Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

[fandsen]

Which of these 3 drivers do you guys think represents the best price/performance ratio for a sealed bass guitar cabinet?

http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-pa255-8-10-pro-woofer--295-030

http://www.parts-express.com/prv-audio-10w600-10-high-power-pa-woofer-8-ohm--294-2720

http://www.parts-express.com/eminence-legend-bp102-10-bass-guitar-driver--290-471

[PWR RYD]

Re: Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

I'd say the Eminence. It is the only one that specically states it's for bass guitar. Unfortunately it's quite a bit more money but Eminence has a very good reputation for quality and I believe they manufacture all of their drivers here in the USA.

[t3steve]

Re: Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

Maybe Bill will give a recommendation.

[killa]

Re: Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

35hz fs seems a little low for a pro 10in. Not that thats bad just unusual. I personally would go for 12s. How many 10s do you plan on using and what enclosure size do you want?

[killa]

Re: Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

Maybe Bill will give a recommendation.

He might but he will want it to be horn loaded lol. Just joking Bill

[billfitzmaurice]

Re: Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

He might but he will want it to be horn loaded lol. Just joking Bill

Not necessarily, but I wouldn't go sealed. I play bass, not guitar.
OP, you need to model your potential driver choices in a box program like WinISD Alpha Pro. Then you have to know how to interpret the results. If you don't have those skills you should reconsider designing your own cab and build a tested design that meets your needs, using a driver recommended for it.

[fandsen]

Re: Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

35hz fs seems a little low for a pro 10in. Not that thats bad just unusual. I personally would go for 12s. How many 10s do you plan on using and what enclosure size do you want?

Planning on using 4 drivers per sealed cab, and giving each driver as much space as you guys feel is ideal for the 10 I end up choosing. I'm certainly not opposed to the idea of a 12" for this project. The Dayton pro 12 seems to require a vented enclosure, and the PRV 12 could be loaded into a somewhat larger sealed cab by the looks of it. What would the tradeoffs be in moving up to a 12" in your opinion?

[6thplanet]

Re: Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

http://www.mcmelectronics.com/product/55-1300

I use these in a 4x10 sealed cab. If you like the punchy "Hartke" sound, you'll like them. They won't take a whole lot of abuse but they're so cheep I just replace them as needed. If you use them by-amped with a bass driver they'll last a lot longer. Also I play a 5 string so depending on how loud and aggressive you play it will determine how long they'll last.

[killa]

Re: Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

What would the tradeoffs be in moving up to a 12" in your opinion?

Larger enclosure typically. Some who don't understand how speakers make sound will say you lose "speed" but that is simply wrong. !2s tend to not reach as high as 10s but this usually isn't a problem for a bass (there is always eq for that). The other issue might be combing due to driver spacing but I can't say hoe relavent this would be for a bass cab.

On the plus side you will get more output and reach lower wich is good for a 5 string.

With that being said the above is not always the case (think of it more as a in general...) due to driver parameters. That is why Bill suggested you model the drivers.

[killa]

Re: Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

I would like to point out also that I have thought about building my own bass cab but once you buy everything it really doesn't seem to save you any money to DIY as pro drivers seem to have gotten very pricey. Would still be cool to have a one of a kind cab though.

[fandsen]

Re: Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

Not necessarily, but I wouldn't go sealed. I play bass, not guitar.
OP, you need to model your potential driver choices in a box program like WinISD Alpha Pro. Then you have to know how to interpret the results. If you don't have those skills you should reconsider designing your own cab and build a tested design that meets your needs, using a driver recommended for it.

What do you think about the Dayton pro 10's at 1.5 cuft per driver in a vented box tuned to 55hz VS the Dayton pro 12's in a vented box at 2 cuft per driver tuned to 55hz? The f3 of both of these designs looks to be ~50hz. Between the tuning frequency and ~100hz these drivers will be pretty excursion limited.. but in multiples of 4 wired to 8 ohms driven by ~300w do you think that will be an issue?

[clydethecat]

Re: Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

I'd go with the 32 ohm SVT replacements. Eminence Legend B810?

[billfitzmaurice]

Re: Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

driven by ~300w do you think that will be an issue?

With only 300w available I'd go with one twelve or fifteen capable of handling that without exceeding xmax. Vented, because even though it may not have much lower f3 it will have much better sensitivity. For the price of four low end tens you can get a good twelve or fifteen.

[fandsen]

Re: Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

With only 300w available I'd go with one twelve or fifteen capable of handling that without exceeding xmax. Vented, because even though it may not have much lower f3 it will have much better sensitivity. For the price of four low end tens you can get a good twelve or fifteen.

Could you link the 12's you like best for this job?

[billfitzmaurice]

Re: Help choosing a 10" bass guitar driver

Could you link the 12's you like best for this job?

My favorite driver is the Eminence Kappalite 3012HO.