Two 12's or single 15

Al Moss · Post by **Al Moss** » 28 Apr 2001 6:52 am

A question about speaker configuration. I'm trying to determine the best bet in the speaker setup for a Twin Reverb amp. Would anyone care to comment on tonal impressions about the sound of two JBL D-120's as compared to the sound of a single JBL D-130 or 140 enclosure?

ajm · Post by **ajm** » 28 Apr 2001 9:03 am

I'll throw another wrench in the works: How about 2-12's, but have them be different speakers (example: one JBL and the other a Celestion or something else)? I believe that Matchless did this with their amps.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 28 Apr 2001 9:15 am

I had a twin, I took the two 12" JBL D120-F's out and put in a 15" JBL K130. I got a lot more low end out of it and overal better sound with a 71 PP Emmons D-10.

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 28 Apr 2001 9:26 am

Your twin will also be a lot lighter with one 15" JBL instead of two 12" JBL's.

If you do go the one 15" route, try to get a 4 ohm speaker to replace the two 8 ohm speakers to keep the overall resistance at 4 ohms.

Chick Donner · Post by **Chick Donner** » 28 Apr 2001 9:38 am

I played Twins for years (lotsa years ago), both 2-12 and single 15, and in the Twins, I always thought the 12's sounded better. All the amps I've had since I use single 15's - JBL's in the ShoBuds and Black Widows in both my Webb and Peavey Nashville 400.

BTW, I believe that Twin, at least the originals, are 8 ohm outputs.

Chris DeBarge · Post by **Chris DeBarge** » 28 Apr 2001 12:30 pm

I still can't decide which way sounds better, I tried both about a month ago (maybe you saw my post) and liked the original 2-12's better. YMMV.

And Chick, Twin Reverb's are definitely 4 ohms, from the beginning 'til now. Don't know about the tweed Twins off hand.

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 28 Apr 2001 5:59 pm

IMHO, two 12's project a little better, and they will handle more power. But, the 15 sure sounds sweeter, especially in the lower registers. Saves you about 10 pounds, too!

Craig A Davidson · Post by **Craig A Davidson** » 28 Apr 2001 8:06 pm

Chick, The original 12's in a twin are 8ohms each. But they are wired in series which makes it a 4ohm output. 2x2-8ohm speakers=4ohms. If they are wired in parrallell then your ohms would be 16 ohms. I was once told a tube amp can be run with more ohmage(sp). and a solid state with less oms than rated for. I believe it in the tubes as far as volume because a twin is much louder at 16 ohms. I know of rockers that re-wire their twins that way for more volume. Anyway as I am drifting from the original post again, to me it's a toss up. I like it either way.

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Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 28 Apr 2001 8:28 pm

Craig, you're sort of flip-flopped.

Two 8 ohm speakers wired in parallel (as the Twin is) gives 4 ohms, in series gives 16 ohms.

Craig A Davidson · Post by **Craig A Davidson** » 29 Apr 2001 5:35 am

Jim, I was afraid when I posted that it was backwards. I sat here for a while trying to remember which way it was. Then I thought,"What the heck, if it's wrong someone will correct me", and I was right. Thanks, I don't get into a lot of that anymore so it's hard to remember.

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John Hanusch · Post by **John Hanusch** » 29 Apr 2001 8:37 am

How 'bout borrowing/trying an extension cabinet with a 15" - 4 ohm in it. Try it by itself plugged into the main jack in place of the two-12" or plug it into the extension speaker jack along with the 2-12". See which you like the best. Let me know if you might want to sell those 12" JBL's. Thanks.

Ricky Davis · Post by **Ricky Davis** » 29 Apr 2001 10:31 am

Hey Al; I have a baffle board with Two-12's and a baffle board with one-15; and I switch them out all the time. I usually record with the two 12's and mic each speaker and record two channels and pan. At gigs I'll play the single 15" which is 8 ohms and run a extension cab with a single 15" 8 ohm speaker in it and now I have a 4 ohm load and it is the most killer sound I have.
I will play the twin with just the single 15" in it as a 8 ohm load and I only loose one click on the volume knob and nothin' else.
As far as sound; I love the way two 12's sound and I love the way the 15" sounds; as my taste for the way I like to hear it alters; and that's why I keep those ready to go already loaded baffle boards.
But the Twin is designed for the two 12's in there and that's when you really hear the sound and reverb splashing back and forth out of those 12's and is a great sound by itself.
Ricky

Bill Terry · Post by **Bill Terry** » 30 Apr 2001 7:35 am

I bought a D140-F for my Twin from Bob Knight here on the forum. I was a little reluctant since I'd been looking for a D130, but Bob told me that he actually liked the D140 better so I gave it a try and I've been very pleased. I've had no problem with getting it bright enough, which was my main concern. Also, as it's turned out, I really like the way my Tele sounds through that amp, really bright, but fat.

The Twin had 2-12" Peavey Scorpions in it when I bought it, and that wasn't a particularly good match in my opinion. However, I do like the way the blue back 12's in Ricky's amp sound.

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Dan Tyack · Post by **Dan Tyack** » 30 Apr 2001 7:08 pm

I'm with AJM. Use two different kinds of 12" speakers, a JBL and a 'softer' speaker like a Celestion or a Jensen. You will get a fatter, more complex sound.

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