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Kustom 118B replacement speaker
- Thread starter christw
- Start date
I don't need an excess of volume in my 3 piece but it's nice to know I can move some serious air. On that note, if I join another metal band this rig will probably be my weapon of choice. 
My impressions from earlier: It's got a nice high end roll off around 1k that takes OD well. I ran the B-12XTC loaded with 7027A into it before the Fender and it was a bit like an uber B-15. I'll try the 6550's in it tomorrow. This cab is pushing a crazy amount of air per watt around 100-200 Hz and I like it. I think I might need a J bass again...
My impressions from earlier: It's got a nice high end roll off around 1k that takes OD well. I ran the B-12XTC loaded with 7027A into it before the Fender and it was a bit like an uber B-15. I'll try the 6550's in it tomorrow. This cab is pushing a crazy amount of air per watt around 100-200 Hz and I like it. I think I might need a J bass again...
The "set up" back in the day would have had two of them!
I can't remember exactly but I want to say the full set up would have cost in the $1,600+/- range!
Edit: $600 a cab.
I can't remember exactly but I want to say the full set up would have cost in the $1,600+/- range!
Edit: $600 a cab.
Thus far, this cab sounds a lot like a cross between a CTS loaded B-15 and an old Ampeg 810 with the Fender. I dig it but I know my three piece (going on four) counts on me to provide a bit of full range presence for a lot of our songs and solos. It certainly has the punch down but I hijacked the speaker from my main cab for this project so I need to do something.
After some looking, I'm probably going to install an Eminence Alpha-6CBMRA with a crossover around 800 Hz, bulb limiter, and on/off switch all hidden up top behind the grill. I still have the spare L pad and mid driver from the donor 115 too. I think I don't need a much higher crossover because the cab drops off quickly right between 500 Hz and 1kHz. If I do get any weird phasing issues, I'll reconsider my frequency choice. Plus if I don't like it I can pull the Emi and build it a dedicated midrange box for later use.
After some looking, I'm probably going to install an Eminence Alpha-6CBMRA with a crossover around 800 Hz, bulb limiter, and on/off switch all hidden up top behind the grill. I still have the spare L pad and mid driver from the donor 115 too. I think I don't need a much higher crossover because the cab drops off quickly right between 500 Hz and 1kHz. If I do get any weird phasing issues, I'll reconsider my frequency choice. Plus if I don't like it I can pull the Emi and build it a dedicated midrange box for later use.
Anyone around Dayton, Ohio have a surplus of 15's or 18's and want to try them in my cab? Didn't think so... 
Seriously though, the Fender can push that Kappa Pro into that territory right before fart out where it's still musical but a little bit squishy. That speaker is no slouch. I just can't seem to find an 18 worth a crap as a BG speaker around 100dB efficiency that can take everything my 300 Pro will give. That JBL E155 still looks to be the best candidate at 300w RMS with a 100 dB rating. I know I've been happy with other JBL speakers (E140, D130) and found them to be pretty robust in the past.
To avoid needless bumps, here are my current EQ settings on the 300 Pro to get it to sound rather flat from the high bass up. It's low end is well slotted for a band mix already. You can see the graphic EQ work. I don't think I'm really getting anything above 4k where I began to boost but it doesn't hurt to try. I'll probably just go ahead with the mid box project on it's own since the Fender already has all the right tools to get the tone I want with this cab. The overdrive channel is pure bliss too. It's like running a Marshall into an 810E with enough extra headroom to make your ears bleed.
Seriously though, the Fender can push that Kappa Pro into that territory right before fart out where it's still musical but a little bit squishy. That speaker is no slouch. I just can't seem to find an 18 worth a crap as a BG speaker around 100dB efficiency that can take everything my 300 Pro will give. That JBL E155 still looks to be the best candidate at 300w RMS with a 100 dB rating. I know I've been happy with other JBL speakers (E140, D130) and found them to be pretty robust in the past.
To avoid needless bumps, here are my current EQ settings on the 300 Pro to get it to sound rather flat from the high bass up. It's low end is well slotted for a band mix already. You can see the graphic EQ work. I don't think I'm really getting anything above 4k where I began to boost but it doesn't hurt to try. I'll probably just go ahead with the mid box project on it's own since the Fender already has all the right tools to get the tone I want with this cab. The overdrive channel is pure bliss too. It's like running a Marshall into an 810E with enough extra headroom to make your ears bleed.
Well, I moved out the Kappa Pro and the cab is disassembled again. I was looking for a JBL E155 for my Kustom 118 project and found a local deal on a RR cab loaded with what? An E155! I traded my Kappa loaded 115 towards the Mesa. I'll give that combination a shot when it quits raining and I can unload the Mesa...
Duke also suggested the Faital 18FH500 as a possible candidate. I'm going to see how the JBL works out and go from there...
Update edit: The JBL doesn't like this cab very much. Despite being more sensitive than the Emi in the Kustom it farts out at lower volume level. It sounded excellent in the Mesa but the Emi was a much better choice for this cab. Bummer. Well, we'll see about those Faitals...
Duke also suggested the Faital 18FH500 as a possible candidate. I'm going to see how the JBL works out and go from there...
Update edit: The JBL doesn't like this cab very much. Despite being more sensitive than the Emi in the Kustom it farts out at lower volume level. It sounded excellent in the Mesa but the Emi was a much better choice for this cab. Bummer. Well, we'll see about those Faitals...
I want extend a big thank you to Duke and his son Joseph for allowing me an opportunity at an as new 18FH500 to load in this cab. I'll report back after it's here and loaded up.
Continuing the project log...
I got in the high pass and 6CBMRA today and made up a quick test rig. I ran it with the cabinet with pretty darn good results up to painful levels. I'm talking about volume wars with a 100w Marshall/412 rig. I was high passing my signal with an fdeck to protect the woofer since I'll probably end up selling it on here or eBay. The 6'er sounds great for OD too.
For the few of you with a B-18 or B-18X, I highly recommend the E155 for that application. It has great tone, a lot of volume per watt, and some seriously sweet low end. It's just that it doesn't play well with a heavy hitting Fender in a W bin.
Continuing the project log...
I got in the high pass and 6CBMRA today and made up a quick test rig. I ran it with the cabinet with pretty darn good results up to painful levels. I'm talking about volume wars with a 100w Marshall/412 rig. I was high passing my signal with an fdeck to protect the woofer since I'll probably end up selling it on here or eBay. The 6'er sounds great for OD too.
For the few of you with a B-18 or B-18X, I highly recommend the E155 for that application. It has great tone, a lot of volume per watt, and some seriously sweet low end. It's just that it doesn't play well with a heavy hitting Fender in a W bin.
Another example of my not knowing anything about horns.
The JBL sounding nice in a DR cab and not liking the bin.
Obviously, if Duke has a plan, I'd follow it.
Good move adding the small mid too. The bins big output is in the highbass/lowmids. Above that, the horn loses its effect and a lot of upper response gets cancelled in all the angles. In PA, those bins were always meant to be run with something above them. For bass, could do away with the giant HF horns but still need something doing mids/upper mids.
The JBL sounding nice in a DR cab and not liking the bin.
Obviously, if Duke has a plan, I'd follow it.
Good move adding the small mid too. The bins big output is in the highbass/lowmids. Above that, the horn loses its effect and a lot of upper response gets cancelled in all the angles. In PA, those bins were always meant to be run with something above them. For bass, could do away with the giant HF horns but still need something doing mids/upper mids.
I would give the eminence [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] a look
seems to have decent highend and its designed to work in small sealed boxes. So its use in a horn loaded box should be good.
eminence recommends for horn loading and the 4ohm version has better highend.
EBP is around 79 so it should be fine in a sealed box.
many 18's are gonna like a ported box and have
Qms values that are better suited reflex cabinets.
so your looking for a 18 that will survive in a sealed box
so about 80 or lower EBP. so the omega pro looks sweet, sure their is [Invalid or Expired Link Removed].
seems to have decent highend and its designed to work in small sealed boxes. So its use in a horn loaded box should be good.
eminence recommends for horn loading and the 4ohm version has better highend.
EBP is around 79 so it should be fine in a sealed box.
many 18's are gonna like a ported box and have
Qms values that are better suited reflex cabinets.
so your looking for a 18 that will survive in a sealed box
so about 80 or lower EBP. so the omega pro looks sweet, sure their is [Invalid or Expired Link Removed].
Another example of my not knowing anything about horns.
The JBL sounding nice in a DR cab and not liking the bin.
Obviously, if Duke has a plan, I'd follow it.
And another example of that good old TB wisdom about how you can drop any speaker in any cab but that doesn't guarantee that it'll sound good.
I trust Dukes suggestions and it sure is convenient when he has one of the speakers hand.
It's only rated at 97.6 dB@1w so it's still going to come across with an "old school" voice (until I hit the bright switch and kick on the overdrive.) I'm still torn on building a dedicated bright box or mounting the speaker up top in the Kustom. I could wire in some protection lamps on either side of the cab so I can put on a light show too.
If money weren't an issue, I would pick the Faital. Thanks to Duke and Joseph, I got to! It's EBP is 83 Hz. It's still around there although I have no idea what that means.
It's still around there although I have no idea what that means.
EBP (efficiency bandwidth product) is used to determine what enclosure a driver is more suited to.
so typically lower numbers are suited for sealed and higher numbers for ported.
since alot of horn loaded bins are small sealed chambers, you dont want to stuff a speaker in there with a high EBP.
old rule of thumb was about 60 or lower for sealed, but in live audio can go as high as 80. you can even stretch it to 100 if needed but then you dont wanna look at the Qes and Fs relation.
you want a high Mechanical quality (Qms) if its EBP is higher than 90 to 100. such as most drivers are in the 6 to 7 range.
you would want it to be high in the 8 to 10 range.
otherwise if EBP is around 80 or lower the more usual Qms ratings between 6 to 7 is fine.
to find EBP just divide (Fs) by (Qes)
so take for instance the well known Legend B810 it has a EBP of 76 so its ok for sealed but it has a very high Qms of 13.9 which helps it survive in a very small sealed box
Thanks for the clarification. That's a useful bit of information that I can take into account in the future.
The cab is back apart and the E155 is in the TB classifieds. I'll be installing new wiring and adding the midrange tomorrow. Too bad I won't have a woofer until January.
The cab is back apart and the E155 is in the TB classifieds. I'll be installing new wiring and adding the midrange tomorrow. Too bad I won't have a woofer until January.
Quick bump, I built a mount for the midrange and high pass, painted it black, and mounted it behind the grill with an on/off switch you can press through the cloth. Now I just need that Faital...
I had to use a flashlight and open up the back of the cab to even get it to show through the grill. That's just perfect-I want it to still look vintage. The on/off switch is on the bottom right.
I had to use a flashlight and open up the back of the cab to even get it to show through the grill. That's just perfect-I want it to still look vintage. The on/off switch is on the bottom right.
Got the 18FH500 today! I stuck it in the cab and let it rip. With the midrange on it's a full range cabinet with super sweet midrange and top end. With the 300 Pro, I'm honestly getting some of the best overdrive tones I've ever heard. The clean tones are just as sweet and already slotted for a mix. There's more than enough volume on tap to deafen a crowd with good dispersion. I love it!
With the midrange off it's a boomy, wooly old school thump. I can't really push the low end under 80 Hz so I use the fdeck series II in front and that increases the usable headroom quite a bit.
With the midrange off it's a boomy, wooly old school thump. I can't really push the low end under 80 Hz so I use the fdeck series II in front and that increases the usable headroom quite a bit.
FWIW, I really think that the Kappa Pro 15A had a more significant bass and low mid punch than either 18 I've tried in here thus far. The chamber size is probably more suited to a 15 anyway. The more you know... I'm not complaining though. This cab is like what I wished Ampegs sounded like. The deep lows aren't going to muddle up a mix, the low midrange is punchy, the midrange is clean, and it still goes louder than I should conceivably need.
A winner.
I'm going to have to remember this for when I stumble across an old W bin.
It's definitely a cool poor man's rig. If I had kept the Eminence, I'd be at a $210 parts investment. As it stands, I'm at $310 for a pretty ridiculous cab. If only I had a loud band and earplugs again.
