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Ampeg BA115, but louder?

#21
Lobster11 said:
I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but if the 1x15 combo isn't loud enough for your purposes, I'm not sure that pumping more wattage into a single 15 is going to be either. Sure, it'll be a little louder, but you can only get so much sound out of a single 15" speaker; that's your main limiting factor. I would think in terms of a pair of 1x15s or 2x10s, or possibly a pair of 1x12s.

Also, I don't understand why you've made up your mind that you want 15s and not 10s: There is no particular kind of sound that 15s make in general or that 10s make in general. Find a cab you like of either configuration and get two of them.

FWIW, the ideal rig to me is a pair of 2x10s in a tall stack, which not only is plenty loud but has many other advantages -- such as having some speakers up closer to your ears so you can hear yourself, and excellent horizontal dispersion across the room.
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I can't believe it took this far into the thread to get to a voice of reason.

You aren't going to get a ton more volume from another 1-15. Period.

Watt ratings of cabs and even watt ratings of heads will not get you there. A single 15 can't handle all 500 ways anyway so more watts is not the solution.

You need more speaker surface area and better dispersion of your sound.

Two stacked 210 cabs is a great idea. It's modular so you can use only one for smaller gigs and home practice. It's easy to load in because most 210 cabs can be carried one in each hand. Get yourself a collapsible cart and you can throw your head and bass on there too.

But staying with one 15" speaker and expecting it to cover an entire room.... when your other single 15 couldn't..... is a recipe for disappointment.

Short version. You can pump a thousand watts into another 15. The only thi g that'll get you is a blown speaker. You need MORE speaker, not a different speaker.
 
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#22
Lobster11 said:
I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but if the 1x15 combo isn't loud enough for your purposes, I'm not sure that pumping more wattage into a single 15 is going to be either. Sure, it'll be a little louder, but you can only get so much sound out of a single 15" speaker; that's your main limiting factor. I would think in terms of a pair of 1x15s or 2x10s, or possibly a pair of 1x12s.
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The BA115 I have is rated at 100w max with a 150w speaker. The svt cab is rated at 200w RMS and can supposedly handle up to 400w. The pf 500 can power 250w @ 8ohms. That should be enough. I am not worried about the head being loud enough if you read my posts.

To be clear: I am not looking for a drastic increase in volume capability. I want to be able to gig at a similar, but slightly increased volume level without choking out/maxing the power amp section of my rig. 1x15 is fine for my needs, I just needed a slightly more powerful amp and perhaps a more efficient speaker.

Lobster11 said:
Also, I don't understand why you've made up your mind that you want 15s and not 10s: There is no particular kind of sound that 15s make in general or that 10s make in general.
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I disagree. They sound distinctly different to me. I have tried and indeed owned both, and prefer 15s. I mentioned this in an earlier post. If it came to it, I could get another 15" cab, or a 2x15, I just think it will probably be more than what I need.

Lobster11 said:
FWIW, the ideal rig to me is a pair of 2x10s in a tall stack, which not only is plenty loud but has many other advantages -- such as having some speakers up closer to your ears so you can hear yourself, and excellent horizontal dispersion across the room.
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Not an issue. I have an old meat crate I can stack my amp/cab on to help with that sort of thing and de-couple my amp from the floor or stage.
 
#23
two fingers said:
You aren't going to get a ton more volume from another 1-15. Period.

Watt ratings of cabs and even watt ratings of heads will not get you there. A single 15 can't handle all 500 ways anyway so more watts is not the solution.
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Who said anything about a ton more volume? Who said anything about 500watts? (assuming that was a typo)

I'm using the amp at 8ohms, not 4. 250w is still going to be louder than 100w when sent to a speaker that can put out 200w, right?

I have tried the amp and the volume is no longer an issue. Neither is the type of cab anymore. Perhaps I should have waited longer before starting this thread, but my only question now is what type of 8ohm 15" speaker to put in my cab in order to get a tone I am happy with.


two fingers said:
But staying with one 15" speaker and expecting it to cover an entire room.... when your other single 15 couldn't..... is a recipe for disappointment.

Short version. You can pump a thousand watts into another 15. The only thi g that'll get you is a blown speaker. You need MORE speaker, not a different speaker.
Click to expand...

Not looking for the kind of volume increase you seem to think I am after. At this point I am just looking for a speaker that sounds better than the Chinese made Eminence speaker in my cab. I get that these threads can be long and involved, but...
 
#24
Gideon K said:
Who said anything about a ton more volume? Who said anything about 500watts? (assuming that was a typo)

I'm using the amp at 8ohms, not 4. 250w is still going to be louder than 100w when sent to a speaker that can put out 200w, right?

I have tried the amp and the volume is no longer an issue. Neither is the type of cab anymore. Perhaps I should have waited longer before starting this thread, but my only question now is what type of 8ohm 15" speaker to put in my cab in order to get a tone I am happy with.




Not looking for the kind of volume increase you seem to think I am after. At this point I am just looking for a speaker that sounds better than the Chinese made Eminence speaker in my cab. I get that these threads can be long and involved, but...
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My apologies. You said that you wanted to he able to cover a room without PA support. Unless you are playing tiny pubs, you won't get that kind of volume from a single 15 cab.
 
#25
Nah it's fine. I should have been clearer. I meant small rooms. Basically to project the same coverage and volume as a loud (but un-mic'd) drummer, and similarly loud guitarist(s) with 15-30w tube combos.

It's not a massive scaling up, but the BA115 usually has the master on max, and the input much higher than I would want for optimal tone. I end up pushing the eq more too and then it's a trade-off between being heard and having an ugly bass tone.

I should probably move on to a different thread about 15" speakers at this point.
 
#26
In your OP you said that your BA115...
Gideon K said:
is not loud enough to gig with unless in conjunction with a PA, or used for quiet acoustic shows.

I figured it was and is time to get a louder bass rig together that can keep up with loud drummers and tube guitar amps. Not looking for a massive rock god stack, but I figured a 1x15 cab of good quality and a 200-300w solid state head to match.
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I'm just suggesting that the increase in volume you'll get out of the solution you're considering might not be as much as you're expecting, nor enough to get you over the threshold of being "loud enough to gig with." I might be wrong, of course, but if you're wrong you will have spent a bunch of dough on a new rig that still isn't adequate. What would you do then? I just think it would be prudent, if you're going to build a new rig, to get something that will clearly be enough, with the idea that having a little more than you need is better than having a little less than you need.

(Agreed that we should save the argument about whether 10s sound different from 15s for one of the many other threads in which this is regularly debated.)
 
#28
Lobster11 said:
In your OP you said that your BA115...

I'm just suggesting that the increase in volume you'll get out of the solution you're considering might not be as much as you're expecting, nor enough to get you over the threshold of being "loud enough to gig with." I might be wrong, of course, but if you're wrong you will have spent a bunch of dough on a new rig that still isn't adequate. What would you do then? I just think it would be prudent, if you're going to build a new rig, to get something that will clearly be enough, with the idea that having a little more than you need is better than having a little less than you need.
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I hear you, and you make valid points. I don't have too much worry in the matter because

- If my new (used) rig IS just loud enough to meet the needs and demands I laid out, then it's fine.

- If it still isn't quite loud enough, then I either buy another 1x15 to use in conjunction, as the pf500 can handle this, or sell my cab and buy a 2x15.

My initial diagnosis of the issue was wrong. I thought it was the head that didn't have the tone, but it's a great sounding amp. I just need to find suitable speakers for the tone I want.
 
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#30
tjh said:
.. here you go … I thought this had been discussed on here before, so did a quick search … this old thread might be of interest for you

Ampeg SVT-115E Speakers? *Ampeg Insider*
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Thank you very much. I have been searching and googling threads on this subject but hadn't seen that one.

The speaker they recommend, the 86-511-08 8 ohm one, when I searched for images has the same red labelling on the back as the one I have that sounds garbage. Unless I am mistaken somehow.
 
#31
Gideon K said:
Thank you very much. I have been searching and googling threads on this subject but hadn't seen that one.

The speaker they recommend, the 86-511-08 8 ohm one, when I searched for images has the same red labelling on the back as the one I have that sounds garbage. Unless I am mistaken somehow.
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… I didn't read the link thoroughly, but I took it to mean that they were identifying what was the stock speaker for that cab (several posts back it came up to identify the stock speaker in case it had been replaced) … also, is there any working issue (function) with the speaker you have in there currently, that hasn't been established … I saw there was a recommendation for a Delta driver as a replacement in that link... also, as I suggested before, lots of knowledge here, but have you spoke with Ampeg ? …
 
#32
Gideon K said:
Yes and no. Depends on the type of amp and type of eq. With most decent sounding amps on flat, the basic sound is there, it just needs tweaking. That goes for mesa guitar amps that really need tweaking. I've owned good amps that sound fine flat, and ones that don't. Sold all the ones that didn't.

In this case, with the bass amps that I own, BOTH sounded fine and usable with everything at noon, depending on which of the two speakers they were plugged into. I got a sound for each amp that was better through tweaking, but it should still sound good flat.
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Suit yourself. I consider it a giant waste of money to buy a new amp when all you need to do is twist a knob, but OK.
 
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#34
I understand what GideonK is getting at about with the BA115 not being that great as a gigging amp at least with a medium loud bar type band . I did a benefit this summer with a BA115 as the bass amp in a smaller bar . I love Ampegs and this one worked with my loud band but was pretty much straining to keep up , distorting with not to bad a sound but right on the edge . It sounded like a bigger version of my BA108 practice amp . I could hear what I was playing but was glad the DI was going through the mains .
I have played through quite a few amps with 1-15" speakers with just a little more power that would be a better choice . In fact the owner of the amp gigs a lot and is looking to upgrade too . The direction the OP is taking is the right one as far as I'm concerned , the PF500 is the perfect upgrade , he just has to straighten out his speaker problem as far as tone . I'm really with Jimmy as far as trying to EQ it but from what I experienced with the BA115 he is much closer than he was .
 
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#35
MattZilla said:
Srekaeps ezis emas owt neewteb ecnereffid dnuos citsard fo ecaf eht ni ytlayol ezis rekaeps


Esuac tsol yloh
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That did make me giggle, although 'wholly', not 'holy, right? There is no spiritual element to it.

Both speakers sound drastically different, and yet neither of them sound like any 10 inch speaker I've ever heard or played through. Give it a rest. This was not a thread asking for a debate on the merits of speaker arrays.
 
#36
JimmyM said:
Suit yourself. I consider it a giant waste of money to buy a new amp when all you need to do is twist a knob, but OK.
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...Not if you sell the old one without making a loss.

I don't know if you're purposefully misreading me, so benefit of the doubt - I'm not in the least bit averse to knob-tweaking. Some amps just sound great the moment you plug in, and some require you to tweak for a long time to try and get a usable tone out of them and some just plain suck.

I mentioned the knobs at noon settings for comparison - one similar amp had plenty of bass in that scenario and the other didn't, but it wasn't the amp so much as the speaker that was lacking in bass response.
 
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#38
Apologies if these have been suggested and I missed them:

- BA 115 HP Is 220W!
https://ampeg.com/products/original/bassamp/ba115hp/
-have you tried the BA115 v2? Same 15" but with 150w
-consider a daisy chain? Keep the BA115 you like and have a slave amp of the same generation in 8", 10", 12" or even a 2nd 15"

Gideon K said:
Some amps just sound great the moment you plug in, and some require you to tweak for a long time
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This I totally get. I feel this way about rumble v3 amps. I used to be an ampeg guy (still have one in the rehearsal room) but the rumble has been consistently a no-fuss, proven performer for gigs
 
#39
Gideon K said:
...Not if you sell the old one without making a loss.
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:D

I don't know if you're purposefully misreading me, so benefit of the doubt - I'm not in the least bit averse to knob-tweaking. Some amps just sound great the moment you plug in, and some require you to tweak for a long time to try and get a usable tone out of them and some just plain suck.

I mentioned the knobs at noon settings for comparison - one similar amp had plenty of bass in that scenario and the other didn't, but it wasn't the amp so much as the speaker that was lacking in bass response.
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OK...well for some reason I took it as dissatisfaction with the amp because of its at-noon sound, and there's too many bass players who think EQ knobs only have one position :D
 
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