Bass cabinet as a subwoofer ?

[Turdus]

I have an 18" sub that weighs a bit. also have a single 15" bass cabinet, that weighs a bit less, and is more manageable.

Is there any reason the bass cab could not be used as a sub woofer? I have to play some dance tunes, for a performing troupe, and would like to add a little bass, without carrying the larger sub.

yes? no?

[cmatthes]

What kind of room and what size?

I would think it would be passable, and in my book, portability/maneuverability is a big factor.

[LostArt]

as long as you cross it over correctly you should be fine

[HSB0531]

As long as you keep the 15 within it's operating limits.

And the room isn't too large.

[Turdus]

Been testing this out a bit today, and it sounds pretty good.

the cab is Trace Elliot 1x15, but is only rated at 200 watts.

The power amp is a Peavey, rated at 300 watts RMS. Has a built in Xover at 150 Hz.

Does it sound like I'm gonna torch this speaker if I turn up the volume?

[HSB0531]

Been testing this out a bit today, and it sounds pretty good.

the cab is Trace Elliot 1x15, but is only rated at 200 watts.

The power amp is a Peavey, rated at 300 watts RMS. Has a built in Xover at 150 Hz.

Does it sound like I'm gonna torch this speaker if I turn up the volume?

Well, you should have an amp equal to or more powerful than your speaker.

At 200w. your speaker won't generate any high sound pressure levels though.

I'd bring both to the next gig and A/B them during soundcheck.

[stobro]

Most commercial 1-15" bass guitar cabinets are not going to produce much output below 60Hz or so. They are typically built too small for the driver and tuned to provide a mid-bass peak around 80-120Hz to mask the lack of output at the fundamental frequencies of a bass (~40Hz for the low E-string). Also, most manufacturers rate the power capacity of the speaker based on how much the voice coil will take before melting. In reality, the speaker is likely to fart-out at much lower power than advertised due to a lack of available cone excursion at low frequencies. If the volume is kept low enough and any low frequency EQ boost is held in check, it will probably work OK, but it won't approach the performance of a true subwoofer.