EVM-15*...200W vs 400W. some questions(Mesa related)

Corwin81 said:

I've got a EVM loaded Mesa 1X15. The seller on Ebay said that it was a 200W, but looking inside, it's an unlabeled speaker(obviously EV due to the frame, and it's got EV on the dust cap). I didn't think Mesa ever used 200W EVs in their cabs. How would I be able to tell the difference? And did they ever use 15B speakers? The dust cap has EV in gold lettering.

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That sounds like a replacement speaker and not the original. To my knowledge Mesa used 400 watt EVM 15L's and they did not have "EV" on the dust cap.

Ben Strange needs to chime in here.

The bass cabs and guitar cabs are different.

The "L" version is the guitar speaker, the "B" version is the woofer.

I'm not aware of any 400 watt EMV-15L. Mesa guitar cabs have the 200 watt OEM version of the EVM-15L. The 300 watt non-OEM version of this speaker is a lot better. I have one in a BagEnd cab that sounds superb. I use it with a Marshall Major and a MiniPlex.

Not sure about Mesa bass cabs. I'm pretty sure the "L" version of the speaker wouldn't be the best thing for bass. I don't use mine for bass, I think it would blow pretty quick if I did. Great guitar speaker though.

Alot of arcane Mesa history questions today. Hmmm....


I don't happen to have my 15" cab here right now, but from what I remember we used an EVM-B in there, which should be a 400 watt speaker. I honestly don't remember too well, though, so I'll have to check up on that.

I will say this with utmost confidence, however: we never made any with the EV logo on the dust cap. That's either a replacement or has been reconed.

nonsqtr said:

Ben Strange needs to chime in here.

The bass cabs and guitar cabs are different.

The "L" version is the guitar speaker, the "B" version is the woofer.

I'm not aware of any 400 watt EMV-15L. Mesa guitar cabs have the 200 watt OEM version of the EVM-15L. The 300 watt non-OEM version of this speaker is a lot better. I have one in a BagEnd cab that sounds superb. I use it with a Marshall Major and a MiniPlex.

Not sure about Mesa bass cabs. I'm pretty sure the "L" version of the speaker wouldn't be the best thing for bass. I don't use mine for bass, I think it would blow pretty quick if I did. Great guitar speaker though.

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I owned a Mesa 15" Roadready bought new from Mesa Boogie and it came stock with a EVM Pro line 15L. As I recall the only difference between the 15L and 15B was extended high end response.

I'll second NeedMore,

Looking at my old literature they used EVM 15L's back in the 80's. The 1-15 RR used a 400w in a 8 ohm cab. This was to be coupled with a D-180 back then. Cab retailing for $400 then. All the dust caps were black, no logos.

I got my 2-15 RR new back in '83 and according to the literature I'm looking through it has the EVM 15L, although the sales guy at Metro Music in Atlanta said the 2-15 came with 200w speaker's. The literature doesn't mention speaker wattage of the 2-15. Had to replace one of them early on, the guys at Metro just pulled a 400w out of a single 15 cab and replaced my blown one. Probably got a 400w and 200w in there, cab is running at 4 ohms.

The 15's are listed as full range and if I remember one of the previous threads, said having the ribs in the speaker material would add a little more high end capability to them which they definitely have.

It's a great cab with either the D-180 or M-600 wired into it!

BC

NeedMoreBass said:

I owned a Mesa 15" Roadready bought new from Mesa Boogie and it came stock with a EVM Pro line 15L. As I recall the only difference between the 15L and 15B was extended high end response.

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Ah, yes; that jars the memory. That's the answer you're looking for.

Turns out it actually could be a 200 watt EV, but it's probably been reconed. Back when these cabs were being made, Boogie was offering the 400 watt speaker as an option.

The EVM-15L is the good one; the L stands for Long-Throw, which will mean extended bass response. The B is for a more lead type sound, which doesn't have as much bass (not real sure if any of these were used in bass cabs; I don't think they were). Hope that helps!

So, lemme ask a question. Is the 15-L model "okay" to use as a bass guitar speaker? From what you're saying in this thread, the 15-L is supposed to be a "full range" speaker. Mine is in a little dinky BagEnd cab, and I'm wondering if that might help explain why I'm not getting the thunderous bass response. I'm certainly no speaker expert, so maybe you can help guide me in the right direction here. I've noticed that particular speaker "bottoming out" in the BagEnd cab, and the BagEnd speaker doesn't do that (although it's rated at the same power), BUT, I've never tried the 15-L in any other cab. Is it possible that I should be using a bass reflex cab or something like that? Something with a slightly bigger port perhaps? It came in the BagEnd cab, and I've been too lazy to move it elsewhere. Do the Mesa cabs we're talking about have fairly big bass ports? Is it possible the 15-L and the BagEnd cabs are just "mismatched", from a physical standpoint?

nonsqtr said:

So, lemme ask a question. Is the 15-L model "okay" to use as a bass guitar speaker? From what you're saying in this thread, the 15-L is supposed to be a "full range" speaker. Mine is in a little dinky BagEnd cab, and I'm wondering if that might help explain why I'm not getting the thunderous bass response. I'm certainly no speaker expert, so maybe you can help guide me in the right direction here. I've noticed that particular speaker "bottoming out" in the BagEnd cab, and the BagEnd speaker doesn't do that (although it's rated at the same power), BUT, I've never tried the 15-L in any other cab. Is it possible that I should be using a bass reflex cab or something like that? Something with a slightly bigger port perhaps? It came in the BagEnd cab, and I've been too lazy to move it elsewhere. Do the Mesa cabs we're talking about have fairly big bass ports? Is it possible the 15-L and the BagEnd cabs are just "mismatched", from a physical standpoint?

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The 15L is classically used in the EV-designed TL606 cab, a ported design, although I've seen it in many other cabs, all of which have fairly large ports. I can send you an electronic copy of the design if that would help. It's a nice, compact PA cab, and OK for 4 string bass, which I use my homebrewed near-copies for occasionally. One of mine has a 15B, the other an SP-15, featuring the same motor, but with a whizzer cone.

My recollection is that the 15B doesn't make any more low end than the 15L, but 15L makes considerably more high end than 15B. I see from BGavin's spreadsheet that Fs is the same, but 15L wants a slightly bigger cab. The surround and spider are stiffer on 15B, IIRC.

I also vaguely recall the "L" suffix as originally meaning lead, not long. I could very easily be wrong about that though. Xmax is rated the same for both models, whatever the power rating. 15L seemed to be way more common in PA applications than 15B, and current resellers usually spec 15B for bass guitar/woofer apps, with 15L spec'ing as guitar/bass/PA. Hope this helps.

My Mesa Boogie 1x15 EV Diesel cab is 8ohms rated at 400W.
For Sale at $325.00

The 15L was indeed available in a 400 watt version. The 15L is identical to the 15B except the cone is ribbed on the outer edges so it has about an octave more high end extension than the 15B.

EV no longer supports the 200W models of the EVM-15 series, only 400W recone kits are available (which can be used with the 200w baskets, resulting in a 400w speaker after the recone).

A stock Mesa EVM should say "Mesa Black Shadow" on the magnet and have no EV logo on the dust cap.

As Bridge Cables wrote, the original Mesa bass cabs introduced in the 1980s with the D-180 head used 400W EVMs in the 1-15; the 2-15 came stock with the 200W EVMs but the 400W was a factory option upgrade.

Sadly, EVMs are no longer made. Too bad, they were my favorite 15".

brianrost said:

The 15L was indeed available in a 400 watt version. The 15L is identical to the 15B except the cone is ribbed on the outer edges so it has about an octave more high end extension than the 15B.

EV no longer supports the 200W models of the EVM-15 series, only 400W recone kits are available (which can be used with the 200w baskets, resulting in a 400w speaker after the recone).

A stock Mesa EVM should say "Mesa Black Shadow" on the magnet and have no EV logo on the dust cap.

As Bridge Cables wrote, the original Mesa bass cabs introduced in the 1980s with the D-180 head used 400W EVMs in the 1-15; the 2-15 came stock with the 200W EVMs but the 400W was a factory option upgrade.

Sadly, EVMs are no longer made. Too bad, they were my favorite 15".

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I still have a 400w MEsa EVM Black Shadow driver that I bought direct from Mesa many, many years ago. It's been in a variety of cabs over the years including a JBL 4530 scoop (young and dumb). It's currently installed in a small Yorkville 115BX cab and it's pretty ridiculous.

Hi!

I have one of the 1970s EV B215M bass cabinets
with two 200 watt 15"s and a 6" horn. The 15s are
not ribbed, so they probably are the early models,
and have black cones. They have alot of excursion,
and benefit greatly from a 50Hz filter

Great cabinet, the 6" midrange makes up for any
high end loss. Although not a super high power
cabinet by todays standards, it still is my choice
for outdoors and with a tube amp it is crunchy as
all hell.

I won't sell it until I qualify for a spinal fusion, right
now I'm just herniated and degenerative <sigh>

Phil Anderson
Tucson, AZ

EV was using some nomenclature back in the day that has gotten a bit convoluted throughout the years - the L meants long, not lead (I believe Jensen used L for lead, which may explain some of the confusion). The L *should* have a more extended frequency response in both directions, high and low. Mesa was using EV speakers because they were more of a full range speaker, instead of using bass specific speakers and making up for the lack of high end with the horn. When designing a speaker, all you can really do is shift frequency response up or down; you want more bass, you lose hi-end, and vis a vis.

Not all the cones were the same, so you can't really tell a B from an L based on the apparent ribs.

Speaker and cab dimensions go hand in hand to create a good sound. The older design Diesel 15s had a front port that extended all the way across the cab and was about 2" wide. My 15 sounds monsterous, and has enough high end to not need a horn (in fact, it doesn't have one). I've never really had it bottom out at all. Could be that your cab just isn't providing whatever a speaker needs to sound good.

There's much debate regarding our new custom made drivers vs. the EV designs; the new stuff is more bass friendly and forgiving, where the EVs are more about nuance and full range sound. I personally find that the EVs are more revealing about the character the player brings to them, and will reveal alot of mistakes/flaws than the newer designs. In the right hands, the EVs just kill.

nonsqtr said:

So, lemme ask a question. Is the 15-L model "okay" to use as a bass guitar speaker? From what you're saying in this thread, the 15-L is supposed to be a "full range" speaker. Mine is in a little dinky BagEnd cab, and I'm wondering if that might help explain why I'm not getting the thunderous bass response.

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I used to have a 15-B in a "dinky" Bag End 15 (the open-back cube). It had a quick, punchy response and took whatever I threw at it but didn't go particularly deep. I've heard 15-Bs put out massive low end in larger cabs (like the big Bag End with the removable port cover)--that was THE speaker/cab combo of choice for giggers when I was growing up in Connecticut in the '80's.

winston said:

I've heard 15-Bs put out massive low end in larger cabs (like the big Bag End with the removable port cover)--that was THE speaker/cab combo of choice for giggers when I was growing up in Connecticut in the '80's.

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You rang?

BTW, there's a review of the S15B-D with a EV 15 (not sure which model) on Harmony Central. The only review of that cab that I have seen. Too bad I couldn't get that speaker/cab combo. I could buy the speaker seperately, but then I would have retune the port.

The reviewer claims it blew away even a 810! Now that, I must hear.

Sean

Corwin81 said:

Is it possible to tell if it was reconed as a 400W speaker? I'm assuming it's a B cone, but not sure about the rating.

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The rating will have to do with the magnet structure, not the cone. Reconing will not make a speaker have more or less power.