bigjimmyc Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 (edited) Lesson: If it look too good to be true then it is. Found a nice bundle on facebook marketplace. Ashdown amp and GK cab. Good price, nice bloke, not too far away, etc.. Got it home and it works pretty well. Amp is decent and compact - happy with that. Cab is a 1x15, front ported. Heavy old-school construction. Rear jackplate says 8 ohm, 400W. I can use that. However it also says model 410BLX. Oh sh!t. Quick google tells me that this era GK 1x15 would be 200W, and not the same dimensions as this cab. Clearly someone has taken a GK 4x10 shell and replaced the baffle to fit a 15" driver instead. No way of knowing what the make, power rating or impedance of the driver is - it's unmarked [as far as I can see through the backplate aperture]. Hence I can't really use it other than on it's own at moderate power. Gutted! Any suggestions? Jim Edited January 26, 2021 by bigjimmyc clarification Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Got any pics? Driver? Interested in seeing the cab too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 WronGuns don't kill people ... 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 3 minutes ago, Happy Jack said: WronGuns don't kill people ... WrapPers do 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 are there no markings on the driver at all, sometimes there are printed codes on the basket that can point to a certain manufacturer, sometimes the labels are small and in strange places. is there evidence inside that the baffle has been replaced? do the dimensions match up to the BLX410 cab? certainly some pictures and measurements should help to throw some light on what you actually have. matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 Indeed - it could be the backplate that has been changed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 1 minute ago, EBS_freak said: Indeed - it could be the backplate that has been changed... this was one of my thoughts, it's certainly strange as replacing the whole baffle on a cab isn't that common. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjimmyc Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 Ok, thanks for the encouragement... I got the screwdriver out and sure enough it's been DIY'd. At least the brand and impedance are settled! Would love to know the power rating for that driver. It looks beefy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 It says 8 ohm on the side in the last picture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjimmyc Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 Dimensions match the 410BLX from mid 2000s: 23"W x 23"H x 18"D A BLX 115 would have had the driver central I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjimmyc Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 4 minutes ago, EBS_freak said: It says 8 ohm on the side in the last picture Yes I saw that too, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 A 115 looks to have triangular ports - or maybe even a rear port? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balcro Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 (edited) Contact "dr.decibel" at Celestion and give him the long code on the side of the magnet, beginning 070 K 4670 / 09. 15" cast-frame etc. They will be able to tell you the identity of the speaker & probably some of the specification, quite quickly. https@//celestion.com/contact/ Edited January 26, 2021 by Balcro extra text 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 on the upside that looks like a fairly beefy driver as it has a cast frame rather than stamped, and at least is a recognisable brand, i was once given a pair of 8" drivers that were "zebra" brand, i spent many fruitless hours trying to find some specs so i could decide what to use them for, in the end they got given away. Hopefully you can get the specs then one of the resident Basschat WinISD experts can help out with port sizes etc. Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 (edited) You may have actually lucked out on this one... as the baffle looks to be properly ported. It may be the case that you are getting something from somebody that knows that you shouldn't just slap a driver in a cab and hope for the best. Edited January 26, 2021 by EBS_freak 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjimmyc Posted January 26, 2021 Author Share Posted January 26, 2021 1 hour ago, Balcro said: Contact "dr.decibel" at Celestion and give him the long code on the side of the magnet, beginning 070 K 4670 / 09. 15" cast-frame etc. They will be able to tell you the identity of the speaker & probably some of the specification, quite quickly. https@//celestion.com/contact/ Message sent! Top tip, thanks Balcro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassAdder60 Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 My old home town Ipswich where the Celestion factory was based Excellent speakers and worth a few quid now if U.K. made and not Chinese Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 1 hour ago, bigjimmyc said: Dimensions match the 410BLX from mid 2000s: 23"W x 23"H x 18"D A BLX 115 would have had the driver central I think. I think you're right - i've had two GK Backline / BLX / whatever 1x15s and they were centrally located. They were also very good cabs for not much money. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agedhorse Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 This is why I always recommend verifying that when buying any used cabinet you always check that the driver is original to the cabinet (the driver the manufacturer designed the cabinet around) and that the cabinet/crossover hasn't been screwed with. I see with enough regularity cases where the original driver was expensive and was either swapped out with a cheaper driver (and the original driver sold), or that the original driver was damaged and rather than spend the money they just slapped a cheap driver in the box. If the modification to your cabinet was done by somebody knowledgeable, you might be ok, but that will take a little research and effort to sort out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 10 years ago I replaced a 200 watt 8 ohm driver, with a 400 watt 4 ohm driver, in an old Ashdown cab. I had no technical knowledge and it shouldn't have worked but sounded great and was a big improvement on the original, in both tone and volume. The only way you'll know if you've been sold a pup, is to play it at band levels. You may be pleasantly surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 13 hours ago, EBS_freak said: WrapPers do You mean wRAPPERS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 So long as the impedance is ok for your amp and it makes nice bass noises it doesn't much matter what the power rating is on the driver. It will tell you when it's getting too much power by failing to get any louder as you turn it up. Turn it back down from there a squirt or it will fry. If it's making nasty flappy noises you have too much low end in your signal. Turn down the bass EQ and or volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 It looks like a Celestion BX series. Maybe a BX15 3075, which was a 300W driver. I think Fender fitted them to some of their cabs. Here are the T/S parameters and a cabinet design (not mine): cel_bx153075_dsn-1.pdf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjimmyc Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 Got a speedy reply from Dr Decibel @Celestion: Hi Jim – This is a 15” bass unit that originally came out of a CX1542 PA cab. Performance-wise, very much like this speaker: https://celestion.com/product/98/tf1525e/ Regards, The Doc That's what I call service! Cheers Doc! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slojo Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 Looks like the BAF wadding has been removed from the side walls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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