What is a good 12" speaker for bass?

[guitarstan]

I have a small 112 Mesa Boogie Theile cab I'm thinking of using as a bass cab. It's closed back front ported and works great for guitar. The head will be an Ampeg B2R 200 watts at 8 ohm. Fender Jazz bass.

Anyone ever used one of these cabs for bass and if so what speaker did you use? I'm thinking an EV12L might do the job?

This will be used for small venue gigs where stage volume is the biggest concern. Prolly run DI to the board for reinforcement.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[fendernazi]

There are no good 12's. Only good tens and fifteens.

[guitarstan]

Check out some of these 12" bass speakers. They look awesome.

http://rover.ebay.com/ar/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?mpt=%5BCacheBuster%5D&adtype=1&size=1x1&type=4&campid=5335828753&toolid=10001&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fstores.ebay.com%2FMusicians-Exchange_12-Speakers_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ18QQftidZ2QQtZkmht tp://stores.ebay.com/Musicians-Exchange_12-Speakers_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ18QQftidZ2QQtZkm (http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?type=3&campid=5335828753&toolid=10001&mpre=http%3A%2F%2Fstores.ebay.com%2FMusicians-Exchange_12-Speakers_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZ1QQfsubZ18QQftidZ2QQtZkm)

I am still trying to figure out if a Mesa Theile 112 cab with one the above speakers will fit good together.

From my limited research it appears I need to reproduce 30 Hz to 5 KHz (typical 5 string bass frequency range). I need to find a speaker that will work in the above enclosure which has an internal volume of approximately 1.9 cubic feet.

Any techies out there?

Thanks!

[Southbay Ampworks]

I had a client order four of the H55 12" models to go in his 4x12 to use with his bass guitar. He said it sounded real good with his bass, and great for his Strat.

If you're playing a bass amp at stage volumes, probably recommend a 65 watt model for the extra power handling and a little more clean headroom.

[xk49w]

I have just started looking for a twelve myself for a small cab. For small dimension cabinets a driver with a low Fs and Vas will be needed. That probably means a subwoofer and probably lower efficiency. It will not cover the midrange so an additional driver, maybe a 4" or 6" or something will be needed to cover the 500Hz and up area. It is not trivial to design a small box with extended low end performance.

Get WinISD Pro (free) and start evaluating drivers in that enclosure volume. Bruce Gavin's excel reference spreadsheet contains data on many drivers.

http://www.bgavinsound.com/reference/

It's the one called Prosound Reference and is a great resource.

[theroan]

There are no good 12's. Only good tens and fifteens.


So not true. Genz Benz, Bergantino and Epiphani are great companies. Even Mesa, SWR and Ampeg make good ones. I would advise getting somthing with a horn though so you can captutre those nice glassy highs. But I know many bass players who love 12's.

[mainsale]

Huh, my favorite cabinet has two 12" speakers and it sounds wonderful. It smoked my 410, so much so, that I bought a pair of them. They are the G-B NeoX212T's. I think the fendernazi is illinformed.

[guitarstan]

Apparently Markbass uses 12's too as well many other fine manufacturers. Learned a lot today, still learning. Very interesting Threads over on Talkbass.com forum.

[theroan]

I've a talkbass member longer than TGP it's a really great group over there.

[Deville2Rocket]

Power handling, sensitivity, and a VAS of less than 2 cubic feet are going to be your big T/S parameters.

If you've only got 200 watts to work with, normally you'd want to have more speakers to move more air. But, if you're looking to just use the single 12 cab, the EV guitar speaker is not a good choice. And I would suggest a speaker capable of handling the full 200 watts. You know, something that can and will deliver the goods.

[Deville2Rocket]

You're more than likely not going to get good bass tone out of a cabinet that was not originally intended for bass.
Most important thing is this: If you pump 200 watts of amplified bass into a guitar speaker, you will either damage or destroy it before long. Those EV's are expensive, so do your wallet a favor and don't even bother.
I think an Eminence Delta 12 of some kind might get you by. High sensitivity, low VAS.

[Scafeets]

I'll second the endorsement for that eBay link above. I bought two BassLite speakers from them to replace a pair of super-heavy EVs. They sound just as good to me, and my back thanks me every time I lift the damn thing into the car.
As for the 10 vs. 12 vs. 15 thing: I'm becoming partial to the sound of multiple tens vs. anything else. They seem to respond quicker and with more detail to chords, slaps and fast playing.

[Deville2Rocket]

I just don't think it's a good idea, period.

I Strongly suggest a proper bass cab. Bass cabs give the speaker some breathing room, and allow the lows to build inside them. Guitar cabs, with very few exceptions, simply do not sound good at performance level.

[shmuelyosef]

I am pretty partial to good keyboard amps for bass guitar, and most of these use 12" drivers. I primarily use a Roland KC-350 with a P-J Yamaha (modified with active preamp and stacked humbuckers) and it kicks pretty hard, but the horn gives it some nice brightness. I have also had good luck using a Roland Jazz Chorus 212.

[edgewound]

Don't use the EVM 12L for bass....it can't go that low and you'll just break it.

That small cab needs big excursion to make any bass. You can try a JBL 2206H, 4 inch voice coil 600 watts.

Block half the ports on the cab for step down mode, because it's probably tuned to 80hz. For stage monitor fill, that might get you enough bandwidth.....you could add a tweeter if need be.


What you need is a bullet proof 12" that won't buckle under the huge excursion you'll subject it too....especially with 5 string bass.

[BergerMeister]

I built a couple of custom cabs and installed the Tech21 2112-B drivers that they use for their cabs. I don't crank my cabs that loud since I feed a P.A. system, but they sound really good. i wasn't all that scientific when I designed the cabs either, so either I got lucky with the dimensions or they're just really good sounding speakers :-)

[The Golden Boy]

There are no good 12's. Only good tens and fifteens.

That reminds me of that line from "Top Secret:"

"There ARE no good white basketball players in the NBA..."

[krall]

The Eden D212XLT is the best out there..Get Eden drivers!

[jay42]

As stated above, that TL806/Boogie cabinet was not tuned for bass...especially not 5 string. If you pull up the dimensions for the Aguilar/Bergantino/Epifani offerings and compare the raw dimensions, you'll know you're in trouble. They're a lot bigger, even though they don't look it.

For the original question, I think the Eminence Neo line is a good place to start. An Avatar 1-12" with a DeltaLite II Neo or Delta 12LFA should start you off for new and used Aguilar/Bergantino/Epifani may give you the best bang for the buck.

[guitarstan]

Great information here guys thanks for all the ideas and suggestions.

I gave up on the idea of trying to save money and bought this SVT 3 Pro with appropriate SVT cabs. I must say it sure sounds good in the rehearsal studio :BEER

http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h212/guitarstan/IMG_0020.jpg

[Doug Allen]

A rep at US Speaker recommended these two 12" bass speakers:

- Eminence Delta Pro-12A (an EVM style speaker for bass)

- Electro-Voice DL12X (made for bass, has a longer XMAX)

They stock many hi-end 12" bass speakers,
some are very expen$ive, have a look:

http://www.usspeaker.com/homepage.htm

[JohnSS]

Try the Aguilar DB112 , DB212 or DB412 or their earlier equivalent GS series. Excellent sounding bass cabs with great extended low end and crisp articulation in mids.