Pairing makes of cab

[lownote]

I have an Ashdown 15 and a Markbass 1x12 I can't sell. So I'm wondering if pairing them would be an idea, and was something others had tried and liked.  Obv I have tried it but I can't make up my mind if it sounds good or not.  I know there are massive threads on the pros and cons of mixing speaker sizes.  Just wondered if others had tried Ashdown with Markbass and found a particular EQ setting that cuddled them up together?

[chris_b]

IMO if something doesn't sound bad, it must be sounding OK. There have been a lot of threads on the pros and cons of mixing cabs and the bottom line in all those discussions is, if it sounds good then it is good.

I'd gig this combination until you can make a decision one way or the other.

[BigRedX]

58 minutes ago, lownote12 said:

I have an Ashdown 15 and a Markbass 1x12 I can't sell. So I'm wondering if pairing them would be an idea, and was something others had tried and liked.  Obv I have tried it but I can't make up my mind if it sounds good or not.  I know there are massive threads on the pros and cons of mixing speaker sizes.  Just wondered if others had tried Ashdown with Markbass and found a particular EQ setting that cuddled them up together?

The reason that mixing driver sizes without a crossover is inadvisable is because of comb filtering and dispersion. What this means is that the sound will change depending on where you are standing.

If the bass  goes through the PA then it won't really matter since what the audience hears comes 99% from the PA, although if your rig is the only source of on-stage bass guitar, bear in mind that what your band-mates hear won't necessarily be the same as what you are hearing.

If your rig also has to provide your audience with the sound of the bass guitar, then you could have more problems. Just because it sounds great from a few feet away on stage, doesn't mean it's going to sound great everywhere in the venue. In some places it could be a horrible boomy mess and in others thin and weedy. You may have to compromise your on-stage sound in order to get a decent bass sound for the majority of your audience.

[Reggaebass]

I used my MB115 cab with a Ashdown 115 cab through my markbass amp , And it sounded awful to me , but when I used my Ashdown head with the same cabs  it sounded great, the amp definitely made a difference.

[lownote]

Cheers RedX   I've just been fooling with the cabs again and TBH I don't like the mix much even in my bedroom.  Each cab has a likeable characteristic sound that somehow becomes less pleasant when married with the other.  As I only have an Ashdown head now I may as well stick with the Ash 15 and keep trying to flog the Markbass cab.