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Speaker repair

Discussion in 'Amps and Cabs [BG]' started by Sounbwoy, Dec 14, 2007.

  1. Dec 14, 2007 #1
    Sounbwoy

    Sounbwoy Supporting Member

    Aug 29, 2005
    Clayton, NC
    So I got carried away last night and blew the speaker in my cab. I have an Ampeg BSE-115 but my amp is a Crown that's rated at 475W at 8ohms. I got happy playing my G&L for the first time (LOVE that thing) and then poof..no sound. Yeah, I know. Dancing with the devil and got carried away! During the break I confirmed the amp was OK and no sound from the cab (hooked it up to the DJ's system).
    Anyway, my thought is, I'm thinking I'll just have the speaker replaced with one that can handle more power. I'm hoping that I won't lose the tone and musicality that I have gotten accustomed to. Has this happened to any of you? What kind of speakers would you recommend that provide higher power handling capacity with a good tone (similar to an Ampeg type sound)?

    Thanks...
     
  2. Dec 14, 2007 #2
    JimmyM

    JimmyM Supporting Member

    Apr 11, 2005
    Apopka, FL
    Endorsing: Yamaha, Ampeg, Line 6, EMG
    Maybe an Eminence. If I'm not mistaken, Ampeg uses Eminences in their cabs. I've got them in a Tube Works 4-10" and they sound very Ampeg-ish.
     
  3. Dec 14, 2007 #3
    62bass

    62bass Guest

    Apr 3, 2005
    You can replace the speaker but that may not be the best way to go. An extra speaker cabinet to help share the load is a better idea. Or get one new cabinet that can handle a lot more power. That way the cabinet will be designed to match the speaker for better results. Just dropping a higher power rated speaker in your existing cabinet could be a waste of money if it doesn't match the cabinet.
     
  4. Dec 15, 2007 #4
    Sounbwoy

    Sounbwoy Supporting Member

    Aug 29, 2005
    Clayton, NC
    A new cabinet is in the plan. I was just "holding" to see what I'd get. I really wanted the Ampeg 2x10 (that looks like a wedge) but it seems those have been discontinued. I dropped the cab off today and will just get a higher capacity driver that rated at 4ohms. The shop where I left it has a MusicMan 2x10 and a GK (I think) 2x10, so that will be my Christmas gift.
     
  5. Dec 15, 2007 #5
    thejohnkim

    thejohnkim

    Sep 30, 2003
    NYC
    if youre looking to save money, then check out the guys at speakerrepair.com those guys are solid with the quality of their work. the website can help you find out if your speaker can be repaired or even improved to handle a little bit more power
     
  6. Dec 15, 2007 #6
    Sounbwoy

    Sounbwoy Supporting Member

    Aug 29, 2005
    Clayton, NC
    Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. Since I need something by Wednesday, I'll table it for now. The leader of one of the bands I play in has the same cabinet, and I'll just put "old faithful" back in the saddle. Old faithful is my trusty Peavey MkIII, that was my first amp, bought at a pawnshop, refurbished, used as a step, PA main amp, been dropped and God knows what else. Still works. It's only 200W, but I won't have to worry about overdriving the cabinet. I'll never get rid of it.
     
  7. Dec 15, 2007 #7
    Jerrold Tiers

    Jerrold Tiers

    Nov 14, 2003
    St Louis
    by the way, stuffing another "random" speaker in the cabinet, even one "rated" at more power, may result in a cabinet that will blow out at LESS power.......... And, Eminence speakers used in Ampeg were all custom-designed for specific performance and characteristics. Not all Eminence are alike (to say the least).

    The speaker and cab are matched, set up to handle the power without too much cone motion, and another speaker is likely to be different. Might be similar, might not, might be worse, with the box tuning in just the wrong place.
     
  8. Jan 4, 2008 #8
    Sounbwoy

    Sounbwoy Supporting Member

    Aug 29, 2005
    Clayton, NC
    UPDATE: I have my cab back. NOW it has an Eminence speaker in it. The original speaker is of Chinese manufacture. I know times change, but I was a little irked at that, especially since the plate on the back of the cab says "Made in the US". I did like how it sounded. The voice coil was toast.
    Anyways, the cab now has a BassLite C2515 in it, so I get another 300W and 4 ohms (as opposed to 200W and 8 ohms on the original speaker).
    Yes, the sound has changed a bit, but it still sounds good to me (not as "round" as the other speaker was), and I'm satisfied with it. Time for 2x10 or 4x10 to go with it.
     
  9. Jan 5, 2008 #9
    JimmyM

    JimmyM Supporting Member

    Apr 11, 2005
    Apopka, FL
    Endorsing: Yamaha, Ampeg, Line 6, EMG
    Glad you're happy with it. Me, I'd have gone for the Legend because I like the more Ampeg-ishness of the traditional speaker magnet, but from what little I know about Thiele/Small parameters, both the Basslite and the Legend are good matches for a vented cab that size, and the frequency specs are about equal to what Ampeg's specs are. Might want a more qualified opinion than mine on if it's an exact match, but if you like the sound, that's what's really important. Just be careful, though. I don't care what the specs say...if you hear it sounding like it's about to blow, it's going to, so back off of it.

    And whatever you get for the second cab, make it 4 ohms so you drop the Crown down to 2 ohms and REALLY put some power into them. But again, just be sensible about it and back off if you hear farting and frapping.
     
  10. Jan 5, 2008 #10
    billfitzmaurice

    billfitzmaurice Guest Commercial User

    Sep 15, 2004
    New Hampshire
    Owner, Bill Fitzmaurice Loudspeaker Design
    Eminence has a plant in China that manufactures Eminence drivers for Asian OEM use. It makes a lot more sense than shipping drivers from the US to Asia and then back again inside the cab.
     
  11. Jan 5, 2008 #11
    Sounbwoy

    Sounbwoy Supporting Member

    Aug 29, 2005
    Clayton, NC
    Major +1 on being careful. I was REALLY careful with it the other night. Spent half the gig looking at the signal indicators on the amp for some sort of visual clue! Especially since the amp power rating is still higher than the stated power capacity of the speaker. I'm pretty sure the next cab will be a 4ohm cab.

    Does anyone use one of these on their rig? I'm thinking that it wouldn't hurt to have something like it...
     
  12. Jan 5, 2008 #12
    Sounbwoy

    Sounbwoy Supporting Member

    Aug 29, 2005
    Clayton, NC
    Yeah. Global Economics. It just irked me tho that the cab has a "Made in the USA" label on it. I fully understand that many of the things we purchase may or may not be fully manufactured where they say they are (cars for example), but I just felt :confused: for a bit. I'm over it now.
     
  13. Jan 5, 2008 #13
    sineas

    sineas F@H TEAM 33258

    Dec 31, 2007
    NY
    a LEGEND CB15 (47Hz-3KHz) should have given it a slightly bigger bottoms... but glad the neo worked... makes it more lighter too /no1 :)