Cerwin Vega cab?

[Trod]

Anyone ever seen anything like this? It's has two fifteens in it and is called the BG215 . Someone is selling it locally but I can find any info. It's rear porte. H 36" depth "16 width 24"

 

[Trod]

photo of back rated at 600 watts.

 

[unclejam]

no but it wont hurt to try it

 

[TheWolf]

Harmony Central almost never fails:
http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Bass+Amp/product/Cerwin-Vega/BG-215+Cabinet/10/1

 

[00Funk]

Your missing out if you dont buy it. I played thru an 18 back in the 70's. They are great cabs

 

[clank_triumph]

there is one of those for sale in Toronto now. looks perfect with reconed speakers. $500.
I've been trying to find out the model of the 15" drivers. Anyone?

 

[DarkAvianFind]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I also have one of these BG215s and have been thinking about getting a new amp (currently running a GK 400RB I got over a decade ago and it wasn't new then). I see the OP said it was rated for 600 watts. Was this ever confirmed?

 

[BassmanPaul]

I wouldn't go over 300 or so watts with that cab. IIRC CV has been defunct for over 30 years.

 

[TomB]

Cerwin Vega was a great name in PA gear back when, lots of touring bands used them in the late '70's. We used to drive them with 300 watt amps. I'd question whether or not the speakers can handle today's high power amp wattages. The construction is top notch, if heavy.

 

[agedhorse]

I wouldn't say they were a great name in PA, even back in the good 'ol days. The subs were more often used, but quickly forgotten once better pro stuff came along.

 

[TomB]

I wouldn't say they were a great name in PA, even back in the good 'ol days. The subs were more often used, but quickly forgotten once better pro stuff came along.

Fair enough. Maybe it's fond memories of successful gigs of yore more than of top-notch PA systems. No fond memories of hauling those suckers around though, compared with what's available now.

 

[AlexanderB]

IIRC (I might have the model confused!), the BG215 used a somewhat mid oriented version of their cast frame/small magnet 15" drivers. (There was a large magnet version, too, for pure woofers.) The VC is 2" or 2 1/2", with an Xmax around 4 mm. There was a 5.5 mm Xmax version, too, for "pure woofer" applications. Ribbed cone for a smoother transition into the upper mids and highs, accordion type surround. 4 Ohms per driver. If it is the transducer and cabinet I think, they go deeper than many of its competitors, has a relatively flat and smooth mids/highs but does not extend very high into the treble. For comparison, fatter, deeper, smoother tone than an Ampeg fridge. It is giving up a bit of sensitivity and maximum loudness, though.
With the motor geometry and VC size, one has to be somewhat careful not to overpower the drivers, if using a high power amp (over 300W per driver).

Cerwin Vega had more innovations and cutting edge products than many other "pro manufacturers". Many of their 70's and 80's products were far ahead of their time. They even received a "Academy Award" for their Sensurround technology in 1974. Rolling Strones and David Bowie relied on their PA gear for their tours. It can also be worth remembering that they manufactured their own transducers, where as many "pro manufacturers" bought off the shelf or OEM drivers from Electro Voice, Philips, JBL, Altec and others, and stuck them in their own cabinets.

Quote from Wikipedia:

Cerwin-Vega was founded as Vega Laboratories (with later name changes to Vega Associates and then Cerwin-Vega) by aerospace engineer Gene Czerwinski (1927–2010) in 1954, and became noted for producing an 18" speaker capable of producing 130 dB in SPL at 30 Hz, an astonishing level during its time. Another breakthrough product, the world's first solid-state amplifier, was released in 1957. In addition to these innovations, the company became well known for supplying speakers for electric musical instrument companies such as Fender, as well as for movie theaters all through the 1970s.[2]
Cerwin-Vega participated in Sensurround technology which was developed in conjunction with Universal Studios in the 1970s. Sensurround was a movie theater special effects speaker system which used multiple Cerwin-Vega folded horn subwoofers triggered by an optical soundtrack system to create low frequency effects which simulated vibrations felt during an earthquake or a battle scene. Sensurround was premiered in the 1974 movie Earthquake, and was a great success, but most Sensurround units were later dismantled due to structural damage caused by the vibrations.

 

[AlexanderB]

For reference, I used the same driver in a 3-way cabinet some years ago. While it sounded clean, deep and accurate, I had to push it really hard with my LMII to keep up with a moderately loud drummer. Stepping up to a modern 410 with the same amp was a big improvement in "impact" and "gig-ability". Nice cab for lower SPL gigs, though.

 

[fourteenstrings]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I also have one of these BG215s and have been thinking about getting a new amp (currently running a GK 400RB I got over a decade ago and it wasn't new then). I see the OP said it was rated for 600 watts. Was this ever confirmed?

Mine was an early 90s model rated at 300 watts RMS and 8 ohm total cabinet impedance (2-16 ohm 15s wired in parallel). Nice cabinet, heavy of course, and very traditional/round sounding.