BillFitzmaurice.info

Forgive me if this is in the wrong thread, but it's my first post. I have played bass guitar for 40 years, and I love the sound of JBL E140's. I have tried most of the other brand name 15's and some of the new neo's, but nothing seems to get that " tone " that I can get with my Fender 4 string Jazz and JBL E140. I play in different types of bands, but my main gig is with a wedding/corporate party band that does everything from Sinatra to Springsteen. I need a do it all type of cab that can keep up with a Hammond B3, a Bernard Purdy type of drummer, and a 3 piece horn section. I discovered BFM on TalkBass and am wondering if any of Bill's cabs can give me that JBL sound without the weight? I will be using different amps, but mainly a pre/power rig that will give me enough watts to drive any cab, but I'm mainly looking for portability, not lots of power. The omni tallboys look interesting, so I'm wondering if there is any modern equivalent to the JBL E140's tone? Any comments welcome! Thanks.

I think you may have to describe what kinda tone you are looking for. Maybe someone else will know what you are going for from just the speaker type, but even assuming you would have that speaker in a front loaded cab, I still wouldn't know what that tone would be.

jswingchun wrote:I think you may have to describe what kinda tone you are looking for. Maybe someone else will know what you are going for from just the speaker type, but even assuming you would have that speaker in a front loaded cab, I still wouldn't know what that tone would be.

It's kind of hard to describe if you have never played through one, and I am no tech savy guy to say the least, but, I would describe the tone as clear, not muddy, and kind of of sparkling in the upper mids. Most of the 15's I have played through, especially the Eminence models , sound dark, almost muddy when even the eq is set to flat. No doubt they can handle more watts and are way more efficient than the E140, but I'm willing to sacrifice some of that for a tone similiar to the JBL. I have never played through a cab design like the BFM's so I was hoping that might be the answer.

If you're looking for hifi tone like that, Omni 15 or Omni 12. Lots of people rave about the tone of a stack of Jack 10s, as well.

Find some to demo.

BrentEvans wrote:If you're looking for hifi tone like that, Omni 15 or Omni 12. Lots of people rave about the tone of a stack of Jack 10s, as well.

Find some to demo.

Thanks, I'm actually kind of drawn to the tallboy versions of the omni models. Are there any sound clips available for any of these models?

Search youtube for Bill Fitzmaurice. Plenty of videos there.

BFM designs do not color the sound, the reproduce what is given to them very accuratly. I play an O12 tweeterless. It took a long time to get used to what I was not hearing. I was using a 2x10 and single 15 before the O12. The lack of harmonic distortion makes the cabinet feel quieter up close. The clarity of the O12 is astounding....you hear every mistake.

If you're looking to get the same coloration from these designs as the JBL, I don't think it's gonna happen.

There used to be some comparisons on youtube. omni12, omni15 and a DR280 IIRC. David Perry posted them

Thanks, everyone.

jnewmark wrote:The omni tallboys look interesting, so I'm wondering if there is any modern equivalent to the JBL E140's tone?

IMO, no.

The E140 is a classic high-efficiency driver.
Translated to regular speech, it is loud, bright and has no bottom.

Back in the day, JBL used to house this driver in an over-large box to try and recover some bottom extension.
This is an EBS (extended bass shelf) configuration, where the box volume is 150% or larger than the optimal volume.

If you are looking for that classic JBL tone, my first suggestion is a pair of Jack-10, or more if required.
Two Jack-210, each box wired in series (16-ohm) can be daisy chained (parallel) for an 8 ohm load that works with any power amp.

A pair of J210 will array very nicely and offer plenty of noise.
The sound quality is primo.

bgavin wrote:

jnewmark wrote:The omni tallboys look interesting, so I'm wondering if there is any modern equivalent to the JBL E140's tone?

IMO, no.

The E140 is a classic high-efficiency driver.
Translated to regular speech, it is loud, bright and has no bottom.

Back in the day, JBL used to house this driver in an over-large box to try and recover some bottom extension.
This is an EBS (extended bass shelf) configuration, where the box volume is 150% or larger than the optimal volume.

If you are looking for that classic JBL tone, my first suggestion is a pair of Jack-10, or more if required.
Two Jack-210, each box wired in series (16-ohm) can be daisy chained (parallel) for an 8 ohm load that works with any power amp.

A pair of J210 will array very nicely and offer plenty of noise.
The sound quality is primo.

What about a j210 wired to an 8 ohm load? I'm really looking for a one cab solution. How many watts can a single j210 handle ?

You need 4ohm or 16 ohm drivers to get an 8 ohm dual driver combo. Pretty sure the recommended ones are only available in 8ohm.

Those David L Perry vids will still be on youtube, freaking amazing.

I'm sure I posted the vids in the review section, if not, they are still on my account in YouTube. I can't search at work, but I'll find them when I get home.

Gregory East wrote:You need 4ohm or 16 ohm drivers to get an 8 ohm dual driver combo. Pretty sure the recommended ones are only available in 8ohm.

Those David L Perry vids will still be on youtube, freaking amazing.

Would a 4 ohm load be ok in a J210 or J212 ?

I have never come across a bass amp that wouldn't do a 4 ohm load. You could always just find an amp you like and take it with you. The modern ones are really portable, like in a briefcase.