Bill Fitzmaurice

[quote name='stevie' post='244815' date='Jul 21 2008, 04:12 PM']The off-axis performance of a 2226H is a function of its diameter. It is no better or worse (and its response doesn’t drop off any faster) than any other 15 inch driver.[/quote]Off-axis response as a function of cone diameter assumes that the cone operates as a single pistonic radiator. In the case of extended range musical instrument and pro-sound drivers the dome acts as an independant midrange radiator, and the response both on and off-axis is not a function of cone diameter alone. [quote]JBL uses the 2226 in its current SR-X series[/quote]The SRX715 and SRX725 have used the 2256 neo magnet woofer since 2004.

[quote name='stevie' post='244655' date='Jul 21 2008, 01:19 PM']The JBL 2226H... good quality extended midrange.[/quote] On-axis plots may give that indication, but off-axis response is what matters. At 45 degrees off-axis the 2226 drops like a stone above 1kHz, and is down (and out as it were) by 16dB at 1.5kHz. [quote]I checked, and the 2226H is actually a current model.[/quote]Still in production, but hardly current. The telling point is that JBL no longer uses it in their current pro-sound cabinet offerings. JBLs top of the line drivers have been neo for nigh on a decade, but they are not sold as separate components.

[quote name='Hamster' post='242135' date='Jul 17 2008, 03:48 PM']A tweeter is just a small kind of loudspeaker designed to reproduce higher frequencies. It's personal preference really as to what sound you want. Generally for a brighter sound you need tweeters, for a dub reggae sound you don't. A 12" bass driver won't be that good for anything above 5kHz. Hamster[/quote]A 12 isn't much good above 2kHz, irrespective of what's claimed, as those claims are for on-axis response. Move off-axis by two feet and the high end disappears. The trouble is that tweeters don't go to 2kHz. Most don't go below 4kHz. What you end up with is no mids and a lot of hiss. What works best with a 12 is a midrange that covers up to 5-6kHz or so with uniform off-axis response. But it's a more expensive option, so very few manufacturers offer it.

[quote name='beerdragon' post='241853' date='Jul 17 2008, 11:11 AM']as i said i haven't a clue about this, neither its seems does our keyboard player.[/quote] That's usually a good reason to leave well enough alone. Newbies, speakers and soldering irons are a combination that can lead to blown amps.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='241763' date='Jul 17 2008, 09:01 AM']The 2226H looks more comparable to a 3015LF (though has less Xmax and weighs a lot more) in that the treble extension is very limited and thus really needs a midrange speaker unless you only play dub/reggae. Alex[/quote] +1. As good as the 2226 was when introduced it's day is long over. Consider that even JBL has not used them in their high end products for years. As a standalone driver the 3015 has twice the useable bandwidth, while as a pure woofer the 3015LF at half the weight has twice the displacement limited power input capability. If all you desire is a simple cabinet the horse's mouth can be found at [url="http://www.eminence.com/resources/cabinets.asp"]http://www.eminence.com/resources/cabinets.asp[/url]

[quote name='beerdragon' post='241774' date='Jul 17 2008, 09:21 AM']i was a bit sceptical.[/quote] As well you should be. It's not possible to rewire a 4 ohm 2x10 to 8 ohms. If indeed the meter reading went from 4 to 8 ohms it could only do so if one of the drivers was disconnected. BTW, a meter would not read either 4 or 8 ohms, as it measures the voice coil resistance, not impedance. The DCR measurement is on average .7 the impedance. I assume you took that into consideraton with your results.

[quote name='phatbass787' post='204501' date='May 22 2008, 02:17 PM']Yup good idea, the superfly 48 cab does the same thing it has 2 x 4 ohm inputs, so full power into one little cab! So you can take one cab to the gig![/quote] Perfectly logical, assuming that a 4x10 can actually make use of more than 500 watts. AFAIK none can. Most can't make use of more than 200 watts, so powering them with 500 is more than adequate. The number of cabs of any configuration that can make use of more than 500 watts can probably be counted on one's fingers.

Buy two Neutrik Speakon connectors and the length of 14 ga (2mm) wire you desire and assemble it yourself, no soldering required.

[quote name='lowhand_mike' post='236402' date='Jul 10 2008, 07:05 AM']so how can you tell what the drivers are? say for example you take the drivers out of my ashdown, they have their own drivers in there but it says very little on the back of the magnet casing. all i know is the ohms and watts and size[/quote] Aye, there's the rub...which is why replacing drivers is best left to experts. Catch 22: Anyone expert enough to do so would not be using a store bought cab to begin with. So all things considered, if you don't care for how your cab sounds the most logical route is to find one that you do like. Or roll the dice and hope for the best.

[quote name='thinman' post='236082' date='Jul 9 2008, 04:23 PM']It's a bit more complex than just volume though - if you have ports, which many bass cabs do, their diameter and length are part of the cab tuning and that may affect driver choice too. Hopefully Messrs Claber or Fitzmaurice will be along to give a definitive answer here. Of course, you might strike lucky with a randomly or inexactly chosen driver but on the other hand you might waste your money! If you're going to fork out on an expensive driver like an Eminence Deltalite or the like then build a BFM cab around it - it'll probably be better than the cab the drivers were intended for anyway and a butchered "name" cab will probably be devalued.[/quote]The only way to know whether new drivers will be an improvement is by knowing what's in there now, then comparing the two. Unless the originals are absolute junk you may find there's little, if any, benefit in changing them. OTOH many OEM drivers are junk.

[quote name='TheRinser' post='232976' date='Jul 4 2008, 07:56 PM']How do I go about testing the bad driver? All I can tell you is what it sounds like now. If it would help I could get an audio file of what it sounds like uploaded. Think they must be wired in parallel then, because the 2nd driver in the chain, wiring wise, works fine. Would this be right? The wires run from the crossover to the knackered speaker, then on to the one that's still working fine. Cheers, Tom[/quote]Touch a 9 volt battery to the terminals of the exposed speaker cable end, both cones should move. You could use one of the recommended drivers for now, replace the second when funds permit. I wouldn't invest in another Peavey, it's not a good driver. I believe Blue Aran is a good source for Eminence.

[quote name='TheRinser' post='232883' date='Jul 4 2008, 02:42 PM']Xmax(mm): 2.5[/quote] Ouch. That puts this bugger in the same class as that Celestion. It will only take 25 -30 watts thoughout most of the bass power band before running out of excursion. Its sensitivity is rather pitiful also. I wouldn't bother to get a matching driver, I'd toss both of them. The Eminence Beta 10 and Basslite S2010 have specs close enough to work in the same cab. Of those the S2010, despite a lower power rating, will actually take more power. Four ohms is not an option for either, so if you must have an 8 ohm cab find the Beta 10b version, which is 16 ohms, wire the pair parallel for an 8 ohm load. BTW, have you actually tested the bad driver? If they are two 4 ohm drivers series wired for an 8 ohm cab an open voice coil in the one would prevent both from working.

[quote name='TheRinser' post='232843' date='Jul 4 2008, 12:30 PM'][url="http://www.loudspeaker.co.uk/bl10-200.htm"]http://www.loudspeaker.co.uk/bl10-200.htm[/url][/quote] The specs of that driver make it unsuitable for electric bass IMO. [quote]there is this quote about a similar driver( from the talkbass post) "It is nearly identical to an Eminence BP102. The BP102 is a better driver, but it requires a 23% larger volume."[/quote] If it was 'nearly identical' it would use the same box size. Either get a Peavey or find out the Peavey specs and replace it with a driver that matches them precisely.

[quote name='phil_the_bassist' post='232729' date='Jul 4 2008, 09:56 AM']tonight I'm in one of the sh*tty-sounding venues, so i'm gonna get myself into a corner,[/quote] Always remember that where the cab is placed affects the overall room sound, but what you hear is determined by where you're standing in relation to not only the cab but also the room boundaries, the worst culprit being a low ceiling. Where that's the case hearing the low end is often a matter of standing as far away from the cab as possible,

[quote name='phil_the_bassist' post='231494' date='Jul 2 2008, 12:33 PM']I still get problems with the onstage sound, depending on the venue. Is this to do with the proximity of the opposing walls/side walls/ceiling?[/quote] Yes. This explains to some extent what's going on: [url="http://billfitzmaurice.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=999"]http://billfitzmaurice.com/phpBB2/viewtopi...?f=10&t=999[/url] Unfortunately there's very little you can do about it. Your options are to adjust your rig for a good sound on stage, or adjust it for a good sound out front, whichever is the more important to you. The only cure is to cover the stage with your rig to your liking, and the house with the PA, assuming you have the PA and a tech who knows how to use it.

[quote name='Krysbass' post='231310' date='Jul 2 2008, 08:48 AM'](I usually have the EQ flat)[/quote] That could be a lot of the problem. I don't know where the current penchant for flat EQ came from, but it serves no purpose IMO. Those knobs are there for a reason, and that's to dial in tone and power. If flat EQ was truly a desirable goal there wouldn't be any need for those knobs. I haven't tested my Fly, and I won't as I don't care, but the vast majority of amps set to 'flat' aren't. They have a built in EQ pre-shape, to make them sound better than they would if they were actually flat.

[quote name='sifi2112' post='230846' date='Jul 1 2008, 03:04 PM']combined with 2 x Celestion BN10-300x perhaps ? [url="http://professional.celestion.com/bass/green/index.asp"]http://professional.celestion.com/bass/green/index.asp[/url] cheers Simon[/quote]Without full specs one can't even venture a guess.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='230493' date='Jul 1 2008, 08:24 AM']Doesn't look a great idea to me because the Kappa and Gamma speakers are midrange speakers, not true woofers. The thermally limited power handling may be high but the excursion limited power handling (basically Xmax) is very low, which equals farting at low volume with even moderate amounts of bottom. Fine if you're biamping and using something else to carry the lows though. Alex[/quote]The Kappa Pro's xmax is far less of a concern than the very low Qts, which chokes off bass response. Both of these drivers are marginal at best for bass. They're popular with both DIYers and manufacturers due to their high power ratings, but high power alone does not a good bass driver make.

[quote name='Balcro' post='229892' date='Jun 30 2008, 12:47 PM']Meanwhile I'll just have to save up for an octaver special effects pedal followed by another one in series. Cheers, Balcro[/quote] No need to do that. just use excessive EQ to boost the bejesus out of the first octave, then run it through PA subs capable of going an octave lower than bass cabs do. That's how ham fisted FOH engineers can take a perfectly good bass and make it sound like crap. The worst mixed gig I ever saw was Ringo and friends, with Greg Lake on bass. The bottom was so over boosted that it drowned out the entire band. OTOH the midbass was so subdued that whenever he went above C he completely disappeared from the mix, you could only tell he was playing by watching his hands. Needless to say the sound coming from the PA bore no resemblance whatsoever to that from the two SVTs behind him on the stage. Talent wise Ringo had one of the best bands ever assembled, yet one idiot at the FOH ruined the entire exoerience.

[quote name='Balcro' post='229673' date='Jun 30 2008, 08:16 AM']Devils advocate time. If low B on a five string is 31 or 32Hz, does that mean even every 15" is unsuitable? ? ?[/quote]If it did then the Fridge (f3=58Hz) would be even more unsuitable. While the fundamental of the low B may be 31Hz it's the length of the string that determines where the power bandwidth lies. Should you wish an instrument that puts out the low B fundamental with equal power to the harmonics you'll need long arms and big hands, the scale would be nine feet long.

[quote name='redstriper' post='229432' date='Jun 29 2008, 08:53 PM']To clarify my requirements - I'm considering an SWR Big Ben 18" cab - how would the BFM omni without horn and tweeter compare in sound and weight?[/quote] The O15 goes louder and lower. Not using the midrange driver would be a bad idea, as the woofer rolls off above 500Hz. Attenuating mids as desired with your amps tone controls. If you leave the mid driver out and find the mids lacking you're up the creek.

[quote name='redstriper' post='229403' date='Jun 29 2008, 07:18 PM']I'm intrigued by this cab and wonder if one would suit me. I only play dub reggae and don't want any treble or upper midrange in my sound - just deep warm bass. Which of BFM's cabs would be most suited to my sound and desire for lightweight and portability?[/quote] O15, standard or tallboy, leave the tweeter out. As for lightweight and portability, google 'Hoffman's Iron Law'. Big bottom does not from small cabs come.

[quote name='gilmour' post='229062' date='Jun 29 2008, 10:36 AM']Surely it's just down to manufacturing costs? Costs of making up moulds etc. would be very inhibitive given the relativley small number of consumers, and the cost of alternatives.[/quote] +1. Manufacturing costs are at least double that of plywood. Some forays into fiberglass and other composite constructions have been made, most have failed.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='229205' date='Jun 29 2008, 02:40 PM']Sorry if I missed this elsewhere, but what cabs do you have? are they matched?[/quote]Unless he built them himself, not likely. To take from his example: ABM 115 37Hz - 2kHz 98dB 1W@1m ABM 210T 75Hz - 20kHz 102dB 1W @ 1m These two cabs share bandwidth from 75Hz to 2kHz. Throughout that range they will both augment and detract from each other's output. In a 'matched' system frequency response of the 1x15 might be on the order of 37Hz-1kHz, with the second cab 1kHz-20kHz. They would employ either a passive crossover or bi-amping for frequency routing, and since they do not have overlapping bandwidths they could only augment each other. More important, one does not require tens to operate only down to 1kHz. Eights or even sixes would do, they'd do it better, and would do so in far smaller packages, leaving the option for a second 1x15 should the need arise for more low end capability.

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='229054' date='Jun 29 2008, 10:18 AM']I could be wrong - it did happen twice.[/quote]Not this time, you're spot on.