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mixing speaker types


Pbassred
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I've owned my 1986 Peavy TNT130 since new. It has a 15inch speaker. A lot of people have liked it. However I'm considering replacing it with a seperate amp and speakers rig.

What do you think about using a single 15inch cab and a 2 X10inch cab?

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That's what I'm using and it suits me just fine.
I'd recommend using cabs from the same manufacturer ranges if you possibly can as some combinations can sound a bit naff.

Cue the experts who will insist that it's all nothing but a 'marketing ploy' despite the fact that it's one of the most common multiple cab configurations going... sometimes you have to just ignore science and go with what your ears tell you... :lol:

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Using mixed stuff is unpredictable, so you have to specifically try out each combination to know what they sound like, and the dispersion of sound round the room is less predictable than when using identical cabs, so you have to move about a bunch to check how they do combine (part of the predictability thing is in how your brain compensates for room sound due to awareness of walls and such). Ideal place to listen is where a mic would be when your rig is miced, and when you have to different sounding speakers, that shows the problem with mixing speakers.

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Don't know about marketing ploy but I've always wondered why you'd feed both cabs with the same eq. Each cab has different characteristics so why not use separate eq to exploit those differences rather than a single one.

It's not something I've ever done (and am perfectly happy with 15's) but it just seems too much of a compromise.

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I`ve had rigs with 210 & 115 configuration, and used others with this as well, and I`m yet to use one that I don`t like. I`m not too bothered by the techie stuff, if it sounds good, it sounds good.

But, sound will be made of the two cabs, and using either on its own is unlikely to produce this. So you`ll always need to take both cabs to rehearsals. May not seem a big deal in writing, but carrying two cabs about, plus amp & leads, and at least one bass - well suddenly rehearsing becomes a bit more demanding physically.

Ideally, two of the same cab is a good way - use one at rehearsal, both for gigs, same eq, just more of it at the gigs. I would say this is expensive, but probably no more than a 115 & 210 from the same maker. For me, a lightweight 410 is the easiest option.

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2x 1x15s take up far too much storage\transport space and it's nice to be able to just sling a 2x10 in the boot for small gigs and just re-eq to suit.

For larger gigs, the 1x15 moves plenty of air and raises the 2x10 up to a sensible height so I can hear it.

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I ran a 210 and 115 for years. I found they were totally predictable and they sounded great.

But cab design has moved on and these days I use smaller, better cabs. My advice would be if your budget will stretch get 2 210 cabs or maybe 2 112 cabs.

Decent quality 210 cabs will give you more bass than your Peavey 15, and the cabs will be smaller, lighter, louder, have a better tone and be easier to move.

You should also have a think about 2 112 cabs. This is my go to rig. It sounds good and is very easy to move around.

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Thanks for the replies. Not disagreeing with any of them.
Words I forgot to use in my OP:- 5 string Reggae, soul, RNB. Never rock.
Personal philosiphies I forgot to mention:-
Rehersals are not tone checks. Cab arrangement in rehersals is irrelavant - actually I'll use whaever is there. Oddly enough I'm still me.
My stage rig is only a monitor. I already own a 2K PA rig. With simplicity and reduced feedback in mind, I prefer to D.I. than mic the cab. At a lot of gig with a single 15" my knees have the best sound in the house while my head gets nothing. I have been tempted to use a monitor on top of the amp.

Aught to be a sticky - If somone could write the science.

keep it coming.

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No problem with it..but the 115 can be a bulky and heavy cab to add to a 210 with no gain at all over a 2x210 stack..
If you want to go 115 and 210..then I would stick to matched cabs, if it were me.

But then I would do that with any pairing anyway.

Far better to match a 115 with a 210 than a 410, IMO.

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I've got a 4x10 already and I'm not overly keen on it (it's consigned to the practice studio).

Stacking 2x10's isn't really practical - my amp case doesn't sit on top of an upturned 2x10 very well and I don't want to be crawling about on the floor getting to the controls or knocking the whole lot over. :)

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[quote name='Pbassred' timestamp='1338878998' post='1680297']
....Words I forgot to use in my OP....
[/quote]

Whoa.....you kinda moved the goal posts there..... to the next field!

If everything you do is DI'ed I'd concentrate on getting the best amp you can. Any cab will do if it's a personal monitor.

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Yes, if always DI`d, so the PA is generating the tone the audience hear, and the cab(s) are purely for on-stage monitoring, I`d go for a cab(s) which are rather middy. That way, you (and the band) will be able to hear it the bass a lot better, so it will be achieving what you want. Excessive bass sounds great on its own, but in a band-mix, mids are what is easier to hear.

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........hmmmm but middy cabs are very hard to play with and a very clean sound and attack is very unforgiving on technique.

You should gear your personal monitor for the sound you want to use.. and not obliterate your sound just so you and the band can hear.
If you are in this territory, it is the band themselves who all need to clean up the signlas they put out. It isn't for the bass to compromise on alone.
And what happens if the FOH isn't the spec you thought it might be and you are not going through the P.A....

I try and get a tech rider on the P.A's we use but sometimes it is good to have plan B...
My stage sound will double as a decent out front sound in largish halls if need be... not ideal, but it will get there with the sound I want to use... and therefore the P.A just needs to bleed me into the mix ..if he wants to play it that way.
Good engrs with top kit aren't the norm in my view...they come along to a lot of gigs with a glorified band P.A with single tops and subs..

In a lot of cases...with the quality of engr on show, we do better with our own P.A for smaller gigs...which would have kick, keys and gtr in it, only....but after that we can add a sub...

Classic mistake of a lot of bands using a FOH P.A..they think it is going to solve everything...and then wonder why the engr takes eons cleaning up everyones sound to be useable in a mix....and that is without any decent monitor mix.. what a game of chance that can be...!!!

So..my advice for bass sound on stage..and band sound on stage..is for it to be as clean and layered as possible so everything sits well againsts everything else...and then you get the beneift of 15 minute turnrounds and a good sound if the engr is half reasonable...as you have done most of his work for him anyway...all he needs to do is control signal level..not re-EQ everything.

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Would it be best to approach the original question from the opposite direction? i.e. I want a better rig so I'll be completely open-minded about what's in the boxes.

If you think about it logically, to decide on what size drivers you want first when really you're after a sound is rather limiting your options. It may also create you logistical problems such as transport.

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I've got two 210s and one 115, all Ashdown, all the same size cabs. I can't tell the difference between using a 115 + 210 or using 210 + 210 (stacked in 4x1 or 2x2). Must have cloth ears.

But they give me flexibility and no single item is a strain to carry.

I tend to use them as two separate rigs; the two 210s (as a 4x1) and the 115 as an extension cab for my Ampeg combo.

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If you're DI all the time then it seems to me what you want is the ideal-sounding amp but volume is irrelevant. I think that's a situation lots of us would kill for. Seems to me you've got your choice mate, you can just put it on a chair as long as you and the band can hear it.

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