BFM Jack Lite

[SubNoizeRat3691]

I have 2 Jack 15 cabs, not the lites, but they have the same output. They are both loaded with the 3015s and both have the full 20 element melded piezo arrays... They are amazing cabs! They are super loud, no matter what amp I'm using, and there is plenty of low end.
I use a 71(72?) Ampeg V4B mostly, and the sound is pretty pleasing. But with the tube head I tend to favor an old Yamaha 215 I've had forever.
The opposite is true for the Yorkville Bassmaster head, I've never heard a better pair, that amp and the Jacks play very well together!
I would +1 the idea of 2 separate cabs, ease of transport, and overall convenience.

 

[SubNoizeRat3691]

The chart the Bill has shows only the 2515 speaker. Wouldn't a different speaker like a 3015 or PR400 change things? I know that my 606's sound completely different when switching between 3015,PR400 and 15A speakers.

The 2515 and the 3015 have basically the same response in that cab, the 3015 just has more power handling iirc. I asked this same question on the BFM forum some time ago.

"Remember, it's rarely the driver that changes response in the cab, it's the design that dictates response."

That's the answer I was given.

 

[SubNoizeRat3691]

Jack-lite is state of the art for high efficiency designs.
Another good combination would be a Jack Lite top with a Titan sub.
Take just the jack on smaller gigs, bring the titan and jack for bigger gigs.

Add the line array tweeters to the jack and with the titans you have yourself a stack that matches top of the line FOH systems.
Can't go wrong with such a high quality high output stack.

I have a pair of Titan 48 subs as well, but I have not yet paired them with the jacks (for a bass rig). I can only imagine the ridiculous output and clarity! Truely a rig of doom!

 

[iualum]

I have a pair of Titan 48 subs as well, but I have not yet paired them with the jacks (for a bass rig). I can only imagine the ridiculous output and clarity! Truely a rig of doom!

A doom rig even among serious doom rigs . Truly unimaginable wrath on tap .

 

[Jools4001]

I have 2 Jack 15 cabs, not the lites, but they have the same output. They are both loaded with the 3015s and both have the full 20 element melded piezo arrays... They are amazing cabs! They are super loud, no matter what amp I'm using, and there is plenty of low end.
I use a 71(72?) Ampeg V4B mostly, and the sound is pretty pleasing. But with the tube head I tend to favor an old Yamaha 215 I've had forever.
The opposite is true for the Yorkville Bassmaster head, I've never heard a better pair, that amp and the Jacks play very well together!
I would +1 the idea of 2 separate cabs, ease of transport, and overall convenience.

Hmmm...makes me reconsider the double sized TL606 plan I had for the two Faital Pros I have waiting for a home.

I have all of the BFM plans and have built four of his cabs so far (two Jack 12 Lites and a couple of wedgehorn monitors). I think I might revisit the Jack 15 plans again...probably do the standard ones rather than the Lites, just for the relative simplicity of the build....the Lites are great when you've built them but do take a chunk more effort.

 

[hdracer]

Don't know what's better but here's a pretty detailed build description on something very similar to a dually.

Custom DIY 2x15 cab build | TalkBass.com

The JohnK 2x15 build Nutdog referenced above is what I would have done as soon as John posted it if I'd have had a pair of good 15s laying around. A high power lightweight 215 is still a dream of mine ever since I got rid of a custom one off I had years ago.

I followed that thread while he was writing it and have had it bookmarked and go back to it often.
I have a couple other 215 build threads bookmarked too.
The problem with that thread and the others is that it is a mess to sift through all the changes they made during and after the build.
The ports get changed (and the new specs not given), bracing gets changed but no details given as to what or how they changed it. I went through the thread and copy & pasted pertinent info into a word document so I could shuffle around and delete parts that got changed. What I ended up with was a bunch of useless information (other than that he built a cab that he loves) and no solid details of the final build.

 

[hdracer]

I appreciate the information given.
What I take from it is,
Cons- loss of low end bass
Pros- increased volume and increased mids.
My one complaint about the 100T is to much bass and lack of mids.

 

[HaphAsSard]

I appreciate the information given.
What I take from it is,
Cons- loss of low end bass
Pros- increased volume and increased mids.
My one complaint about the 100T is to much bass and lack of mids.

If I've understood correctly, the BFM design will have leaner bass relative to the mids which are going to be huge, thus requiring corrective eq every time you don't need the mid boost and prefer flatter overall response (you will be stuck with a larger/heavier box than a direct radiator one so you need to decide if it's worth it, for your average needs, beforehand); OTOH bass per se will be comparable to any other ported box with similar porting frequency (EDIT: and internal volume of course).

Question for BFM buffs: as suggested above, could the drivers the OP has be used in one of the Simplexx boxes?

 

[Bugeyed Earl]

I don't have the plans for the 15" cabs, but I do have them for the 12" versions, and the 3012HO is specified for both (along with the 3012LF in the Simplexx.) I'm pretty sure you could find the definitive answer at the BFM forum.

 

[SubNoizeRat3691]

The 3015 drivers are listed as premium drivers for the 15" bass cab w/ horn. The Jack 15 (non lite) only weighs in at around 50 lbs. It's not necessarily heavier than direct radiators. The 15's are not really light on the bass, imo, just strong in the mids.

I found this fun graph on the BFM forum, sealed 810 vs Jack 12 vs Jack 15.

The Jack 15 is better below 60hz, and above 120hz. Not quite the low mid presence of a sealed 810, but still good. You can see how the Jack 15 compares to the Jack 12. Quite a different response.

Hope this is helpful.

 

[cfsporn]

Question for those who have used them; how do the BFM horns sound compared to the old Acoustic 360/370 horns?

 

[rogypop]

Wow, jack 15 is actually 7db more sensitive in the upper bass than jack 12. Loaded with kappalite 3015 it can probably cope with most any 4x10, both sensitivity and displacement wise.

 

[CL400Peavey]

One thing that bothers me about the Dually is that I have to buy it with speakers. I have a pair of 3015's and a pair of 15PR400's.

Ship your drivers to a greenboy builder, they will build you a cab around them.

 

[Handyman]

Just keep this in mind - if you find yourself boosting the bass to fill in the frequencies below what the horn is handling, you're largely giving up the advantages of having a horn loaded cab in the first place.

The Jack will behave like any old direct radiator cab in the bass frequencies, which is almost certainly going to be what's limiting the speaker's performance for bass guitar amplification.

Unless the Jack's baked in response curve is your thing - the Jack 115's plot looks a lot better for bass applications than the 112 version.

Given the OP's description of what he likes, I think the Dually really might be more up his ally, though.

 

[hdracer]

Ship your drivers to a greenboy builder, they will build you a cab around them.

I spoke with a GB builder about that.
He would knock off $150. So I spend $40 shipping $400+ worth of speakers to get $110 off??
I would be better off getting it with speakers and selling mine.

 

[CL400Peavey]

I spoke with a GB builder about that.
He would knock off $150. So I spend $40 shipping $400+ worth of speakers to get $110 off??
I would be better off getting it with speakers and selling mine.

Ask some of the other builders, it should knock off more than that. The drivers cost them more than $150.

 

[iualum]

I spoke with a GB builder about that.
He would knock off $150. So I spend $40 shipping $400+ worth of speakers to get $110 off??
I would be better off getting it with speakers and selling mine.

Absolutely. If you keep the drivers, build the Jacks & don't look back.

 

[cfsporn]

I wonder if they'd build an unloaded cab.

I spoke with a GB builder about that.
He would knock off $150. So I spend $40 shipping $400+ worth of speakers to get $110 off??
I would be better off getting it with speakers and selling mine.

 

[hdracer]

I wonder if they'd build an unloaded cab.

No they will not.

 

[iualum]

Wow, jack 15 is actually 7db more sensitive in the upper bass than jack 12. Loaded with kappalite 3015 it can probably cope with most any 4x10, both sensitivity and displacement wise.

Probably? P-r-o-b-a-b-l-y? The Jack 15 would lord over any commercial 410.