Anyone ever put an Eminence Kappalite 3015 in a Trace Elliot 1153 cab?

[dannybuoy]

I'm thinking of getting an old knackered Trace 1153 and replace the driver with a Kappalite 3015 to give it increased power handling and a better all round sound. Anybody ever done this?

I've downloaded WinISD but haven't fully sussed it out yet. The ports on this cab are round tubes that look like they'd be easy to modify if the cab needed to be retuned. Any advice would be appreciated!

[redstriper]

I put a kappalite 3015 LF into a Trace combo and it worked fine with more volume and deeper bass response than the Fane original and it is also much lighter.
It wasn't completely straightforward though, the old driver used bolts and the holes didn't line up with the new one, so I had to make new screw holes.
Also the Eminence driver is deeper on the front so the grill wouldn't fit back on without using some thick washers to raise it up, which made it stand proud of the cab front.
I have since put the Fane back in and put the Kappalite into an Ashdown mag 115 cab, which also required modification, but sounds great.
I don't know anything about tuning cabs, but I'm happy with the sound so who cares!

[billynoband]

I have found that the Celestion BL15 (around £40) if you can find one works really well in all the 15" cabs I have owned , all 3.
If you follow the excellent win programme you will find that the ideal box size for a speakers specs will be sometimes 4 fold bigger than most cabs.
I would not worry too much as far as 15s go they are all a much of nowt and seem to work averagedly no matter what.
If you want louder I would build a simple Bill Fitzmaurice cab , very easy to build in Tuba,Titan or Omni forms. Even a 10" version would make a joke of commercial 15" cabs. Cheers.
[url="http://www.billfitzmaurice.com"]http://www.billfitzmaurice.com[/url]

[bremen]

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='370400' date='Jan 4 2009, 09:53 PM']I'm thinking of getting an old knackered Trace 1153 and replace the driver with a Kappalite 3015 to give it increased power handling and a better all round sound. Anybody ever done this?

I've downloaded WinISD but haven't fully sussed it out yet. The ports on this cab are round tubes that look like they'd be easy to modify if the cab needed to be retuned. Any advice would be appreciated![/quote]

What are the internal dimensions of the cabinet?

I use a Kappalite 3015 in a 110 litre box and it's *great*.

[alexclaber]

[quote name='billynoband' post='371949' date='Jan 6 2009, 01:20 PM']I would not worry too much as far as 15s go they are all a much of nowt and seem to work averagedly no matter what.[/quote]

Not true at all, there is a huge difference in specs and performance between different bass guitar suitable 15"s.

I'd expect the 3015 to be a significant upgrade on the original TE driver. The existing port tuning will probably work just fine. If you're going to mess with WinISD suss out the Pro version - the max power & SPL plots are a very valuable feature.

Alex

[Merton]

[quote name='alexclaber' post='372041' date='Jan 6 2009, 02:41 PM']the max power & SPL plots are a very valuable feature.

Alex[/quote]
Hell yes. Just downloaded Pro last weekend, very interesting indeed!

[alexclaber]

[quote name='Merton' post='372042' date='Jan 6 2009, 02:43 PM']Hell yes. Just downloaded Pro last weekend, very interesting indeed![/quote]

I became quite depressed when I first started using it as just about every driver I tried was so miserable below 100Hz! I wonder what the mass market's ad people would make of it...

Alex

[dannybuoy]

Cheers for the input, not entirely sure on what kinda cab I want right now. Alex's cabs sound (on paper) amazing, this idea is a way of putting together a poor man's Compact without woodworking skills if I could get a broken 1153 for say £50 or so and get the 3015 driver for about £100. I'm leaning towards 15s, but not sure if I need much response above 5k or not. Usually not, but when using a synthy fuzz effect that extra sheen above 5k sounds good... I'm going to make some recordings and filter them to see how much top end I would actually need/miss.

[redstriper]

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='372249' date='Jan 6 2009, 05:56 PM']Alex's cabs sound (on paper) amazing, this idea is a way of putting together a poor man's Compact without woodworking skills[/quote]

That was exactly my idea - I got the mag 115 cab for £60 and replaced the driver for the 3015 LF for a total cost of £170 with a spare blueline driver and weight under 20kg.

It has the magic 3 Ls - Loud, Light and Low with a bonus 4th - Less (dosh).

I intend to replace the cab with one of Alex's when funds allow.

[Mr.T]

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='372249' date='Jan 6 2009, 05:56 PM']Cheers for the input, not entirely sure on what kinda cab I want right now. Alex's cabs sound (on paper) amazing, this idea is a way of putting together a poor man's Compact without woodworking skills if I could get a broken 1153 for say £50 or so and get the 3015 driver for about £100. I'm leaning towards 15s, but not sure if I need much response above 5k or not. Usually not, but when using a synthy fuzz effect that extra sheen above 5k sounds good... I'm going to make some recordings and filter them to see how much top end I would actually need/miss.[/quote]

Interestingly (or not!) I didn't find my 1153 to be particularly 'top shy'...if anything it was the bottom end that needed tightening up.
Good cabs for the money (IMO).
I just wanted something easier on my ageing back!

[4000]

[quote name='Mr.T' post='372664' date='Jan 7 2009, 12:36 AM']Interestingly (or not!) I didn't find my 1153 to be particularly 'top shy'...if anything it was the bottom end that needed tightening up.
Good cabs for the money (IMO).
I just wanted something easier on my ageing back![/quote]

+1.

I compared my old 1153 to my old Aggie GS112s with the tweeters off and the 1153 was far more toppy, more articulate and open, although not quite as fat (with the same eq). I would agree that the main weakness is that the bottom isn't tight enough for me, but I'd be quite happy to still be using mine if it weighed 10 or 15lbs less. Alex's cabs sound like a good option; I never really need more top than I got out of my 1153.

[dannybuoy]

For general playing,the Trace 1153 and Barefaced Compact will both provide plenty of top end. They both roll off around 5k or so, just like my VT Bass pedal. Trouble is, the VT Bass neuters the sizzling top end you get from some fuzzes or from slapping, so I'm considering that I may want an adjustable tweeter for those kind of sounds.

[Martin E]

Thanks for reporting your results Nick.

I have made a replica of my 1153 cabinet in lightwight ply using the original Celestion speaker and port tubes. I am very pleased with the result - it sounds identical but only weighs 16k.

I have been thinking of trying a 3015 in it myself but there are two versions. Which is the preferred model to use the 3015 or 3015LF?

I don't find the tone of the 1153 lacking (well, without comparing it to anything else) but am after a little more volume from my now lightweight version.

Thanks in advance

[nick]

[quote name='Martin E' post='674579' date='Dec 4 2009, 11:07 PM']Thanks for reporting your results Nick.

I have made a replica of my 1153 cabinet in lightwight ply using the original Celestion speaker and port tubes. I am very pleased with the result - it sounds identical but only weighs 16k.

I have been thinking of trying a 3015 in it myself but there are two versions. Which is the preferred model to use the 3015 or 3015LF?

I don't find the tone of the 1153 lacking (well, without comparing it to anything else) but am after a little more volume from my now lightweight version.

Thanks in advance[/quote]

A 1153 version that's weighs only 16kg?!, now that would ease my back. Having said that, my other cab; TE 1248 (4x12) is double the weight of the 1153, so I guess in comparison it can still be considered a lightweight cab!

After a fair bit of researching on here & other places, I went for the 3015 not the LF version. Reckoned it would be more suited for a cab of that volume, but there are many experts on here who know better & might say otherwise.

Thought the 1153 as it was with the Celestion was good, but wanted more volume too. The Kappalite seems to do that & with more punch & clarity, can definitely hear the difference. Plus I don't seem to be driving the amp as hard as previously.

Edited December 5, 2009 by nick

[Tactician]

Don't make the mistakes I've made over the years - mistaking wattage for power. The 3015, 3015LF, the Kappa Pro, 3012HO are the best speakers to consider. I made a big mistake (and was told by BFM as well) when I bought a couple of Deltas for bass duty. Yes they did distort at about 100 watts below 150hz. Big problem with a bass speaker. Just replacing them now with 3015s - huge improvement but twice the price. Would have been even cheaper if I hadn't bought the deltas first. You need to mess with Win ISD in its many forms to check out what you are building and how it's going to perform. Don't mix up SPL with Max power and cone excursion.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Interesting thread, especially when one considers how many perfectly sound enclosures out there could be "recycled" with minimal effort.
The only real issue is weight. Old cabs are frequently hewn from (thick) chipboard, MDF or various plywoods, all of which can be very heavy.
I own a 1153, which I paid £100 for. A bargain, as it had about £50 worth of good diameter, rubber-tyred (lockable) castors on it. I just pull it around as though it were a large dog!

The main reason I'd want to change drivers is to alter the impedance from the 8ohm Celestion unit to a 4ohm driver (with other possible benefits) This means that I'd get the full 280w from my head without having to use two cabs in parallel to get down to the 4ohm load.

As for the port, that should be easy to shorten or replace. IIRC, it's short enough to be gently "drifted" into the cabinet with a rubber mallet. you can then remove it through the hole left by the driver. You can then cut it shorter or replace it with a longer one as WinISD dictates.
Want more top on a 1x15? I wonder if the old TE "bright boxes" would do the trick? Remember those?