Greetings Everyone!
I'll apologize up-front for this somewhat lengthy post, but I need to get to the bottom of something that has me a bit perplexed. Basically, is there a generally-accepted consensus in the steel guitar community as to the best overall size and type of speaker to be used with PSG? If so, what and why? In particular, I'm wondering about the preferences with respect to 12" vs. 15"?
I don't yet own a pedal steel instrument myself, but I own a couple of non-pedal steel guitars, and as most of you know, such instruments are often used with tube-driven amps that are typically equipped with 12" (not 15") speakers. However, there is definitely a sharper/brighter timbre to the overall sound of a PSG than seems to occur with non-pedal instruments, and there's a legitimate need for greater string separation as well, so solid-state amps (with their limited rectifier sag) make perfect sense for this type of an application - but why the need for a 15" speaker?
Its been widely asserted that 15" speakers offer superior low-end response to a 12", and its certainly true that some of the more notable 15" speakers (e.g., JBL D130/E130) are widely used for broad-frequency applications like keyboards, but are they really that superior in terms of their bottom-end to (say) a 12" Neomag or a comparable (55 Hz) 12" with super-heavy (60-70 ounce) ceramic magnet?
The second question I'll add is . . . if the 15" speaker is indeed considered to be the 'ideal', then what about the use of 2-way PA speakers (with 15" woofer) vs. a 12" instrument speaker? In other words, if you've already got a high-powered solid-state amp and are faced with the choice between a pair of 15" 2-way JBL PA speakers and a pair of 12" cabs loaded with EVM-12L's or 3" chrome-dome what-evers, what would you choose and why?
Thanks All! This oughta be good!
Speaker Selection For PSG (12" vs. 15" vs. 15"
Moderator: Shoshanah Marohn
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Joe Stewart
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Most 15s tend to scoop the upper mids a bit, which steel players like, as upper mids tend to honk. This is why even E9th only players like the 15, when they don't get below the 1st fret of a guitar's A string, therefore not needing the bass response of a 15.
As you noted, steels have a bright sound naturally. If you hook one up to a 2-way system, you'll have to roll off a lot of highs.
To answer the last question, if I could ONLY choose between those two options, I'd take the pair of 12s, as the horn just makes my ears hurt thinking about it: they're designed to project that which we seek to tame.
As you noted, steels have a bright sound naturally. If you hook one up to a 2-way system, you'll have to roll off a lot of highs.
To answer the last question, if I could ONLY choose between those two options, I'd take the pair of 12s, as the horn just makes my ears hurt thinking about it: they're designed to project that which we seek to tame.
2 pedal steels, a lapStrat, and an 8-string Dobro (and 3 ukes)
More amps than guitars, and not many effects
More amps than guitars, and not many effects
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Dave Grafe
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Joe Stewart
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- Location: Way Out West
Yup, I imagine. The frequency response of the 2-ways that I mentioned is simply "vast" (57 Hz - 20 KHz +/- 3 dB). In fact, that's essentially what prompted me to initiate this thread. The highly touted D130 was only about 6 KHz, which struck me as being fairly limiting for an instrument like the PSG, with its prominent highs.Lane Gray wrote:As you noted, steels have a bright sound naturally. If you hook one up to a 2-way system, you'll have to roll off a lot of highs.
Last edited by Joe Stewart on 23 May 2012 10:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Joe Stewart
- Posts: 26
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- Location: Way Out West