Speaker blending in symmetric stage setups

[physics]

Hello!

I finally have a chance to try out symmetric stage setups in a band context. However, all of the cabs will have different speakers or speaker blends due to what speakers I own and can load into the cabs, impedance concerns, and what is already loaded into the other guitar players' cabs. I wanted to ask if any of you can provide advice on how speaker blending affects the outcome of symmetric setups. My guess is it would be optimal for either two cabs per player that are different but complimentary, or for two that are as similar as possible. For the former, experience with recording and mixing different complimentary speakers would seem to imply that a fuller sound would result. However, the psycho-acoustic effect mentioned in TUT where the listener/player feels like they're in the sound because of two separated sources would seem to imply that the more difference there is between the two cabs, the less they would be sources of the "same" sound and thus the effect might be weaker.

Technical details, if it matters:
The cab pairing is going to be a 1x12 in parallel with a 4x12, and a 2x12 in parallel with a half-empty 4x12. The 2x12 has a eminence swamp thang and celestion g12h 70th anniversary, wired in parallel for 8 ohms net. The 1x12 has a 16 ohm Celestion 70-80. These two cabs aren't mine, so I am not able to control the speakers loaded in them.The speakers I own and can load into the 4x12's (which are mine) are 1x16 Ohm Vintage 30, 1x16 Ohm Marshall G12 Vintage, 4x16 Ohm Peavey Sheffield 1290. The 2x12 cab will be paired with the half-loaded 4x12, and the 1x12 with the fully-loaded 4x12, because of impedance concerns.

There aren't too many permutations possible, so worst case I can probably try all the options in a band context and see how it sounds, but I do wonder if there are any general guidelines for this beyond just separating the cabs.

Thanks for any input!

P.S. Here's a video showing and comparing the three speakers I own. It inspired the selection of the speakers I now own. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iciye74KoFo

[K O'Connor]

Hi Guys

Mixing speaker drivers is effective as long as you can be some distance away from the cabinets to hear the mixed output reasonably well. In a symmetric system, it is ideal that the cabinets have an identical sound particularly since each performer inevitably stands close to his own cabinet AND that of the player on the other side of the stage. if your sound is different on each side of the stage you and the opposite player will have a different impression of your sound, which could effect how he adjusts his amp or his playing.

Of course, if the players move around on stage, or are not confined to back-line positions, the possibly everyone hears the central sound which will be from all cabinets.

As I stated in another thread here, if you have open-back or detuned or half-filled cabinets, the drivers in these cabinets will reach their mechanical limits sooner than drivers in sealed cabinets. The undamped drivers have maximum efficiency and cannot handle their rated electrical power input. So, it is best to use high-wattage drivers in such cabinets to protect the driver itself, as the larger voice coil can dissipate the heat more readily than a smaller coil.

Have fun