15 inch speaker for double duty?

HT Paul · #1 03-23-2010, 08:50 AM

I recently bought a Traynor YBM-4 Bassmaster. Love this thing, tons. I'm trying to use it for both bass and guitar though, and am trying to find the right speaker for double duty. As of now it's got a salvaged organ speaker in it, which actually does a great job for bass, but not as great for guitar.

Any thoughts?

Rick Auricchio · #2 03-23-2010, 09:39 AM

That isn't going to be easy. You'll have to listen to a bunch of cabs to decide.

You must have a bass cab to avoid destroying it with bass. And those just aren't designed for a good guitar sound, which relies on the speakers distorting.

Maybe a bass cab with a midrange driver (like a 6") could work. But 90% of the commercial cabs don't do mid drivers.

HT Paul · #3 03-23-2010, 10:07 AM

The amp is actually a combo, so I'm limited to it being just what it is. Other specs that might matter, 45w out of 2 EL34's, panel has high and normal inputs for standard channel, volume for standard, high and low ins for bright, volume for bright, bass middle treble, and presence. The amp does offer one 8ohm out, which I can and plan to use to augment the purpose at the moment, adding either a guitar or bass cab...

Calaverasgrande · #4 03-23-2010, 10:25 AM

I think the first response kind of nailed it. Do you want a clean bass and a dirty guitar? This may be hard to find one speaker that does both well since the bass will drive the speaker/amp harder.
Those Traynors do sound wicked on guitar though. No problem getting a convincing early Sabbath tone with the right pedal.
My favorite double duty speaker is an old Jensen that came in a Bell and Howell cabinet.
Its kinda farty on bass but has good midrange, on guitar it is phenomenal. Vintage Jensens arent exactly cheap, but you might find a jensen sound a-like.
EV's especially the 15L have a nice kind of croak to them but those are discontinued.
I believe those combos came originally with Marsland speakers, which are mostly considered lame, but some folks like.
I would look into getting it modded for master volume, than at least you can get some dirt out of the tubes when you need it.
It's too bad its a 15, that limits your options. There are a million 12" speakers.

Rick Auricchio · #5 03-23-2010, 10:29 AM

I would dump that organ speaker, which has completely unknown quality and specs.

Try to find an original-replacement for the Bassmaster; it's bound to be better than what's in there now.

LesS · #6 03-23-2010, 11:01 AM

Not sure if you are interested in modifying it - but changing the baffle to 2x12 might make it better at working for both bass and guitar.

gbarchus · #7 03-23-2010, 11:39 AM

I prefer the JBL 130 series (D130, K130, E130) for bass. They are designed to be guitar speakers so they are a little brighter and not as much cone movement. If you stick with the K (AlNiCo magnet) or the E (Ferrite magnet) series, they handle more power (150~200 watts continuous).

Gale

Bassmec · #8 03-23-2010, 12:42 PM

On the JBL 130's also the old Altec 418 is a very fine guitar/bass speaker.

DukeLeJeune · #9 03-23-2010, 01:15 PM

You might consider the Eminence Delta 15A. It won't give you that distortion "crunch", but it's a reasonable compromise.

Here's the response curve of a 15" guitar speaker:

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/bigben.pdf

And, here's the response curve of the Delta 15A:

http://www.eminence.com/pdf/delta-15a.pdf

While the Delta 15A's modest 2.7 mm of linear excursion makes it a poor choice for heavy-duty bass, it should be adequate with only 45 watts pushing it.

Calaverasgrande · #10 03-23-2010, 01:57 PM

yeah those JBLs are nice for either. IIRC pedal steel guys favor those.