the PA handle the spacial effect that you're after. You can split hi and low at the board, and add effects to either or both. I encourage you to try it. I think you'll be happier with this than the onstage stereo rig.