What's better 2×12 or 4×10
- Thread starter solspirit
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solspirit
Ultimate Post Liker
Guitar
solspirit
Ultimate Post Liker
Why do you like 4×10 better for bass?
ErikH
Well-known member
I like it because the 4x10 is tighter with more punch. A 1x15 is great for the low end but lacks punch. That's why many use both in their rigs or if it's a small setup, a 2x10 or 4x10 alone. It's plenty to get everything you need from the bass.
solspirit
Ultimate Post Liker
The combo in question has 2×12's stacked offset vertically and I'm really wondering if I should rebuild it with 2×12s or make it a 4×10
GuitarStv
Sock Market Trader
solspirit
Ultimate Post Liker
That would need a new cabinet. The speakers are only offset about 1 1/2"
solspirit
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I've thought about that. It's 22"×25" interior but I could make that bigger and bend a cover for the amp or buy one. I could probably make it 22"×30"
The attack is better.
St_Genesius
New member
This has long been the received wisdom. Over the last 10-15 years, I've had more and more people tell me it's mostly BS.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I don't really know. I've heard good sounds out of a ton of disparate setups.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I don't really know. I've heard good sounds out of a ton of disparate setups.
ErikH
Well-known member
Well, I happen to have a bass rig as well and my choice when I went for a cab was a 4x10 because of the attack and punch. The 1x15 was great too, but I could only get one cabinet at the time.
eclecticsynergy
Well-known member
I've always preferred 12s for guitar. But 10s can sound great too, like in a Super Reverb, or the little Marshall 4x10 cabs.
IME tens usually have a little more immediacy and tend to be a slightly tighter in the lows.
For bass, my favorite arrangement is a 2x10 plus a 2x15 or 1x18, or simply the classic SVT 8x10 cab by itself.
But I got great bass sound from an old ported Ampeg 2x15 refrigerator cab back in the late 80s.
I pushed one 15" with my Boogie Mk II guitar head, and the other with a solid state Sunn.
I didn't split the signal into bass & treble - both amps got full range, but their tones were very different.
At the time, soundmen generally just wanted to take a direct signal straight off the bass.
Many were reluctant to mike the speakers also, and I bet some figured they'd leave the mic muted and only use the DI.
Some of those same guys came up afterwards to ask, "How are you getting that sound?"
IME tens usually have a little more immediacy and tend to be a slightly tighter in the lows.
For bass, my favorite arrangement is a 2x10 plus a 2x15 or 1x18, or simply the classic SVT 8x10 cab by itself.
But I got great bass sound from an old ported Ampeg 2x15 refrigerator cab back in the late 80s.
I pushed one 15" with my Boogie Mk II guitar head, and the other with a solid state Sunn.
I didn't split the signal into bass & treble - both amps got full range, but their tones were very different.
At the time, soundmen generally just wanted to take a direct signal straight off the bass.
Many were reluctant to mike the speakers also, and I bet some figured they'd leave the mic muted and only use the DI.
Some of those same guys came up afterwards to ask, "How are you getting that sound?"
Last edited:
solspirit
Ultimate Post Liker
I think I'm going to focus on this and think about it.
From a purely technical standpoint, the theory says that a 2x10", will behave better acoustically, mechanically, and sonically, BUTTTTT...... the subjective side of things almost unilaterally leads to 2x12".
The stupid stuff:
1. The smaller speakers CAN have their acoustic centers closer together, reducing comb filtering and providing a more predictable coverage pattern.
2. The smaller speakers have less intermodulation on their cone surface, reducing the beaming effect that larger speakers can exhibit.
3. Smaller speakers tend to sound more acoustically accurate. They have less mass, therefore reacting quicker to the incoming signal. This gives them the punch many like.
4. Smaller speakers have a disadvantage on SPL production though. They have less surface area, therefore they don't displace as much air as a larger driver.
5. Smaller speakers have less low end sound reproduction unless the cabinet they are in is tuned very well.
So while in theory, a 10" cabinet should be a sonic improvement, the neurotic nature, and subjective ideals most guitarists have, drive most to go the 12" route ( me included ). I have gotten to mic MANY 10" cabinets and I cannot say that any sounded inferior to a like 12" loaded one, only that they have a sound and it is the guitarist that makes it work or not. What I do find interesting upon reflecting on it, is that most of the bands that I have worked with ( providing sound support for ) that I have truly enjoyed and lauded, used combo's and or dual-driver cabinets loaded with 10" drivers. I would say that it was mostly due to musical genre though. I like southern rock, blues rock, and 70's rock, and most bands that will utilize a Peavey Classic 30, a Princeton, or a Bassman are predominately such the type to do so. So what I like to hear from a band versus what I prefer myself are two different things I guess.
The stupid stuff:
1. The smaller speakers CAN have their acoustic centers closer together, reducing comb filtering and providing a more predictable coverage pattern.
2. The smaller speakers have less intermodulation on their cone surface, reducing the beaming effect that larger speakers can exhibit.
3. Smaller speakers tend to sound more acoustically accurate. They have less mass, therefore reacting quicker to the incoming signal. This gives them the punch many like.
4. Smaller speakers have a disadvantage on SPL production though. They have less surface area, therefore they don't displace as much air as a larger driver.
5. Smaller speakers have less low end sound reproduction unless the cabinet they are in is tuned very well.
So while in theory, a 10" cabinet should be a sonic improvement, the neurotic nature, and subjective ideals most guitarists have, drive most to go the 12" route ( me included ). I have gotten to mic MANY 10" cabinets and I cannot say that any sounded inferior to a like 12" loaded one, only that they have a sound and it is the guitarist that makes it work or not. What I do find interesting upon reflecting on it, is that most of the bands that I have worked with ( providing sound support for ) that I have truly enjoyed and lauded, used combo's and or dual-driver cabinets loaded with 10" drivers. I would say that it was mostly due to musical genre though. I like southern rock, blues rock, and 70's rock, and most bands that will utilize a Peavey Classic 30, a Princeton, or a Bassman are predominately such the type to do so. So what I like to hear from a band versus what I prefer myself are two different things I guess.
