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Make a 115 cab a 210 cab...

Hey guys!

I have a 115 cab from an older Kustom Powerbass combo that I'm thinking about turning into a 2x10 cab. Or at least I would like too....but I need some help. I don't really know anything about cabinet building/upgrading...all I know is I'll need 2 10" speakers, a crossover of some sort, and perhaps a different input section. Any help, links, advice, pics, whatever, is appreciated. Thanks yall!!
 
You'd start by reverse engineering the cab to see what you have to wprk with. Measure the internal volume (space inside) as well as that of the ports. Also note that good 4 or 16 ohm 10's can be hard to find, it might end up as a 4 ohm cab if you go with 2 drivers but you don't know if that's even a workable solution until you measure it.

What's wrong with it now? Can't just replace or re-cone the 15?
 
will33 said:
You'd start by reverse engineering the cab to see what you have to wprk with. Measure the internal volume (space inside) as well as that of the ports. Also note that good 4 or 16 ohm 10's can be hard to find, it might end up as a 4 ohm cab if you go with 2 drivers but you don't know if that's even a workable solution until you measure it.

What's wrong with it now? Can't just replace or re-cone the 15?

I'm going to get take it apart in a few days and get the. Measurements like you suggested. Right now the cone needs to be replaced, but I've come to dislike 115 setups and would prefer a 210 or 212 setup. I'm sure I don't have enough space for a 212 setup. I wouldn't mind a 4ohm cab if it's difficult to find decent speakers for it.
 
You may have just not heard the right 15. A speakers size has little or nothing to do with it's tone.

I'm only going by my ears, I understand from various TB posts that there are quite a few variables that affect a speaker's tone...but what I've read, and what I've heard are two different things. I currently play a Peavey Tour 115 w/upgraded Eminence 3015lf speaker. It is a great cab, but it doesn't give me the bass response I want. It was the same with this Kustom cab before the speaker cracked.

I hear the Avatar B153 cab is a great 3-way cab, and many people swear by them. I'd like to try one out myself, but the only way to try one is to buy it lol...

Anyways, this whole thing is more of an experiment to see what I can do vs a necessity...I have a full rig, I just want to change it up a bit.
 
Why do people always try to make a piece of gear what it isnt? If you want a 2x10, buy a 2x10, don't muss up a 1x15. Just replace the driver in the 15 and sell it, or sell it empty, and put that money towards a 2x10.

If you really want a project, just build a 2x10 from scratch. It will probably work out better anyway, than trying to shoehorn in a couple 10s in a 15 cab.
 
jungleheat said:
Why do people always try to make a piece of gear what it isnt? If you want a 2x10, buy a 2x10, don't muss up a 1x15. Just replace the driver in the 15 and sell it, or sell it empty, and put that money towards a 2x10.

If you really want a project, just build a 2x10 from scratch. It will probably work out better anyway, than trying to shoehorn in a couple 10s in a 15 cab.


I guess you despise the entire modifying and upgrading community, 'cuz that's what we do, make gear what it isnt....

Not sure if you actually read my posts, where I mentioned it was more of an experiment, not a necessity, not liking 1x15's, etc. I have no experience with this stuff, which is why I asked. The cab doesn't work, i don't see a problem turning it into something else....Idk why yer panties got twisted up.... Thx for the opinion anyways.......
 
I like building/modding stuff. It means my rig is designed for me. It has what I want and doesn't have what I don't want....like this.....



2F1A0C77-orig.jpg




Next up are some BFM cabs for the PA and then I'm going to turn an old beat up TKO combo I have into a keyboard amp using speakers I have out of an old Hammond. There are several folks here who can give you ideas/advise though so your experiment ends up sounding decent and doesn't turn into a money pit full of bad tone.
 
will33 said:
I like building/modding stuff. It means my rig is designed for me. It has what I want and doesn't have what I don't want....like this.....

Next up are some BFM cabs for the PA and then I'm going to turn an old beat up TKO combo I have into a keyboard amp using speakers I have out of an old Hammond. There are several folks here who can give you ideas/advise though so your experiment ends up sounding decent and doesn't turn into a money pit full of bad tone.

Nice speakers! I probably would use black screws to keep it stealthy, but i like them. I've toyed around with purchasing a design from BFM or Barefaced, i just really am not a skilled woodworker, I'll probably lose a finger messing around with the Kustom lol. I've been trying to research, there's tons of info on TB; interpreting and applying that info is the hard part.
 
Got sick of sticking 100 screws in a piece of cardboard to paint them so I left it looking "industrial"...it'll be the next big thing.:D





Ya, I know they sell black screws. Actually, I'm getting sick of everything being basic black....probably do the next one in green tolex or somethin'.
 
I turned a 115 combo into a 2x10 once, only because I had a pair of nice 10's sitting around and wanted to experiment. The baffle board was well made and dado-ed into the sides and top so I used a jig saw to cut away most of it, leaving an inch or so all around as the frame for a new baffle board. That worked well. I measured volume and used WinISD (freeware speaker cabinet software) to model the new drivers and port requirements. When it was all done it sounded great, but the 2 10's weren't as loud as the 15 was, even though they were getting a few more watts since they were a 4-ohm load and the 15 was an 8-ohm load. The 15 had more displacement and was more efficient. Anyway, it was a fun project but I would not repeat it. Good luck, Bob
 
I guess you despise the entire modifying and upgrading community, 'cuz that's what we do, make gear what it isnt....

Not sure if you actually read my posts, where I mentioned it was more of an experiment, not a necessity, not liking 1x15's, etc. I have no experience with this stuff, which is why I asked. The cab doesn't work, i don't see a problem turning it into something else....Idk why yer panties got twisted up.... Thx for the opinion anyways.......

There is a bunch of truth in what jungleheat has said. I don't think he meant any disrespect. To modify a combo (or a cab) into something it wasn't meant to be is folly. But if you want to experiment. Replace the baffle board, buy a couple of 10's, and go for it. Let the chips fall where they may.

Cheers!! And good luck;) ;)
 
I like building/modding stuff. It means my rig is designed for me. It has what I want and doesn't have what I don't want....like this.....



2F1A0C77-orig.jpg




Next up are some BFM cabs for the PA and then I'm going to turn an old beat up TKO combo I have into a keyboard amp using speakers I have out of an old Hammond. There are several folks here who can give you ideas/advise though so your experiment ends up sounding decent and doesn't turn into a money pit full of bad tone.

Great build will!
 
I turned a 115 combo into a 2x10 once, only because I had a pair of nice 10's sitting around and wanted to experiment. The baffle board was well made and dado-ed into the sides and top so I used a jig saw to cut away most of it, leaving an inch or so all around as the frame for a new baffle board. That worked well. I measured volume and used WinISD (freeware speaker cabinet software) to model the new drivers and port requirements. When it was all done it sounded great, but the 2 10's weren't as loud as the 15 was, even though they were getting a few more watts since they were a 4-ohm load and the 15 was an 8-ohm load. The 15 had more displacement and was more efficient. Anyway, it was a fun project but I would not repeat it. Good luck, Bob

Thanks for your experience and mentioning the software. I'm going to download it as soon as I'm finished typing this. I figured the process would be something similar to what you describe, I didn't know about that software though.

Thanks to everyone else, and keep the responses coming. Perhaps I over-reacted a little to jungleheat's comment, but I think that I would benefit from whatever learning experience I get in attempting this project. I think I'd rather mess up something existing vs. buying materials, messing those up, and having to buy them again. Like I said, my woodworking/construction skills are kinda....not there lol.

Right now I'm looking for some pretty cheap 16 or 8 ohm 10" drivers....craigslist, here I come!!!
 
Modding implies improvement, and often minor ones at that. What you want to do is basically take some that works perfectly well (besides the driver which could be easily replaced), and most likely ruin it.

Retrofitting an existing cab to fit different sized drivers (especially drivers that will take up more space than the previous one) is probably at least as difficult as building a cab from scratch, if not moreso.

My guess is that the cab will be too small for the 10s, both in terms of baffle area for the speakers themselves, and in terms of internal volume for the 10s to do their thing.

Having said that, since it's just a cheap combo anyway, it doesn't really matter too much what you do with it. But a lot of guys try to do this nonsense with rare and/or vintage gear where there are a limited and declining number of units out there already. And to me unless you truly know what you are doing and have a clear plan towards making something like that better, you should leave it alone, sell it to someone who wants it for what it is, and then use that money to get what you actually wanted in the first place.

Personally, in this case, I would just replace the dead 15 with a higher quality one (which should take all of 10 minutes, and probably be cheaper than 2 10s depending on what you get) and then sit back and be amazed how much better the thing sounds for so little money. Depending on your taste in tones, you could go for a newer high power Eminence thing, or something like an old EV or JBL. A lot of guys will say it's a "crap shoot" doing this kind of "cab stuffing" as they call it, but in this case, starting with a low end combo that is probably a pretty typical 1x15 size, I'd guess your chances are about 90% that pretty much ANYTHING you put in will be an improvement
 
@Jungleheat- makes sense to me. I looked at the dimensions of one of the newer Powerbass combo's, one that looked very similar to my old one, and just by looking I'm not sure I'll fit two of anything in the cab...maybe some 6's. I think I'll do like you suggest, replace the speaker and sell the cab, I won't need two 1x15's....

I just checked out some designs from BFM, and I'm thinking maybe going that route...some of the designs seem to be made with people like me in mind. If I can retire my cabs for something a lot more efficient I would be extremely happy. My WJ cab is easily the best cab I've played, but it sucks up so much power! My church isn't big, and my Shuttle 9.0 is suitable....but barely! Depending on the service I find the amp clips, and I really think it's because the WJ is made for so much more power at 8ohms.