CosmicRay
Supporting Member
Me too...a Sunn 200S. But the Sunn cab may have been ported. Don't recall.Still sounded great.
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Best 15” speaker
- Thread starter geeveebee
- Start date
Not sure if this is the video mentioned earlier, but it is informative. Note: the camera has an autofocus that makes a distracting noise. You gotta try to ignore that.Would you have a link to this presentation handy? Sounds like a popcorn hour to me!!
@GeeVee
They're right, I bought a very good quality EV 15 years ago and built a cabinet from plans and it was horrible. I'm fairly good at woodworking. You really are so much better off buying a used cab. Even replacing the speaker in an existing cab is tough when the original isn't available. It takes a lot of research to find a suitable alternative.
They're right, I bought a very good quality EV 15 years ago and built a cabinet from plans and it was horrible. I'm fairly good at woodworking. You really are so much better off buying a used cab. Even replacing the speaker in an existing cab is tough when the original isn't available. It takes a lot of research to find a suitable alternative.
Gee, I wonder why?
Imagine asking an honest question and being scolded like a belligerent child by a bunch of wannabe experts following the lead of the resident "expert". Based on several other threads featuring the aforementioned, I'm actually surprised that the OP hasn't been banned and the thread closed.
Save the meandering scientific rhetoric for those who explicitly ask for it. It's just music.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,038
- 5
- 220,974
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
He wasn’t scolded, he asked a question with no good answer then complained that the comments to that effect were no good. He then became a bit rude and a moderator stepped in to cool his jets a bit.
Since he never answered the questions that were asked, which would have helped define what was needed, he got no help. That’s on him, not on any of us, including me.
Looks like he will have to go searching for the answer he wants somewhere else.
I recently put one of those onto my 1964 Ampeg B15N......the results have been 'amazing'. It was like lifting a wet blanket off the front. Clarity and definition. In the studio at lower volumes it's perfect. Roll off some treble and I hear Motown. The original square magnet CTS is fine, but lacks the definition. Never going to use anything else. If looking for higher wattage and volume, that Mesa would be sweet i'm sure.There it is ... That's the one ...
Sorry for the frustration on this site. Been there.
I have answer for you. If your back is healthy. They weigh a lot.
A 15 inch Peavey "Black Widow."
Luck with the project!
Cheers!
I have answer for you. If your back is healthy. They weigh a lot.
A 15 inch Peavey "Black Widow."
Luck with the project!
Cheers!
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,774
- 40,452
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
...and on the internet the OP will easily find self-proclaimed experts somewhere with no real knowledge who will gladly answer his question without hesitation...the problem when asking an expert for advice is that you often have to listen long enough to learn something in order to understand the questions you really needed to ask in the first place...
Bass cabs are not music. They are tools. As such, they need to be fit for purpose. I for one am glad there are experts around to produce such tools so I can make music.
After being a bass player almost 45 years and being in a band during that time with a guitar player that for a living has a business that repairs audio gear and builds/repairs guitar,bass and pa cabinets and building the band im in now pa cabs such as subs,top boxes,monitors,wiring my own crossovers etc my input was so the OP could make best out of his $ spent thru the experiences I have had.It would have been so easy for the OP to say here is what Im trying to accomplish,here is what amp use etc.If they didnt want to listen go buy a premade cab and be done.But there was a lot of valuable advice here that was ignored and considered dumb or nerdy.If you dont want advice dont ask for it.
CosmicRay
Supporting Member
Best 15" speaker? For me, the quick, easy answer is the JBL D140. Not that I have anything against old EVs or Altecs, either. As an old bass player said to me just last Sunday, "There's something almost magical about those old JBLs."
Perfect? Certainly not. They were designed and built in a time when amplifier power was expensive and high power amps hard to come by. The classic Sunn 200S amp was only 60W. So drivers were designed for high SPL, not high power handling, to get the most out of what power was available.
Modern drivers handle more power. Many do so with little loss in the SPL department. Whether or not any can capture the magic of the old drivers is another question.
Disclaimer: I do not believe in magic. Loudspeaker drivers are nothing more or less than electromechanical devices for converting electrical signals to acoustic energy. Some just do it better than others.
Perfect? Certainly not. They were designed and built in a time when amplifier power was expensive and high power amps hard to come by. The classic Sunn 200S amp was only 60W. So drivers were designed for high SPL, not high power handling, to get the most out of what power was available.
Modern drivers handle more power. Many do so with little loss in the SPL department. Whether or not any can capture the magic of the old drivers is another question.
Disclaimer: I do not believe in magic. Loudspeaker drivers are nothing more or less than electromechanical devices for converting electrical signals to acoustic energy. Some just do it better than others.
First... Full Range or sub? Select a quality brand. Jbl, electro voice, cerwin vega, gauss.. The list goes on. Find one that will play at least 30hz(open E string) on the low side. Check sound pressure level at test wattage, more dB=more efficient. Check reviews. Now the most important part. You have to build a cabinet based on the Thiele rating. Now you know the volume of the cab And the proper port area size of you want it ported. If not you need to find a speaker designed for a sealed box. If so you can star looking at cabinet designs that will give you what the math says it needs. Mucho research but this is about the adventure, right? Study cabinet build online and when you think you got what you want, build it.... I built my first 41 years ago with a JBL D140 in a box to play in jazz combo in college. Nice flat frequency response. Since it was medium /low volume I wanted clean low end good mids to capture the timbre of my 73 jazz bass. Just enough color to be heard in the mix (ambient room mix.. Stage volume.. No pa) cut through but not over power the other instruments. That situation was about layering the voicing of the instruments to blend into a balanced Tonal palette... Ensemble playing. It came out very well on a fairly small portable size. It's fun to design and build things. I've been modding basses I was about 16(1976) get old cheap basses, reshape the neck, learn how to do a proper fret job. Gut the cheap pick up for the bobbin and start winding them. It's all online. Experiment with magnets, wire Gauge, winding styles (clean perfect coil, scatter wind,) low impedence gives good lows, higher impedence boosts mids then highs. Measure the resistance with a VOM and keep notes. It's a fun, don't be afraid to experiment or shag up. Build humbuckers. One day you will build your own custom bass that you will love.. Warmoth builds the best necks. You can fabricate the rest. It's fun man. My 2¢
I started on bass in 75 after playing trombone since 4th grade. I'm still learning new things. Have fun!
Pic my latest build in progress
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First... Full Range or sub? Select a quality brand. Jbl, electro voice, cerwin vega, gauss.. The list goes on. Find one that will play at least 30hz(open E string) on the low side. Check sound pressure level at test wattage, more dB=more efficient. Check reviews. Now the most important part. You have to build a cabinet based on the Thiele rating. Now you know the volume of the cab And the proper port area size of you want it ported. If not you need to find a speaker designed for a sealed box. If so you can star looking at cabinet designs that will give you what the math says it needs. Mucho research but this is about the adventure, right? Study cabinet build online and when you think you got what you want, build it.... I built my first 41 years ago with a JBL D140 in a box to play in jazz combo in college. Nice flat frequency response. Since it was medium /low volume I wanted clean low end good mids to capture the timbre of my 73 jazz bass. Just enough color to be heard in the mix (ambient room mix.. Stage volume.. No pa) cut through but not over power the other instruments. That situation was about layering the voicing of the instruments to blend into a balanced Tonal palette... Ensemble playing. It came out very well on a fairly small portable size. It's fun to design and build things. I've been modding basses I was about 16(1976) get old cheap basses, reshape the neck, learn how to do a proper fret job. Gut the cheap pick up for the bobbin and start winding them. It's all online. Experiment with magnets, wire Gauge, winding styles (clean perfect coil, scatter wind,) low impedence gives good lows, higher impedence boosts mids then highs. Measure the resistance with a VOM and keep notes. It's a fun, don't be afraid to experiment or shag up. Build humbuckers. One day you will build your own custom bass that you will love.. Warmoth builds the best necks. You can fabricate the rest. It's fun man. My 2¢
I started on bass in 75 after playing trombone since 4th grade. I'm still learning new things. Have fun!
Pic my latest build in progress
I started on bass in 75 after playing trombone since 4th grade. I'm still learning new things. Have fun!
Pic my latest build in progress
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,038
- 5
- 220,974
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
It's a bit tough to select a "quality brand" from manufacturers that haven't made products suitable for bass guitar in DECADES. All 4 of the brands mentioned above have not manufactured or sold bass guitar drivers in over 20 years, Gauss has been gone entirely for over 30 years, Cerwin Vega, JBL and EV got out of the MI driver industry between 20 and 30 years ago.
Yes, details matter including choosing suitable AND AVAILABLE drivers.
Yes, details matter including choosing suitable AND AVAILABLE drivers.
