So here's the deal, I play bass through a old Music Man HD-130 Head into a Music Man cab (both pictured), and though it's unorthodox and may make a few people mad, I play mostly metal with it, and one day, when turning on a behringer pedal, it made a sound as if I unplugged at full volume, and subsequently blew one of the speakers. Being as I am un-versed in the wide world of speakers, cabs, and gear in general, I figured I would ask the experts on some speakers I could put into the cab. Ideally they would work as well on bass as the current speakers in it do (JBL model K-110), and would also function as guitar speakers, and ideally would be bullet proof so I don't have to replace them again any time soon. Any suggestions would be appreciated. (130 watt head, ideally two 8 ohm speakers)
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Speaker Suggestions for Music Man Cab?
- Thread starter P-on-my-bass
- Start date
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- Tags
- cab 4 ohm speaker blown
I’d say get a JBl k110 but they seem to have gotten expensive….
I’d say put some guitar 10s, use that cab for guitar and get a 215 for bass. Get a Sunn 215b and rock oute!
I’d say put some guitar 10s, use that cab for guitar and get a 215 for bass. Get a Sunn 215b and rock oute!
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,970
- 5
- 220,702
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Ouch, that wasn’t the original speaker, looks like a chop job…
Is it possible to restore the cabinet to take 12” drivers like originally configured? That would give you some better and more sensitive options.
The K-110’s are a terrible choice for bass drivers, especially in an untuned enclosure, they end up with a LF power handling of about 30 watts each. That’s an expensive driver to destroy, and the other one is probably damaged as well. The blown speakers still have some value for collectors that need them to restore a period correct piece.
I would look at the BassLite 2012 with a (re)tuned enclosure if I were to do this. Good balance of performance.
Is it possible to restore the cabinet to take 12” drivers like originally configured? That would give you some better and more sensitive options.
The K-110’s are a terrible choice for bass drivers, especially in an untuned enclosure, they end up with a LF power handling of about 30 watts each. That’s an expensive driver to destroy, and the other one is probably damaged as well. The blown speakers still have some value for collectors that need them to restore a period correct piece.
I would look at the BassLite 2012 with a (re)tuned enclosure if I were to do this. Good balance of performance.
Such the wrong speaker for a bass cab, sought after and expensive for guitar use in mint condition. If the rest of the speaker was as clean as the frames look
that pair could have been worth $400 plus.
Recones for the K series 10's is tricky as they have a very tight voice coil gap that was later opened up a bit on the E series.
that pair could have been worth $400 plus.
Recones for the K series 10's is tricky as they have a very tight voice coil gap that was later opened up a bit on the E series.
Bearing in mind that tuning cab ports for new and very different drivers is a decidedly non trivial exercise, indeed beyond the facilities many of us amateurs have, would the OP be better off sealing up the ports and converting it to a sealed cab? Reconverting to 12s sounds sensible too, so is there a good pair of 12" drivers for a sealed 2x12 cab?
I wouldn't bother trying to replace. Cabs and speakers have to be finely tuned. You could replace one or both, but chances are very high you would be unhappy with the result.
Time for a new cab.
Time for a new cab.
Is that inside shot really a Music Man cab? It really doesn't look like anything mass produced.
My guess is it started off as a Music Man cab but someone replaced the front baffle.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,970
- 5
- 220,702
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
D
I know this isn't what you want to hear, but if you want both a great tone and acceptable reliability for both bass and guitar, your best option is probably to buy a good quality, modern bass cab for bass, and install GUITAR speakers in that MM cab and only use it for guitar. The amp itself can be great for both guitar and bass, but using the same cab for guitar/bass will always be a compromise.
Modern bass speakers are typically voiced very differently than guitar speakers, and guitars speakers won't last very long for bass.
The "bass" speakers they used back in the 60s/70s were much closer (tonally and design-wise) to guitar speakers, but they were also FAR less robust than modern bass speakers.
So basically:
-If you install guitar speakers and use them for bass, you will most likely blow them pretty fast.
-If you install bass speakers and use them for guitar, you will have to accept that the tone will be quite different from what most guitar players want. Maybe you will like it, but I'm guessing you probably won't, ESPECIALLY in the context of a band/mix.
If you still want to install bass speakers in that cab, make sure you understand the physics/maths involved and how to tune the ports.
If you install GUITAR speakers in that cab (and only use it for guitar) you won't really have to worry about these things, just get any speakers you want (making sure you get the impedance/wiring right of course). But then you will of course need an additional BASS cab for bass...
Modern bass speakers are typically voiced very differently than guitar speakers, and guitars speakers won't last very long for bass.
The "bass" speakers they used back in the 60s/70s were much closer (tonally and design-wise) to guitar speakers, but they were also FAR less robust than modern bass speakers.
So basically:
-If you install guitar speakers and use them for bass, you will most likely blow them pretty fast.
-If you install bass speakers and use them for guitar, you will have to accept that the tone will be quite different from what most guitar players want. Maybe you will like it, but I'm guessing you probably won't, ESPECIALLY in the context of a band/mix.
If you still want to install bass speakers in that cab, make sure you understand the physics/maths involved and how to tune the ports.
If you install GUITAR speakers in that cab (and only use it for guitar) you won't really have to worry about these things, just get any speakers you want (making sure you get the impedance/wiring right of course). But then you will of course need an additional BASS cab for bass...
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D
I too was horrified when I saw the jbl's in there, the dude before me used it for bass as well for some years, and it's possible he also didn't know they were in there (taking those pictures was the first time I opened the cab, and the dude I bought it from didn't mention the speakers in it). I'm looking into bass cabs now but figured I would mention that people tend to be too categorical with gear. Those Jbl's sounded amazing on both bass and guitar and handled the bass signal as well as anything I've heard. Just play music I say.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,970
- 5
- 220,702
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
If they handled bass as well as anything you’ve heard, you haven’t heard much. It’s a terrible driver for bass except at practice level. The end result of using these for bass at louder levels is blown drivers… which you have now experienced.
I’m not being categorical about gear, I’m being very factual about these specific speakers (which have a lot of experience with),
I definitely appreciate it, but they didn't blow because I was playing bass, they blew when I turned on a vintage tube overdrive pedal that made a super loud cracking noise (level wasn't set high on it at all and had a guitar plugged in at the time). I certainly don't doubt there are better sounding options, and I certainly didn't make the assertion that I've heard a lot of setups, but I should say that I have had many compliments on my tone with this setup, and by proper bass players too. Would a more expensive 2x12 setup sound better? Probably. Did I know it had rare and expensive guitar speakers in it? No. Did it make a great bass tone and have no issues for over a year at band volume levels? Yes. Gear is versatile and if it works it works is all I'm saying.
Speakers blown... Check.
Inside of enclosure, a hot mess... Check.
Wrong drivers for bass... Check.
Great news!
You're getting a new amp.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 60,970
- 5
- 220,702
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Forgive me for trying to help. It appears that you already know it all, in spite of being the one with the blown driver(s).
I was a JBL factory certified recone guy back in the day and saw plenty of damage with the K/E 110 series due to improper or poor application, accidental overpowering (your particular case), etc.
The K110 has a very short VC with a very small Xmax (1.5mm) and an equally small difference between Xmax and Xlim, which is why these drivers were so fragile. Due to reliability issues with the K110 and K112's, the E series versions were redesigned to address this somewhat, but the K/E-110 remain a PA midrange driver and guitar driver with a power handling for guitar limited to about 50 watts per driver (thermal with the 50% derating per JBL's OEM application documents).
