Going to add a cabinet

[drbassman]

The fliptop ampeg cabs have a horn BTW.  And it is a sealed cab so sometimes the tops will vibrate if not really tight.  It will not sound as deep as a ported cab.  Supposedly the eminence speaker in the fliptop is pretty good.  Ampeg just introduced a 15 cab with ports and is not a fliptop but same look.  Not sue if they are out there yet. 

Yeah, I got the one with the tweeter.  We'll see how deep it sounds.  I will be able to compare it to the Mesa 15 cab I have.  Should be fun!

[Granny Gremlin]

Tweeters are easily disconnected if you feel like it (and most often should be: usually a shitty piezo anyway, and it isn't really doing much aside from increasing amp noise/hum/hiss unless you're a slapper, or high register/heavy on the modulation effects player).

I maintain that they are mostly there in order to allow the manufacturer to claim a higher efficiency spec on the cab as a whole (now that the whole slap and 'hifi" bass tone trends are over)

The one thing to watch out for when you disconnect the tweeter is whether or not the manufacturer included it in the calculation of the cab impedance (as often as not, like I said, usually not doing very much so  electrically, you can almost ignore it - budget hifi speakers in the 60s/70s used to pull this same crap as regards Z ratings) - the easiest thing is to just take a gander at the sticker on the woofer for it's Z rating and then you know what you got.

[drbassman]

This one has a switch, so I should be able to turn it to zero.  We'll see.

Tweeters are easily disconnected if you feel like it (and most often should be: usually a shitty piezo anyway, and it isn't really doing much aside from increasing amp noise/hum/hiss unless you're a slapper, or high register/heavy on the modulation effects player).

I maintain that they are mostly there in order to allow the manufacturer to claim a higher efficiency spec on the cab as a whole (now that the whole slap and 'hifi" bass tone trends are over)

The one thing to watch out for when you disconnect the tweeter is whether or not the manufacturer included it in the calculation of the cab impedance (as often as not, like I said, usually not doing very much so  electrically, you can almost ignore it - budget hifi speakers in the 60s/70s used to pull this same crap as regards Z ratings) - the easiest thing is to just take a gander at the sticker on the woofer for it's Z rating and then you know what you got.

[rahock]

It's nice when the tweeter has its' own volume control. You can actually see the benifit of having a tweeter when you can control it. All or nothing is not the kind of control you want.
Rick

[Pilgrim]

It's nice when the tweeter has its' own volume control. You can actually see the benifit of having a tweeter when you can control it. All or nothing is not the kind of control you want.
Rick

You and I both appreciate that on the G-B Shuttle series, there's a handy knob for the purpose of setting tweeter levels.  I run mine at about 25%.

[drbassman]

You and I both appreciate that on the G-B Shuttle series, there's a handy knob for the purpose of setting tweeter levels.  I run mine at about 25%.

Yep, both of my Mesa cabs have tweeter controls on them.  I've been running them at 25% and it give them nice, not so harsh, treble.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

 Without wading into the sea of half-information that's been presented and correcting/clarifying it, I'll just say that there's no way anyone can generalize that ALL 1x15's and ALL 4x10's are going to sound a certain way. There are many 1x15 cabinets that don't have any meaningful response below low E on a GUITAR and there are 4x10's with a legitimate 6 dB downpoint at low B on a five string, and the best way to determine what will work for you is to hear it for yourself.

Typically, most 4x10's are voiced to emphasize midrange, low mids on cabs like the old Eden XLT series and upper mids on more "hifi" cabs like an SWR Goliath or Trace Elliot 1048. 15" speakers became ubiquitous for bass cabs but they're not always the best choice if you need more low end close to you onstage. They can project large amounts of low end into the audience while you end up sounding thin onstage. That's why cabs voiced like the Eden XLT's became popular. Even though they have little to no true first-octave response, their heavy low midrange makes for a very "bassy" sounding cabinet that can make you sound more full onstage without throwing out a larger amount of PA muddying bass.

On the subject of tweeters, there is a psychoacoustic phenomenon where increased bass leads to the perception of increased high end because the brain "extrapolates" a more complete harmonic series based on the added low end, but the caveat is that this requires actual low frequency content and not just more low mids. This is also why tweeters became standard issue on 4x10's; they were overall more muddy sounding because of the lack of actual low end, so tweeters were added to give more tonal articulation.

I think in drbassman should check out a bunch of cabinets, but I have a feeling that he will be best served by a 4x10.

[drbassman]

Thanks for the update.  I did notice that my old rig was not projecting the bass out into the crowd in our little club.  Hence, I decided to try the 15" cab.  I think it will be fine.  My listeners are not nearly as discriminating as many of us here.  They just want to dance!   

[Aussie Mark]

15" speakers became ubiquitous for bass cabs but they're not always the best choice if you need more low end close to you onstage. They can project large amounts of low end into the audience while you end up sounding thin onstage.

The SWR Henry 8x8 has more low end than most 15" cabs, projects tremendously well, and develops it's tone close to the cab too - so what you hear onstage is what the audience also hears.  The performance of that cab is another example that belies the "15's have more low end than smaller speakers" myth.

[Dave W]

The SWR Henry 8x8 has more low end than most 15" cabs, projects tremendously well, and develops it's tone close to the cab too - so what you hear onstage is what the audience also hears.  The performance of that cab is another example that belies the "15's have more low end than smaller speakers" myth.

That must be why they discontinued it.  Seriously, there was a cab you could hear well on stage but not more than a few feet beyond. JMHO, YMMV, etc.

[Aussie Mark]

That must be why they discontinued it.  Seriously, there was a cab you could hear well on stage but not more than a few feet beyond. JMHO, YMMV, etc.

And Dave, of course you owned a Henry 8x8 and gigged one extensively, so you are well qualified to make that statement?

The Henry was in the SWR range for more than 10 years, so I don't think that's why it was discontinued.  I imagine the trend to lightweight neo-equipped cabs was one of the reasons.  I'm not the only bassist I know who would jump at a neo Henry that weighed say 60-70lbs.

[drbassman]

The band has a custom built bass 4x10 at the club with top line speakers, just can't remember what kind.  I really dislike it.   I used it for six months and could never get decent deep thumpy tone out of it that I wanted  Tons of volumn, way more than I needed.  When I went to the Mesa, things improved immensely to my ears.  In the end, that's what matters.  What's in my head!   

[Psycho Bass Guy]

The band has a custom built bass 4x10 at the club with top line speakers, just can't remember what kind. 

Many modern high powered drivers may be loud, but unless they're put into a properly designed cabinet, they're not going to sound good. Too many people think that a circle jig and the ability to shape a plywood rectangle are the only things you need to know to build a bass cabinet. It works for guitar, but not for bass. That lower octave is a bitch.

[drbassman]

Many modern high powered drivers may be loud, but unless they're put into a properly designed cabinet, they're not going to sound good. Too many people think that a circle jig and the ability to shape a plywood rectangle are the only things you need to know to build a bass cabinet. It works for guitar, but not for bass. That lower octave is a bitch.

True, but the builder is the local "go to" amp/speaker tech in the region, so his knowledge and skill has been confirmed a lot over the last couple decades.  He hand builds his guitar/bass amps and cabs and people buy/love em.  I just just coudn't get the 4x10 to work for me.  Not a big deal.

[Dave W]

And Dave, of course you owned a Henry 8x8 and gigged one extensively, so you are well qualified to make that statement?

Of course I didn't own one. Why on earth would anyone buy a cabinet he doesn't like?

I know how they sound on stage having played through one at a benefit gig using shared equipment.

I know how they sound away from the stage having heard a number of gigs in the 90s from two bands whose bassists used them.

As always, just my opinion.

The Henry was in the SWR range for more than 10 years, so I don't think that's why it was discontinued.  I imagine the trend to lightweight neo-equipped cabs was one of the reasons.  I'm not the only bassist I know who would jump at a neo Henry that weighed say 60-70lbs.

The usual reason is that sales weren't high enough. AFAIK it was never as good a seller as their various Goliath cabs that are still in the line.