Approximating a B-15 cab with EQ: parameters?

[smatanovic]

I know that the oddities of the B-15 cab contribute to its revered tone: does anyone know the frequency response of the original cab? It may be a fool's errand, but I would like to try and play with EQ as a starting point and get as close-ish as possible.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Slevage]

I don’t think the frequency response of the cabinet is enough information to achieve the overall tone.
The low end probably starts to roll off fairly high. The high end would be more of a function of the driver.
From limited experience playing through one, more of the sound is in the amplifier.

 

[davelowell2]

From limited experience playing through one, more of the sound is in the amplifier.

Not in my experience. I think the cabinet is very colored/voiced.

Here’s what I got trying to replicate it with the RFE.

 

[agedhorse]

There is a fair amount of distortion generated by the speaker, this contributes to the flavor of this cabinet and can’t be duplicated via eq.

 

[grubdumpling]

I don't know much about the actual thing, but I have become very familiar with the Origin Effects Bassrig Fifteen, both the whole unit and the cabsim alone. I feel like @davelowell2 got the settings right, and @agedhorse might be right about the distortion, there is a significant "creaming" of the sound, haha.

 

[agedhorse]

I don't know much about the actual thing, but I have become very familiar with the Origin Effects Bassrig Fifteen, both the whole unit and the cabsim alone. I feel like @davelowell2 got the settings right, and @agedhorse might be right about the distortion, there is a significant "creaming" of the sound, haha.

The generation of the harmonics is MUCH more difficult to develop and manage.

 

[Levitamin]

I owned a vintage B-15 (early 70s?) and one of the 100 watt reissues from the early 2000s. The original is one of my favorite amps I’ve ever owned, even though it was noisy as hell and maybe 50 watts. I’ve been through a lot of amps and cabs since then. The closest I’ve come to that tone/feel is the Orange Terror Bass MKII through the matching 112 cab. The whole rig weighs less than the amp of a vintage flip top, and it’s 250 watts.

 

[smatanovic]

Not in my experience. I think the cabinet is very colored/voiced.

Here’s what I got trying to replicate it with the RFE.
View attachment 7400970

Awesome, thanks. I’m using a Linden, and will try and get as close to this.

 

[frankie5string]

Part of the flavour is the slight "parp" the speaker imparts on the attack at higher volumes. It's not a farting-out, but rather a punchy attack that's kind of midrangey. That's harder to emulate, although you could probably get close feeding into a Sansamp BDDIv.2 with the midrange running full-out and then experimenting with the gain and level controls.

 

[blastoff]

today i learned the word "parp"

 

[monsterthompson]

today i learned the word "parp"

 

[Slevage]

Not in my experience. I think the cabinet is very colored/voiced.

Here’s what I got trying to replicate it with the RFE.
View attachment 7400970

That far from a tube amp

 

[davelowell2]

That far from a tube amp

wut

 

[frankie5string]

You can soften the "feel" of a B-15 by stepping up (over?) to a B-18.

 

[Kindness]

Not in my experience. I think the cabinet is very colored/voiced.

Here’s what I got trying to replicate it with the RFE.
View attachment 7400970

I think the B15s you've played have been broken.

 

[FenderP]

You can soften the "feel" of a B-15 by stepping up (over?) to a B-18.

I owned the triumverate over the years: the SB-12, a B-15, and a B-18. You think the B-15 was heavy? lol I also owned the B-15R. To me it never sounded like a classic B-15 but it had the looks.

With a B-15 the type of cabinet (i.e. double baffle) as well as type of speaker would contribute to the sound. There's an inherent Fliptopness to all of them, but each of the variants (12, 15, 18) had their own spin. I liked them all. I don't miss the weight of them, though.

 

[davelowell2]

I think the B15s you've played have been broken.

Awesome contribution!

 

[frankie5string]

I owned the triumverate over the years: the SB-12, a B-15, and a B-18. You think the B-15 was heavy? lol I also owned the B-15R. To me it never sounded like a classic B-15 but it had the looks.

With a B-15 the type of cabinet (i.e. double baffle) as well as type of speaker would contribute to the sound. There's an inherent Fliptopness to all of them, but each of the variants (12, 15, 18) had their own spin. I liked them all. I don't miss the weight of them, though.

In most cases, just how band-passed they were (No real low-low, no real crispy highs) are what made them so useful in recording. In most cases I've seen, a direct feed of the bass was always taken too, so the track can be balanced for depth between the direct and the "narrow" sound of the B-15.
It was often about getting a midrange tone that wasn't scooped, but wasn't so punchy that it needed copious compression to sit evenly on tape.

 

[FenderP]

In most cases, just how band-passed they were (No real low-low, no real crispy highs) are what made them so useful in recording. In most cases I've seen, a direct feed of the bass was always taken too, so the track can be balanced for depth between the direct and the "narrow" sound of the B-15.
It was often about getting a midrange tone that wasn't scooped, but wasn't so punchy that it needed copious compression to sit evenly on tape.

When I recorded with them, I always had a DI as well as mic'd cab. Sometimes we just did DI and re-amped. The final product was usually a blending of both. My past two projects have been DI only.

 

[smatanovic]

This is my signal chain for approximating the B-15 sound, within the limitations of my setup:

Top row only, LA-2A —> Linden —> Valve —> Finally v.2 with HPF switched on —> Ampeg Micro CL with preamp set flat.

Is it perfect? Far from it. But to me, it sounds close-ish to the Brainwworx B-15 emulator in my Apollo, and given that I don’t have room for a 15 inch cab, I’m happy with this.