JBL 15" E145? Better options? Guidance needed.

stupidhead

aka Ratdogheads
Subscriber
Hi folks. I don't generally browse this forum but seemed like a reasonable place to start my quest. A friend of mine is a bass player in a Grateful Dead tribute band. He has recently retired from the workforce and is somewhat of a do it yourselfer. He is looking for a driver for the enclosure in the bottom middle-ish of this pic.

NFA_Doug.jpg

In talking with him on Saturday night he is looking at driver options for this and wants a driver that goes to at least 30hz or lower, handling at least 300 watts at 8 ohms and is 15". I am out of my comfort zone for these types of drivers but would very much like to help him identify his best option for this. He has indicated he would like to find a JBL KB145 but a quick search on AK and google reveal very little info.

He does have a budget as it were but that is pretty fluid so please chime in with ideas please.

btw this is NOT a wtb thread. My goal is to gain some knowledge of options and insight from forum members and then will post a wtb in Bartertown.

Geoff
 
Eminence Delta Pro 15" would be a good choice.

I have a D140F in my Fender Vibrosonic and if something goes wrong with it beyond needing a recone, I'll either get a Delta Pro or a Weber Michigan. The Michigan would probably not be appropriate for a bass.
 
thanx for the responses and I will share them with Doug and hopefully get some better details on the enclosure.
 
cratz2, spot on.
Eminence Delta Pro 15" would be a good choice.
I have a D140F in my Fender Vibrosonic and if something goes wrong with it beyond needing a recone....

So here are some thoughts on what is currently installed.
"Right now I have the Eminence Delta Pro in it. That had the lowest Hz I could find. The maker wanted to put a jbl in it but the one he found had a wonky cone."

So here are some of the specs on the cab per Doug.
"28.5 H 18.5 W 24.5 Deep. Wood is 3/4" Baltic birch. Specs are from owsley and rick turner. Lesh Seals and Skip from DSO use these cabs."

and some further thoughts from Doug
"I bought it from sweetwater. Based on reviews It seemed to have the best bottom end with warm mids. The owsley spec emphasized that combination. It is non ported. To get lower hz I might need a cab with an 18" speaker or a cab with a sub. Humans can't hear below 25 typically but can feel it. The 18 is too much for the venues we play at."

any further thoughts guys?
 
I'd go for a properly tuned and vented 15" cabinet. Even a 12" with a good driver if properly tuned will outplay a sealed 18" rig. Some companies excel at getting big sound out of small cabs and drivers, but they aren't cheap. For example, Markbass has a 12" cab and with one of their 600 watt, 7 lb amps, can easily work in a 2,800 seat auditorium. it won't overwhelm everybody with 21-35 Hz bass, but you'd probably need a 8 cu ft sealed cab with an 18" in it to keep up.

There are sealed rigs that sound great but it takes a lot of juice and a lot of enclosure to equal that from a properly designed dual 10" or a single 12" or 15", esp on the lowest frequencies.
 
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