Beta Lead 212 Speakers - Bass Friendly?

[bammalam]

Hey all, I've lurked here for a while and finally registered, figuring y'all can give me a solid answer on something.

I have a Sunn beta lead 212 combo, and would like to leave it with the original speakers. I also want to want to start playing bass instead of guitar. I've read that most of the original Sunn amps were designed with bass and guitars in mind, and the Beta series is pretty good about it. What I don't know is if the speakers can hold up to being used for bass.  I'm really fond of this amp, so trading it for something else really isn't an attractive option for me. 

If it helps, the numbers I found on one of the speakers is 0118 08 860, if that helps.  Would getting an extension cab to run in series with the combo be a good option?

[EdBass]

Have you got a picture of the speakers? I haven't had much luck with any Sunn 12's for bass. Also, open back cabs aren't usually a good idea for low bass response in general. The amp should be fine, maybe plugging it into a real bass cab would be the best bet.
The amp unit in your Beta Lead should pop right out and make a pretty decent bass head on its own.

[bammalam]

I don't have a picture handy at the moment.  They've got big honking square magnets with no labels on them.  It's funny you mention pulling the head; I thought about that just before I read your reply.  If I get a bass cab and keep the head, I wonder if I can find someone who could use the speakers and combo housing. . .  I thought I had a lead on an Ampeg bass combo sans amp that I could move this to, but it turns out it was for guitar. 

Back to the speakers, though: I was worried that the 12s were guitar-specific, and it sounds like that's the case.   Just out of curiosity, were there any 12 inch speakers that Sunn put in their combos that would work for guitars and bass?

[Isaac]

Most people want very different things from speakers for guitar and speakers for bass. IMO, old Sunn 12"s don't have enough throw (Xmax) to be useful for bass at any significant volume. They'd be fine for home practice, though. A speaker hobbyist could probably build a cabinet for the drivers that would work for bass, but I expect that it would be surprisingly large for two 12" drivers. Personally, I wouldn't bother.