| Author |
Topic: Question for 15" speaker aficionadoes |
Ben Elder
From:
La Crescenta, California, USA
|
Posted 4 Jun 2007 10:33 pm |
|
| At what kind of sound level do the inherently pleasing tone characteristics of a 15" [let's assume a brand/make generally accepted for steel guitar use] speaker reveal themselves? In other words, is a 15" (all other factors being equal) more or less the same difference as a 12" or a 10" at practice/home levels? Said another way, do you have to play loud for the 15" to really strut its stuff? Conversely, do highs get lost at low volume? |
|
|
|
Jim Johnson
From:
Rogersville, Al. 35652
|
Posted 5 Jun 2007 3:46 am 15" speakers
|
|
15's are great at any level.
Jim |
|
|
|
David Doggett
From:
Bawl'mer, MD (formerly of MS, Nawluns, Gnashville, Knocksville, Lost Angeles, Bahsten. and Philly)
|
Posted 5 Jun 2007 7:52 am
|
|
I hear the difference at any volume level. With a 15 the highs are thicker and less shrill, the mids are mellower and shifted to emphasize the low mids more (their is an unmistakable 15 moan), and the lows are more lush. Maybe a multiband equalizer could get a 10 to sound close to that, but I have never been able to get a 10 or 12 to sound like a 15 with three-band amp tone controls. A 15 just has a different voice at any volume level.
I have experimented with unplugging the internal 10s of a Princeton or Vibrolux and running the amp into an external 15" cabinet, or into the internal 15" speaker I have in a Pro Reverb. At low and moderate volumes these amps all sound almost identical through a 15" speaker, and very different from how they sound with their internal 10s. It is not about how much air is displaced. It is about the voice of the larger speaker. Two 10s or two 12s sound the same as one 10 or 12, only louder. They do not sound at all like a 15.
One reason I think pedal steelers prefer a 15 is that we only have a bridge pickup, which has a shrill sound that is tamed by the lower voice of a 15" speaker. While I mostly prefer a 15, for blues and rock, where you want something that cuts through the mix, 12s sound good. |
|
|
|
Ron Randall
From:
Dallas, Texas, USA
|
Posted 5 Jun 2007 2:31 pm
|
|
Yes, the vintage virgin JBL 15's have a unique sound quality. I play them very low around the house, and use a pair pretty loud in a club.
Big outside gigs, I mic the amps.
I started with JBL 15s' in 1962 and have stayed with them. I have a pair from the Hi Fidelity era that are older than dirt, but they check out fine with the pinknoise tests. I always drive them at 16 ohm impedence, and keep the gain down.
I have another pair of JBL recones at 4 ohm when I need to get rowdy. I can just crank these.
my 2c |
|
|
|
Tim Whitlock
From:
Colorado, USA
|
Posted 6 Jun 2007 4:05 am
|
|
| I think it depends on the amp/wattage. A tube amp needs to be pushed to get the best sound, regardless of the size of the speaker. For that reason, I never even plug in my Twin (JBL D130F) at home. It sounds fabulous on stage when I can get the volume up to 5 or more, but for home or studio I have a little 5 watt Magatone amp (8" Jensen) that is way more practical and sounds 100x better at listenable volume levels. I can't speak to solid state amps. They may be better at lower volume. |
|
|
|
Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
|
Posted 6 Jun 2007 8:19 pm
|
|
| Quote: |
| 15's are great at any level. |
That totally depends on the efficiency of the speaker and the design of the amplifier. Most high-power 15's sound like junk at low volume in guitar amp applications, as they feature heavier construction, voice coil, magnet, etc, and need to be driven fairly hard before they bloom. That's one reason you do not see 15" speakers in low-powered practice amps (and they don't cost much more to make than a 12"). A good example of a 15 (and only a medium-power one) that is not a great low-volume speaker is the JBL D-130. The early models worked well as full-range speakers in home stereo setups, but with the eq of a typical Fender Showman they sound terribly thin and brittle and low volume. It's a speaker that has to be pushed.
With a 15" speaker you are moving a single-unit cone and voice coil of large size, and it takes some "juice" to get that thing moving through its full range.
OTOH, the Eminence Fender has in the '64 Vibroverb Custom sounds pretty good at medium volume (I wouldn't bother even using a tube amp turned up to 2 - usually a tonal disaster); When I have mine on 4-5 with the eq fairly flat it's pretty responsive. Not bedroom-quiet though. At those levels, it just doesn't work.
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
|
|
|
Henry Nagle
From:
Santa Rosa, California
|
Posted 6 Jun 2007 10:10 pm
|
|
I have an Eminence 15" that came out of a Custom Vibrosonic. It's not a well known pedal steel speaker but I love it. It sounds great for guitar. It makes an amp sound better. I use it with a Vibrolux Reverb.
You don't lose highs. They just sound better. |
|
|
|
