2x12 bassman cabinet: which speakers???

I had a small Bassman 2x12 sealed cab. It had 2 Jenson speakers and would not play very loud before farting out. If the small bassman cab is what you are writing about, calculate the internal volume and look for 12" bass guitar speakers designed for a sealed cab of that volume.

 

Looks like someone did this in this thread using Deltalites (neo speakers) for a lightweight cab to reasonably good result:
Generic cabinet and neo speakers

I used 4 Basslites in my Ampeg V4 cab and it sounds great.

Just make sure you check the cabinet volume vs the specs of the speaker to ensure it is good for that size/type cab. Anthony at Eminence will help find the right speaker for your cab if you call them.

 

As long as you don't require huge amounts of deep lows 2512 Deltalites will work OK.
I have a pair of 112 cabs that are built to be 1/2 of the old 212.
I was joking about doing that and found they are right in the middle of the sealed cab volume range that Eminence suggests.
Useful as small bas cabs, guitar, keys, floor monitors, etc.
Not earth shattering at anything, but at least OK at everything.

 

For the same look but astronomically better sonic results and performance, why not get a Fender Rumble or Pro Neo cab?

 

I’d put 15’s in there.

Just sayin.

 

Call these guys.

https://www.usspeaker.com/eminence index-1.htm

Give them the interior dimensions. They'll offer you several options and tell you the differences. Great customer service.

 

Is it the dimensions or just the cloth and tolex/tweed which you’re after?

 

I've owned many Fender Bassman 212 cabs over the years. Originally I used them because they would fit in the trunk and were pretty easy to transport.

I had MojoTone make me a cab in the mid 90's to Fender specs. I used EV Force 12's which sounded amazing, but heavy. Fast forward to last year, fellow TB'er, @treyandres, who owns a similar MojoTone cab, suggested Eminence Neo speakers to save some weight. These are the front vented versions. Not sure if they are still available.




These speakers sound amazing and save lots of weight bringing the cab in at a svelte 45lbs.


If you're interested in the EV's, let me know. And good luck on your search!

 

The series 1 eminence neos have been discontinued for maybe 15 years.

There are new Fender Bassman style cabinets that are far better suited for bass guitar. Do you care about performance or only looks?

 

The 212 cabs from the blonde and blackface eras suffered both from inadequate drivers and from being much too small for the drivers they had. Any number of custom builders could build you a vintage-y looking cab, either as a 212 or as a 112 or 115 box; with modern drivers, it seems like that might work for your limited purposes. If it's a custom build, it could be made somewhat deeper than the original Fender cabs and still keep the vintage look.

 

Don’t assign too much value to an existing cab. We’ve come a long way in sixty years and shoehorning substitute speakers into a cab that was under designed at the outset will yield an underwhelming result. Unless you’re in a tribute band put that time and money into better performing gear.

 

I'll join in and ask: which 12" speakers would suit a 2x12 sealed cab that's roughly 140L / 5 cu. ft. of internal space? To be run with Ampeg B25 (50 watts).

 

Yes, performance & looks are the ultimate goal. I always respect & appreciate @agedhorse's technical prowess and generosity to share. Not having any of that myself I can only go by my ears the the continual compliments from my bandmates.

 

Are you asking a sincere question here, a question that you want to receive an accurate answer for, or are you simply seeking confirmation that a bad idea is good?

The size of that cabinet is simply too small for all of the drivers that I am aware of that would work well in a sealed cabinet. Nothing can change that fact.

If you were to simply remove one driver and seal off the opening, the box would better support a single suitable driver with almost no loss of performance and quite possible better low end characteristics.

As an example of a cabinet that actually performs well (an order of magnitude beyond your current cabinet) is the Rumble 112 extension cabinet, and has the vintage fender look too: