advice on LDS cab build

I'd go with the Faitals. They get alot of love.

 

Whatever you do be sure you use an 8 ohm load with that amp if you want full performance. It's an Ed Jahns design BTW. He also did the 400-PS and many other Fenders of that era, as well as much of the actual nuts and bolts design of several of the Rivera Era amps of the mid 80s.

 

Another +1 for the Faitals. I had that 15 in a Bassic and it had a superb old school sound.
I think you'd also love that under your Walkabout.

 

I played my Bassman 100 through my G&K Neo 1X15s and the tone was to die for !! Old school sounds great through new tech !!! go for efficiency......

 

I had Don build me a 215, vertical cab that was designed for two JBL K140's, out of lightweight plywood, with removable casters. I don't know about the 8 ohm thing, Charlie knows more about that stuff than me, but I played a MusicMan HD 150 with that cab and it was glorious ( 4 ohm load ). The K140's weigh about 15 lbs, and with the vertical design, it's really not that hard of a schlep, if you have a hatch back type vehicle; basic roll and tip in type of load. Going upstairs, yeah a pain in the butt, but most of my gigs were pretty much roll it in and turn it on. Those old JBL 15's, especially the K140's have that wonderful, sweet warm tone for tube heads. I have read that the Faital is similar, but have'nt heard one in person. Good luck !

 

I have the Faital in my Bassic15 and I love it. Lots of range. The highs are magnificent. I've never like tweeters and this speaker doesn't need one.

 

+1 The LDS 15's using that Faital are simply wonderful (as I'm sure the very similar Bassic15 is also!). The 3015HO loaded boxes are very good also, and in the same 'punchy, warm and 'paper cone bright' up top. Really nice small cab designs.

Not sure about the ability (per the post above) to do a 2 x 15 cab at 8ohm impedance with those drivers though. Not sure, but might only be available 'off the shelf' in 8ohm configuration. The OP would need either 4ohm or 16ohm drivers to optimally work with his '8ohm optimal' tube head, if I'm understanding Charlie's post correctly.

 

I have only worked on one of these, which came in in very rough shape. The owner made me keep to a tight budget and frankly I never was all that happy with the results. My recollection is that it made around 120 watts into 4 ohms, and 165-180 at 8 depending on what I considered to be acceptable distortion, and also how my line voltage was doing on a particular day. The rating on the schematic says 180 watts at 8 ohms FWIW.

I also had quite the adventure with one Super Twin Reverb combo, used for guitar. The was upwards of twenty years ago and I've done my best to erase all memory of the ordeal. I'm sure that one would've made a great bass amp with a different cab though.

John K and I have discussed this in the past and I will happily defer to his much greater experience with these amps. You can rarely go wrong sticking with the factory specified load though, assuming the amp is up to stock spec.

Best of luck, and have fun.

 

The Faital PR400 comes in 4 or 8 ohm.I had Don build me a 4 Ohm 15/6/1 and it turned out perfect !!!

 

There are aftermarket 16 ohm D140 recone kits out there, not sure about Ks or JBL factory kits though. I always preferred my E145s over any Ds or Ks, but many feel otherwise, especially those not shooting for dead clean. I'd probably just get the Faitals.

 

Cool. That would work well for the OP for an old school sounding lightweight 215 8ohm cab. Two 4ohm Faitals in series... done!

 

Both the 3015s & 15PR400s are tremendous. Some prefer one, some the other. But the U.S. Speaker site shows the Eminence in 8 ohm only. If you really need an 8 ohm 215, though, then the Faital is the choice.

http://www.usspeaker.com/Kappa Lite-3015-1.htm

http://www.usspeaker.com/faital pro 15PR400-1.htm

 

subscribed... interested to see what you come up with. Especially interested in the whole wide - 26" wide piece. You don't see many cabs that wide,,, especially these days. It's all 24" wide for use with modern tube amps / led sled amps,, and 19" or smaller for more modern cabs for use with Class D.

I have a couple old tube amps that are 26" wide, and have often thought about having a cab made,,, but what configuration for a 26" wide cab?

Are you going to have your new cab styled to match the fender head?

 

When Don lived in my neck of the woods, he used to own a Fender Studio Bass combo. Maybe talk to him and see if he can match the build, if you want an exact copy. BTW, Don plays bass and is very familiar with this rig.

 

It has been a while since I've talked with Don, but I remember him kind of 'collecting' these things. I think he has at least a couple.

 

I think fender amps (and a lot of old tube amps) pair up nicely with a cab that is strong in the mids and tight in the bottom.

You like it with the CN212? To me, that cab has a nice low end that is tight, controlled, and punchy, and had a really nice strong mid voice, and smooth top. I did A LOT of gigs with a Bassman 100 and I really liked it with an Aguilar DB212 - similar to the CN cab, nice strong mids, etc... To my ear the CN has a little tighter bottom, and is more low mid voiced, where the Aguilar is more mid mid voiced. I played the Bassman with a pair of Ashdown compact 15s and it was not a good match. Those cabs did not go very high, and had a big bottom. The low end was a little out of control. Too much bloom on the low E string and weak in the mids. I played it on a couple gigs with a sealed NV412, and it was awesome - again, tight bottom, punchy, nice strong mid voice.

I wouldn't be afraid of a sealed box, but that will limit your choice of drivers. Talk to Don about it. He can maybe do a ported box that has a nice tight low end, similar to a sealed box.