15" Speaker Recommendations Please!

[ron s]

I'm recently getting back into playing bass after a break. I've had the same set-up since I started years ago, a Fender BXR Dual Bass 400 and a 15" Petersen Cab with an EV15L.

Plugging in today I notice that the EV is making nasty distortion noises, (tried the BXR into another cab and no problems).

Can anyone give me a recommendation for a good quality 15"?

The EV is 200w but I'd like to get a more powerful one.

Also does anyone know anything at all about the Dual Bass 400? Can't find much on the interweb and am thinking about replacing that too, looking at maybe a Hartke LH500, they seem good value for money etc.

Thanks for any help in advance.

[alexclaber]

Assuming the cab is neither tiny nor huge then I'd recommend an Eminence Kappalite 3015. More expensive than some but you get a lot more performance too!

Alex

[bumnote]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='357597' date='Dec 18 2008, 09:56 AM']Assuming the cab is neither tiny nor huge then I'd recommend an Eminence Kappalite 3015. More expensive than some but you get a lot more performance too!

Alex[/quote]

Alex, why do you particulalrly like the kappalight when emminence produce the basslight, which one would assume to be specially voiced for bass, [and I bought one not long ago]

Not disagreeing, just curious.

[bremen]

[quote name='bumnote' post='358847' date='Dec 19 2008, 02:38 PM']Alex, why do you particulalrly like the kappalight when emminence produce the basslight, which one would assume to be specially voiced for bass, [and I bought one not long ago]

Not disagreeing, just curious.[/quote]

Better power handling, more (deeper) bass.

I haven't used the Basslite but the Kappa models much better in WinISD.

Edited December 19, 2008 by bremen

[alexclaber]

[quote name='bumnote' post='358847' date='Dec 19 2008, 02:38 PM']Alex, why do you particulalrly like the kappalight when emminence produce the basslight, which one would assume to be specially voiced for bass.[/quote]

Not sure whether it's specifically voiced for bass or whether they've cut costs in a way that works ok for bass - certainly the specs are more like an older bass guitar speaker, with a higher Vas, higher Qts, lower sensitivity, etc.

I've just overlaid the two measured plots (see attachment). The higher line is the Kappalite, the lower one the Basslite. When you load them into a cab the Basslite has more of a hump in the midbass due to the high Vas and then when you model the output at full power or full excursion the Kappalite goes quite a bit louder. But it is more expensive. If you have a particularly big cab that you're looking to put a 15", maybe one of those old TE 15"s then the Basslite would work pretty well. I guess some people will buy the Basslite because it's 4 ohm to get more power but the Kappalite is more sensitive so that cancels out.

Alex

[stevie]

[quote name='ron s' post='357587' date='Dec 18 2008, 09:46 AM']I'm recently getting back into playing bass after a break. I've had the same set-up since I started years ago, a Fender BXR Dual Bass 400 and a 15" Petersen Cab with an EV15L.

Plugging in today I notice that the EV is making nasty distortion noises, (tried the BXR into another cab and no problems).[/quote]

If you store a speaker in the same position in damp and cold conditions the cone can 'sag' and cause the coil to rub. How long was your break? It might be worthwhile rotating the cab 90 degrees to see if it helps. Play music through it for a few hours softly. No promises, mind you, but it might work.

The EV15L was a very good speaker.

[alexclaber]

I had some '70s hi-fi speakers with big elliptical cones when I was at uni and they used to get pushed really hard during parties. For the next few days they'd always distort when playing music but it would gradually diminish and they'd go back to their old selves, like they'd worked themselves back into alignment! Was quite worrying the first time it happened though...

Alex

[bumnote]

I bought an old acoustic 1x15 cabinet with the wrong replacement speaker in.

Emminence were not able to identify the original speaker from the emminence part no I gave them from another cab, and based on the cab dimensions, which are very old school, ie shallow front to back, Im guessing 26 wide by 20 tall but only about 12" deep recomended the basslight.

The basslight on Blue aran is marginally more expensive than the Kappa but there is only a couple of quid in it.

In the end, I have a basslight, it works fine, so im not looking to change it, I was just curious, thanks for the insight.

What would be a good replacement for the 10" in an ashdown abm c110 combo, I use it sometimes on its own in very small venues, but it farts a bit, and i wouldnt mind shaving a few pounds of the weight.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='bumnote' post='358847' date='Dec 19 2008, 09:38 AM']emminence produce the basslight, which one would assume to be specially voiced for bass[/quote] The Basslites are less expensive lower power rated stamped frame drivers, as opposed to the cast frame Deltalites and Kappalites. Voicing isn't different.

[bumnote]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='358900' date='Dec 19 2008, 03:46 PM']The Basslites are less expensive lower power rated stamped frame drivers, as opposed to the cast frame Deltalites and Kappalites. Voicing isn't different.[/quote]

I hesitate to argue with an expert, but the bass lite i bought was not a stamped frame but cast, and the eminence spec describes the basslite as a cast frame aluminium chassis,

The price quoted on my local supplier is £101 for a kappalite 3015, £104 for a basslite, and £90 for a deltalite.

So far from being less expensive, its actually the most expensive.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='bumnote' post='359165' date='Dec 19 2008, 04:04 PM']I hesitate to argue with an expert, but the bass lite i bought was not a stamped frame but cast, and the eminence spec describes the basslite as a cast frame aluminium chassis,

The price quoted on my local supplier is £101 for a kappalite 3015, £104 for a basslite, and £90 for a deltalite.

So far from being less expensive, its actually the most expensive.[/quote]
The one cast frame Basslite, the 2515, is built on a Deltalite frame, the rest are stamped. Eminence didn't make any true Basslite 15s because there's not enough demand for electric bass 15s to justify the SKU, so they stuck a 4 ohm coil on a Deltalite 2515 and christened it the Basslite 2515. The higher price of the Basslite isn't warranted, and for it to be more than a Kappalite is just plain silly. Over here the Basslite 2515 is $20 less than the Deltalite 2515. That's not justified either, it just shows that 'instrument' drivers are intrinsically less valuable than pro-sound, even when all that differs is the name.

[bumnote]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='359198' date='Dec 19 2008, 09:36 PM']The one cast frame Basslite, the 2515, is built on a Deltalite frame, the rest are stamped.[/quote]

Thanks for the clarification

I just looked at the spec for the 10 and as you rightly say its a pressed steel chasis
£64 for a bass lite 10 and £71 for a deltalite

[chris_b]

PM'ed

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='bumnote' post='359208' date='Dec 19 2008, 04:52 PM']Thanks for the clarification

I just looked at the spec for the 10 and as you rightly say its a pressed steel chasis
£64 for a bass lite 10 and £71 for a deltalite[/quote]
Here the S2010 is $70, the 2510 $110. I think I catch the smell of revenue agents mucking up the price structure on your side of the pond. It wasn't for naught that we dumped that boatload of tea into Boston Harbor.
The Basslite CA2010 is cast also, but I tend to forget about that one, as it has a rather poor response. The S2010 is the bargain driver here, with the same displacement limited output as the 2510, and almost as good a response, but for only an additional 7 quid for the 2510 I'd be going with it.

[bumnote]

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='359371' date='Dec 20 2008, 03:36 AM']Here the S2010 is $70, the 2510 $110. I think I catch the smell of revenue agents mucking up the price structure on your side of the pond. It wasn't for naught that we dumped that boatload of tea into Boston Harbor.
The Basslite CA2010 is cast also, but I tend to forget about that one, as it has a rather poor response. The S2010 is the bargain driver here, with the same displacement limited output as the 2510, and almost as good a response, but for only an additional 7 quid for the 2510 I'd be going with it.[/quote]




Thanks Bill
Very informative

[bumnote]

[quote name='drthirkenstein' post='359506' date='Dec 20 2008, 12:37 PM']i got two of the 400 watt BL15-400X celestions in my cab

[url="http://professional.celestion.com/bass/green/index.asp"]http://professional.celestion.com/bass/green/index.asp[/url]

they sound amazing. and much sturdier than most of the cheap rubbish out there. they're often used in PA's so can take a real hammering before they even think about distorting or flapping.[/quote]

Few people seem to reccomend celestion, i dont know why. I dont know if emminence with their bigger market produce better quality or its us brits thinking if it comes from the us its got to be good.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='bumnote' post='359849' date='Dec 20 2008, 03:20 PM']Few people seem to reccomend celestion, i dont know why. I dont know if emminence with their bigger market produce better quality or its us brits thinking if it comes from the us its got to be good.[/quote]
One reason is that the Orange series have such limited excursion capabilities that they're hardly even useable for bass. Another is that until quite recently even MI-5 couldn't find specs for Celestion. It's similar to the Marshall situation, who are the most identified with Celestion and who also have always been associated with great guitar amps and speakers, but electric bass, not so much.

[ron s]

Wow, last time I checked the thread I had 1 reply. Thanks all for your suggestions.

Stevie: Thanks, I will give that a try. I'd certainly like to hang on to the speaker, although it's always disturbed me that it's an L not a B (does the L not stand for Lead as opposed to Bass?)

I'm not looking to replace the cab, just want to get a replacement speaker.

Hopefully Stevie's idea works as I'm a little broke at the mo as I've just bought a '69 precision :wub:

Thanks again guys. I will certainly look into the Eminence and Celestion suggestions.

[stevie]

[quote name='bumnote' post='359849' date='Dec 20 2008, 08:20 PM']Few people seem to reccomend celestion, i dont know why. I dont know if emminence with their bigger market produce better quality or its us brits thinking if it comes from the us its got to be good.[/quote]

Eminence actively markets directly to the consumer and they are very well priced. They don't produce better quality, but their reliability record has always been impressive. Some of the newer Celestion stuff looks a lot better than the Eminence offerings and, thanks to Chinese production, the prices are good. I'm not sure if you can really call Celestion British any more though.

[bumnote]

[quote name='stevie' post='360299' date='Dec 21 2008, 04:13 PM']Eminence actively markets directly to the consumer and they are very well priced. They don't produce better quality, but their reliability record has always been impressive. Some of the newer Celestion stuff looks a lot better than the Eminence offerings and, thanks to Chinese production, the prices are good. I'm not sure if you can really call Celestion British any more though.[/quote]

I didnt know that

another one bites the dust

[stevie]

[quote name='bumnote' post='361290' date='Dec 22 2008, 06:52 PM']another one bites the dust[/quote]

They bit the dust quite a long time ago and were bought by a company from Hong Kong. Most, if not all, of their production is in China nowadays, although the product is British designed. You'll look long and hard to find a company making drivers in the UK that is British owned. I can name four, and they are all small.

[henry norton]

I'm not that well up on current gear but 9 or 10 years ago I always ran EVs because at the time you got more volume and clarity than any other speaker. They had edge wound coils and a very close tolerance between the coil and the magnet. This meant if any foreign particles got in there it would grate and grind and generally ruin the sound. This, or if the cabinet got a bad knock perpendicular to the speakers axis it could move the coil slightly off axis which touched the magnet and caused bad noises again (all amplified beautifully by the cone). The first time this happened was in my Peterson bass combo which was replaced under warranty with lots of apologies and fussing about from Pete Tullet, the maker of Peterson amps. The second time it happened after another EV cab I used was dropped only about 6 inches to the ground but caused the same grating, buzzing distortion. This had to have a re-cone which at the time cost about 50 quid, or about a quarter the cost of a new EV speaker. I wouldn't like to guess how much a re-cone would cost now, or even if it could still be done but it might be worth asking around before you put a different speaker in a cab designed specifically for your EV. Good luck.