Speaker help for 1x12 cab

depravity

depravity

New member
I am hoping you all can help me out. I apologize in advance for the long description below.

I have an older Line 6 1x12 cab I bought about 10 years ago that I keep at my house for quiet (normal conversation volume) practice, but it sounds dark when compared to using my 4x12 for rehearsal/gigging at fairly loud volume. The best way I can describe my 1x12 it is that it is dark, like a blanket is put over the cab. It is an open back cab and has a Line 6 branded speaker in it. The crazy thing is that my 4x12 is also a Line 6 cab, though I don't know what speakers are in it. BTW, I don't love Line 6 particularly, but when I joined my band I was able to get the 4x12 for next to nothing, so I bought it to tide me over until I can get a better amp and cab. I have a couple of humbucker loaded guitars and I use a Boss GT10 and/or Digitech GSP1101 through a Rocktron Velocity or Tubeworks MosValve power amp in to either cab.

To the point of this post, I am looking to swap the speaker to something more open and balanced because when I make patches with my Boss GT10 or Digitech GSP1101 on my 1x12, I have to almost peg the highs and presence to make a usable tone. Then that tone sounds thin, bright and harsh with no punch when I play with my 4x12 at higher volume. The music my current band plays is modern hard rock to metal-ish (Paramore, Halestorm, Foo Fighters, etc.). I don't care if my 1x12 sounds exactly like my 4x12 (which I know is not possible), but I need an improvement over what I currently have.

What type of speaker will open up my sound in the 1x12 open back cab? I have been looking at current offerings from WGS, Eminence & Celestion, but I have never speaker shopped and am not sure which way to go. Also, should I try to put a back panel on the 1x12 to make it closed? Thanks for any help you guys and girls can provide...
 
Re: Speaker help for 1x12 cab

Due to the way our ears perceive sound at lower volumes, most rigs are going to suffer from what you describe to some extent. At conversation volume your ears are going to be more sensitive to mids and less sensitive to highs and lows. As volume rises your ears will begin to hear the highs and lows in a more equal balance and this usually results in a better perceived sound.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher–Munson_curves

Have you tried to run you home cab at more of a rehearsal volume just to experiment?

So a new speaker might be your answer. I'm not an expert on the various sounds of most speakers but the eminence site has a lot of details/specs about their various speakers. Somebody else will have a more informed opinion.

Another answer might be a stomp box eq unit that you use at home. That way you can adjust the overall curve of your sound without having to adjust your stage rig.
 
Re: Speaker help for 1x12 cab

Emi Swamp Thang. Good full spectrum tone...smooth bass, good solid mids, and sparkly highs. A very rich tone, not lacking in anything.

An equalizer also helps alot.
 
Re: Speaker help for 1x12 cab

SlyFoxx, the 1x12 cab might sound better at a higher volume, but I can't play at gig volume at home. The neighbors would not be appreciative and I am being nice by saying that!

I guess I should take GuitarDoc's suggestion and look into a speaker that is tuned to help balance out my low volume practice playing.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Anybody have anything else to offer?
 
Re: Speaker help for 1x12 cab

I understand you can't run high at home. I was saying to try your 1x12 at a higher volume to see if it behaved in a similar manner as your 4x12 at rehearsal. There are drastic differences in sound between different speakers but the one thing that most have in common is that they sound better when you get to open up the volume.

You might find that any speaker is not going to behave to your liking at home volume thus an eq might be a better option.

I should have been more clear in my first post.

Good luck. I know how disappointing it is to have to throttle back so much to be able to play.
 
Re: Speaker help for 1x12 cab

Thanks for the help again SlyFoxx and GuitarDoc.

I see where you are coming from better SlyFoxx. I may take my 1x12 to rehearsal this weekend to see what happens when you crank the volume on it. I will also experiment with an additional eq to help the low volume tone.
 
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