Got a real lesson yesterday about running the same speaker in different cabs!

[Ascension]

Pulled the little Egnater Tweeker cab from Church and rolled some speakers through it. Had a Celestian GTH 30 in it and was a decent sounding cab but lacked the bottom and meat I wanted. I have a WGS Retro 30 in my larger open back Blackstar cab and an extra one on hand so rolled it in. WOW the Tweeker is so different sounding with the Retro 30 than the Blackstar is!! I expected some difference but not this much. The Retro did fatten the bottom and added a LOT of punch but side by side the Blackstar flat stomps the daylights out of the Tweeker cab!! Bigger rounder the Blackstar sounds HUGE the and in comparison the Tweeker sounds small boxie and wimpy! Talking a night and day difference in tone here. Also have a pair of Retros in a 2/12 old Fender closed back cab and that cab is also much different with the same speakers. Brighter and a little tighter at higher volume than the Black Star but even with the 2/12's not on the same planet on that bottom end thump and overall big sound.
Real eye opener to take the same speakers in 3 different cabs and set them side by side then play them through the same amp. Really shows just how important to overall tone a cabinet design really is!!

 

[NegativeEase]

Re: Got a real lesson yesterday about running the same speaker in different cabs!

Pulled the little Egnater Tweeker cab from Church and rolled some speakers through it. Had a Celestian GTH 30 in it and was a decent sounding cab but lacked the bottom and meat I wanted. I have a WGS Retro 30 in my larger open back Blackstar cab and an extra one on hand so rolled it in. WOW the Tweeker is so different sounding with the Retro 30 than the Blackstar is!! I expected some difference but not this much. The Retro did fatten the bottom and added a LOT of punch but side by side the Blackstar flat stomps the daylights out of the Tweeker cab!! Bigger rounder the Blackstar sounds HUGE the and in comparison the Tweeker sounds small boxie and wimpy! Talking a night and day difference in tone here. Also have a pair of Retros in a 2/12 old Fender closed back cab and that cab is also much different with the same speakers. Brighter and a little tighter at higher volume than the Black Star but even with the 2/12's not on the same planet on that bottom end thump and overall big sound.
Real eye opener to take the same speakers in 3 different cabs and set them side by side then play them through the same amp. Really shows just how important to overall tone a cabinet design really is!!

yeah, always interesting....I'd say cabinet design of geometry and bass porting is a real dark art.... A lot of times I've seen people attribute the tightness and mid response of some of the classic Celestions to the speaker when it was really the sealed cabinet interaction that was a large part of the cause, and vice versa with the full range of Fender open back cab not getting it's due for the wide more scooped response.

 

[SAguitar]

Re: Got a real lesson yesterday about running the same speaker in different cabs!

Great lesson, and what an ear-opener! Really, we over-emphasize guitars, pickups, patch cords and even capacitors. What makes more difference than a good amp run through a great speaker? Keep on ascending, brother!

Stay tuned, Stan

 

[Diego]

Re: Got a real lesson yesterday about running the same speaker in different cabs!

I tried a Tweaker head with it's stock 2x12 cab once. It was impossible to make it sound angry or punchy or powerful. Just a smooth, gentle sounding thing.
While with my cab, my Tweaker head sounds really aggressive.

It is what it is.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Got a real lesson yesterday about running the same speaker in different cabs!

yeah, always interesting....I'd say cabinet design of geometry and bass porting is a real dark art.... A lot of times I've seen people attribute the tightness and mid response of some of the classic Celestions to the speaker when it was really the sealed cabinet interaction that was a large part of the cause, and vice versa with the full range of Fender open back cab not getting it's due for the wide more scooped response.

The right Speaker in the right cab is also critical. Found the Retro for example really works well in a larger open back cab than anything. Pulled the Retro out of my Zinky Blue Velvet combo and dropped a WGS G12C in then dropped the Retro into into the Tweeker cab. While the Retro was pretty nice in the Zinky the G12C was pure magic again right speaker right cab right amp is the trick. I'm running the PRS MT 15 at Church now and the combo of the voicing of that amp and a Retro is another that is pure magic! Will close mic the Tweeker cab with the Retro on Sunday and then see how it sounds in the FOH before I really pass judgement here. I It all about finding those combinations of gear that work well together learned that years ago working with high end Stereos and PA gear.

 

[VinceT]

Re: Got a real lesson yesterday about running the same speaker in different cabs!

... and then see how it sounds... before I really pass judgement...

Feels like this should be the first thing on every YouTube gear video (and posts to this forum!)

Speakers and cabs are, IMO, woefully overlooked by tone-chasers.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[ICTGoober]

Re: Got a real lesson yesterday about running the same speaker in different cabs!

Check out videos from Johan Segeborn, where he explores just such subjects.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Got a real lesson yesterday about running the same speaker in different cabs!

Speakers matter at least as much as the amp driving them. I always figured you would be better off buying an amp head with a good EQ and multiple different cabs/speakers rather than multiple different amps.

 

[Lake Placid Blues]

Re: Got a real lesson yesterday about running the same speaker in different cabs!

Yes, yes, and yes to all the points in this thread. Not only do speakers react differently in different cabs, but speaker/cab combinations need to be matched to amps and to playing styles. There are no simple answers to these things.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Got a real lesson yesterday about running the same speaker in different cabs!

Here are 2 live clips with the exact same rig the only difference is the speaker in the Tweaker cab.
With the Celestian CT12 H 30 watt

 

[Ascension]

Re: Got a real lesson yesterday about running the same speaker in different cabs!

With the WGS Retro 30 and a BIG difference!