# 4x10 guitar cabinets, who has used them?



## 6Christ6Denied6 (Jun 19, 2010)

i have been told that 4x10 cabs are nice and tight sounding but still punchy like a 4x12...


how do they compare sound wise?


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## snuif09 (Jun 19, 2010)

i played a marshall mg100 through a 4x10 once and it was fizz galore.

but that was probably the amp


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## 6Christ6Denied6 (Jun 19, 2010)

mst likely the amp, i dont see how the speaker size could contribute to fizz unless there like 4 inches 

i dont know anything about marshalls but i believe the mg series are supposed to inhale vigorously


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## TemjinStrife (Jun 19, 2010)

PEOPLE: SPEAKER SIZE HAS *NOTHING* TO DO WITH THE TONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SPEAKER.

The only thing that speaker size really changes is the dispersion pattern of the mids and highs (smaller speakers disperse these better, making the mids and highs more apparent when off-axis from the speaker) and the amount of air they move.

That said, I have heard some fantastic 4x10 speaker cabs. A guy I recently met in New York runs a homemade 4x10 with a quad of Eminence Rajin' Cajuns and gets some _killer_ high-gain tones with a Rectoverb head.


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## 6Christ6Denied6 (Jun 19, 2010)

the cap locks was a bit unnecessary, i posted this assuming to get helpful answer you came off as condescending don't you think


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## TemjinStrife (Jun 20, 2010)

It's something I find myself repeating a lot on other (bass guitar) forums, so the more forcefully I can state it the better.

No insult meant.


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## MaxOfMetal (Jun 20, 2010)

It's all about the speakers you use. Most 4x10 guitar cabs I've played through have been either open back, vintage oriented, or cheap, lower-end models, so I can't really give a proper review. 

If you want a tighter sound that still has a lot of punch consider a speaker swap before reinventing the whole wheel. That being said, you can find some older Peavey and Marshall ones on CL for pretty cheap, so if you have some extra cash try some out.


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## Bevo (Jun 20, 2010)

You would think the 10 would not have the bottom end of a 12 but my Ampeg 2-10 can shake the house.

If you have the right speaker in the right cab I see no reason that it should be any worse than a 4-12.
BUT
You are moving less air with the smaller drivers, how does that balance with the benifits of the smaller cab?

Would be a great experiment, love the idea!


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## 6Christ6Denied6 (Jun 20, 2010)

TemjinStrife said:


> It's something I find myself repeating a lot on other (bass guitar) forums, so the more forcefully I can state it the better.
> 
> No insult meant.



its k


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## 6Christ6Denied6 (Jun 20, 2010)

Bevo said:


> You would think the 10 would not have the bottom end of a 12 but my Ampeg 2-10 can shake the house.
> 
> If you have the right speaker in the right cab I see no reason that it should be any worse than a 4-12.
> BUT
> ...



well that is true, but i always thought even though a bass 10'' speaker is smaller than a guitar 12'' speaker, the bass speakers are supposed to have more powerful magnets and more watts, so yea the bass cab should shake the house


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## 6Christ6Denied6 (Jun 20, 2010)

MaxOfMetal said:


> It's all about the speakers you use. Most 4x10 guitar cabs I've played through have been either open back, vintage oriented, or cheap, lower-end models, so I can't really give a proper review.
> 
> If you want a tighter sound that still has a lot of punch consider a speaker swap before reinventing the whole wheel. That being said, you can find some older Peavey and Marshall ones on CL for pretty cheap, so if you have some extra cash try some out.



ive looked all over for one to try, the only 4x10 guitar cab ive seen was on ebay.


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## MaxOfMetal (Jun 20, 2010)

6Christ6Denied6 said:


> well that is true, but i always thought even though a bass 10'' speaker is smaller than a guitar 12'' speaker, the bass speakers are supposed to have more powerful magnets and more watts, so yea the bass cab should shake the house



Wattage means just about nothing as far as volume is concerned. Just like in amps, wattage has more to do with headroom before clipping then it does perceivable volume output. 

As far as magnet size, you'll notice both guitar and bass speakers typically use the same sizes. As far as material, it's typically the same as well. 

It's the voice coil and power rating that are usually higher in bass speakers, as well as the overall design of the speaker is usually tailored to it's specific instruments frequency range.


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## Bevo (Jun 21, 2010)

Thats right Max!
Speakers look different because of what they are designed to do, some need bigger magnets some don't.

Ever see a Neo bass speaker in 15 inch, looks odd with that tiny magnet.
I would not use a bass speakers to play guitar although I would use a bass cab with guitar speakers.


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## cwhitey2 (Jun 21, 2010)

i used to run through 4x10 bass cab and i liked to the tones it produced, nice switch from 4x12's


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## Inazone (Jun 22, 2010)

I used to gig with a 4x10 Peavey Classic 50 combo. It was the old `70s version with a solid state preamp and 6L6 power amp, but I was running a pedalboard (distortion, parametric EQ, Hush) straight into the clean amp and it sounded AWESOME. I sold it once I switched to a proper halfstack rig, but am actually considering switching from a 4x12 cab back to 4x10. Even thought the Peavey was open-backed, it was still very tight, and weighed a lot less than any 4x12 I've used since.


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## 6Christ6Denied6 (Jun 22, 2010)

Inazone said:


> considering switching from a 4x12 cab back to 4x10. Even thought the Peavey was open-backed, it was still very tight, and weighed a lot less than any 4x12 I've used since.



cool, thanks


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