what is this cab? what head should i buy?

[bassweedwizard]

hey so i recently bought this cab and i can’t figure out what it is exactly
i know it’s a peavey 1x18, but i can’t figure out exactly what it is

also, what head would you recommend? i usually play in the style of doom and my budget is $250 (used of course)
i’m looking at peavey, GK, and hartke, but i’d like specific recommendations

attacked are pictures of the cab

 

[Wasnex]

As the label says, the model is 118D-4 BW and it's 4 ohms. It's not clear to me this is a bass cab. Everything I have found suggests it was intended as a subwoofer.

I tried finding a spec sheet or manual for you, but was not successful...it's old!

It's important to find out the power rating. I found a post from @agedhorse on another website that suggests about 300W RMS. Perhaps he will chime in.

AFAIK the correct BW driver for this cab should have a shiny dust metal dusty cover like this.

If it's a sub, it's probably not going to work well as a stand-alone bass cab. Also if it's not loaded with an appropriate driver, it may not work well period.

My gut says return the cab and and get a refund if you can.

 

[bassweedwizard]

My gut says return the cab and and get a refund if you can

yeah i’ll do that

 

[ardgedee]

Invalid Link Removed couple Invalid Link Removed on the Peavey Forum about it which suggest it has a rating of 350W continuous. My bet is it won't be particularly efficient either. Low power handling + low efficiency = very little boom for your buck.

Hard to find info about this specific unit because Peavey has reused the 118D product name a couple times, most recently for a powered subwoofer. I don't think what you have is a subwoofer, but I do think you can probably do better with something less esoteric.

 

[aprod]

Its not a sub. It is a bass cab. I have the 2x15. Its 40 years old.

 

[Ellery]

This may not work with your stated budget, but running a Sansamp bass driver into my GK1001RB already gets a sick doom tone, running something equivalent into this old 18” would probably sound good!

 

[Nebadon2000]

hey so i recently bought this cab and i can’t figure out what it is exactly
i know it’s a peavey 1x18, but i can’t figure out exactly what it is

also, what head would you recommend? i usually play in the style of doom and my budget is $250 (used of course)
i’m looking at peavey, GK, and hartke, but i’d like specific recommendations

attacked are pictures of the cab

Any of the Heads you mentioned should work if between 250-350 watts at 4 ohms; You cannot add another cabinet

Can you do better? Sure

If you are going to return it post other Cabs in your price range available to you and also Model names of Amp's your looking at

 

[Stylee Mousse]

Hey BWW. Look around until you find a peavey or similar 215 cab.

Generally a 215 will outplay a similar 118 cab

 

[BluBasPlr]

If you decide to keep it this is what you need. Peavey Mark IV

 

[TN WOODMAN]

Maybe not as your main rig but old cabs like this with appropriate heads are fun.

 

[ajkula66]

It's a very old Peavey bass cabinet. Late '70s to very early '80s.

The speaker is NOT a Black Widow that the cab had left the factory with, or it had been messed with. Personally, I'd remove the speaker to find out what it is. You may be in for a pleasant surprise. Or not...

Good luck.

 

[J Wilson]

These were a standalone bass guitar cabinet, from the days when bass tones with a lot of mids and highs wasn't really thought about much.

Peavey in those days (like that BASS head pictured above) included adjustable crossovers on a lot of bass rigs, they included the plug in crossovers for their CS power amps, etc., they put crossovers in lots of products.

Back then this would have often been a subwoofer often, and one of these under a Peavey SP2 bin made a great 2-way PA if you wanted to carry drums and bass into the house.

You can certainly use it for a bass guitar bin with an amp for an old-school tone.

 

[definenredefine]

If you decide to keep it this is what you need. Peavey Mark IV View attachment 7365339

Any Peavey head at least this old should do the trick. 400, Musician, Century, etc.

 

[braud357]

This cabinet was a bass guitar cabinet. I bought one new in 1979 and used it for several years pushing it with a Kustom K200 head. If you read the specs stated for the cabinet it specs-out better that a 15" speaker - it will even go higher in frequency than a 15" will. It sounded pretty good used with a Fender Precision ! Also, another poster stated that the original speaker would have had the aluminum voice coil cover - this is indeed true ! This speaker may have had a replacement basket installed - and the latter basket assemblies did not have the aluminum VC cover.

 

[DJ Bebop]

hey so i recently bought this cab and i can’t figure out what it is exactly
i know it’s a peavey 1x18, but i can’t figure out exactly what it is

also, what head would you recommend? i usually play in the style of doom and my budget is $250 (used of course)
i’m looking at peavey, GK, and hartke, but i’d like specific recommendations

attacked are pictures of the cab

You started a new thread?

Thread 'buying my first non-combo amp'

Nov 8, 2025

i decided to get some new gear so i got a peavey 118D bass cab used for a pretty good price at my local guitar center, and i know nothing about cabs and heads, so here are my questions:
1. what general knowledge should i know before buying a head?
2. what should i know about my new cab before buying a head? (how many watts can it do? what wattage of a head would work with it?
3. what are some good recommendations for a head that would go well with this amp? (i play mainly in the style of doom) (i don’t have much money so i’m hoping to get something under $250 used)

• bassweedwizard
• doom metal head head amp
• Replies: 22
• Forum: Amps and Cabs [BG]

• 

 

[jthisdell]

You started a new thread?

Thread 'buying my first non-combo amp'

Nov 8, 2025

i decided to get some new gear so i got a peavey 118D bass cab used for a pretty good price at my local guitar center, and i know nothing about cabs and heads, so here are my questions:
1. what general knowledge should i know before buying a head?
2. what should i know about my new cab before buying a head? (how many watts can it do? what wattage of a head would work with it?
3. what are some good recommendations for a head that would go well with this amp? (i play mainly in the style of doom) (i don’t have much money so i’m hoping to get something under $250 used)

• bassweedwizard
• doom metal head head amp
• Replies: 22
• Forum: Amps and Cabs [BG]

• 

Better answers in that thread

 

[BassBrass]

I have one of those in the basement, (where it will stay until the solar micro nova liquidation day) but 8 ohm. I was using it in the 90s, but it was old then, so the first thing that happened is the old speaker blew (from 350W Hartle amp). I replaced it with a 1200 watt Sigma and put a Peavey 2/10 on top for midrange. It was great but heavy. Later I got better low end from a Carvin 4/10. That old thing at 4 ohms (if it is) is next to useless.

 

[bassbrad]

That cab is useful in several ways; as a full range bass cab, low end for a bi-amped bass rig or as part of a PA system as a woofer or subwoofer. FWIW I used one for years playing in a C&W band as it provided the perfect gravitas for moving the music.

 

[Mr Horse]

Invalid Link Removed couple Invalid Link Removed on the Peavey Forum about it which suggest it has a rating of 350W continuous. My bet is it won't be particularly efficient either. Low power handling + low efficiency = very little boom for your buck.

Hard to find info about this specific unit because Peavey has reused the 118D product name a couple times, most recently for a powered subwoofer. I don't think what you have is a subwoofer, but I do think you can probably do better with something less esoteric.

I do love me some esoteric
gear!