Tweeters in Bass Cabs. Why?

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jpfampsjpfamps Frets: 2723
Any thoughts on this?
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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357

    The old slap happy Trace boys like em in their Trace cabs, not a fan myself
    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • It's all Mark King's fault. He made it acceptable to the mainstream.
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  • jpfampsjpfamps Frets: 2723
    The 80s has a lot to answer for.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    Depends what you want. They can sound better for some tones - and not just for the slap and pop stuff. Believe it or not I like them with fuzz - although it's normally essential that the tweeter level is controllable, you only want a little bit usually.

    It's not just the 80s either - check out Roger Glover's rig in Deep Purple from the early 70s, he used PA cabs as well as bass cabs!


    Two 1x18"s, two 8x10"s, four PA cabs, all run from two overdriven Majors. Amazing sound - quite synthy and full-range, without being in any way hi-fi.

    Even more oddly I like tweeters for distorted guitar, for very specific sounds. Not necessary all the time though - and you do need to be careful with levels, it's quite easy to blow them.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • jpfampsjpfamps Frets: 2723
    Fuzz bass: destroying tweeters at a venue near you.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    jpfamps said:
    Fuzz bass: destroying tweeters at a venue near you.
    Yes, you do have to be careful :).

    Usually it's not too risky, it sounds awful well before a dangerous amount of power is going through the tweeter. It might even be more of a hazard with a clean sound and the amp clipping occasionally.

    I don't think I've ever blown a tweeter personally, although as I'm sure you have, I've replaced loads professionally. But how many of those bassists were using fuzz? Almost none I would guess… it wasn't at all fashionable until very recently.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • jpfampsjpfamps Frets: 2723
    ICBM said:
    jpfamps said:
    Fuzz bass: destroying tweeters at a venue near you.
    Yes, you do have to be careful :).

    Usually it's not too risky, it sounds awful well before a dangerous amount of power is going through the tweeter. It might even be more of a hazard with a clean sound and the amp clipping occasionally.

    I don't think I've ever blown a tweeter personally, although as I'm sure you have, I've replaced loads professionally. But how many of those bassists were using fuzz? Almost none I would guess… it wasn't at all fashionable until very recently.
    I have replaced a fair few tweeters, although I do give the customer the option of not bothering (!), and often if they are intending keeping the amp that's what happens.

    A common scenario is that the customer, having proven that a small underpowered bass combo is inadequate for gigging by blowing the speakers, wants the amp restored to full working order so they can sell it and buy something better.....
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    Yes, thrashing a typical underpowered amp is much more hazardous to the speakers (both types) and to the amp itself than running a much larger amp conservatively with a fuzz pedal, I think.

    Bass amps sit somewhere between the rule of thumb for guitar amps (speakers with twice the rating of the amp) and the equal but opposite rule for PA (amp with twice the rating of the speakers), and it depends how you use them as to which applies...

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • No idea.

    My fave bass cab of all time is the Marshall VBC412. Big old school 4x12 no tweeters. I used to run a pair.

    Too damn heavy though, so now I use a pair of Bergantino CN112 - and fortunately the tweeters can be turned off, so I do that.

    Even when slapping I've never felt the need to turn them on. Slap doesn't need to be super trebly - Larry Graham had an amazing tone.

    In fact most of the time when I've seen average Joe down the pub trying to have a Marcus Miller sound as soon as the rest of the instruments start the bass disappears, or I can just hear the top clicky mess.

    Miller clearly EQ's his entire band to allow his bass to be the primary instrument in the mix. But the average pub band doesn't.
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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4947
    Fret old boy, the average pub band tries to play music rather than showcase the skills of their bass player (however good he/she is)
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

    Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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  • You don't half talk some bollocks.

    The mix of the band is usually based on the nature of the music itself and the arrangement of it.

    My comment had nothing to do with showcasing skills, but was about getting the right sound to properly present the chosen music.

    The reason why average pub band failed was that the bass sound was not a good choice for the music they were playing. If they had played 'Silver Rain' with the original arrangement then I'm sure it would have worked just fine. But they weren't.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    Too damn heavy though, so now I use a pair of Bergantino CN112 - and fortunately the tweeters can be turned off, so I do that.
    I would certainly never want a bass cab with a tweeter that can't be turned off - or in fact with one which can't be level-controlled since on or off is nowhere near precise enough. You need a multi-position level switch at minimum and preferably a fully variable attenuator.

    I really don't like that traditional slap tone either, that's not what I want it for at all.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • The tweeters in the Bergs have a rotary control to set levels so it's all good.

    The weird thing is - Mark Bass. Their cabs usually have a tweeter control, but the combos don't.

    They make arguably the best modern combo on earth - the CMD 102P and you can't adjust the tweeter on it, even though on the 2x10 cab you can.

    Loads of users disconnect the tweeter & cross-over to take it out of the circuit. They sound far nicer that way - and they sounded good to start with.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    The weird thing is - Mark Bass. Their cabs usually have a tweeter control, but the combos don't.

    They make arguably the best modern combo on earth - the CMD 102P and you can't adjust the tweeter on it, even though on the 2x10 cab you can.

    Loads of users disconnect the tweeter & cross-over to take it out of the circuit. They sound far nicer that way - and they sounded good to start with.
    That's ridiculous. A friend of mine just bought a Markbass set-up (Little Mark III and New York 12" cab, with adjustable tweeter) and I had been thinking about trying a combo since I generally find them more convenient when you get down to that size, but that probably knocks it on the head...

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • Just disconnect it.

    Or get the excellent Jeff Berlin model as that doesn't have a tweeter at all. Jeff doesn't like them.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    Just disconnect it.

    Or get the excellent Jeff Berlin model as that doesn't have a tweeter at all. Jeff doesn't like them.
    No, I do want the tweeter - I like that zippy synthy effect when you blend just enough of it in with a fuzz sound. That's why it needs to be controllable - too much and it sounds nasty, too little and you don't hear the bite. I also like old-school bass sounds with no tweeter sometimes too, so even fixed at the right level wouldn't be flexible enough.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • Agreed, my yamaha bbt combo had a tweeter knob, and I normally had a touch mixed in.

    Added a nice'click' when using a bit of distortion.
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  • Paul_CPaul_C Frets: 7672
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    "I'll probably be in the bins at Newport Pagnell services."  fretmeister
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  • Paul_CPaul_C Frets: 7672
    edited October 2015
    sadly for me, it's now

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    tweeters in both but neither has caused me any grief
    "I'll probably be in the bins at Newport Pagnell services."  fretmeister
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  • strtdvstrtdv Frets: 2356
    Paul_C said:
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    The Markbass is one of the worst offenders for the tweeters adding hiss. It's fine on the extension cabs as you can dial in the amount of tweeter you want, but on the combo you're better off disconnecting the whole crossover circuit and just running the amp into the speaker.
    Robot Lords of Tokyo, SMILE TASTE KITTENS!
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