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15" Cab Ideas / Suggestions Pls


PatrickJ

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A day or so ago in posted in this forum about my New Amp Day, my new Ashdown Little Stubby head.  I'm now thinking about getting a new cab to go with it.

I currently play through a Markbass 2x10 traveller cabinet but I'm curious to try some 15" cabs with the head and see if I can recreate some of that 60s soul / Motown tone.

I've never played through a 15" cab so I'm looking for some recommendations on options to short list.  The only real requirement i have is to be able to get it in the back of a Ford Focus hatchback.  The Little Stubby is only 30watts so a pretty efficient cab would also be desirable.

Easy and obvious choice would be the Markbass Traveller 151p, it would create a neat little 1x15 and 2x10 stack with my existing cab.

Lee @ Ashdown recommended the RM 115  evo cabinet as a good pairing.  Lighter and more compact than the ABM.

The Ashdown ABM 115H Evo IV is a pretty solid cabinet, though from looking at old reviews ion BC it's well thought of.

All suggestions welcome, had also toyed with the idea of A custom TKS 15" but harder to try before ordering.

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18 minutes ago, machinehead said:

G1 or G2 Barefaced Compact.  Uses the best 15" speaker available at the time.  (and perhaps still the best available?) Often sold for £300 or less, lightweight but heavy sounding.  Beats the Markbass 15" by a country mile - I've owned both.

Frank.

This.

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16 minutes ago, PJ-Bassist said:

Any nom Barefaced suggestions? 

I had a Super Compact and didn't get on with it; although I will conceed it was super light and very efficient.

To be fair the original Compact is a very, very different beast. The Super Compact has more mids and is more aggressive sounding. The old Compact is closer to the Two10 I’d say.

Another one I saw the other day was the Eich 115, they do a small and large version of that and may be worth considering?

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53 minutes ago, stewblack said:

I have both the Markbass New York 151 and the BF Compact. 

I'm going to disagree with those who suggest a country mile between them. The MB isn't a lesser cab, just a different cab. 

Where are you based @PJ-Bassist? You're welcome to borrow a cab if you're close enough. 

I'm in Watford, IIRC you're in Somerset - I remember that you mentioned your MB cabs to me before when I happened to be in devon , I was working out if I could detour slightly to come have a looksie on my way home.  Poorly children killed that idea though.

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1 hour ago, stewblack said:

I have both the Markbass New York 151 and the BF Compact. 

I'm going to disagree with those who suggest a country mile between them. The MB isn't a lesser cab, just a different cab.

Fair enough Stew.

When I gigged my Markbass Traveller 15" cab it was about 2005/6 - maybe they improved them?  I know for certain they changed the cabinet size and volume?)  to better match the Traveller 210 physically around that time.

All I can say is that when I got my Barefaced Compact 15" G1, the difference to me was amazing.  Deeper, louder - all-round a very noticeable improvement.

But, we all hear and like different things so it's all good. :)

Frank.

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Hey Frank I am not questioning your experience in any way - I love my Barefaced Compact. 

But honestly I put a Trace Elliot on top of two MB 151 cabs and, for the right style of music, I was very happy with the results. Also my Orange Terror and MB cabs was an amazing combination. 

But the BF cabs are my go to. They're just so versatile. And wider too. 

This is always a matter of personal preference of course. 

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On 06/09/2019 at 20:45, PJ-Bassist said:

I currently play through a Markbass 2x10 traveller cabinet but I'm curious to try some 15" cabs with the head and see if I can recreate some of that 60s soul / Motown tone.

If we ignore the fact that Motown bass lines were recorded using custom made valve preamps, you can get that tone out of many cabs these days. The main ingredient will be a Precision bass with flatwound strings and maybe a lump of foam. I believe Tommy Cogbill recorded many of the classic Soul bass lines by  mixing DI with a Fender guitar amp.

I practice with a Jamerson tone at home, through my P bass, flats, foam, Thunderfunk and 2 Barefaced One10's. Pure Motown and not a 15 in sight.

If you really can't get your head around the possibility that a 12" cab can be better than a 15" cab, I'd second the Barefaced G2 Compact suggestion. You probably don't want your 210 in the mix for this idea.

Edited by chris_b
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1 hour ago, chris_b said:

If we ignore the fact that Motown bass lines were recorded using custom made valve preamps, you can get that tone out of many cabs these days. The main ingredient will be a Precision bass with flatwound strings and maybe a lump of foam. I believe Tommy Cogbill recorded many of the classic Soul bass lines by  mixing DI with a Fender guitar amp.

I practice with a Jamerson tone at home, through my P bass, flats, foam, Thunderfunk and 2 Barefaced One10's. Pure Motown and not a 15 in sight.

If you really can't get your head around the possibility that a 12" cab can be better than a 15" cab, I'd second the Barefaced G2 Compact suggestion. You probably don't want your 210 in the mix for this idea.

As I said It was a curiosity as I've only ever really played through 10's.  The B15 was an iconic amp from that era and thought it would be fun to recreate it.

Anyways as per your suggestions of getting the tone. 

All valve head and a 2x12 cabinet 

20190908_175819.thumb.jpg.7c27572b9eecffdc3bb09f9f17d44a3c.jpg

P Bass with Flats

20190909_235422.thumb.jpg.f99719fd69eef065f54af9587037ab46.jpg

In regards to muting technique I'm working with the Rocco Prestia style to save messing with foam or bass mutes.

It's sounding pretty much how I want to at home volumes.  Looking forward to taking it to rehearsal in a few weeks to try it at volume.

Still curious about 15's though :)

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4 hours ago, PJ-Bassist said:

As I said It was a curiosity as I've only ever really played through 10's.  The B15 was an iconic amp from that era and thought it would be fun to recreate it.

Anyways as per your suggestions of getting the tone. 

All valve head and a 2x12 cabinet 

20190908_175819.thumb.jpg.7c27572b9eecffdc3bb09f9f17d44a3c.jpg

P Bass with Flats

20190909_235422.thumb.jpg.f99719fd69eef065f54af9587037ab46.jpg

In regards to muting technique I'm working with the Rocco Prestia style to save messing with foam or bass mutes.imageproxy.php?img=&key=d49e236f730b63a2imageproxy.php?img=&key=d49e236f730b63a2

It's sounding pretty much how I want to at home volumes.  Looking forward to taking it to rehearsal in a few weeks to try it at volume.

Still curious about 15's though :)

On a tangential note (try  playing one of those), how do you find the Roto Flats?

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