1x15 Cabs

[Madad1]

I have a homemade cab with a new Celestion BN15-400S speaker fitted. Playing a Marshall VBA 400 and it sounds phenomenal.

[Conan]

To the OP:

What is it that makes you think you "need" a cab with a 15" driver? Is it just because you are used to them?

There are so many other options these days. Not that there is anything "wrong" with fifteens... but the old dogma that the bigger the speaker diameter, the more bass is seriously flawed. The size and design of the box you put the speaker in has much more of an effect.

[jazzyvee]

I can recommend a Mesa Boogie Powerhouse 1x15 cab. Had mine for the best part of 10 years and it's been a great workhorse.

[Bassnut62]

[quote name='grandad' timestamp='1414527432' post='2590339']
Hi there, I also use my Ampeg B115E as my main giging cab and love the well balanced tone across all 4 strings. It's easy to lift with hinged and sprung side handles also easy to move on castors. And it looks cool.

I briefly owned an Ashdown ABM 115. Tone-wise it had huge low end but little else. It was big, weighed a ton, uncomfortable side handles and no castors.
The Peavey TVX 115 I found fairly close tone-wise to the Ampeg.

Why not replace the speaker if the cabinet is still sound?
[/quote]

Absolutely agree here.

A while back I went to tour music shops to buy a new 1x15 bass cab. I had £800 in my pocket. I did lots of comparisons and in the end plumped for a tatty looking old ported Musicman cab (I think it's an RH115) The grille clothe was ripped, it had no badges and the Tolex was horrible; but it sounded so good and so loud......and the best part was it only cost £100. When I got it home I tarted it up to match my Fender head and checked the speaker, which turned out to be a beautiful vintage Italian RCF speaker in excellent working order. I still use this cab for bass and it still sounds amazing and 'a while ago' was over 15 years ago!

So I reckon Grandad is right, just try a few out and listen to them very carefully before you buy. I would add, make sure you use a very long instrument cable and get yourself a long way from the cab to see how well it shifts that air and throws it across the room.

Here's a pic of said cab all tarted up to match the head, which I bought for £75 out of Admag from some twat who said it didn't have enough lights on it. He should've listened with his ears, not his eyes!

Edited November 11, 2014 by Bassnut62

[grenadilla]

A lot of people are against high-frequency horns but a 15 needs one, I think. There will be a big gap between the drivers and that is probably the reason it isn't done much. To get fancy and have a mid speaker raises the cost too much...

[No lust in Jazz]

Bergantino NV115 is my recommended cab, in that I own one, use one and like it. If playing larger venues we would use a PA, so I'd more than likely monitor myself with a 1x12 combo or similar.

In your situation I'd go to Bass Direct or Bass Gear and try a few out, some guys on here did this recently and reported back

[ebenezer]

Our very own JPJ built me a compact front ported 115 with tweeter
the driver is a faital pro pr 400 and the tweeter is er..can't
remember, but the tone!!..very nice and balanced with smooth mids
....in all, very happy.

[BanditSid]

I have a GK Neo 115 which I sometimes use on it's own but mostly stacked with a 410, it's light to move and sounds great - good bass and mids. I used to have a 212 and it's probably a better choice if you are going to use a single cab as opposed to a stack.

[0175westwood29]

The Hartke 115 hydrive cabs are very nice, loud and a lot lighter than expected.

[Dan Dare]

New drive unit? I put a Black Widow 15 in an old Fender cab and it was great until some toe rag pinched it. Ampeg cabs tend to be well built/worth repairing.

[dmccombe7]

I've always thought a 15" speaker gives more depth and altho i've tried various others including my Berg HT322 & AE112 cabs there's still something missing and more and more i'm heading towards the fact i don't have the low end depth from a 15" cab.
There are lots of facts and figures out there explaining why a modern 10" or 12" speaker is equivelant to an old 15" cab and that's great for theory but in my reality my old 15" speakers along with either a 2x10 or 12" cab just seemed to offer a far more "robust" sound for a classic rock band if that's what you are looking for.
I've just bought a 2nd hand Ampeg SVT4 PRO and i have a distinct feeling i may well be looking at Ampeg 1x15" cab stacked with their 4x10 or 2x10 cab.

A 12" cab is pretty close tho and does give a better mid-range feel.

Dave

[Bajista]

I'm using an Aguilar DB115. Not a very popular choice from what I've seen on here, but sounds good, and looks good too. It's not lightweight; but easy enough to move about with the casters. For once I'm not looking at other cabs, if I ever need more I'll just add another.