Speakers for AP8

[TomS]

Thank You.  Circuit City has an amp speaker combo on sale I am going to try.  TomS

[jukingeo]

    If I am going to buy a speaker specifically to play a "thunder" sound effect from an AP-8, I should get an   8 Ohm, 12", high SLP speaker, in a large, enclosed cabinet, with a frequency responce of 70 - 3K, correct?  Anything else to call for in the specs?    TomS

Hello Tom,

Yes, you can do that, but for more impact you can go with a double 12 cabinet...but this will be a bit on the costly side.  You can even go single 15" too if you really want to get the low bass.

Outside of this then, yes, it may be a good idea to get a combo if the price is right.  The higher power will negate the need for multiple speakers and generally a single 12" combo cabinet would be PLENTY lod enough.  To hook this up to the AP-8 presents another challenge though and there is a couple ways to do this.

1) pan down the AP-8.  Jon had mentioned how to do this a couple times here already.  But it probably will not be enough on it's own.  Make sure you purchase a combo amp that has a input pan or -10 to -20 db switch.  This will help match things up.  The upside to this that you have full processing through the pre-amp stage and you have full tone controls and reverb, the problem though is that because the signal differences are so great, you will always have some kind of distortion in the output (remember, guitar amps are designed to distort).

2) pan down the AP-8 as per Jon's instructions, but this time instead of going into the main input, go into the "effects return jack".  This jack is usually a direct input to the amp in which you bypass all in the input amplifying circuitry and get right to the power amp section.   The upside to this is that you get a cleaner signal, the downside is that you have no tone controls and usually no reverb.

3) You do have another option and that is to purchase a Keyboard amplifier.  Usually these have a 15" speaker inside, they have a good amount of power and they have full tone and reverb.  Moreover you have several inputs on the amplifier, so you can actually patch more things into it such as a microphone, another audio source such as an ambient track and what have you.  This is obviously the best way to go soundwise, but it is also probably the most costly.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Roland-KC550-180W-Keyboard-Amp?sku=480195

I have used this amp before and it is fantastic...but it is also very expensive.

Here is something that is half the price:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Behringer-K1800FX-180Watt-4Channel-PA-System-and-Keyboard-Amp?sku=480782

This has a smaller 12" speaker, it is the same power, but Behringer's products are not as good as Roland (obviously).

On the cheap end of the scale you have this Drive unit:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Drive-K20-20-Watt-2Channel-Keyboard-Amplifier?sku=480746

Trouble with this unit is that it has no effects and it is only an 8" speaker...clearly not enough for your thunder effects.  In fact if you were to decide on this route I would highly advise against it.  For a few bucks more you can get a single 12" cabinet and let the AP-8 drive it directly.

Bottom line is that good combo amps can run pretty expensive.

You may find a good deal on a BASS combo amplifier.  This will net you a good amount of power and also will operate into the lower registers for your thunder effects.  If you do go this route make sure you get one that has a speaker with a tweeter this way you can use it for full range use as well.

Hope that helps!

Edit:  Tom, you may find this interesting:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Nady-FWA12-Powered-Floor-Monitor?sku=609020

This is a 12" POWERED monitor speaker that carries a nice price tag.  At 12" full range and 125 watts you can't really go wrong with this for the price.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Geo

[TomS]

That's great information.   The Nady is the one I'll get.   The Berringer would be really nice, but I don't need the effects.  Thank You.  TomS   

[jukingeo]

That's great information.   The Nady is the one I'll get.   The Berringer would be really nice, but I don't need the effects.  Thank You.  TomS   

Hello Tom,

Yeah, I thought that was a very good deal as well.  For that price you can get three or four over on the Roland piece.  Can't got wrong with that price for that size and power.