JBL or Altec

[bigredbass]

I have NO idea if these are anything like what you guys are talking about here, but ran across these at Bass Emporium in Austin, and thought of this thread, so here goes:
 
http://www.bassemporium.com/item.php?sku=USEDALTEC421A1
 
J o e y

[crobbins]

Here's what I have in one of my Fender amps.

[5sicks]

D140's were always my favorites (ca 67-72). The newer designs have higher power handling and higher spl and so are capable of handling much more power and hence more clarity. Also you don't need as many to achieve the same levels. The horn loaded cabs of yesteryear look cool as hell but the technology has rendered those designs all but obsolete. The newest line arrays just blow the old stuff away both in terms of coverage at far field and clarity. We still use SR47 series tops and subs for FOH. Thank God there are some young guys in the band so I don't have to carry them around. They still sound great(after numerous re-cones and horn and 8 upgrades) and cover 200 peeps at 115db at 50'. My recommendation for HF drivers is the Eminence 2002; 80w @ 1600hz and up. They're plenty loud without being brittle, and they are only $54@

[poor_nigel]

Hey Joey, I do believe that is a 15 that would excite Dan.  They were decent enough speakers, but I like bigger voice coils for a little better control.  I love old speakers, but my favorite woofers are P.Audio 21 drivers with 6 voice coils.  They'll do whatever a B string tells them to, no complaints.  However, a hand truck is a mandatory accessory for even a single cab with those.  The $54 drivers Thomas points out sound very tempting, as the diaphragms for the JBL 2450's I like to use cost $150 a pop, if something goes wrong.  However, since I always tri-amp, they are crossed over at 4K to 5K, so not much chance of blowing them.  You can get used JBL 2450's on eBay for about $400 a piece.  I bought eight from the old QSC auctions where they would sell a dozen or two JBL drivers (10's, 12's, 2 horns, etc.) they used for testing their amps with, and then dump them on eBay is mass.  Those were the days!

[skyboltone]

Crobbins: That looks like a D-130F in either a Vibrasonic? or Bassman? I'm not sure on the brown amps but I know the tweeds (a year or two older than that one) had the baffle boards attached top and bottom only. Your amp has supports all the way around. In any case I believe it's a retrofit.  
 
Joey: the 421LF is a Ferrite magnet speaker. The 418LF is an Alnico speaker. The 421 would be more analogous to the JBL E-140 but with no where near the power handling capacity. The E-140 came along about ten years later and is good probably for about 300 watts with a low E. Both Altecs are rated at 100 watts; but like I said in the beginning Altec used more conservative rating system across the board on it's drivers. Xmech (excursion before mechanical damage) on the Altecs is half an inch! If you drive a JBL a full quarter of an inch out, the voice coils come out of the slots. However.....other than the F model (Fender) the compliance, or stiffness of the suspension on the JBLs is waaaaay stiffer than any Altec. You simply couldn't drive the speaker that far before heat would destroy the voice coil.
 
So, after all that OPINION I think the ultimate direct radiator small bass cab would be; a K-145 (15 inch) on the bottom crossed over at about 500-800hz into two K-110s (10) on top. Or...an Altec 418LF on the bottom and two K-110s on the top. In either case you'll have to pad the K-110s down a bit because they will eat the 15 speakers lunch in the SPL department.  
 
Finally 5Sicks, I hear you loud an clear ;o) on the vertical arrays. Man, here in Reno the PepperMill casino just rebuilt their 7500 peoples venue with 4 arrays about 20 feet tall stuffed with some kind of 12' or 15 cone drivers and a bunch of little tweeters. Two are near the stage and two are midway toward the back of the arena. It's the finest audio I've ever heard in a venue that size or maybe any size. There are 6 huge video screens fed from a variety of camera angles around the arena including a boom cam that the operator drives around in from far left on the arena floor! Maybe 60-70 feet of boom? He's not even on the stage. They have delays set on the speaker arrays so there is NO echo or latency at all. Amazing.
 
Dan