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Music Man 115 Cab

4-stringB

4-stringB

Jun 10, 2010
610
438
70
Tallahassee
#1
Hi everyone, 1st post on Talkbass(pause to let applause die down), I'm looking for a reasonably good engineering style drawing of the MM 115. I've wanted a 115 cab for years now and it looks like I'll just have to do it myself. Please include basic dimensions, any interior bracing, baffles/baffle angle(s), wood type/thickness, wiring...In short, anything you can think of!..Thanks...PS..This is just for when I don't feel like the 18" folded horns are required..grins
 
#3
Anyway, I have some of that information in my collection of old Musicman catalogs. I'll have to look for them tomorrow and scan what I have. I know for certain the 1982 price list had the outer dimensions for the smaller style 15" cab (that went with the solid-state 120B head), and if the larger one with the huge open bottom was still being made, it'll list it too. If not, maybe my older price list has it. I know Musicman used dovetail joints on the corners, and I'm sure the catalogs specified the type of plywood used.

I'm assuming that you're not asking for the newer EB Musicman info.....
 
#4
According to the January 1980 Catalog, the 115RH-150 measures 27 3/8" X 27 3/8" X 12 15/16", and weighs 70 lbs.

According to the June 1, 1982 Price List, the 115 BX measures 20 1/4" X 20 1/4" X 13 1/2", weight not specified.

Musicman used 3/4" Ponderosa Pine for their cabinet frames, with the baffle board made from void-free marine plywood, and they used lock-joint construction. The specs seem to describe the guitar combos; I'm just giving you the ones that most likely apply to the speaker cabs, too.
 
#6
4-stringB said:
Hi everyone, 1st post on Talkbass(pause to let applause die down), I'm looking for a reasonably good engineering style drawing of the MM 115. I've wanted a 115 cab for years now and it looks like I'll just have to do it myself. Please include basic dimensions, any interior bracing, baffles/baffle angle(s), wood type/thickness, wiring...In short, anything you can think of!..Thanks...PS..This is just for when I don't feel like the 18" folded horns are required..grins
Click to expand...

Nice username. :)
 
#8
JerBo said:
Hmm, I have a MusicMan 115 folded horn cab and there's no way it weighs 70 lb.
It's fairly light actually.
Click to expand...

This cab... yeah it weighs less than 70 lbs (or maybe I'm just stronger than I think :bassist: ) but sounds like it weighs a ton! One of the few cabs around that sits nicely under a V4!

rig_1.jpg


-robert
 
#9
4-stringB said:
Hi everyone, 1st post on Talkbass(pause to let applause die down), I'm looking for a reasonably good engineering style drawing of the MM 115. I've wanted a 115 cab for years now and it looks like I'll just have to do it myself. Please include basic dimensions, any interior bracing, baffles/baffle angle(s), wood type/thickness, wiring...In short, anything you can think of!..Thanks...PS..This is just for when I don't feel like the 18" folded horns are required..grins
Click to expand...

If you are going to the trouble of building a cabinet, do one that works well with a modern 15 - not one that looks OK but is a crapshoot on sound. Take a look at the fearFul thread that reports are all glowing about. Be better in the long run.

Paul
 
#11
danomite64 said:
When someone endeavors to build a cab as close to an existing cab as possible because he cannot find that cabinet for sale, I think it's safe to assume A) he knows what the cab sounds like, and B) it's what he wants. Therefore, the term 'crapshoot' is not relevant in this instance.
Click to expand...

Oh yes it is if he does not have the proper driver to install in said cabinet. As it is the OP doesn't even have the correct dimensions of that which he seeks to clone.

Paul
 
#12
I had a 2x12 version back in the late 70s. It did double duty as a bass cab and as an extension cab for a MM skinny-string combo.

Don't remember how it sounded...loaned to someone in the mid 80s and never saw it again.
rllefebv said:
This cab... yeah it weighs less than 70 lbs (or maybe I'm just stronger than I think :bassist: ) but sounds like it weighs a ton! One of the few cabs around that sits nicely under a V4!

rig_1.jpg
Click to expand...
 
#13
FWIW - this is not a folded horn cab. This would be a RH - Reflex horn. This is is a front firing cab with a port extension that parallels the rear wall of the cab. If it was loaded with the factory optional EV 15 - I could believe a shipping weight of 70 lbs.

FWIW # 2 - duplicating this is an exercise in nostalgia, not in sound reproduction. Not a thing wrong with that - I dig gussied up old car's myself (not that I can afford them). The cab itself is Very mid forward and mostly lacking in low's by todays's standards. Time has passed this design...

Irrelevant aside - A lot of the vintage guitar amplification stuff is really cool for the tonality it provides. Vintage bass gear though ? only a few very specific pieces come to mind as having stood the test of time. Our needs are so much more extreme that it was important to leverage new technology...

Still if you had one of these and the matching MM 130 head, that's a pretty sharp looking setup and I know a few surf band's that would go gaga, nostalgia being the order of the day with those folks ... of course those folks aren't generally after the last iota of frequency response, efficiency and power handling ...
 
#14
Yo guys, thanks for all the input, especially those relating to sound quality. While I'm not afraid to experiment with cab design or drivers, I really like the MM 115(with the big open port) for its visual esthetics. But back to sound..do you guys think a modern driver, like a speaker designed for lower freq reproduction and higher sound output would do such a cab justice? The origional driver (from the 70's)was not capable of the outputs we see today. I'm thinking that an updated driver should certainly fill that cab with enough back pressure to make the port rumble like crazy. I'd figure it out for myself, but my anechoic chamber is in the shop for repairs. Any and all thoughts are, of course, welcome (be they good, bad or truly bizarre). Still waiting on a good drawing...Thanks guys..Cheers...
 
#15
mostly mid range with no bottom to speak of... Thing Journey "Don't Stop Believin' -

BTW - it's the cab that won't be doing the driver justice not the other way around.

The probable speaker choice would be an Eminence 3015 as it seem's to work well in boxes where EV 15's worked - it likes a little less space and a little more port area - in spite of the look, that cab doesn't actually have a lot of port space.

If you're looking for a high perfomance bass cab, this is a bad idea. the TL-606, loaded with a 3015 is a way better bet. Making the chamber 1" shorter and the port 1 " taller - over all cab size remains the same in other words - seems to be the convention on how to do that cab.

Or go with one of the fEarful designs.
 
#16
4String

I do not have the build drawings as you requested but I do have one of these cabinets. I just got it this year - really as a nostalgia piece. It is loaded with the upgraded EV15. Sounds pretty good. I already had the original MM 65w Bass Head to match it. I would consider selling it if you are interested. I am in CA and these are not cheap to ship. I had to look for a while to find this one. I can send pics if needed.
 

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