Crayon Sky Music

question about bass amps?

I have been shopping around for larger amps lately and i am a bit confused. what is the difference between having more 10″ speakers and only a couple 15″ speakers? im looking to get either a fender or swr amp and there is a 410 bassman cabinet with 4 10″ speakers at 350 watts continuous. I have heard that this cabinet is not very loud at all though, so i was trying to decide between either a 215(2 15″ speakers) cabinet at 800 watts continuous or the 610(6 10″ speakers) which is also 800 watts but the 215 is cheaper. What is the difference as far as the sound goes?
thanks for the help!

In general, 10″ speakers will give you a crisper sound but won’t reproduce bass notes as well as 15″ speakers. In addition to the tonal characteristics of the speakers, you may want to consider how much air they push. More air equals more thump. A 410 cabinet has 314 cubic inches of speaker surface. The 215 has 353 cubic inches.

The big question I have for you is how the heck much volume/watts do you need? I play in country rock circuits, but I don’t think I’ve ever run across anybody playing through anything bigger than a 215 cabinet. Most bass players that I know are using 100-200 watts into a single 15. While bigger is better for bass, it doesn’t make sense to buy more than you need. Remember that you have to lug it around!

1972 Fender Bassman amp w/ a 1986 Fender Stratocaster ’62 stylings