Re: 10" outperform 12" in small enclosure?

Large Farva wrote: 
What are your thoughts on this?

I've got a Vox Valvetronix AD50 combo with 1 12" in a closed back. The stock chinese made Celestion sounds tinny with little bottom. I've got an Eminince Tonespotter on the way to replace it, but I had a thought..since the enclosure is
rather smallish, could a 10" actually have more bottom end than a 12"? Say the enclousre is choking the 12, would it be optimal for a 10"? 

You mean you don't know????  I thought you were an expert on speakers with access to
'all sorts' of information that the rest of can't find?

OK, you clearly need some schooling, read on:

Excerpt from our FAQ

Q. Does your electric guitar sound great until you hit open E on the sixth string and
hear a huge bass increase? Have you spent fortunes on replacing pick-ups and hours
adjusting your guitar, only to find it's still there? So, what is the cause then?

A. It's probably your guitar speakers. What? Yes, they have what is known as a 'free
air resonance' (Fs) at about 75-90Hz. When you play a note at open E (82Hz), F, F# or
G, the speaker jumps into resonance and requires very little power to produce a huge
acoustic output increase. This is very noticeable with a guitar speaker fitted into
an open back cabinet of a valve amp (actually, it's the output transformer
responsible for this effect - not the valves), or one of the newer design solid state
amps with FDD (Frequency Dependant Damping) in the output stage.

So what's the solution to this? Replacing your speakers with a type giving an Fs at
around 75Hz or lower can help. The Celestion Vintage 30 is an example.

It is also true for the same speakers fitted into a closed back cabinet, except that
the resonance increases in frequency to around 110Hz, open A on the fifth string.

A pair of G10 Vintage drivers in an open back cab will resonate at around 110-115Hz,
whilst replacing the open back with a closed back will 'tune up' the cab to around
160Hz, Open D on the fourth string. This is a great way of getting more warmth out of
your guitar rig.

It's also a very good idea to mix speaker types in a 2 or 4 x12" cab to obtain more
low frequency output over a wider spectrum. Some boutique amp makers do this already
to give better low frequency coverage and warmth. A Vintage 30 (Fs=75Hz) and a G12M
Greenback (Fs = 88Hz) make a possible combination, but limited to a 2 x 12" cabinet
with 50 watts power handling or a 100W 4 x12". This would also be true with other
speaker makes too.

Another combination, for higher 120W power handling would be a Vintage 30 and a G12
ClassicLead 80 (Fs=85Hz) in a 2 x 12" or a 240W 4 x 12" cab. Some times a 2 x 12" cab
with two speakers the same can be just too much when both speakers are at full
resonance, making the bass get in the way with certain types of music. This is quite
common, we've found, with big Fender amps like the Twin Reverb, for example.

--
Stewart Ward
www.Award-Session.com
.

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