Question on speaker size for upright bass

[Jim Hines]

Thanks so much for the info Eric!

So what you are saying is that speaker type or size isn't so much what to look for as the pre-amp. Am I correct in that? I was of the impression that the upright tone responded better to smaller cabinets (due to the use of so many guys with the GK combo setup with the 12").


My normal electric rig is an Eden WT800 with 2 2-10XST cabinets but I have it set up tonally for the electric. I havent' tried the upright through them simply because of the hassle of resetting the tone.

[Eric Hochberg]

Sorry, Jim, I decided to change my reply and you got to the first, I think before I made the change.

Originally Posted by Jim Hines

So what you are saying is that speaker type or size isn't so much what to look for as the pre-amp. Am I correct in that? I was of the impression that the upright tone responded better to smaller cabinets (due to the use of so many guys with the GK combo setup with the 12").

No, I don't mean that. Different speaker sizes have different tonal characteristics and can support more or less levels of volume. I think many guys use the GK combo mainly because of its compact size for ease of transport, although they don't sound bad either. But sound is such a personal thing, and I think you need to try out a number of different amp/preamp/speaker combinations to find out what will be the best for you in any given situation.

Originally Posted by Jim Hines

My normal electric rig is an Eden WT800 with 2 2-10XST cabinets but I have it set up tonally for the electric. I havent' tried the upright through them simply because of the hassle of resetting the tone.

Give the Eden a try with just one of the cabinets and see if you can dial up a sound you like. If you don't mind carrying the WT800 around, you could try matching it with even smaller cabs and see if you can get a good sound.

You should get used to resetting the tone on whatever amp you use. You can write down or put marks on the settings you have now for future reference. I don't think I've ever done a gig where I didn't have to tweak the amp tonally to work in the various venues I play in and groups I play with, not to mention the different basses used.