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2x15

#41
daveman50 said:
Personally, if I was going there, I'd look at the Mesa Subway 215. Only 60 lbs, rated for 800 watts at 8 ohms, which is a great improvement over the 215's of yore. I have (and still use) an early 70's Sunn 215S which is way heavier than that (160 watts at 4 ohms, so really not a good comparison, but it is loud AF).

Having two 115's of course is a more flexible setup as well as easier to move. I doubt there's an appreciable difference in real-world sound if using 2 identical 115s.
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I prefer having multiple cabs as opposed to one big one. There will be times where you only need 1. Why take 2?
 
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#44
A pair of fEARful 15/6/1 or a single 15/6/1 with a 15 sub are nice. However, a single cab on tilt back wheels is easier to move.

Here is a rig of mine. 15/6/1 + 15sub. Note the hand truck lurking in the background of the photo below. :roflmao:

fEARfuls%201%20smaller.jpg
 
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#45
johnson79 said:
If you can find one of the old Mesa 215's buy it. They're incredible.
View attachment 3776227
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I saw one of these for dirt cheap and in great shape at a GC. It might even still be there. I am assuming that is the Diesel model. There were some issues with the head I was using with it, but I was able to get a good sense of the cab. It sounded pretty solidly mid-centric which didn't bother me at all. It was also one of the few 215's I've been able to find that worked with fast picking. Most of them just seem to slow to respond to me.

I then attempted to get a sense of the weight and couldn't do it. I'd need someone to help me bring it up and down stairs every time I had to transport it. It was easily over 125 pounds or more. That being said, it sounded great and was ridiculously cheap for how good it sounded.
 
#47
arbiterusa said:
Ignoring that refrigerator of a cab (which probably sounds awesome): That SWR head looks like an old SS-180 but I don't think it is. Control layout same as an SM-400. Plus modded quite a bit. Gimme the story! I'm all about the SWR.
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It is an early SM-400 which was heavily modified by the original owner. He was really big into flat signal response for one thing. I'd have to dig out the literature that he provided with it for a full report but it does have toggle switches all over the place and he was working with an electrical engineer at length.
 
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#48
Bass Boy J said:
hello
I was wondering what the best 2x15 cabinet on the market is. Or would a 1x15 stacked on top of another 1x15 get the same sound as a 2x15.
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215 cabs sound great but you need to stand a good distance away to hear it right, if your stage is big they are nice providing you like the big round tone, they are not tight like a 410. for blues country and old rock they work great.
Ive had many, the old markbass cabs the yellow coned ones are really nice and not heavy, for single cabs look for a bag end cab they are cheap in the used market and are fantastic.
 
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#50
Always been a fan of 15's. They have a weight to the note that 10s and 12s don't IMO.

I used to own 2 Subway 15s, but to answer your question the SW215 is more manageable to me and sounds the same as a pair. But only 60lbs and it has built in tilt-back wheels a built-in handle and slide rails!

The BE and the SW are pretty articulate for me. Here's a few options I have.

IMG_3044.JPG


And for rehearsal...

IMG_0440.JPG


Now this is just plain crazy, but I had to try it and I've got the time.

IMG_2996.JPG
 
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#52
I have several 2x15's, and I really like the configuration. Of the currently produced models, it's hard to go wrong with the Mesa/Boogie SW215. What a great cab!

And YMMV, but I have found that a 2x15 does sound a little different from two 1x15's, a 2x12 sounds a little different from two 1x12's, and so forth. Even after accounting for turning off redundant tweeters, etc. The extent to which they sound different varies a bit from cab to cab, depending on the tuning/design/etc. IME/IMHO, I generally hear differences in a more focused tone, versus a more open tone, and usually some subtle differences in the peaks/valleys in the midrange.
 
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#56
Bass Boy J said:
hello
I was wondering what the best 2x15 cabinet on the market is. Or would a 1x15 stacked on top of another 1x15 get the same sound as a 2x15.
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I have 2 cabs with 15 inch , one cab with 2 10 inch woofers, one cab with 4 10 inch woofers. You can do a setup with one 15 inch cab or 15 inch cab with two 10 inch,or 2 cabs with 15 inch woofers and one cab with 2 or 4 ten inch woofers(A KILLER SETUP) or just one cab with 2 or 4 ten inch woofers.as you can see with 4 cabs I can cover small to very large gigs.For outside large gigs I can use two amps set up in stereo using one 15inch cab with 4 ten cab and one 15 inch with 2 ten cab. If you go with the 2 cabs with 15 inch woofers you can just add a cab with 2 ten and cover almost any gig.
 
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#57
Al Kraft said:
In terms of a great 115 or 215 cab, the Mesa SW's are very impressive in every area from quality of build to performance. I own a SW115 and consider it to be the best single 15" loaded cab I've come across in over 42 years of bass playing.
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Complete agreement. I'm a 15 guy from the very start, but I've had lots and lots of different configs. The SW115 times two is the best I've ever had.

seamonkey said:
12's are the new 15's
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Not by a longshot. I even went to Barefaced and tried one of their Big Twins right in their shop. Wonderful people, wonderful cab. But not SW 2 x 115 by even a little. The Barefaced does have resemblance to a 215, but the SW 115s together will go so deep as to sound like you have a sub. No 212 rig can do that. I had a SW112 and it's just very light in the low end. Same for the Barefaced.

In downsizing my rig, I really wanted to go to 12s, but they couldn't get as low as I wanted. If it's 15s you want, nothing else will do.
 
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#59
daveman50 said:
Personally, if I was going there, I'd look at the Mesa Subway 215. Only 60 lbs, rated for 800 watts at 8 ohms, which is a great improvement over the 215's of yore. I have (and still use) an early 70's Sunn 215S which is way heavier than that (160 watts at 4 ohms, so really not a good comparison, but it is loud AF).

Having two 115's of course is a more flexible setup as well as easier to move. I doubt there's an appreciable difference in real-world sound if using 2 identical 115s.
Click to expand...

What I can say for sure is that for example Ampeg SVT410 x2 and SVT810 don't in fact sound the same.

Additionally I would say, you will probably never hear the difference if you are just playing on one of those but will notice it when you play them side by side.
 
#60
The only 2x15" cab I would consider owning would be the Mesa Subway 215, but I'd rather have a 2x12" 20:1. They're also a lot more common and portable, and sonically pretty much exactly like the old 2x15"s that everyone got used to and wants to replicate. At any rate, 12" or 15", I would go with two single-driver cabinets (one of each?) or a single 12"/15" and a 2x10" for versatility.

Tweeters aren't important to me personally, as I disable/disconnect them in all my combos/cabinets, so I can't offer any insight there. Any well-made cabinet with a decent 12" or 15" driver will make sounds you're going to like. Pay closer attention to things like size/weight, and if you can buy USA-made you won't have to wonder whether they're any good.
 
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