bass amp speakers 15"

[helstab]

my cat put a small hole in one of my cones. I haven't tested it out yet, but I was just curious about speaker replacement.

I have an old peavey 2 15" cab from the early 80's I think. I would love to get a new ampeg or something I know works... but I really like the unique sound this cabinet has...plus the ol' money thing. what are some good options for speakers? I know some old JBL models are supposed to be great, but I'm not sure which models exactly.. and from what I've seen they are hard to come by.

suggestions?

[ape32]

Hi helstab -

The prime suspect is the JBL D140 for bass, which I have used for years. The later K140's are also pretty good and can be reconed like a D140. There are two types of surrouns at the edge of the cones, a "S" shaped and an accordion type. Ds us the "S". These speakers have a nice woody tone and take a decent amount of power. JBL D130s are lighter in construction, sound great, but won't survive much heavy work.

I have reconed several over the years and it is pretty pricy. On the other hand I have used Emminence 15s (200 watt ones) also at times and at the price ($80 or so) and though they are toppier, they are nice too.

Another odd but nice choice are CTS 15s with square magnets and tiny voice coil dust covers - real tight sounding when in good shape.

My cat used to love to pee on my Portaflex - luckily he found new and improved owners

BTW - search the web for speaker repair and you will see info on how to fix small rips with glue and tissue-type paper - it really can work.

[Phil Owl]

I think the only speakers I'd avoid are Hartke's (though I do like their amp heads), they blow really easily!

[helstab]

I'm not looking to by a cabinet at all. I'm just curious about 15" replacment speakers for my old peavey cabinet.

thanks

[EasyGo]

I have a wide body 15 cabinet that came with some sort of Eminence speaker; it wasn't long before it blew.

I replaced it with an EV Force 15 (lower line EV), which sounded nice, but again, ended up blowing out, of course the night before a gig.

In a big hurry to fill the cab with a new speaker, I ended up picking up a Peavey Black Widow (no joke), which has been sounding nice and taking all the abuse one could dish out for 5-6 years now. It's sounding a bit tired now, but that motherfucker will not die!

(kinda like my Peavey Bandit from 1985; thanks Hartley Peavey )

I have a a pair of recent JBL PA cabs with 15" woofers, and those things pretty much sound like ass. YMMV

[chetatkinsdiet]

if you like the sound of your current speaker, just get it reconed.
later,
m

[dwelle]

i've got a bunch of the old jbls in some bassman cabinets i have and i absolutely swear by them. they see a lot more action than my 8x10 svt. i've reconed a few of them over the years, not cheap but worth it.

i've had/played a bunch of the peavey speakers and positvely hated each of them, partly because they always blow up and i could never get a nice bottom out of them...

[thunderboy]

That 15' speaker is probably a Black Widow, which has a field-replaceable cone. Pull out three hex bolts and the cone is gone - no need to replace the basket/magnet or to pay for re-coning. Find a shop that has them and replace that sucker yourself!

jt

[MD]

The cheapo jobbies from parts express seem to work. I got a 12" and it worked just fine.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl ... 7572&DID=7

[JES]

As long as we're on the topic, I always *loved* the sound of the 15s in that Mesa-Boogie road ready 2x15. Never had one, but liked others' sounds. What's the 15" in there? Some kind of EV?

Thx.

--JES, thinking about replacing his own eminence 15"

[AGCurry]

Before you go spending your cash on a replacement driver, you should know that small holes in cones can usually be repaired with rubber cement.

You didn't say how much power you're running through this cab. If it's a lot, don't get a 60s or 70s vintage driver (JBL D140, K140, Altec 421, CTS, etc., although these are excellent drivers). These were made to be efficient, not to handle a lot of wattage.

If you need lots of power handling, good budget choices are the Eminence Delta or Kappa. For more $$$, the JBL E140. If you love a great sound but don't need huge power, you can't do better than the Electrovoice EVM15B - if you can find one (they're used in the Mesa Boogie cabs).

[AGCurry]

Oh, and by the way, the JBL D140F was rated at 100 watts. The D130F has exactly the same weight, magnet structure, and voice coil, but the cone is unridged and meant for guitar and organ, not bass instruments. JBL developed the D130F for Fender (hence the "F" suffix) in the early 60s because Dick Dale was blowing speakers left and right. They were upgrades in Showmans and Dual Showmans.

I have a D140F in one of my Ampeg B15Ns, and it's nice. But that amp develops 30 watts RMS. A more rugged and heavier speaker from approximately the same era was the Altec Lansing 421. It's a monster.

[black mariah]

If you can find them, which would be difficult, the old Ross RCS speakers are SICK heavy duty. I built a massive 2x15 cabinet and used a pair of these 300 watt beasts. It can take the full force of a wide-open Sunn Beta Lead and not distort even a bit. How's that for power?

Barring that, Carvins are your best bet. Their 15" PA speakers are something like $70 each, and sound great for everything.

[helstab]

thanks.

didn't notice anything during practice last night.. I'll probably just patch it..