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[Ampeg B15R] Following Jess Oliver's advice...

#41
I'm going to go against the grain here on a couple points (surprise, surprise :) ). IMO, the method in which a double baffle is ported IS important in it sounding different than other ported cabs. The air is directed out the same hole as the speaker and when you put a mic up there, more air is hitting the diaphragm of the mic making a double baffle B15 sound very punchy in a mix... not unlike when you mic a kick drum. And speaking of the kick drum, the frequency a double baffle is tuned to seems to lock in PERFECTLY with the kick drum in a mix. In a room, the method of porting doesn't matter as much, but IMO, in front of a mic - it does. Also, I'd try a different mic than a Sennheiser 421. I love the 421... just not my favorite mic on a B15. I would use the RE-20 over the 421.(at least this applies to a double baffle, no personal experience miking a B15R).

That being said, I'd leave the B15R as is. If you REALLY think you'd benefit from a double baffle, look for an orphaned cab. That way you can have both on hand... Plus, when you DO have the odd 5 string come through, you'll probably prefer that sealed B15R cab to a double baffle.
 
#43
Well, at the risk of further muddying the waters... :cool:

Delving deeper into this fascinating topic (via the expansive & helpful Talkbass archives), I found this thread:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/ampeg-b15r-flip-top-105685/index2.html

...where Talkbass user Lucena1 reports having spoken to Mr. Oliver himself about replacement speakers for the Ampeg B15R:

I am in the process of changing the speaker on my new B15R. I think that the factory speaker stinks. It can't handle My AEB 1 Ampeg bass. I have to turn off the tweeter also. I put in and old EV L15 and it handles my sound better. I am in the process of re-enforceing the front panel that holds the speaker because the EV is heavy and I am afraid that the factory screws won't hold it in place. I am also changing the screws that hold the speaker in place because the factory design wont hold the heavier speaker. I spoke to Jess Oliver and he told me that the amp will perform much better If I change the speaker. The EV 15L will be in there untill I receive my new Eminence Kilomax Pro 15A- 15" speaker that I just purchased on E-Bay. When I am done the modifications I will post them with Pics. Then tell you how it's working.
Click to expand...

True to his word, Lucena1 follows-up with this post:

Jess Oliver recommended any speaker that had much more wattage than the factory speaker that came in the Ampeg B 15R. Even with the EV 15L speaker, that I installed I still was not happy with the sound. Now, that I have installed the Eminence Kilomax 15A it's made a great difference. It can handle anything bass that I plug in. From my Fender Precision, Ampeg 1970 Dan Armstrong, Ampeg AEB scroll, AMB1 and my Ampeg Baby Bass. Now, my B15R is perfect. I have been offered $2,000.00 for it and I will not give it up. It's the ultimate amp.
Click to expand...

So the take home here appears to be someone had a great experience swapping in a good quality, higher wattage speaker into their B15R (and that this advice, apparently, had Jess Oliver's blessing). No mention of 4 ohm vs. 8 ohm, but our current thread has convinced me that 4 ohm is not necessary with the B15R (especially for my moderate volume, recording-only purposes).

Will still start by swapping in the EL34's though! Much cheaper, and I'm further intrigued by Justin Meldal-Johnsen's comment from this circa-2005 thread...

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/great-set-tubes-b-15r-209656/

...where Justin mentions that the recommendation to try EL34 tubes came from a designer at Ampeg:

Anyway, I have this B-15R that I use for every record I've ever done for the past 6 or 7 years, and it's a dream. It originally had stock 6L6's for about a year, then the designer Obeid Khan at Ampeg told me to go with EL34's..... <snip> I really noticed a cooler tone after that, much more "alive" sounding and a bit more output.
Click to expand...

"Paper Tiger"-tone fans take note... EL34's appear to have been installed for that! :bassist:

/Research mode off

And happy Fourth everyone! (for players in the States that is!)
 
#44
The stock speaker is definitely outclassed by the head.

It is good enough for studio use - but it could be pushed beyond it's limits by the amp at a loud gig.

Lucena is a friend of mine and I know he plays Latin music and prefers a low thumpy bass tone that vintage Ampeg basses like the Baby bass and the AEB-1 excell at. The original speaker cannot handle that tone as well as a quality upgrade.

I also have had high powered upgrade speakers in my B15R when I was playing in louder bands then I am now. For me - it just gave me piece of mind when cranking the knobs at a gig - I no longer had to worry about speaker failure (although I have never blown an original).

Right now I have Eminence Beta 15a's installed in my B15R & B15E. They sound very good tone-wise in these cabs and they are rated to handle twice the wattage of the stock Eminence. They are also light and relatively cheap (their is a seller on Ebay that will ship you a new one for $70).
 
#45
No kidding? You'd think in the 90's, they'd have used a higher power handling speaker. I'll have to remember that.

Anyway, Beta and Delta 15a are great replacements.
 
#48
Around 2003 - 2005 I had my B15R/B15E loaded loaded with Eminence Omega Pro's (800 watts RMS each).

I played in louder bands back then - and most of the time the 15R cut it - I just had to crank those knobs. I also own a '70's V4 - and although they are similarly powered - the V4 seems to reach full volume at about half way on the dial - while the taper of the B15R's pots allow you to turn up all the way with out too much distortion.

Some gigs I would bring my SVT-2 with the R cabs (I had built a rack case for it covered with Blue Check tolex). I remember one outdoor gig that was very hot - I went and stood by my speaker cabs and the air those two 15's was pushing was like stepping in front of a fan.

I also had ported the cabs with spacers between the baffle and the front frame - I wish I could remember if that made any difference.

I wore out that rack for the SVT-2 and since forgot about it - I may have to make another.
 
#50
Stu, just took a look at my speaker and can't find any identifying marks at all, aside from what looks like a serial number on the paper cone.

So I don't know. Actually, the lack of brand name or any identifying marks is making me wonder if I have some sort of after-market speaker in mine (I bought the amp used). Hmmm....
 
#53
The sens. spec would likely have to be pretty high since it's a sealed cab the size of a B-15 cab or slightly bigger, right? Looked up the manual and tried to find the sens. spec and it's not on there. But what I DID find on there was a spec that said the crossover was at 3k...why oh why??? Throw a Delta in there, rip out the tweeter and crossover (actually gently remove it from the circuit), and get ready to rip.
 
#55
Just disconnect it and put electrical tape on the bare parts and hook up the speaker directly to the jack. Not that I mind tweeters (OK, I do mind them but whatever), but cross them over at 4k at least.

Also, if you don't want to buy a new speaker, try the stocker and see if you get more high end out of it with the tweet out of the circuit. Might work.
 
#57
Yep, because the crossover is at 3k and I'm not a fan of that much of a high cut. I prefer 4k, and most Ampeg 15" speakers will do 4k if there's no tweeter/crossover in the circuit. Actually, most Ampeg cabs with tweeters cross over at 4k. This one is one of the very few I've seen at 3k. Nobody buys B-15's for their tweeters, so I don't get why they did that, but I guess they were trying to keep with the times with that one.
 
#58
bludog, the issue is that the way it's setup, if you just turn off the tweeter, everything above 3kHz will be getting cut off.

The only way to get full range sound to the 15" driver is to take the crossover that's inside the cabinet out of the circuit. I.e. as Jimmy said, wire the 15" driver directly to the jack.
 
#60
Triboost said:
So how do you remove the crossover from the circuit on these cabs? I just unplugged the two leads from the crossover's wire connectors when I disconnected my crossover... is there more to it than that?
Click to expand...

Okay, I just had a good look inside mine.

1) My speaker has a blue diamond-shaped sticker right on the back that says Ampeg on it. And it has a sticker on the frame of the driver with the part #.

2) To remove the tweeter properly, means, as Jimmy said, connecting the input jack directly to the driver. Unfortunately, that's not as easy as we'd like it to be.

The input jacks (there are 2) are soldered directly to the PCB that contains the crossover circuit.

So, to do the job right, including ensuring it's 100% reversible, one would have to remove the whole crossover assembly, including the 2 input jacks and the wires that go to the woofer and tweeter. Then, install a new input jack into one of the holes left behind. Ideally, install 2, and wire them in parallel. And then connect the new input jack directly to the woofer driver.

Removing the crossover assembly LOOKS like it's just 4 Phillips head screws and the 2 nuts that secure the input jacks. So, taking it out should be pretty easy. Wiring in 2 new ones in parallel should just be a few bucks in parts and a few minutes of soldering.

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