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Would you lose high end with 2 115s?!

P

Patchbass

Guest
Mar 27, 2013
331
62
England
#1
Me again (sorry) but still cab choosing and would two abm 115s with an abm 500 have enough high end as i like more of a warm traditional old school vintage sound but im mean when i venture up to the 12th fret on the g string at highest it wouldnt sound super muddy or not cut through would it? EDIT: So anyone use 2 abm 115s or at least one users please?
 
#2
Bear in mind that not all 15" speakers sound the same, or have the same frequency response. And some 115 cabs include a tweeter. So you really need to hear from owners of the ABM 115 specifically, rather than anything about 115's in general. :)
 
#6
Two of them will be loud enough.

I played a 2x115 ABM rig for a long time. I had two of the "compact" 15s. Actually ended up just using one of them on most gigs. Great rig. I never noticed any missing high end, but i don't like a lot of high end anyway. I play with flats, and in a cab with a tweeter, I usually turn the tweeter off - or very low.

Of course, you won't get any really high-high end if since there is no tweet. No sparkle, string noise, clanking, and all that. If you are a gospel pop and slap guy, these are not for you. Ashdown specs say the 15 cab goes up to 2kHz. Seems a little low, but take it with a grain of salt. The Ashdown ABM 15s are very warm sounding, and very nice speakers.
 
#7
I gigged in the late 70's with an SVT into a couple EV TL cabinets with old EV SRO's and I could get substantial highs. I used a 64 P bass with a Dimarzio Model P pickup, a preamp I built for the bass with baxandall bass and treble and Rotosound roundwounds. Occasionally, when we needed the 15 cabinets in the PA, I used a Fender 2X15 Dual Showman cabinet with a pair of CTS 15's and got decent highs.

There are guitar amps with 15's that have no lack of high end.
 
#10
hennessybass said:
Two of them will be loud enough.

I played a 2x115 ABM rig for a long time. I had two of the "compact" 15s. Actually ended up just using one of them on most gigs. Great rig. I never noticed any missing high end, but i don't like a lot of high end anyway. I play with flats, and in a cab with a tweeter, I usually turn the tweeter off - or very low.

Of course, you won't get any really high-high end if since there is no tweet. No sparkle, string noise, clanking, and all that. If you are a gospel pop and slap guy, these are not for you. Ashdown specs say the 15 cab goes up to 2kHz. Seems a little low, but take it with a grain of salt. The Ashdown ABM 15s are very warm sounding, and very nice speakers.
Click to expand...

Thanks that sounds right as im not very good at slap anyway and it doesn't fit in my band and also i lay with flats and rounds though i thinking im converting to fully flatwound but not sure yet ;)
 
#11
Steve Dallman said:
I gigged in the late 70's with an SVT into a couple EV TL cabinets with old EV SRO's and I could get substantial highs. I used a 64 P bass with a Dimarzio Model P pickup, a preamp I built for the bass with baxandall bass and treble and Rotosound roundwounds. Occasionally, when we needed the 15 cabinets in the PA, I used a Fender 2X15 Dual Showman cabinet with a pair of CTS 15's and got decent highs.

There are guitar amps with 15's that have no lack of high end.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply all info helps me a lot!
 
#13
Patchbass said:
Thanks for the reply!
It only goes up to 2k and i dont really like tweeters so no tweeters a good thing but 2k might not be enough but it should be
Click to expand...
2k is pretty dark as far as I'm concerned, but some like it. As always, it's a taste thing. There are times I like a tone that dark for sure, but I like it to be my choice.
 
#16
Munjibunga said:
Jim Bergantino used to make the HT115s that sounded full-range to me. Before hearing them I would've said 15s are tone-sucking muff monsters. Well ... actually, I did say it. They were the only 15s I've ever liked, although the new Form Factors sound halfway decent. I can't wait to hear his new NV115.
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Bergantino cabs are really nice but I don't have the money for that stuff at the moment but thanks as you've made me consider it more!
 
#17
Patchbass said:
Thanks im stuck now do you think an abm 610 would be better or even a trace elliot 410 (the new one)?
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Aw shoot, man, didn't mean to bum you out on a new purchase. Don't know much about those other cabs, sorry. But if they sound good to you, that's all that's important. Some people like them, as witnessed by other posts. So now that you have them, go have some fun with them and see what you think over a few weeks.
 
#18
JimmyM said:
2k is pretty dark as far as I'm concerned, but some like it. As always, it's a taste thing.
Click to expand...

Dark is a pretty good way to describe the sound. They are not lively speakers...

I found that they sounded really really good with some amps, and not so great with others. I used them with some tube heads (fender and hiwatt), and did not like the way the responded with those amps, so that's why I sold them. They sounded great with an Ashdown Little Bastard, but that wasn't enough volume in the end. It's been a long time, but I don't remember really digging them with a Little Mark II either.

Sold one to a guy that was pairing it with a ABM 210 combo. Not sure about the other guy, but when I sold it to him, we made the trade at a music store and tried out the speaker with an Ampeg 7 Pro and a P-Bass. DANG. I almost didn't want to sell the speaker because it sounded so good.

Ashdown doesn't even list a freq range on the 6x10 or 8x10 cab. They are not the best about that.

Bottom line is you need to try it out and see if they work for you. If you don't have that option, then you just have to do the best you can. I am a fan of 15s, but a 410 would probably cover most everything, a 610 would for sure. Like Jimmy said - if you go with a cab with a better range, then it's your choice to dial the highs back.

Tom Bowlus has a cool thread on here that is a 115 shoot out. Doesn't include Ashdown, but he compares about 6 different 115 cabs. Might try doing a search for that.
 
#19
hennessybass said:
Dark is a pretty good way to describe the sound. They are not lively speakers...

I found that they sounded really really good with some amps, and not so great with others. I used them with some tube heads (fender and hiwatt), and did not like the way the responded with those amps, so that's why I sold them. They sounded great with an Ashdown Little Bastard, but that wasn't enough volume in the end. It's been a long time, but I don't remember really digging them with a Little Mark II either.

Sold one to a guy that was pairing it with a ABM 210 combo. Not sure about the other guy, but when I sold it to him, we made the trade at a music store and tried out the speaker with an Ampeg 7 Pro and a P-Bass. DANG. I almost didn't want to sell the speaker because it sounded so good.

Ashdown doesn't even list a freq range on the 6x10 or 8x10 cab. They are not the best about that.

Bottom line is you need to try it out and see if they work for you. If you don't have that option, then you just have to do the best you can. I am a fan of 15s, but a 410 would probably cover most everything, a 610 would for sure. Like Jimmy said - if you go with a cab with a better range, then it's your choice to dial the highs back.

Tom Bowlus has a cool thread on here that is a 115 shoot out. Doesn't include Ashdown, but he compares about 6 different 115 cabs. Might try doing a search for that.
Click to expand...

Isn't that shoot out thread pretty old by now? Lots of new options now available.
 

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