With many thanks to Joe in Ottawa for numerous discussions on the subject. I wanted to improve the sound in the room since BB accompanying now includes a range of drum kits, keys, bass, synths to mix with our vocals and guitars.
Joe had suggested a number of things to consider from his experience and I wound up after a few trials with subs settling on a very inexpensive Seismic Audio 12" 2-way speaker as a ‘back fill’. Tried it last night at a gig in the pub of acoustic horrors we play every month. Thrilled with the way it filled the sonic space in the room.
Ran BB, either of two basses we use and some audio supplemental clips I use direct from the mixer through an AUX out without HPF while allowing everything to also go out the mains but HPF on the other channels and at the tops. The tops are only 8" EV ZXA1 we’ve used for years and are excellent for guitars and vocals but obviously not the full range of frequencies we throw out there now.
Had comments from musicians in the audience who were impressed with the depth of what we were putting out. One woman said she liked our stuff better than her brother-in-law’s band who play there alot …she could talk over us and it wasn’t painful…well there’s that.
Thanks again to Joe for all the advice on this.