Guitar amp tuning...

if you do put a hf driver into the cab make it switchable, for bass it will be semi useful, for distorted guitars it will sound absolutely awful.

 The "classic" overdriven/distorted guitar tone relies on the natural rolloff at around 4-5k to remove the harsh harmonics that the distortion produces. With something reproducing these frequencies itll make the guitar sound unpleasantly harsh and thin - fizzy would be a good word for it. Also, Ive always found it good to give the speaker a good thrashing in guitar cabs, seems to add power compression which, again thickens the tone.

Guitars just dont sound right if theyre too "hifi" - if youre using some sort of emulator like the line6 stuff to generate the tones or are using a speaker simulator prior to the power stage and want to cover acoustic style tones too then the hf may prove useful. Personally I subscribe to the thrash a small amp to within an inch of its life ethos for guitars.

Basses are entirely another matter and I think, basically the more power handling and excursion the better. Again though, dont worry about reproducing 30hz (read an interview with metallicas foh, mick hughes recently and he hipasses the bass at 70hz - although, to be fair their bass is usually virtually inaudible since cliff burton died) - the ears are very easily fooled into producing their own fundamentals from harmonics and virtually no bassamp out there is going to be tuned this low.

Personally, I use the mids (2x12) and kickbass (1x15 on ported short horn) from 1 side of my system these days although Im probably going to finish refurbishing my 8x10 cab in the next month or 2 so Ill make a comparison and decide on using or selling it when its been fired up in anger properly.

right now i have a pretty good responce with a quad 15 settup. it'l have to be a two piece thing, even though the drivers "15NDL76" use Neo magnets, the full cab would be rather heavy. i know about the pop problem and thankfuly when i play i rarely get it.

Godathunder - if what you say is about right, then i'll have to try it. i'd perfer a quad 12 instead of quad 15.

i'm using a quad settup so i'm able to get all the higher notes aswell at a hifi point. i know that the lower notes don't need it as much, plus i kinda like that cabay sound you get from it .

EW! never a 21" horn, thats flippin HUGE!. my bass is a replacement of a guitar on distortion. what would normaly be taken cared of with a normal guitar, my bass takes care of.

no i use a normal 4 and 5 string bass guitar and i play with a Digi tech "death metal" distortion pedal with the mid and bass at half way and treb all the way up and then i turn the bass EQ on the gutiar it's self all the way down with the treb all the way up with full overdrive. on most guitars it gives it a normal distorted guitar sound but with a little more heavier sound.

a normal guitar amp would suit me just fine. i'm aiming for more of a bass guitar amp settup like 4x10 settup or 4x12 max to get a bit more of the heavier bass sound for a slitly lower tone then a normal guitar. Basicly i'm aiming for a center area. not a bass amp, not a normal guitar amp, but both at the sametime... does that make sence?


Edited by NeverWinter - 27 January 2006 at 11:17pm

well i was um... thinking about using... umm you know... low freq. drivers in the first place considering it's being used as a BASS! amp... 



sorry to sound rude but it's kinda obviouse...

thats using a specific driver that could handel the lows with only two drivers instead of 4.

think outside the box. Think size, ability, usage, features and what YOU want out of you'r system. not what "you've seen", the only way to be creative is to do something that hasn't been thought of by most. it may be a failure, it may be a success but at least you tried it.

the idea is to have a well design custom amp using a solid state hookup and a "Tube" style preamp for a more powerful sound and punch. to get the sound of a tube and the power of a solid state all in one. i hear people here all the time saying they can't hear thier own amp while playing because the sound technicians here are plain stupid. now i can take ONE sound technicians job over... but not 5 at once. there for i'll have my OWN amp of my own design so just incase i'm settup with a sh*ty sound guy, i'll be able to hear my self and everyone else will be able to hear me.

sad to say, 90% of USA's sound Techs are STUPID MOFOS...