4x15

[bigjimmyc]

Surely this is a good idea!

Has anyone out there ever seen, heard or built one?

[bartelby]

Marshall did some for Lemmy, the [color=#323232][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Marshall 1979L6.[/font][/color]
[color=#323232][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]They were put into production too. [/font][/color]
[color=#323232][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]Some have been sold on here before..[/font][/color]

Edited November 29, 2016 by bartelby

[Dan Dare]

If you can carry it, of course. Would have thought you wouldn't gain much over two 2x15s.

[chris_b]

These days it's a pointless idea.

Back when Marshall and several other companies made these they didn't sell in enough numbers to keep them in the product line. They didn't have many sound advantages over the 412 stacks (that were the work horses) and 215's and they weighed way too much to be carried up and down stairs on a regular basis.

With the vastly improved design of modern speakers the extra weight and bulk of a 415 makes even less sense. There are modern 115's and 212's that are louder, sound better and weigh a fraction.

As I say these cabs weren't popular back then and now really have had their time.

If you still think you need a 415 get 2 215's and see how often you use both cabs.

[bigjimmyc]

Yeah, I know that's all true, but it still makes me grin thinking about it (with my SVT on top).

I have a bunch of "spare" 15" drivers and I bet someone somewhere has an empty 4x15 shell sat disused somewhere.

PS. If anyone has a redundant 2x15 please get in touch.

[pete.young]

Some ancient history: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/207309-kustom-4x15-cabinet/page__p__2665798__hl__burman__fromsearch__1#entry2665798

[thodrik]

Utterly pointless but I imagine that would be a lot of fun to play through.

[Tonteee]

I had one, a '73 Marshall 1979, for years. I sold it to another Basschatter quite recently.

They are hard to move and store, but do exude vintage cool on a venue's stage. It sounded very deep, very loud, very vintage. Not exactly Hi-Fi...

I used to use an old Laney DP300 head to power it, which was a good fit for it. They do need an amp with sufficient 'heft' (sigh) to get them Greenbacks working.

[Phil Starr]

You are going back to a time when 25W was a high power speaker and 50W was pretty exotic. Speaker coils were wound onto paper and stuck down with very simple adhesives. At any higher power the paper singes and the glue melted letting the coil distort and rub against the magnet. A 100W amp cost several weeks wages. I remember Goodmans bringing out what was the first affordable 50W 15" speaker in this country. If you wanted a 100W speaker until then a 4xsomething was the only way. It also raised efficiency to the level where 100W was enough to fill a large auditorium. You are also going back to a time when speaker theory was pretty much unknown. Thiele re-published the theory we all use in 1971 and it took a while after that to be widely adopted by music speaker designers. Partly that's why there are so many bonkers designs from back then, no real theory.

Basically the reason we don't use 4x15's is better glue

Edited November 30, 2016 by Phil Starr

[mikel]

No, but I did build a 2 x 18 with a mate back in the day. A great experiment. It took ages to get right, cost a fortune and sounded awful.

[MoonBassAlpha]

That just about sums it up ^^

[Chienmortbb]

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1480492225' post='3184738']
You are going back to a time when 25W was a high power speaker and 50W was pretty exotic. Speaker coils were wound onto paper and stuck down with very simple adhesives. At any higher power the paper singes and the glue melted letting the coil distort and rub against the magnet. A 100W amp cost several weeks wages. I remember Goodmans bringing out what was the first affordable 50W 15" speaker in this country. If you wanted a 100W speaker until then a 4xsomething was the only way. It also raised efficiency to the level where 100W was enough to fill a large auditorium. You are also going back to a time when speaker theory was pretty much unknown. Thiele re-published the theory we all use in 1971 and it took a while after that to be widely adopted by music speaker designers. Partly that's why there are so many bonkers designs from back then, no real theory.

Basically the reason we don't use 4x15's is better glue
[/quote]some of those old Goodmans speakers were insanely efficient. The Audium and Axiom ranges if I remember rightly. There was a 6 watt model made for HiFi that could deafen you at a couple of watts.

[barkin]

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1480493838' post='3184746']
It took ages to get right ... and sounded awful.
[/quote]

???

[mikel]

[quote name='barkin' timestamp='1480531785' post='3185186']
???
[/quote]

I meant building the cabinet and installing the speakers. It sounded rubbish. Muddy and boomy.

[Dan Dare]

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1480492225' post='3184738']
You are going back to a time when 25W was a high power speaker and 50W was pretty exotic. Speaker coils were wound onto paper and stuck down with very simple adhesives. At any higher power the paper singes and the glue melted letting the coil distort and rub against the magnet. A 100W amp cost several weeks wages. I remember Goodmans bringing out what was the first affordable 50W 15" speaker in this country. If you wanted a 100W speaker until then a 4xsomething was the only way. It also raised efficiency to the level where 100W was enough to fill a large auditorium. You are also going back to a time when speaker theory was pretty much unknown. Thiele re-published the theory we all use in 1971 and it took a while after that to be widely adopted by music speaker designers. Partly that's why there are so many bonkers designs from back then, no real theory.

Basically the reason we don't use 4x15's is better glue

This + 1. I'd suggest better materials all round, in addition to the glue, as well as a better understanding of what is important. The bonkers designs were all people groping about in the dark. Sure, some worked, but more out of luck than anything else and they helped pave the way to where we are now. In 50 years time, I have no doubt people will look back with fond amusement at the stuff we consider state of the art now.
[/quote]

[VTypeV4]

I have a pair of Audiom 15s stuffed into some WEM boxes and they're awesome.. I had them reconed by Roy at RMJ a wile back and they now sound better and play louder than they ever did.. Love 'em! Not quite JBL quality but a lovely driver anyways. They come upon eBay from time to time but sellers always want silly money..

[EliasMooseblaster]

[quote name='Dan Dare' timestamp='1480415332' post='3184123']
If you can carry it, of course. Would have thought you wouldn't gain much over two 2x15s.
[/quote]

There is a story our guitarist often wheels out which, despite a lifelong obsession with The Who, I've never been able to verify, but here we go anyway:
Supposedly, back in the (relatively) early days when The Who were in regular correspondence with Jim Marshall, Pete Townshend apparently approached him to have him build him an 8x12.
"Eight speakers? But you'll never be able to lift it!" Cried Marshall.
"That's what roadies are for," Townshend is said to have replied, deadpan.
Marshall duly built the cabinet and had it shipped to Shepherd's Bush. A week later, Townshend and a couple of roadies came back with the 8x12 in the back of a van.
"Yeah, can you chop it in half for us?" asked the young guitarist, somewhat sheepishly.

[chris_b]

I know PT got Marshall to build an 810 to try and keep up with the racket JE was making.

Our guitarist in the school band had one.

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Why stop at 4x15, another basschatter built an 8x15 cab a while back, suprised no one else linked it

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/259954-custom-8x15-bass-cabinet/page__view__findpost__p__2757298

There is also a vid of it up and running elsewhere in the thread.

[1970]

I've seen a picture of a matamp one - absolutely enormous.

[Kong]

We discussed a 415" on bassic.ch some time ago. There is a professional cab builder, who is willing to built a 415" - if someone wants one. With lightsweight materials and speakers it would be possible - and affordable.

This cab builder made a 218" for a member of basic.ch, fired up by a Bugera BVV 3000. The Stack sounds great, fat and deep, loud, not boomy or muddy at all.

There are some new 13,5" - speakers that are able to blow ordinary 15" - speakers out of the water. So now we think about a 4 x 13,5 - cab. Lets see what happens.....

[Chimike]

Yes,
Daft , crazy idea, whoever would want a 4x 15 cab, nowadays !
OK, call me stooopid, but I do have a couple of the old Acoustic 4x 15's, and a Marshall 4x 15. Only gigged one once, so far, but managed the Acoustic out of my car, into to the hall, all on my own . Easy move, not ( very ) heavy. Did need help lifting onto stage, though. Sounded Magic.
While I do regularly gig a modern, lightweight rig, there's just so much fun to be had, trying out the old stuff !
Just me tuppence worth !
Mike.

[sonnyonbass]

Community made a series of PA stuff that also consisted of a 4x15. I'm sure you can find one second hand somewhere.

[lojo]

418 anyone ?

[pete.young]

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1481663963' post='3194192']
418 anyone ?
[/quote]

The thread I linked to in #6 contains this story, about the Burman 4x18:

[i]"Anyway, a local band called 'This Years Girl' wanted to try [the 4x18 cab] so they took it to the Lacarno Ballroom in Sunderland for a gig. I gave strict instructions DO NOT SWITCH IT ON UNTIL I GET THERE! As I arrived the bass player had switched on the amp, plugged in his bass and was about to pluck the bottom E string.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!! Everything went slow motion as i moved towards him. He hit the string and all the glasses of the previous nights drinking just disappeared from the top of a grand piano. I don't mean vibrated off the top, they actually disappeared and smashed to the floor!! Light fittings in the ceiling fell out and crashed to the floor! Worse still, people standing by the bar at the back of the room looked like they were vomiting beer!!

I turned from the stage area and ran towards these people. As i ran from the stage to the bar, an distance of about 20 yards, i could feel the air waves of low frequency going up and down my body which made me feel nauseous. At the bar, the bass was punching and hitting everyone including me in the throat! I discovered that the people at the bar weren't being sick as such, they were physically incapable of swallowing their beer!

I managed to reach the main switch behind the bar and everthing came to an abrupt end. Of course the bass player turned round oblivious to the mayhem and destruction that had happened. To him the sound on stage had sounded normal but the cab was producing ultra low frequency that is unaudible to the human ear but can destroy your internal organs at high volumes! I can't remember [color=#ff0000]Bumper[/color] [color=#ff0000]Brown[/color] taking delivery of the cab! In fact I can't remember much at all after that episode - it's a blank."[/i]