Dang, this thread is making me miss my old big Bag End 15 with EV 15B!
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Mesa/Boogie Diesel 115 - recone or reload?
- Thread starter groovaholic
- Start date
The same friend has a few other things that used to belong to me.
Mesa/Boogie DC-2 combo amp
EV B-210 speaker cab
Early '70s 7ender Princeton Reverb Amp
March 1973 Rickenbacker 4001 w/early '60s magnetic horseshoe pickup
Ooo, I’d like to have the early 70s Princeton Reverb amp, nice!
I’ve got a great Mesa 800D amp that I got from EdwardofHuncote, love it! 
If I were still playing electric geetar I'd buy it back from him. Previous to my buying it someone put a Celestion G12M-70 in the amp. Fantastic sounding and loud for its size.
It’s interesting to me that this thread started with my post about a non-functional $50 speaker cab, and it’s still going.
The fact that a humble, simple 1x15 can inspire so much conversation seems like a bit of a music gear Rorschach Test…and that’s cool and fascinating to me.
The fact that a humble, simple 1x15 can inspire so much conversation seems like a bit of a music gear Rorschach Test…and that’s cool and fascinating to me.
Perhaps the iconic nature of the cab may have something to do with it. My guess is arc of the thread would probably be significantly different if we were discussing a crappy cab that no-one ever cared about.
I'd replace.
It would simply be nicer to have more range with a current driver.
The mechanical limit of the EV really is only about 200w, and it doesn't have a lot of lowend...its beauty was the bold mids character.
Modern driver, fuller lows would be better, not to mention real power handling.
Recently picked up a used Subway 212, so I'm leaning toward loading the Diesel 115 with a neo driver.
Making the 115 gig-friendly would allow me to use both Mesa cabs together - perfect for quiet coffee shop gigs!
If I use both amp heads, I could ALSO use my tall custom 212...
Making the 115 gig-friendly would allow me to use both Mesa cabs together - perfect for quiet coffee shop gigs!
If I use both amp heads, I could ALSO use my tall custom 212...
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Last edited:
- Feb 12, 2006
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- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
I believe the replacement Subway 115 driver will work fine with maybe just a minor re-tuning of the port length.
I ended up with a gently-used KappaLite 3015 (non-LF).
By all accounts, the Faital is a killer driver, but there are tons of posts from people successfully using the 3015 in the Diesel 115, and I wanted to go with a known quantity.
Sure enough; the KL3015 sounds great in the Diesel 115 and shaved a LOT of weight off.
Let this also be a lesson in speaker mixing: phase response is a real thing:
The Mesa 115 alongside my LDS (Fury) 212 sounds ENORMOUS:
The LDS cab is loaded with a KappaLite 3012HO (on top) and a 3012LF (on bottom).
The Eminence-loaded 115 mixes with the Eminence-loaded LDS like chocolate and peanut butter.
The Subway 212 is probably my favorite sounding cab of the three.
Yet combining the Subway with either of the other cabs sounds like two distinct cabs, rather than summing into one bigger sound.
That's not a problem for me because I got the Subway to be a high-performance 1-cab solution; and I'm 100% happy with it.
If I hadn't heard the two Eminence cabs working together - I'd probably be happy running the Subway with either.
But after all the times I've seen @agedhorse caution people about mixing drivers, I get it now.
The Faital driver that @agedhorse recommended would have made the Diesel work with the Subway.
But the used Eminence was much more in-budget for what was essentially a "garage sale" project.
Also, the way that the Diesel combines with the LDS cab fits my use case.
Thanks to all!
By all accounts, the Faital is a killer driver, but there are tons of posts from people successfully using the 3015 in the Diesel 115, and I wanted to go with a known quantity.
Sure enough; the KL3015 sounds great in the Diesel 115 and shaved a LOT of weight off.
Let this also be a lesson in speaker mixing: phase response is a real thing:
The Mesa 115 alongside my LDS (Fury) 212 sounds ENORMOUS:
The LDS cab is loaded with a KappaLite 3012HO (on top) and a 3012LF (on bottom).
The Eminence-loaded 115 mixes with the Eminence-loaded LDS like chocolate and peanut butter.
The Subway 212 is probably my favorite sounding cab of the three.
Yet combining the Subway with either of the other cabs sounds like two distinct cabs, rather than summing into one bigger sound.
That's not a problem for me because I got the Subway to be a high-performance 1-cab solution; and I'm 100% happy with it.
If I hadn't heard the two Eminence cabs working together - I'd probably be happy running the Subway with either.
But after all the times I've seen @agedhorse caution people about mixing drivers, I get it now.
The Faital driver that @agedhorse recommended would have made the Diesel work with the Subway.
But the used Eminence was much more in-budget for what was essentially a "garage sale" project.
Also, the way that the Diesel combines with the LDS cab fits my use case.
Thanks to all!
