Speaker ?, 15 vs two 10s

Doug Jones · From: Oregon & Florida

I'm considering getting a cabinet with two 10" speakers. I've been a 15" speaker guy ever since I started picking. I tried a few single 12s, but wasn't happy. Played Fender twins as provided backlines, but never was a tube amp guy for steel. I'm curious if anyone has had a great sound with using 2 10" speakers as their main rig on stage; open or closed back. Thanks in advance.

Mark Perrodin · From: Tucson Arizona, USA

hey Doug,
i went through this exact journey about 20 years ago. i have been a bass player for 45 years, a guitarist for 40 and a steel player since 1989. i have always played fender and ampeg tube amps. it’s been a process of elimination. i’ll try something and decide it’s not for me and buy another old beat up fender tube amp. i have always loved 15’s and have kept at least one 15” amp in my possession. my current crush is a1962 brown face pro with an ev sro. unbelievably great. i also had my 1968 silverface super reverb modified with a new output transformer so i could run a weber california 15”. i love 15”s. but i have also owned a 2-10 vibroverb and a gorgeous 1972 vibrolux. i have played steel and guitar through them and i honestly feel like a couple of tens is better than a 15. there really isn’t anything like playing your steel through a super reverb or a vibrolux. the clarity is just so perfect. the drawback is actually owning a super reverb. the cabinet is too tall to lift easily. if i had to do it all over i would mod a super with a new output transformer and fit it into a smaller vibrolux style cabinet and run two 10’s or have a vibrolux serviced to get as much clean headroom as possible. i have a great friend here in tucson that has been working on fender amps for over 50 years and he can make them sound so sweet. hope this might have had something useful for you.

Dave Grafe · From: Hudson River Valley NY

Besides the obvious low frequency advantage, as a single point source the 15" speaker will spread the sound more effectively than a 2x10" - or any 2-speaker setup - the two side-by-side speakers will generate comb filtering that causes your tone to change as the listener moves about the stage and audience areas, with an extra hot beam of unmolested sound directly ahead. A 4x10" setup is even beamier, albeit with much better bottom end. Single 15" also means only one magnet to lift, but what do I know about anything?

Dwight Lewis · From: Huntsville, Alabama

You can't go wrong with 2 12" speakers. Unfortunately most of the best speakers are the heavy ones. Telonics speakers are very good and light...SICA as well.

Dwight
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Dekley 7p4k(PRS-10C), BMI S12 5p5kn

Donny Hinson · From: Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.

For E9th, two good tens will do fine
But not for C6th!

Matt Sutton · From: New York, USA

Been playing steel and guitar through a MusicMan 2-10 for a long time and generally love it. For recording, I will sometimes output to a 1-15 cab, closed back. Different animal, enough that it changes how I play.

Pete Burak · From: Portland, OR USA

I've been playing through a single JBL K110 in a 1x10 cab, and it sounds awesome with the Steel amps I have.
You would probably have to mic it for band/gig level volume. I use it for full band rehearsals in my home, but not yet on gigs.
I think you will like the sound of the 10's, Doug.
Pete

John Hyland · From: South Australia

Mark Perrodin · From: Tucson Arizona, USA

i think Dave G is correct about the beaminess of certain speaker combos. i kinda like that though. i have never had an amp that made my lower strings sound better than a super reverb. if i remember right, Dave had a super with JBL’s which would take clarity up another notch. it must be a balance. i would play my modded super as loud as i could stand it just to hear the low notes ring true. the guys that owned a super six would probably tell you the sound was incredible but moving one was ridiculous. i love tens and i love fifteens. i appreciate you all. merry christmas.

Johnie Helms · From: Oklahoma, USA

Hey y’all,

I used a Musicman HD130 2-10 for E9th for a few Years… (Great lil Amp.)

1st) Loud.! 2nd) Great tight low end, 3rd) mild mids, but sensitive highs.!
And mite not have worked to good without being mic’d up.

Although most Bass Players have gone from a 2-15 Cab, to a 4-10 Cab. (Just a thought.) 40” of moving Air vs. 30”…

Also:
I once did a session while using a buddy’s 65 Super Reverb, I honestly thought that was the best tone I’d heard on a session while using My ShoBud SuperPro.

But for a grab N go round Town, for both E9-C6, then prolly 1-15 for all around.!

Thanks

JH

Peter Leavenworth · From: Madbury, New Hampshire, USA

My experience has been that playing through a pre-CBS Super Reverb w/4-10" was a religious experience - except when it came to moving it. I keep coming back to my single 15" made-for-pedal steel cabinets and the 10" speakers are just way crisp on lows and highs. My solution is to build two separate 2-10" cabinets out of pine to match my Milkman custom amp and typically use one cabinet but have a second if I think I need it.
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2008 Zum D-10, 1996 Mullens PRP D-10, 1974 Emmons D-10, 1976 Emmons D-10, early 70s Emmons GS-10, Milkman Sideman head w/Telonics 15" speaker, 1966 Fender Super Reverb, 1970 Fender Dual Showman head, Wechter/Scheerhorn and Beard Dobros, 1962 Supro lap steels, Gibson 1939 RB-11 banjo, Gibson 1978 RB-250
banjo......and way too much more

Glenn Suchan · From: Austin, Texas

In theory, two 10’s are the same as one 20 with a quicker response time. I once tried an extension cabinet with nine 5” speakers. The tone and response were fine for studio usage, but the cabinet was almost useless on stage. The reason being, the voice coil and cone movement is much less on smaller speakers and the sound was pretty much lost off stage in competition with bigger speakers.

Keep on pickin’!
Glenn
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Steelin' for Jesus

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