A few years back, my dad gave me his 1966 Fender Bassman with a VT15 cabinet. The enclosure has one 15" speaker but I would like to replace it with 2-12" speakers so I can use it as a guitar rig. I figure I can just make a new front panel out of plywood, cut out the holes, and install the speakers in series and I will be good to go, or is there more involved if I want it to sound good?
Fender Bassman Cab Conversion
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- Rated: 25 ↑
Aug 8, 2008 8:36 a.m. audiodrome:
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Aug 8, 2008 11:42 a.m. GentlBen:
I don't know much about cabinet design but many lead cabinets are open back and if you are going to leave it open the cabinet may not be all that critical.
I have a '64 Bassman that I picked up in a pawn shop and modded. I rewired it to 3 wire so it wouldn't bite me. I replaced the tubes and had the bias balanced. Then I put the chassis in a custom made tweed combo cabinet with a vintage 12" JBL D130. I ordered a brown faceplate and ivory knobs and for about $400 I have a beautiful, unique blues amp that kicks butt!
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Aug 8, 2008 12:08 p.m. reverb11:
Why can't you use a 15" speaker for guitar? I use a rig with a 15" JBL D130F and it is the best-sounding speaker I've ever used... The current line of Gretsch amplifiers features an amp with a 15" speaker, as do Standels, and so on. Maybe it's the speaker itself and not the configuration that you don't like. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.
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Aug 8, 2008 1:25 p.m. Otter:
Not to derail the thread, but I agree with reverb11 about the 15". As far as I'm concerned there is no better speaker to play guitar through than a 15. Of course this is just my opinion and your mileage may vary. It will also vary greatly depending on your guitar and amp choice. I bet a 15 wouldn't sound too great with a Les Paul/Marshall head. It certainly will also vary depending on the quality of the 15" speaker.
When/if I finally have the time/money, I fully intend to make a 15" extension cab for my Classic 30. I would also like to experiment with a cabinet that has a 15" speaker and a horn, like some bass cabs.
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Aug 8, 2008 2:54 p.m. Wishinfora(nother)Falcon:
audiodrome said: I figure I can just make a new front panel out of plywood, cut out the holes, and install the speakers in series and I will be good to go, or is there more involved if I want it to sound good?
Sounds reasonable to me.
Is this a closed back cab? I run my '61 Bassman head through a Supersonic 212 cab w/Vintage 30s and a closed back and it sounds FABULOUS.
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Aug 8, 2008 2:55 p.m. audiodrome:
I never thought about just REPLACING the speaker, but that might just be the best idea yet. I guess it makes sense that a 15" speaker could sound good for guitar, as long as it was the right speaker. It certainly would be a lot easier than what I had planned to do. What speaker would you guys recommend?
The head is a beautiful (almost mint) blackface 1966 Fender Bassman
The cab is a 1966 Fender Bassman VT15 (large style) with 1 15" speaker and a sealed back
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- Rated: 28 ↑
Aug 8, 2008 3:04 p.m. Wishinfora(nother)Falcon:
That's beautiful drome. Is it really as huge as it looks? Seems like a lot of cab for 1 15" speaker.
I don't know about that specific cab but you can usually just pop the plywood out of a lot of the old Fender cabs. Just use the same dimensions on a fresh piece and cut out the new holes. Sounds like less than an hour of work to me.
I'm sure that 1 15 would sound great but I personally like multiple speakers. It seems to give me more complexity . I like 10s personally. 3 or 4 10s will give you all the bottom you want and add a lot of texture and complexity to your tone IMHO. YMMV of course
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Aug 8, 2008 3:28 p.m. reverb11:
You really, really need to hear a rig with a good sounding 15" speaker in it before you modify that cab too much. Like I said, an old JBL D130F is hard to beat. That speaker reproduces everything-- lots of top end, and an incredibly full bottom. A 15" is really good at amplifying the complexity and nuance of each note. Some folks like the Jensen P15 too...Fender Vibroverbs featured a 15" speaker as well, and they sound great. By the way, that Bassman looks great. Again, good luck!
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Aug 8, 2008 3:42 p.m. CnW:
I second reverb11's post. You really need to hear what a D130F can do! You've got the makings of a tone monster. Sorta like half a Dual Showman.
I'm more of an open-back cab guy, but I've popped the backs off piggyback Fender cabs with good results. Sometimes I'll pull the back off and lean it up against the cab with just an inch or two gap at the bottom. More air, a bit less bass thump. When you say it has a sealed back, you just mean that there's a back panel held on by wood screws, right?
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- Rated: 46 ↑
Aug 8, 2008 6:46 p.m. BillyZoom:
- Your Bassman head is four ohms. To get 4 ohms, you use two 8 ? speakers in parallel, not series.
- If you make a baffle, put a 1" strip of 1/4" plywood around the perimeter so the grillcloth doesn't touch the baffle. Paint the baffle flat black.
- If you can find a D130 with the original cone, use it. That's the best guitar speaker ever made.
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Aug 8, 2008 6:49 p.m. BillyZoom:
I guess the message board can't reproduce an ohm sign. It's Option Z on a Mac.
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Aug 8, 2008 6:59 p.m. TAG4:
What is the actual problem or deficiency of the amp when you play a guitar through it? I have a 1969 Super Reverb "road warrior" that someone put a 15" JBL in and played a bass through it for years and it's a SUPER guitar amp! Must have been pretty good for a bass too.
TAG4
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Aug 8, 2008 7:24 p.m. CnW:
Billy is the man.
2 JBL's would be a chunk of change, and make that cab one heavy mutha to haul. One would be enough with a Bassman, but you've got a lot of cab for a 1-speaker setup. Not to mention the impedence mismatch you'd have running a 4-ohm head to a single 8-ohm speaker.
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Aug 8, 2008 8:30 p.m. Sid:
I have a 1971 Ampeg V4 I'm running through two Electrovoice EVM15Ls, each in a separate tuned cabinet. This setup sounds great with my Ric 4001 bass and it also sounds great with my 6196T Country Club.
The one cabinets also has a 6" vented midrange speaker. I use this 6" with my bass but turn it off when using my Club. It sounds too shrill with a regular guitar but great with bass.
EVM15Ls seem to be going for about $75 to $120 locally and on eBay.
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Aug 9, 2008 12:17 a.m. Setzer:
Paul, at some point Fender made those cabs where the baffle was sealed in permanently. I'm not sure of the year they switched to that type construction. Of course the easiest way is to remove the many screws from the rear baffle and have a peek.
I use a Ampeg Portaflex 15" cab loaded with a EVM15L for guitar and love it.
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- Rated: 25 ↑
Aug 10, 2008 8:47 p.m. audiodrome:
TAG4 said: What is the actual problem or deficiency of the amp when you play a guitar through it?
Here's the deal. My father told me that the speaker was blown and that's why I was looking into a replacement for it (the amp was reconditioned about ten years ago). Since I already had my '64 Super Reverb and my AC30 and since this rig was such a monster to lug around, I had never bothered to try it out. However, last night, I pulled it out of the garage and fired it up for the first time in a LONG time, and it sounded really good! So now I'm curious as to what's in there (I don't feel like removing the 30-something screws to find out). What was Fender using back then for stock speakers?Here's a picture of it in the backyard, and yes, it is as big as it looks!
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Aug 11, 2008 6:06 p.m. audiodrome:
Well, I removed the 38 screws and finally got a look inside. It turns out that there are 2X15's in there, but there doesn't seem to be anyway to identify what they are. The baskets are a dark copper color with these numbers printed on the rim: 126383/137 7038. I found some information on a website that said 137 is the code for CTS speakers but I don't know if that's correct. The back plate on the speaker enclosure says V.T. Bassman 15 / Speaker Impedance - 8 Ohms / Total Impedance - 4 Ohms / Serial # 21388. I couldn't find any info on dating Fender speaker cabinets, but I'm guessing that it's late '60s. The amplifier is dated October 1966.
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- Rated: 96 ↑
Aug 11, 2008 10:46 p.m. Setzer:
Looks nice Paul! 137 = CTS, yes.
So was the baffle removable or is it set in with the Mortise and Tenon joint? Another question, is the baffle made out of particle board or does it look like good plywood? I bet you saw some good old insulation(batting).
Check here for Fender Amp info: Ampwares
Here is my old 212. I don't miss it.
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- Rated: 25 ↑
Aug 12, 2008 8:58 a.m. audiodrome:
From another website, I found out that the enclosure is a 1970 with CTS speakers. I didn't really examine it, but I'm pretty sure that the baffle is made of particle board. Obviously this thing was sealed up really tight, and considering that it had been stored in a garage for a long time, the inside was immaculate - no mold, no rot, and no bugs.
Now that I know it works and that it does sound good (and the fact that I have a good hand truck), I will definitely be using it on some of my gigs, space allowing!
Paul, do you still have the blond Bassman head - nice!
