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12-28-2021, 06:00 PM
Hi Guys
For a detuned cabinet, it is best to use drivers with high power ratings even if you only intend to drive the cabinet with a low-watt amp.
There is a fashion with bass-oriented cabinets to use extremely high-power-rated drivers in small boxes and pump in as much power as you can afford and that the drivers will handle. The approach throws away driver efficiency and sometimes tone to merely have high power numbers. The drivers themselves may not be quite as efficient as lower-rated drivers. Does it make any sense at all to have 12" or 15" drivers rated for 1,500W ? I believe the goal is to make the loudest driver possible - highest possible SPL, which is kind of ridiculous. If you need more loudness use more drivers and position them properly. More drivers in the same cabinet is a false economy of materials.
In my detuned 12" cabinet, a very good driver to use for bass is the EV Force-12 rated at 1500Wrms but capable of handling 600W peaks. In the detuned application, effective power handling is reduced but you do not need the power handling here. The driver will reach its maximum SPL at a lower input. You do not have to drag around as much power although the detuned box is quite large already. I've maximised efficiency and tone at the expense of power handling.
As an extreme example, you could have a 300W driver mounted on a flat panel of 4'x8' and achieve maximum SPL with somewhere way less than 25W, if that. The same driver in a box just big enough to hold it will need every watt of its rating to do so and the tone will be less than desirable. Stepping back from the super-tight box to a critically-tuned box may boost a small bit of low-frequency output but again the midrange tones will be sorely lifeless.
Each player should learn how to use their gear within its limits and also how to find the sweet spot for the performance they need. If you change your guitar or your mp or your speakers then you are starting from day-one again, relearning how your new combination of gear interacts. There will always be legions of players who brutalise their equipment, and fortunately for them there is a lot of gear designed just for them. The detuned design is not for them; rather, it is for players more interested in tone.
The EV Force-series are out of production and it is difficult to find samples, although a have a small number of 15s... The next best driver would be the more bland EVM-12L. It is a general purpose high-SPL PA driver rated at 300W continuous. Basically, any high-wattage driver that appeals to you will suffice here. The PA-oriented drivers tend to have masiive magnet structures and good venting for heat management.
You have to remember that you only need enough sound on stage to monitor your own playing. The sound man wants minimal leakage from the stage so he can use the PA to control the house sound more ideally. If you want the band to hear you, then set your cabinet for side-wash rather than back-wash. The days of playing direct-cabinet from the stage are long gone except for the smallest venues, where it makes complete sense. The upshot is that you can use a single driver and have an excess of loudness capability similar to using a quad of drivers. The detuned cabinet will provide a fuller tone when playing quietly than does a sealed box. I believe this makes the detuned approach more versatile inasmuch as you can use the same equipment everywhere you play.
Band sound is always a compromise of egos until those egos sublimate themselves into THE BAND, then there is hope of achieving good tone for everyone at sane loudness levels. I designed and used the detuned cabinets when playing direct off the stage was the norm BUT we kept overall loudness low while dispersing each instrument's sound using multiple cabinets. This meant every instrument could be heard and the band sound was balanced. If only my playing were as good as the tone - hehe. In 1980 I had 300W of drivers fed by a 100W amp that I never turned up past 10-20W. The bass player had about 600W of drivers and a 100W amp that was not straining. In 1974 I used a 2W and then a 10W amp through symmetric cabinets and definitely could disturb the peace.
For a detuned cabinet, it is best to use drivers with high power ratings even if you only intend to drive the cabinet with a low-watt amp.
There is a fashion with bass-oriented cabinets to use extremely high-power-rated drivers in small boxes and pump in as much power as you can afford and that the drivers will handle. The approach throws away driver efficiency and sometimes tone to merely have high power numbers. The drivers themselves may not be quite as efficient as lower-rated drivers. Does it make any sense at all to have 12" or 15" drivers rated for 1,500W ? I believe the goal is to make the loudest driver possible - highest possible SPL, which is kind of ridiculous. If you need more loudness use more drivers and position them properly. More drivers in the same cabinet is a false economy of materials.
In my detuned 12" cabinet, a very good driver to use for bass is the EV Force-12 rated at 1500Wrms but capable of handling 600W peaks. In the detuned application, effective power handling is reduced but you do not need the power handling here. The driver will reach its maximum SPL at a lower input. You do not have to drag around as much power although the detuned box is quite large already. I've maximised efficiency and tone at the expense of power handling.
As an extreme example, you could have a 300W driver mounted on a flat panel of 4'x8' and achieve maximum SPL with somewhere way less than 25W, if that. The same driver in a box just big enough to hold it will need every watt of its rating to do so and the tone will be less than desirable. Stepping back from the super-tight box to a critically-tuned box may boost a small bit of low-frequency output but again the midrange tones will be sorely lifeless.
Each player should learn how to use their gear within its limits and also how to find the sweet spot for the performance they need. If you change your guitar or your mp or your speakers then you are starting from day-one again, relearning how your new combination of gear interacts. There will always be legions of players who brutalise their equipment, and fortunately for them there is a lot of gear designed just for them. The detuned design is not for them; rather, it is for players more interested in tone.
The EV Force-series are out of production and it is difficult to find samples, although a have a small number of 15s... The next best driver would be the more bland EVM-12L. It is a general purpose high-SPL PA driver rated at 300W continuous. Basically, any high-wattage driver that appeals to you will suffice here. The PA-oriented drivers tend to have masiive magnet structures and good venting for heat management.
You have to remember that you only need enough sound on stage to monitor your own playing. The sound man wants minimal leakage from the stage so he can use the PA to control the house sound more ideally. If you want the band to hear you, then set your cabinet for side-wash rather than back-wash. The days of playing direct-cabinet from the stage are long gone except for the smallest venues, where it makes complete sense. The upshot is that you can use a single driver and have an excess of loudness capability similar to using a quad of drivers. The detuned cabinet will provide a fuller tone when playing quietly than does a sealed box. I believe this makes the detuned approach more versatile inasmuch as you can use the same equipment everywhere you play.
Band sound is always a compromise of egos until those egos sublimate themselves into THE BAND, then there is hope of achieving good tone for everyone at sane loudness levels. I designed and used the detuned cabinets when playing direct off the stage was the norm BUT we kept overall loudness low while dispersing each instrument's sound using multiple cabinets. This meant every instrument could be heard and the band sound was balanced. If only my playing were as good as the tone - hehe. In 1980 I had 300W of drivers fed by a 100W amp that I never turned up past 10-20W. The bass player had about 600W of drivers and a 100W amp that was not straining. In 1974 I used a 2W and then a 10W amp through symmetric cabinets and definitely could disturb the peace.
