Why 15" speakers for PSG?

Gerald Menke · Post by **Gerald Menke** » 10 Mar 2005 7:25 am

A few years ago I started a thread about a weird sound during "Six Days On The Road" on Charlie Pride's "In Person" album. Lloyd himself corresponded with me on this, and one of the things I learned was that the sound that I think of as being my favorite steel guitar tone of all time was a Sho-Bud fingertip model being played through a Twin with the stock 12 inch JBL speakers. I personally don't like 15's for guitars or steels, they sound too woofy for my taste, but God knows many sound terrifc through them. My Super Twin has the stock Fender Oxfords, my Diezel 2X12 has Celestion Classic 80s, I think both sound great.

Great thread, very interesting.

David Mullis · Post by **David Mullis** » 10 Mar 2005 9:35 am

You mean you guys haven't heard of the 11th commandment? Moses ran out of space on the stone, but it has been passed down through the ages by word of mouth. "thou shalt not play an instrument of ten strings through any speaker other than a 15 inch". Now, inches were not even invented yet, so I'm paraphrasing. I think the actual verbage was half a cubit or something like that.

Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 10 Mar 2005 10:53 am

I've got cabinets with 15s, but my absolute favorite speaker for steel is a THD with a K120 and a Celestion 12" (a Century). This thing has more thump than a pair of 4X12" cabinets, and way better (sweeter) bass than my cabinet with a single JBL 15". And there's no comparing the high end, it's way more responsive and sweeter than the single 15" cab. Note that this is a ported cabinet, with the acoustic design of the cab optimised for 'musical' response, not a flat response. In particular, it's got a bump in the low mid frequencies which makes it sound fatter than anything.

My second favorite cabinet is also a THD, with an E120 and two THD 10" speakers. Again, this cab has way more bottom end than any single 15" cab I have ever heard.

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www.tyack.com

Charlie Shifflett · Post by **Charlie Shifflett** » 15 Mar 2005 9:12 am

Hey I tryed the 12s but went back to the 15s
I use the pev. LTD and I love it and had IT for years Its light weight and sounds great.

Charlie

Darrell Owens · Post by **Darrell Owens** » 25 Mar 2005 6:48 pm

I play both guitar and steel, and I have found JBL to be my preference over everything else. I play a 12" for guitar and a 15" for Steel. My guitar amp is a Rivera Sedona (100 watts) and my steel amp is a Webb. The steel and the guitar are two completely different instruments and they each need specific amplification.

The Nashville 112 breaks all the rules. Maybe our ears have changed or we are getting too old and fat to carry around what we really like, so we are getting easier to please.

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Darrell Owens
www.darrellowens.com

Aaron Schiff · Post by **Aaron Schiff** » 29 Mar 2005 12:59 pm

Lots of bass players insist on 10" speakers; I've tried to like them, but keep coming back to one or two 15s. They just sound mellower and more bass like to me. Lots of guitarists insist on 10" speakers; I've tried them, but vastly prefer 3 or 4 12s. They just sound fuller to me. I use my guitar cabs for steel, but I would prefer 15s. I just don't have the space and money right now for more equipment.

Mike Wheeler · Post by **Mike Wheeler** » 29 Mar 2005 4:22 pm

Great discussion. Of course, we must bear in mind that our rigs are total systems. The Picks, bar, steel, pedals, amp and speaker(s) , etc., all contribute to the final "sound". Change one element and you alter the final result. A fine Emmons push/pull rig would not sound as good with an MSA plugged in. But I've heard some outrageous MSA rigs. And an Emmons plugged into it would probably not sound as good.

Same applies to the speakers used. We like what we like because we have assembled a satisfactory system. When an elenemt changes, we usually find a need to "tweak" the rest of the system to compensate for the change.

Just a couple cents to chew on....

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Every day is a Great day,
Mike
(aka Sideman)

Bob Hoffnar · Post by **Bob Hoffnar** » 29 Mar 2005 9:09 pm

I prefer 12" speakers. I use a THD cab with 2 Celestion classic 80 12" speakers. Plenty of everything. I also really like this old Fane 12" I have in my Deluxe. I do have a Standel with an old JBL D130 that sounds pretty good though.

I think some players get used to the feeling and thump of loud open back amps with 15s sitting right behind them. Those lows don't make it off the stage anyway so I don't bother with them.

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Bob
intonation help

[This message was edited by Bob Hoffnar on 29 March 2005 at 09:11 PM.]

Pete Grant · Post by **Pete Grant** » 30 Mar 2005 10:09 am

One of the best sounds I ever had was with a Gallien-Krueger GMT guitar amp (the inspiration for the Webb amp circuitry) with a Gallien-Krueger 4-12 Cabinet loaded with JBLs. There was a practicality factor involved, though. When I got my first Webb in '75 or so, I sold the cabinet. Now, I use my Webb with a JBL, sometimes add a JBL extension cabinet (15" and horn) with the Webb, and/or two Webbs.

Drew Howard · Post by **Drew Howard** » 31 Mar 2005 7:01 am

Those lows don't make it off the stage anyway so I don't bother with them.

Too true, Bob.

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Drew Howard - website - Fessy D-10 8/8, Magnatone S-8, N400's, BOSS RV-3