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mystery 15" cab , can anyone identify?

1

1Drop

Jul 31, 2009
169
42
#1
A friend of mine is selling this dirt cheap. He says its 350 watts. I assume its 8 ohm. (the plaque fell off) I run a gbe 1200 with a 4 ohm 2x12. If i add this cab I'd need to run in 2 ohm mode correct?
 

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#4
Piezo hints that it may not be what you hope for...

Yes, you will need to use the GBE-1200 in 2 ohm mode.
 
#5
I ALWAYS pull the speaker on a new cabinet immediately to check everything...impedance, connections, making sure the screws holding the speaker are holding correctly etc.

The value depends much on what speaker is in that cabinet.....and then the overall quality of the cabinet & hardware.
 
#6
Thanks fellas! Not sure what to do. I've been wanting to try a 15 out with my rig ever since i played a bar that had a 15 carvin cab as backline. I stacked my 2x12 on top and figured if i didn't like what was happening i could just quickly disconnect the 15. I ended up really appreciating that extra push at ground level. I usually always elevate my caps to get em closer to my ears so i don't need as much volume. That particular night having the 15 on the floor with the 2x12 on top really seemed to work. I could pick this thing up for like 40 or 50 bucks. Of course thats 40 or 50 bucks wasted if its not suitable for a bass cab. I'm thinking now maybe i'll just pick up a carvin since I'll sort of know what to expect. definitely open to suggestions though. playing mainly roots reggae with a thumb 5er. I never should of sold my old GB 4x10, that thing had low end for days!! the neo 2x12's, even when doubled up, just doesn't seem to have that same low end roundness i need.
 
#7
Just did a little research. I'm seeing that my GB 2x12 goes down to 42hz. The 3 way carvin 15 goes down to 26hz and the basic cheapie carvin goes down to 35hz. These seem like pretty drastic differences that may be critical for getting the reggae low end i'm still searching for. thoughts?
 
#10
1Drop said:
Just did a little research. I'm seeing that my GB 2x12 goes down to 42hz. The 3 way carvin 15 goes down to 26hz and the basic cheapie carvin goes down to 35hz. These seem like pretty drastic differences that may be critical for getting the reggae low end i'm still searching for. thoughts?
Click to expand...

Be very cautious when reading the frequency response claims. if it doesn't mention a "db" point like 35Hz @-10db it is meaningless. -10db point is barely audible, -3db is a half volume drop. Anyone can claim 26Hz, the speaker cone will move but you won't hear the 26Hz signal just feel air on your legs.
 
#11
1Drop said:
I'm seeing that my GB 2x12 goes down to 42hz. The 3 way carvin 15 goes down to 26hz and the basic cheapie carvin goes down to 35hz. These seem like pretty drastic differences that may be critical for getting the reggae low end i'm still searching for. thoughts?
Click to expand...
The Fridge -3dB point is 58Hz, and that's never proved to be an issue with reggae.
 
#14
1Drop said:
Just did a little research. I'm seeing that my GB 2x12 goes down to 42hz. The 3 way carvin 15 goes down to 26hz and the basic cheapie carvin goes down to 35hz. These seem like pretty drastic differences that may be critical for getting the reggae low end i'm still searching for. thoughts?
Click to expand...

There's no way the Carvin 15" that you mentioned goes down to 26Hz in any meaningful way, and certainly not the way most cabinets are measured. Are you sure you didn't misread the specifications as 26 Hz rather than 46 Hz? The spec's I found below appear to be totally reasonable.

Here it shows:
Model: LS-1503
System Type: 15-inch 3-Way, bass-reflex
Frequency Response: 46 Hz - 20 kHz (-10DB); 52 Hz - 18 kHz (-3 dB)

I also caution that you also learn more about power handling... this model is marketed as 800 watts, but upon reading the details of the spec's, it's rated at 400 watts continuous and 800 watts program. Your Genz Benz is rated only using the more conservative (and realistic with regards to bass reproduction) continuous (or "RMS") number, the equivalent program rating would otherwise be somewhere around 1200 watts (which would also be misleading for bass guitar reproduction), though we never used "program power ratings" for this reason.

I encourage that you ask questions and learn as much as you can about this stuff, you will then be able to make better, more informed opinions.

Hope this helps.
 
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#15
Yes, 2 ohms would be the setting. With 1 4 ohm cab and 1 8 ohm cab in parallel, the amp will see 2.667 ohms.
That isn't the issue. Although I have run mixed cabs successfully several times, you have to see how they work together.
The 4 ohm cab will be drawing (roughly) 2/3 of the power. That will make the 2x12 overpower the 1x15.
Also, if you do this, you will need to be sure the cabs are in phase; otherwise, they will try to cancel each other out.
And lastly, the 2x12 has more surface area than the 1x5 and will want to move more air.
So, I'm thinking it wont really help much and may degrade your sound.
 
#16
Depending on which 115 and which 212, it may be a fine combination power-wise as well as sensitivity wise.
 
#17
I wouldn't bet that these cabs will mix well.

However at $40 I cant see a real loss either, provided the speaker itself is okay.

For the most part I don't like mixing drivers of different sizes for bass unless they were designed to do so....ymmv.
 

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