Studio recording combo like Ampeg B-15?

[banksb]

Recently I was recording at a real studio and I ran thru an Ampeg B-15. I was very into the sound and skipped the DI in mixing.

I want to recreate the Ampeg B-15 for my home studio, or at least get something in the ballpark. it doesn't have to be perfect. I'm also trying to keep this affordable.

I'm looking at a 15" cab (dimensions: 18" H x 18" W x 15 1/2" D) loaded with some 15" speaker maybe an Eminence 15" Kappa PRO LF. I plan on powering this cabinet with my fender twin reverb, probably on the clean channel. I'll have that tube sound, plus a cabinet that can handle the lows.

Any advice or directions or feedback is much appreciated!

brad

 

[teleharmonium]

I would suggest a fliptops.com B15 style extension cabinet, loaded with a vintage alnico magnet 15" speaker (JBL D140F, Altec 418B, CTS, or Jensen P15N) with the original cone. That should work well with your Twin as long as the Twin sounds good (I don't know what output impedance the amp has, but you'll need to match that load to the single driver in the cab). You'll need a good mic to get the most out of it, of course. EV RE20, Sennheiser 421, something like that would be cool.

 

[JimmyM]

B-15's rule, huh? I love mine, even though it looks like someone just dug it out of the trash.

Eminence speakers are odd in that they are cheap speakers, and yet they sound great for guitar and bass. I would say if you got one and put it in a smallish cabinet like the B-15, you would get fairly close to the sound of a B-15 with the Twin powering it. As for the mic, I use a Shure SM-57 that I bought in a pawn shop for $45. Sounds good to me. A large diaphragm mic is better, but it costs a lot more and a 57 will do a terrific job anyway.

 

[banksb]

The Twin has a 4Ohm output impedance.. Seems like a good variety of 15" 4 Ohm speakers are tough to find.

Do most tube heads have 4 ohm output impedances? I'd rather not paint myself into a corner and be stuck with using this ONLY with my Twin..

thanks for all the feedback guys,

bb

 

[JPrisus]

it's not an amp, but you might wanna try a Fulltone Bassdrive direct. I've found it gives a very similar sound to a B15 or similar combo.