Question for amp/cab guru's...

[Joedog]

I have a GK MB115 combo. Pretty much stopped gigging after 30 plus years, but hey, never say never! Sold my big stack to go small and light. I ALMOST have the tone I want, but the recent gig I did (medium size club, loud blues band) it was BARELY enough (no PA support). According to GK, stock speaker is 4 ohm.

Here's my question: I have access to two 8 ohm EV 15B's, newly reconed, for a VERY good price. I have the skills, tools and time to build a 2nd cab, which would be based on the tl606 (sorry if I got the exact # wrong).

Would this be worth it? It would be a fun project, but I don't want to be chasing wild geese. As I understand it, going to 8 ohm vs 4 will not be a big decrease in volume for the (stand alone) combo, but adding another 15 will move a lot more air, thus sound a lot louder. Back in the day I had a 200W Standell 215 combo that was LOUD! As far as tone, before I buy, I can pull my GK 15 and try the EV (s). Maybe the EV's will even give me a little more old school tone? Any input, including negative is welcome. As you may have figured out, cost is an issue. Thanks guys!

 

[dhsierra1]

200 watts into 1-15 usually isn't enough for typical gigs. Adding an EVM-15B into your existing cab isn't a good idea because it's likely too small for that driver and wouldn't work so well.

If it were me and those EVMs are a good price, and you like their tone (I do ), I'd build two of those TL606s but using 1/2" arauco plywood and extra bracing.

Then find a used older GK amp like a 400 or 800RB (if you like the GK sound, I do) and you'd have a great "old-er school" rig that'll cover most of your larger gigging needs. Those can be had from the low 100s to around 300 dollars all day long.

Keep the MB115 for smaller stuff and rehearsals, they're great amps. Just don't mod it, not worth the trouble, use it as it was intended.

Just my 0.02.

 

[RickenBoogie]

+1 not worth the effort. Those combo's are designed "as-is". Sounds like you need to step up to a head/cab rig, and don't skimp on the spkrs.

 

[dhsierra1]

don't skimp on the spkrs.

agreed, always the weakest link.

The EVMs are great but they're of the old school sound, albeit on the bright end of the spectrum. Not a lot of deep bass. But quite efficient and loud and I certainly like the tone. And two will definitely cut it for good sized gigs w/300 watts.

 

[will33]

Agreed with the above for the most part, but, I'm going to go a little bit off the reservation here and say that it wouldn't hurt to just try one in your combo for a couple reasons.

1. The tl-606 is a fairly small 115 netting around 3.2 cu.ft. Your combo box might be that big or just slightly larger. (small boxes choke off the bass end of things).

2. The tl-606 has selectable tuning of either 40 or 55hz with the optional port cover. I don't know what your combo box is tuned to, but it's a pretty safe bet it falls somewhere in between there.

Depending on how old the combo is, it may lack some internal bracing and most certainly lacks any lining on the inside. That would play a fairly big part in output and tone. With out the bracing, at higher volumes, the box walls will vibrate, robbing you of output. Any energy spent shaking the box is energy that's not contributing to output but rather holding it back.

So, a couple options....

Search up threads here re: adding bracing and lining to the MB and/or MBE series GK combos and cabs. I would do that regardless if you use the combo as part of a "stack" or not. It will make the combo a better rig anyway.


Then....try a 15B in your combo. If you like it...fine. Build your second cab as a clone of the combo box rather than a true tl-606. If you don't like it.....fine. Build a pair of true tl-606's and use an amp with them.

The EV's are pretty sensitive speakers, meaning more loud coming out per watt going in. I can't imagine a situation where 2 wouldn't be loud enough, even with a modest amp. Whether their tone is to your liking is more an opinion. They are a bit brighter, strong in the lower midrange/highbass (that's the part that makes us sound "fat"), but lack in the deep, very low bass. In my opinion, that is a quality. Your opinion may differ and both of us would be right.

 

[dhsierra1]

Agreed with the above for the most part, but, I'm going to go a little bit off the reservation here and say that it wouldn't hurt to just try one in your combo for a couple reasons.

1. The tl-606 is a fairly small 115 netting around 3.2 cu.ft. Your combo box might be that big or just slightly larger. (small boxes choke off the bass end of things).

2. The tl-606 has selectable tuning of either 40 or 55hz with the optional port cover. I don't know what your combo box is tuned to, but it's a pretty safe bet it falls somewhere in between there.

Depending on how old the combo is, it may lack some internal bracing and most certainly lacks any lining on the inside. That would play a fairly big part in output and tone. With out the bracing, at higher volumes, the box walls will vibrate, robbing you of output. Any energy spent shaking the box is energy that's not contributing to output but rather holding it back.

So, a couple options....

Search up threads here re: adding bracing and lining to the MB and/or MBE series GK combos and cabs. I would do that regardless if you use the combo as part of a "stack" or not. It will make the combo a better rig anyway.


Then....try a 15B in your combo. If you like it...fine. Build your second cab as a clone of the combo box rather than a true tl-606. If you don't like it.....fine. Build a pair of true tl-606's and use an amp with them.

The EV's are pretty sensitive speakers, meaning more loud coming out per watt going in. I can't imagine a situation where 2 wouldn't be loud enough, even with a modest amp. Whether their tone is to your liking is more an opinion. They are a bit brighter, strong in the lower midrange/highbass (that's the part that makes us sound "fat"), but lack in the deep, very low bass. In my opinion, that is a quality. Your opinion may differ and both of us would be right.

actually, this approach makes sense, I just looked up the T/S on these drivers and they're low Q's, so small boxes are fine, just a matter of playing with the tuning. Again, you won't get deep bass no matter what with these.

And I forgot I stuffed one in a 2.4 cu ft cab tuned rather high and it's not bad. I preferred it in the larger TL 606, to be honest, better bass response.

Dumb question, does the MB115 combo have an extension speaker out?

Edit: I'd still just go with making two lightweight TL606s if I had the opportunity to snag a couple of EVMs at a good price, two of them together w/enough wattage (and you don't need much) are awesome But that's just me being volume greedy

 

[will33]

actually, this approach makes sense, I just looked up the T/S on these drivers and they're low Q's, so small boxes are fine, just a matter of playing with the tuning. Again, you won't get deep bass no matter what with these.

And I forgot I stuffed one in a 2.4 cu ft cab tuned rather high and it's not bad. I preferred it in the larger TL 606, to be honest, better bass response.

Dumb question, does the MB115 combo have an extension speaker out?

As to your last question.....I don't know.

I would think the combos use same versions of amp used in the standalone amps....cheaper to make that way. So, if the amp only has one speaker out, he could add a parallel jack on the back of the combo to hook the 2nd cab into. Assuming of course, he puts an 8 ohm speaker in the combo.


2 or 3 ways to go here. I'd start by doing the box mods to the combo, whatever are needed. If this thing is brand new, it may have some internal bracing but still needs to be lined.

Then go about trying the other speaker, and/or building one or more cabs, of either sort.

 

[will33]

Does the MB15 have the 200 or 500 watt amp?

The 200 might get you there with a pair of EV 15's. The 500 blasting into a single speaker is more power than a single speaker can turn into sound.

 

[Joedog]

The MB115 combo is 200w, 4 ohm speaker, w/no ext. speaker out (hence my original question). Going to an internal 8 ohm, would allow a 2nd 8 ohm speaker (with proper wiring/jack of course), unless I'm trippin'. Maybe I didn't explain it well......sorry.

P.S. Already did some bracing and stuffing. Sound is good, just a hair modern for my taste. Plus not enuff volume (at least in reserve). I'm hoping my solution will solve both (eternal optomist). Thanks for the comments ..keep them coming. Some of the responses seem to ignore my cost issue...I'd gladly buy a couple greenboyl cabs,and a new head, but can't justify them at this point.

 

[Joedog]

Adding an EVM-15B into your existing cab isn't a good idea because it's likely too small for that driver and wouldn't work so well.

Sorry, don't understand that??????

 

[dhsierra1]

Sorry, don't understand that??????

Ah, certain speakers work better in smaller cabs than others. Upon reviewing the specs for the EVs and then remembering I put one in a rather small cab I changed course. I'd go w/Will's recommendations, esp if cost is an issue for you. No worries, I need to watch my gear $, too

 

[Joedog]

Update: I bought the EV's. I got to swap out the stock speaker and demo an EV before I bought. The tone diff. wasn't as big as I was hoping, but an improvement...a bit more old school, but still a bit boxy/middy, just not quite as much. Hopefully it will improve a bit when broken in. I recently switched to flats (before the speaker swap), which also helped a bit. I was concerned there might be a noticable volume drop going from a 4 ohm to an 8, but I swear the EV is louder!

Any way, I'm in no mad rush to get the 2nd cab built, but am looking forward to seeing how it'll work with the combo! It should be an easy wiring job....add a jack wired to the internal speaker (or make a Y junction of some sort?). I was wondering if there is an easy way to wire it so as to be able to disable the internal speaker, and run just the extension (it'll be based on the TL606, unless someone has a better idea). This would be just for "research", to better compare the 2. If the 606 sounds significantly better, I might go the 2 TL606 cabs route and sell the combo (with the original speaker)? Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself....LOL. Ah, the eternal search for great tone on a low dollar budget! BTW I got the 2 EV's with warantee, for $125. Combo is noticably heavier, but not bad at all. Guessing still under 40 lbs. Thanks for any further input, especially on the wiring. I'll update w/results when the new cab has been tested! Looking forward to the build, and getting the dust off my tools!