Putting A Fuse In A Speaker Cab?

I have seen bass combos with tweeters. I thought it a bit odd, but there they were.

Are you sure they were tweeters? If they were horns, they could have been midrange drivers. Tweeters would make no sense -- except to marketeers.

???

Y'all need to get out more. :wink: It seems the majority of cabs have them.

Could be. And when I do venture out once a decade :P , I think WTF -- marketing has been at it again. Most of the cabs you link contain cheapo ceramic tweeter horns that are clearly being added to up the frequency specs for the ad copy (marketing -- everyone's got to have competitive numbers). The Ampeg 1" horn may be the only one of those horns that is really doing anything. That is a mid-high range horn with a 1" magnetic horn driver -- probably on the back of a rectangular horn unit. My protection discussion for tweeters, applies for magnetic horn driver elements, whether tweeter or midrange. I find it really hard to believe there is any need for significant freq response beyond 8 to 10 kHz in a bass amp. That should capture all the pop and slap attacks really well.
And what's the difference between a 1" horn and a tweeter?

The 1" refers to the voice coil size in the horn's driver element. This horn is probably capable of 2 kHz to 15 kHz. Depending upon the crossover freq, it's probably being used as a midrange or upper-mid/tweeter.

Horn is a structural type, and can be part of a woofer (folded horn), midrange or tweeter element. It's just the megaphone-like structure that efficiently (and directionally) launches the audio from the driver or motor mounted at it's throat (narrow end). Usually horn tweeters are round, small and a one-piece integrated unit of the horn and horn driver. Good midrange -- often rectangular -- horns have detachable drivers for repair and replacement -- cuz they get fried. Tweeters are small and cheap enough to toss when fried. Horn-type speaker elements are self-contained, and do not need to be mounted in a cabinet. That is done only for convenience and rough time/phase alignment. Midrange horn drives are what some people use to make guitar talkboxes. :wink:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epifani-UL210-500-Watt-2X10-Inch-Bass-Cabinet?sku=601047
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Eden-D210XST-2x10-Bass-Cabinet?sku=606167
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Aguilar-GS-112-Single-12-Bass-Speaker-Cabinet?sku=601030
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/SWR-Triad-3Way-Bass-Speaker-System?sku=602008
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ashdown-MAG-410T-4X10-Deep-Bass-Cabinet-with-Tweeter?sku=605032
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ampeg-SVT410HE-Bass-Enclosure?sku=481741 (1" horn on this one)
http://www.avatarspeakers.com/b212.htm ("The cab uses the new full 12 db mylar crossover network for both the tweeter and bass speaker sections for a more accurate response and for better power handling. There is a tweeter volume control on the back panel.")

Again -- for most of these, the manufacturer is playing specsmanship. Remove most of those small tweeter horns, and the bass will sound the same.

Other things:

Mylar in a crossover refers to the capacitor type: reliable, durable and good for high voltage

In a two-way crossover, 12 db (per octave) crossover means one inductor plus one capacitor, or one to two resistors and two capacitors. When the literature says 6 dB (for two-way crossover), it's a fancy way of saying 'one capacitor.'

The crossover distributes the power efficiently to the drivers according to freq, resulting less chance of damage for a "normal, clean" signal, which I think is your point; but a crossover does not protect a lower power rated midrange "or tweeter in a bass cab" from clipping distortion burn out. Crossovers also get fried.

That is a mid-high range horn with a 1" magnetic horn driver -- probably on the back of a rectangular horn unit. ... I find it really hard to believe there is any need for significant freq response beyond 8 to 10 kHz in a bass amp. That should capture all the pop and slap attacks really well.

Ah, I think you're on to something there. Looking at a few "bass speakers" it seems the frequency range often rolls off at 3-4 kHz (I checked out some from Eminence), so for tapping/slapping/popping maybe the higher frequency range of a horn/tweeter is more important. For general fingerstyle playing, I think you're right that a tweeter is probably not necessary.

In an old thread on Talkbass, someone asking about replacing a tweeter got this reply:
fill the hole with automotive body putty, sand it down smooth, paint the repair area black, and you're done. :lol:

Remove most of those small tweeter horns, and the bass will sound the same.

And take out the crossover. :wink:

(Sorry for hijacking your thread, katmetal!)

(Sorry for hijacking your thread, katmetal!) No problem, I am enjoying the conversation. gnease has let loose with a torrent of information, & I sit humbly at his feet learning all I can! Hey gnease, know anything about "talkboxes"?!? :wink:

Hey gnease, know anything about "talkboxes"?!? :wink: Try one o' them there midrange horn drivers -- the tube will fit right onto it! Something like this:

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?webpage_id=3&CAT_ID=49&ObjectGroup_ID=279

much easier than putting a speaker in a box and adding a funnel. Works better too!