18" speakers

[Chris Horton]

A bit of curiosity really .....................................

Do any Bass Chatters play their bass through an 18" speaker ??
If so , what have you got ?

When you talk about 18's , Is there such a thing as a "clear" counding 18 cab ?

[chris_b]

Hi Chris, Many years ago I started off with a Vox Foundation, which was a 50 watt valve amp through a 118 cab. This rig was just a ton of ill defined mud, but as I didn’t know any better I thought I sounded great.

A lot later I had a Mesa Boogie rig which contained a 118 cab. It was pretty punchy and clean with a lot of bottom end but it weighed a ton. My sound greatly improved when I replaced it with the Boogie 115 EV, which was cleaner and punchier.

In January this year I borrowed an SWR rig which had a 118 cab and while it wasn’t muddy it didn't have the focus I'm used to. I didn't like it much.

18’s come from a time of average speaker design and the size seemed to add bottom to the sound of a rig which many of the amps couldn’t do. These days I don’t think 18's do much for a rig. I think a good 115 is better than any 118, but these days I think 2 good 112 cabs easily beats most 115’s.
[font=Arial] [/font]

[paul_5]

Nah, just a 4x10. An 18" speaker is Dub territory fo'sho'.

[xgsjx]

18's aren't dub, this is Dub territory

[paul_5]

True dat.

[BluRay]

I owned a Peavey 1820 as my main stage cab for over 20 years. A beast of a thing with 18 + 2x10. It weighed an absolute ton. Ridiculous really.

You could (just about) get away with running the 18 on its own - it was certainly usable, and clearer than you'd expect. Not that much different from most 115s I've owned in terms of definition. But the really cab only woke up when the 10s were hooked-up as well (which is why they were there I guess).

All in all, it was pretty impressive cab - and, with all three drivers, sounded immense. I know I'll never own another 118, but if I found myself in a rehearsal room with some amp-compatible 10s and an 18 lying about, I'd waste no time plugging it all in!

Sold it to a fellow BCer recently - and he seemed well chuffed with it.

[Bassman Steve]

I have a 2x18 as you see from my signature. I think it's all about the speaker (as it always is I guess). The particular EV speakers in my cab give out a very well defined sound which leans towards the bottom end but still has plenty of clear sound as you venture further up the fretboard.

In truth I only use it for outdoor shows as it is great for adding back in a lot of the bass that you lose on an open stage. I use a 2x15 of the same design for the usual gigs, and it's bl00dy heavy.

[KiOgon]

In the 70's I had a 2 x 18 Orange cab driven by 2 x Hiwatt 100s, it certainly shifted some air but weighed a ton. I just had to have the biggest stack on stage I remember having a Cortina estate which was pretty much full up with just my gear in.

[Bassman Steve]

One of my favourite cabs oif all time was the Orange 2x15, the one where the speakets were mounted back to back, firing up and down. Only used it once but was knocked out by the sound of it.

[ShergoldSnickers]

My first cab was a home-made (school-made really) affair with a single Fane 18", made in 1975. I think it was rated at either 120 or 140 watts. You could get enough output in the upper mids for it to slightly sparkle.

[JTUK]

I've had a few 18's years ago as they were the only way to put any real bottom into the sound. Completely useless on their own tho, but as chris say's you were just happy to get useable lows.
I used an Acoustic 301 for the same reason but you needed a good enough amp to run another cab to get any real defintion..typically a 4x12 but getting an amp that could do that was just as bigger problem
as anything else soundwise.

SWR did put out a Big Ben 118 but they were into bi-amp mode with their amps so this made sense when used with another toppier cab...but all overkill now.
18's are subs territory today and you have to ask yourself in what context you could ever use one.

[bertbass]

Marshall Major and 4 Vox Foundation cabs, 18s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54H3EUAzpVg

[Paul S]

I had a Trace Elliot 1x18" that I paired with either a 2x10 or a 1x15 depending upon my whim. It sounded huge. It also weighed 40kg.

[Balcro]

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1337891735' post='1667141']
A bit of curiosity really .....................................

Do any Bass Chatters play their bass through an 18" speaker ??
If so , what have you got ?

When you talk about 18's , Is there such a thing as a "clear" counding 18 cab ?
[/quote]

They were child of that time, from the 50's to the mid 70's. Most of them were boomy, but nobody thought that was unusual or wrong. There was nothing else available for comparison, and remember most cabinets were driven by "soft" valve amps and cabinet damping for entertainment loudspeakers was unheard of. Even so, who was complaining? Can you imagine Led Zep, or Slade with thin and light bass. Or Santana at Woodstock. There's a common thread there and it's blue!
Well those 18's were clear after they'd vibrated the wax out of your ears.

Times change. Loudspeaker engineering developed, Thiele-Small appeared and gave manufacturerers something to think about, but it took them some years to produce anything useful. As the motors became more powerful there was less need to use an 18. Two 15's would do the job and be even louder. Result.

As musical tastes changed so did the new desirable "tighter" sound and production electronics could substitute for bass tone. The wooliness faded away. It could just as easily come back for back-line, although it would sound a lot less boomy and soft. Meanwhile nearly every major loudspeaker manufacturer is still making 18's for PA woofers and sub-woofers where the empahasis is on watts and more watts.

I still have my home built 1 x 18" from the time before thiele-small forgot. It contains a Celestion G18C. Cor! it handles all of 100 watts. I could use it if I wanted too, but rarely do, 'cos the neighbours really wouldn't like it. It shakes the floorboards and would frighten the cat.

Balcro

Edited May 25, 2012 by Balcro

[Mr. Foxen]

I've got an 18 in a W horn, it is pretty reggae sounding. Don't use it, since I ahve modern stuff, but it has a matching head, so I keep it until it can be sold as a whole.

[GregBass]

I use a 1x18 sub as part of my rig. It's a bastardised Electrovoice sA180, with the amp removed and the speaker replaced with a Fane. It puts the rumble under my Hartke 4x10 - bass players in the audience tend to think I have a great sound

[Chris Horton]

Thanks for all the comments and thoughts so far , it has been really helpful to read this thread so far.

I feel like I have learnt something

[Chris Horton]

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1337929669' post='1667459']
18's aren't dub, this is Dub territory


[/quote]




What size speakers are in this cab ?

[Chris Horton]

[quote name='Balcro' timestamp='1337944430' post='1667744']
They were child of that time, from the 50's to the mid 70's. Most of them were boomy, but nobody thought that was unusual or wrong. There was nothing else available for comparison, and remember most cabinets were driven by "soft" valve amps and cabinet damping for entertainment loudspeakers was unheard of. Even so, who was complaining? Can you imagine Led Zep, or Slade with thin and light bass. Or Santana at Woodstock. There's a common thread there and it's blue!
Well those 18's were clear after they'd vibrated the wax out of your ears.

Times change. Loudspeaker engineering developed, Thiele-Small appeared and gave manufacturerers something to think about, but it took them some years to produce anything useful. As the motors became more powerful there was less need to use an 18. Two 15's would do the job and be even louder. Result.

As musical tastes changed so did the new desirable "tighter" sound and production electronics could substitute for bass tone. The wooliness faded away. It could just as easily come back for back-line, although it would sound a lot less boomy and soft. Meanwhile nearly every major loudspeaker manufacturer is still making 18's for PA woofers and sub-woofers where the empahasis is on watts and more watts.

I still have my home built 1 x 18" from the time before thiele-small forgot. It contains a Celestion G18C. Cor! it handles all of 100 watts. I could use it if I wanted too, but rarely do, 'cos the neighbours really wouldn't like it. It shakes the floorboards and would frighten the cat.

Balcro
[/quote]




Hi Balcro,

Thanks for the great post
i found it really helpful , i feel enlightned to a new world of speakers

I see from your Avatar that you are from Stevenage . I grew up in Baldock, not a million miles away , ah memmories

[xgsjx]

[quote name='Chris Horton' timestamp='1337980513' post='1668430']
What size speakers are in this cab ?
[/quote]

15"ers

[pahaeno]

I have a 1x18" DIY cab, it's big, like 210 litres, weights a LOT (MDF) and it sounds...? Well it moves air and hums low frequencies and it's ok as a sub if you have power to drive it, but as a single cabinet it is useless. I like to use it with 4x10 cab, because it gives something extra. It has a RCF element on it, and I am planning to make smaller, like 130 litres cabinet for it. I have a gig tomorrow, well today actually, and I will not take 1x18" with me. It's big and ugly and weights more than my back can handle.

[Marvin]

[url="http://www.carvinworld.com/products/BR118-4"]http://www.carvinworld.com/products/BR118-4[/url]

[url="http://www.carvinworld.com/products/BR118-8"]http://www.carvinworld.com/products/BR118-8[/url]

Apparently these are new. Be interesting to know what they sound like.

[AttitudeCastle]

Does anyone on here use a Trace 410/118 Rig?

I've heard other rigs sound just as full and full range usuing only 12's or 10's

Though it seemed a better than most 410/115s I've tried, though that's down to each box/company so isn't a truely fair comparision I guess.

[JTUK]

I'd put 2x410's up against that and expect it to belt it. There isn't much advantage to this config unless you split the signal/bi-amp and even then, the gains aren't enough to pursue it, IME.

You'd have to invest in a bollocking stereo amp to get anywhere and the cost against the gains..?? hmmm. but at least you'd have control with power balance and x-over point, hopefully,
otherwise if a mono signal...you are hopelessly out of control with what goes where..

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1338009322' post='1668561']
[url="http://www.carvinworld.com/products/BR118-4"]http://www.carvinwor...roducts/BR118-4[/url]

[url="http://www.carvinworld.com/products/BR118-8"]http://www.carvinwor...roducts/BR118-8[/url]

Apparently these are new. Be interesting to know what they sound like.
[/quote]

[i]a tight, punchy, slap & pop high-end.[/i]

[b]Freq. Resp: 30 to 2K Hz -3dB [/b]

Those statements are diametrically opposed.

[quote]Does anyone on here use a Trace 410/118 Rig?[/quote]Better than a 410/115 I suppose, but still illogical. Demands on drivers increase exponentially as frequency decreases, so you don't need four tens to keep up with one eighteen, you only need one. Want to add big bottom to a 410? Try four 118s.