Does anybody prefer a 1x10 vs a 1x12 ever?

[Ash Telecaster]

People sing praises for the '68 Vibrolux with 2x10.

Many people consider the Super Reverb with 4x10 to be the best Fender amp ever.

I have a Pro Jr with a 10" but I mostly use it for harp. My Princeton has a 12".

My gig rig is a single 12" in an open back cab. I don't want more, I don't want less, but I've always wanted to take a Super Reverb for a spin in a live jam situation.

 

[Mark the Moose]

I've rolled a ton of speakers through my 5f11 vibrolux and keep coming back to the 1x10 Eminence 1028k. It's hard to describe the sonic differences, but maybe it's tighter, more focused, with a quicker response, more snap...?

 

[Jay Jernigan]

12" sounds better playing alone due to the extra low end. 10" sounds better with a band due to the lack of low end.

And they, probably, mic up better for much the same reason.

 

[tattypicker]

I wouldn't move an amp on just because of speaker size. Too many people (self included) love their Pro Juniors and AC10s to say that a 12" speaker is necessarily better.

 

[Jay Jernigan]

I have an old 2-10 Music Man that sounds huge; but that's two, not one.

 

[black_doug]

People sing praises for the '68 Vibrolux with 2x10.

Many people consider the Super Reverb with 4x10 to be the best Fender amp ever.

I have a Pro Jr with a 10" but I mostly use it for harp.

I know a few pros who gig with the VR, including Kevin Breit. Great amp!

I'm down to owning four amps, and three have 10s. My latest purchase is a Marshall SC20C with a 10". Marshall now has a lot of amps with 10s.

 

[suave eddie]

I always forget my Mesa Subway Blues has a 10".

 

[decibel]

I picked up a Supro 1606 last summer (new reproduction). It's got a custom 8" speaker designed by Eminence that'll give any good speaker a run for it's money.

Those Eminence Supro speakers are great. They're a bit heavy, but great.
I have a Supro 1622RT with a 10" designed for it, and I tried other high-end speakers in it, and they just don't sound as good.

 

[jvin248]

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I know of one guy who gigs solo and prefers 1x10s as punchier and less problems of flabbiness experienced with 1x12s.

1x10s are housed in smaller cases and thus a lot easier to carry into a gig.

A better sized closed back case for a 1x10 will produce a lot more noise than an open backed 1x12, based on speaker design stuff I did a couple decades back. Most amp cabinets do not appear to use exhaustive math in their sizing.

Here is some testing that might help you.





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[Dismalhead]

Those Eminence Supro speakers are great. They're a bit heavy, but great.
I have a Supro 1622RT with a 10" designed for it, and I tried other high-end speakers in it, and they just don't sound as good.

Yeah, I noticed that they downgraded the speaker in the 1606 this year to a $40 Jensen. Glad I got mine when I did. Originally I thought I was going to be running it through my 1 x 12" cabinet, and then I was totally blown away by how good it sounds.

 

[guitarmikey]

That’s why I chose to get SCX2 in head version. I can connect it to my Ragin’ Cajun in pine DIY cab, or my 1x12” in an ex Performer amp that became the 1X12” cab with Celestion inside...
Different flavours, different punch...

 

[Glen W]

I've had my Princeton Reverb for years, and recently - a Marshall Origin 20C. Both have tens and neither sounds boxy or small. I credit some of that to cabinet size/design as much a having a decent 10" speaker...an Eminence Copperhead in the PR as of now, which sounds as loud and full as anything I can imagine coming out of that little amp.

Might have to see about a 12" speaker baffle for a '68 PR though, one of these days...

 

[Jay Jernigan]

Increase in cone area moves more air which increases perception of low frequencies. This is not, necessarily, a microphone's perspective. I have recorded some outstanding sounding guitar tracks with a 6" speaker. Used the same amp through a 12" and was disappointed.
Gerald Weber's Coffee Table Book of Cool Guitar Amps sites a Super Reverb Amp as having the biggest low end response of any of its contemporaries.
Noted: I'm not sure how to spell his last name. Apologies, if necessary.

 

[scottser]

As stated above, its not just about girth - length and stamina are critical to good performance also.

 

[Dacious]

My only gigging amp these days is a Superchamp with Alessandro 10" speaker.

I love the mid presence in a band. The only thing you give away is a bit of volume and you can't use high stage volume these days I find.

All the guitarists I play with use 12" speakers and I don't find I lack anything compared to them. I sit on 5-6 master. Anything louder is too much for small gigs

I love the fact it's <35lb and takes no space.

 

[Dukex]

Home player only, low watt amps, and I love 10" speakers (have five of them). sonically they sound terrific, and they're cheaper than 12".

 

[ScottJPatrick]

I have been biased towards 10's since I bought my first Vox ten twin, never been fond of too much bass and love the clarity and punch I get from 10's. Current live setup includes three 10'' speakers (EV in a Super Champ, 2 x Celestion greenbacks driven by a Vox AC MV50) plus one 12'' Mesa cab (driven by the SC) fitted with an EV speaker which gives me all the bottom end I need.

 

[1955]

I like 10’s.

 

[decibel]

Yeah, I noticed that they downgraded the speaker in the 1606 this year to a $40 Jensen. Glad I got mine when I did. Originally I thought I was going to be running it through my 1 x 12" cabinet, and then I was totally blown away by how good it sounds.

Jeez! We're even doing inflation substitutions on speakers now? That is so sad.
Glad I didn't swap and sell that Eminance, then.

 

[The Angle]

I've become a real fan of 10s. The Eminence Alessandro GA10-SC64 pictured above is terrific. Another favorite is the Warehouse G10C for a more mid-focused "vintage" tone. At the volumes I play at, 10s deliver a tighter, punchier sound than 12s. To my ears, anyway.

OTOH, I can't swear this isn't purely an illusion. I've always been drawn to the option other people overlook, because they overlook it.