Tom Curry Guitars

Archive for November, 2009

Handle Ampeg

Hey! Do any bass players know if 10 inch speakers can handle a low B on a bass?

I’m planning on getting a Schecter Studio 5. Now, I want a decent amp, but I really like a crisp sound and wanted an Ampeg 2×10. I think it would sound cleaner than a 15 inch. I’m just concerned the smaller speakers might not be able to handle a low B with such powerful electronics behind it. So yeah if you have any experience, please let me know. Thanks.

You’re right – a 10″ speaker isn’t going to help you very much in terms of low end. 10″ speakers give you a punchy mid-range and clear highs, but they don’t project bass frequencies very well. If you still wanted your sound more “crisp”, you could try a 4×10″ cabinet – it wouldn’t be as portable as a 2×10″, but you’d have a slightly better low end simply because more speakers = more air movement.
Yes, a 15″ speaker would give you the defined low end you’re looking for, but at the expense of a lot of high end.

The best thing I can suggest to you is get two cabinets. Most amplifiers only run at their full power at 4 ohms (and most cabinets run at 8 ohms), so you could do this – hook your amplifier up to a 2×10″ (or 4×10″) cab and a 1×15″ cab – that way, you’d probably be getting more juice out of your amp, and your tone would be much more well-rounded.
You can also get 1×18″ cabinets, which would have an even better low end than a 1×15″ (though proportionally less mid-high range). However, these can be hard to find and pretty expensive. 4×10″ cabs can also be a bit more expensive than 2×10″s or 1×15″s.

A good alternative to getting a 2×10″ + 1×15″ would be to get a 2×12″ cabinet. 12″ speakers are sort of in between 10″ and 15″ speakers, both in size and tone. If you don’t really want to buy two separate cabinets, I would recommend this.

Hope that helps a bit, and that you find what you need =)
Cheers