Tip #3: 12"

  • The KPA and a great profile via a small computer speaker does not sound this great.


    The feel of a real guitar amp speaker is very different because of many reasons - one is speaker size and the amount of air moved by the large speaker.


    I was never really happy with small size near field monitors - and did not like the sound of most PA speakers as well.


    So what is in (most) guitar cabinets?
    12 inch speaker(s)


    Since I use two active monitors with 12" speakers all sounds - and feels - SO much better.


    What is your experence?

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  • Hi Armin,


    In my small home studio the 8" are enough (the 12" start shattering my furnitures) but I feel the difference with the 12" that I use at rehearsal and for gigging. Agree with you, everything below 8" is too less, IMHO

    "Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" Serghei Rachmaninoff


  • I see it similar as Armin. Though i have a decent pair of 8" nearfields, it is always some sort of compromise playing alle those mighty KPA tones through them. The problem is that decent 12" midfields or main monitors are very expensive.


    What i was thinking about is some sort addon tweeter with a passive crossover that you could use with your normal guitar cabs. Though it wouldnt be anything like neutral or to be used as a "reference" system it would just be for the pure joy of playing. I tried some decent PA speakers and didnt like the sound at all.

  • I was thinking adding a subwoofer to my 8".... :whistling:

    I was thinking the same thing, but don't know anything about high-end subwoofers and the little I know is that it's really easy to screw up your overall sound by placing a subwoofer without proper set up of room acoustics and crossover settings.


    If anyone has any experience, I'd love to hear it :thumbup:

  • I was thinking the same thing, but don't know anything about high-end subwoofers and the little I know is that it's really easy to screw up your overall sound by placing a subwoofer without proper set up of room acoustics and crossover settings.


    If anyone has any experience, I'd love to hear it :thumbup:

    I dont think that something like a 12" sub will get you anything near to the sound of a 12" guitar speaker. Those systems are designed for low end only and with their built-in crossovers they will only playback the frequencies like below 120 Hz or something. It would be cool for bass profiles, but for guitar tones... i am really not sure.

  • Tyler is right, - not really that great, and will over exagerate the bass in the guitar tone too much to a point that you will have to setup your sound only for that room.. if you then took it elsewhere the sound would be vastly differnt.


    Maybe you just need a set of good studio moniters.(powerd) - there are plenty of non-expensive ones, that will sound great! with the KPA!.


    Ive got mine running through my moniters here, and they are only 6inch drivers, I would not have it anyother way! - sounds stella!

  • I'm very happy with my iKey Audio 8"....but the RCF NX is sooo good, but way too loud for my house.....

    "Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music" Serghei Rachmaninoff


  • I dont think that something like a 12" sub will get you anything near to the sound of a 12" guitar speaker. Those systems are designed for low end only and with their built-in crossovers they will only playback the frequencies like below 120 Hz or something. It would be cool for bass profiles, but for guitar tones... i am really not sure.



    I think overall the size of your monitors depends on the size of your studio or practice room, etc.


    I have the matching sub for my Yamaha HS80M monitors, and it all sounds great. I think if you add a sub, it's best to stick to the same series of equipment, since the speakers have likely been tuned to work together sonically and you can tweak the speaker settings to your taste. Many monitor manufacturers offer a matching subwoofer.


    I wouldn't just add a home theater type subwoofer, but in the end, it's whatever sounds best to your ears.


    I don't record for public consumption, so I never worry about how my sound will translate to somebody listening on an iPod or the radio.


    I wonder what Chris Kemper uses?

  • I use a pair of KRK rokit8s (powered monitors) with the matcking KRK 10 subwoofer. When I do profiling or just want a small rig for goofing around I have a QSC HPR122i That is heavy as heck but incredibly loud and sounds great. Live I use a 4x12 cab and a tube amp in case the kemper goes nuts - I have an instant backup that way. Never had to use it, but better safe than sorry when you play for money :)


    Pete


  • Hey Sorefingers,


    How is that HS10W sub? I had some of the HS50's then after getting the Kemper I tried to go cheap FRFR with a pair of Mackie Thumps which I didn't like. I thought about going with one RCF but decided to just more up to HS80's but I was curious how much of a difference you feel using the sub. I'm talking specifically regarding using the KPA with vs w/out the sub. Any info on this is really appreciated.

    "Tone is in the fingers" is not a necessary response to anything that I might type on any internet forum threads. Thank you.

  • I initially got it because I play bass as well as guitar. For bass, it makes a huge difference, obviously. I've found that it adds a bit of fullness to my guitar sound, too. You can set what frequencies you send to the sub when using it with hsm50 or hsm80 monitors.

  • I have a pair of Yamaha HS80M monitors too, and was thinking would getting a matching sub make a huge difference (I don't play bass!). What would you say sorefingers?

  • An alternative to pushing air around is to use a Sustainiac system. I've got one installed in my Steinberger and a little bit of energy going back into the string can make a giant difference when playing with small monitors at lower volumes or using headphones.

  • Im running


    2 x KRK Rokit 8"
    2 x KRK Rokit 5"
    1 x BlueSky 12" active monitor sub


    The KRKs by themselves sounded great.. the subwoofer takes them to an entirely new level with the Kemper. You can adjust the 'thump' using the cab's gain control, basically it makes the Kemper ultimate for home use and practice. Above kinda loud levels.. I don't know. Probably some majorly awesome flat monitors. I was thinking of doing a 2x2 stack of active monitors and then 500w+ sub on the side. That would yeild around 400 clean watts for the 4 speakers and an extra 500w for the sub. Might keep up with a half stack+50w tube amp. :thumbup:

    Edited once, last by mikeb ().