Bass Cabs 2x12 or 1x15

I recently purchased a mesa powerhouse 4X10 and was trying to figure out which cabinet to pair with it. I do not know if i want another 4X10 a 15 or a 2x12. I like a nice round bottom end sound, but I want it to sound tight and my experience with 15 inch subs in the past is that they have a tendency to have too much bottom and not enough definition. Any Comments on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=15


Go chat up bass gear at the talkbass forums. In my experience, the Boogie Board is inhabited mostly by guitarists and there are some good people over at talkbass ^____^!

In my eperience this a Forum for bass Amps & cabs.
Maybe you should go chat on some "do it yourself & handyman" Forum.

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It depends largely on the genre being played. If you need something tight, focused, and mid articulate having an additional 210 or 410 to go with the 410 might be a great option. I also hear 1 4x8 is even punchier. My friend swears that boomy and floppy lows just create problems so 'he' doesn't like a 115. It is a question of needs. If you are playing music where you want rumbly sub lows, I think a 115 would do that well. If you want to play super fast and intricate music, a faster response would ultimately be better. Not sure how a 212 would factor into this. Guess you just have to go to music stores and try various equipment setups until something clicks. Given the two options you offered, I would take the 212 over the 115, all other things being equal. (Cab design, etc)

Well I could say that the Mesa 4x10 and 1x15 combination is killer. Don't forget when you get out into space having that nice punch from the 15 is a blessing.

A few months ago I decided to get a new bass rig for gigging. Over the years I have gone from monster stacks with 4x15's and horns to just using a SVT-DI and everywhere in between.

This time around I knew what I wanted for sound and that became the first priority. Interestingly enough, I ended up buying a M6 Carbine combo with the 2x12's. It has been exactly what I needed and I have not looked back since.

With the 4x10's I would tend to agree with the 15 or even an 18 but after the past few months and several gigs, I would say give the 12's a fair try. You may be surprised.

I know a lot of bassists have been running the 1x15 + 4x10 combination for years, but it really makes little sense. A 4x10 cabinet is a lot louder than a 1x15. This is due to the greater amount of cone area (it is in physical contact with more air) plus the 4 magnets/voice coils as opposed to the one on a 15". When you run a 15 under a 4x10 you actually end up being not as loud as the 4x10 by itself, as the 1x15 is quite a lot less efficient, and half the watts are going through the 15.

I personally would go with a 2x12 or another 4x10. A 2x12 comes close to the volume of a 4x10, especially Mesas. Also, I have played many shows with just one or two 4x10 cabs and never felt that there wasnt enough bass. Bass guitar doesnt exploit subwoofer low end frequencies. It's more of a low mid to mid bass instrument voice. Which tens are perfectly capable of conveying.
The other way to go is just run a couple 1x15 or 2x15 cabs and embrace the unique midrange voice of 15" cabs.