Will this 18” woofer work for bass cab?

[dBChad]

18s are too woofie and slow responding for my liking but some people like 'em.

This is a general consensus most likely stemming from the wrong 18 inch woofer being put in bass guitar cabinets by manufacturers back when they were more common. However, not all 18" drivers are made the same, neither are all cabinets. Trace Elliot 18" loaded cabs had both depth and punch, and are a great example of the right woofer in the right cabinet performing well. Many cabinet makers back in the day just threw an off-the-shelf 18" into a cab made to fit with a bass stack and it didn't work well. This kind of hapless mismatching gave the whole 18" platform a bad name.

Parts Express has a Woofer selection guide under their "Resources" link. I'd calculate the internal volume of your cabinet and work backwards from there. Find out what will work well in that size enclosure first, then start looking at frequency response, power handling, and sensitivity. Carvin's stock drivers were usually Eminence, so good chance that something in their line works much better for you. B&C would also be a good choice (a little pricey, but their own customer service is very quick and thorough to respond).

 

[wmhill]

Ouch! I'll be hanging round waiting for the TB police to arrive

 

[The Juice]

What was wrong with the original woofer that came with it?
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0476/5297/files/76-00118.pdf?16167097236150684321
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I believe it to be some Eminence 4-inch voice coil variant

Nothing yet; just looking for a upgrade that may give a little bit more speaker sensitivity, and a little higher frequency response. Carvin sells the ps18-4, the same woofer that came with the cab, for a good price.

 

[The Juice]

This is a general consensus most likely stemming from the wrong 18 inch woofer being put in bass guitar cabinets by manufacturers back when they were more common. However, not all 18" drivers are made the same, neither are all cabinets. Trace Elliot 18" loaded cabs had both depth and punch, and are a great example of the right woofer in the right cabinet performing well. Many cabinet makers back in the day just threw an off-the-shelf 18" into a cab made to fit with a bass stack and it didn't work well. This kind of hapless mismatching gave the whole 18" platform a bad name.

Parts Express has a Woofer selection guide under their "Resources" link. I'd calculate the internal volume of your cabinet and work backwards from there. Find out what will work well in that size enclosure first, then start looking at frequency response, power handling, and sensitivity. Carvin's stock drivers were usually Eminence, so good chance that something in their line works much better for you. B&C would also be a good choice (a little pricey, but their own customer service is very quick and thorough to respond).

I agree. The RL118 is very punchy and articulate when powered by my Orange Terror 500. This 18 is very responsive. Im just looking , like I said earlier, with higher frequency response and better speaker sensitivity.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

I agree. The RL118 is very punchy and articulate when powered by my Orange Terror 500. This 18 is very responsive. Im just looking , like I said earlier, with higher frequency response and better speaker sensitivity.

Although you've been given all the reasons why this won't work, you have another option. Buy the speaker from a vendor who guarantees returns. Buy the speaker and give it a test yourself. Don't get too crazy loud with it, if you blow it you won't have a reason to return it.

Some might frown on my suggestion, but I live in a very remote location and often I buy items knowing that I have the protection of return shipping by the vendor. Good luck whatever you end up doing. If you end up trying it, let us know!

 

[The Juice]

Yeah I wont be buying this speaker. Thanks for saving me from disappointment guys!

 

[DJ Bebop]

Tri amping? Wow.

And HAHA!

A triamp setup? Awesome!

I haven’t seen anything like that since the 80s when Prog was in its “twilight last gleaming” stages.

And here I though I was so rad biamping with my rack gear back then.

View attachment 3490903

Well yes and no. It is really bi-amped.
The split is between the 10 and the 12. So one channel with the 10 gets the highs after the crossover @ 8ohms
and the 12 and 18 running @ 4ohms off the low side with a passive crossover on the 18 but still, I like it!

It's really not a heavy rig. The 18 is just a big box of air. Weights the same or less than the Aguilar 12.

 

[Davbassdude]

From a guy who's had an Ampeg B-18 since 1976; An 18 inch speaker has always been good for MY BASS!

 

[GrapeBass]

This is a general consensus most likely stemming from the wrong 18 inch woofer being put in bass guitar cabinets by manufacturers back when they were more common. However, not all 18" drivers are made the same, neither are all cabinets. Trace Elliot 18" loaded cabs had both depth and punch, and are a great example of the right woofer in the right cabinet performing well. Many cabinet makers back in the day just threw an off-the-shelf 18" into a cab made to fit with a bass stack and it didn't work well. This kind of hapless mismatching gave the whole 18" platform a bad name.

Parts Express has a Woofer selection guide under their "Resources" link. I'd calculate the internal volume of your cabinet and work backwards from there. Find out what will work well in that size enclosure first, then start looking at frequency response, power handling, and sensitivity. Carvin's stock drivers were usually Eminence, so good chance that something in their line works much better for you. B&C would also be a good choice (a little pricey, but their own customer service is very quick and thorough to respond).

The physics of a voice coil and large cone area cannot compete with smaller drivers.

Cone area and voice coil size. Those damn cheap ass 10s in an SVT are good for a reason.

Ya can't beat physics.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

From a guy who's had an Ampeg B-18 since 1976; An 18 inch speaker has always been good for MY BASS!

I don't care how many reasons have been thrown at me. One of the best stage cabs I ever owned was the Peavey 1820. It had 1 x 18" and 2 x 10" for hi's. That beast shook the walls without breaking a sweat. And it didn't need an incredible amount of power to do it either. It was happy with 300 watts. In the 80's 300 watts was a lot, but also back then-- 300 watts was much louder than today's 300 watts. I think the common practice of "fudging" the numbers on watts is a common practice today.

But yeah, the 18" bass cab is a beast indeed.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I don't care how many reasons have been thrown at me. One of the best stage cabs I ever owned was the Peavey 1820. It had 1 x 18" and 2 x 10" for hi's. That beast shook the walls without breaking a sweat. And it didn't need an incredible amount of power to do it either. It was happy with 300 watts. In the 80's 300 watts was a lot, but also back then-- 300 watts was much louder than today's 300 watts. I think the common practice of "fudging" the numbers on watts is a common practice today.

But yeah, the 18" bass cab is a beast indeed.

That 18 black widow I posted back up there was from an 1820.
I had two of them. Sold one, parted the other out into that cab for the 18 and a separate cab for the 2x10s.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Yeah I wont be buying this speaker. Thanks for saving me from disappointment guys!

I use my 18 as a sub only not as a stand-alone cab.

The only other times I have used 18's was with another speaker or speakers like the
Peavey 1810, 1820 or the mighty 3620 all with a mix of 18's and 10's

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[alaskaleftybass]

I use my 18 as a sub only not as a stand-alone cab.

The only other times I have used 18's was with another speaker or speakers like the
Peavey 1810, 1820 or the mighty 3620 all with a mix of 18's and 10's

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I bow to the greatness of the Majestic 3620!

 

[CryingBass]

3. 6. 1.

 

[Bubble]

Make you one of these.

 

[btmpancake]

I bow to the greatness of the Majestic 3620!

Oh man! I had that cab in my Reggae band days. I would have loved being a beta tester for Mr. Hartley Peavey.

 

[Matthijs]

I don't care how many reasons have been thrown at me. One of the best stage cabs I ever owned was the Peavey 1820. It had 1 x 18" and 2 x 10" for hi's. That beast shook the walls without breaking a sweat. And it didn't need an incredible amount of power to do it either. It was happy with 300 watts. In the 80's 300 watts was a lot, but also back then-- 300 watts was much louder than today's 300 watts. I think the common practice of "fudging" the numbers on watts is a common practice today.

But yeah, the 18" bass cab is a beast indeed.

So, are 80’s watts louder than tube watts?

That would make sense: I blame most of my hearing loss on the 80’s. (Or is it the other way around: I do rememeber stuff from back then as louder because I could still hear things clearly?)

 

[alaskaleftybass]

So, are 80’s watts louder than tube watts?

That would make sense: I blame most of my hearing loss on the 80’s. (Or is it the other way around: I do rememeber stuff from back then as louder because I could still hear things clearly?)

Ha ha you very funny man, you "rememeber" 80's watts louder!

 

[40Hz]

Well yes and no. It is really bi-amped.
The split is between the 10 and the 12. So one channel with the 10 gets the highs after the crossover @ 8ohms
and the 12 and 18 running @ 4ohms off the low side with a passive crossover on the 18 but still, I like it!

It's really not a heavy rig. The 18 is just a big box of air. Weights the same or less than the Aguilar 12.

You’re doing better than I did back then. I went from an Acoustic 360 with dual 361 cabs prior to going to bi-amped rack gear. That stuff all weighed a ton!

 

[moogieotter]

I replaced the stock EV 18 with an Eminence Sigma 18 for about $150. I just a regular dum kinda guy so I don't know much about the stats, but I have gigged it several times and am happy af. Oh yeah, the cabinet was a Mesa 18 from the 90s, front ported at the bottom.