Replacing Speaker in late 70s Studio Combo Bass Amp

[J-Rex1984]

Hi All!

First time posting on this forum, any help y'all could offer would be greatly appreciated.

I'm looking to buy a replacement speaker that is at least 120 watts, 15", and has 4 impedance. It's a combo amp, solid state, and the cabinet appears to be in good condition.

I'm wondering what aftermarket speakers most closely resemble the tone of the original? I'd also be interested in acquiring a functional original speaker.

I've looked on EBay, but haven't found anything yet.

Thanks for looking!

[AjaxLepinski]

Hey bro! 

Ebay and reverb.com are the best places to find old gear.

I love the way my 1970's, Electro Voice SRO's sound... I have a 12" alinco and a 15" ceramic and they kick ass with just about any amp. 
I used to have a Sunn Senturea II and I just bought a Solarus - both sound awesome with SROs.
These days, EV focuses on large venue PA systems, but they still make the 12L Classic that's rated at 300 watts peak and 150 watts continuous.

Check out guitarampboard.com  they have more activity and it's fun.

Good luck!!!

[EdBass]

I would think one of the Eminence stamped frame woofers would do great, something high sensitivity like the Delta 15A. The OEM was most likely CTS or Eminence, the Studio Bass doesn't need a whole bunch of power, probably want to defer to higher sensitivity rather than higher power handling capability.
The difference in SPL between an 8 ohm and 4 ohm driver in your application would be insignificant, but Eminence can probably offer most of their drivers in 4 ohm, you would need to email them.

Hey bro! 

Ebay and reverb.com are the best places to find old gear.

I love the way my 1970's, Electro Voice SRO's sound... I have a 12" alinco and a 15" ceramic and they kick ass with just about any amp. 
I used to have a Sunn Senturea II and I just bought a Solarus - both sound awesome with SROs.
These days, EV focuses on large venue PA systems, but they still make the 12L Classic that's rated at 300 watts peak and 150 watts continuous.

Check out guitarampboard.com  they have more activity and it's fun.

Good luck!!!

This forum is different from some others. The members here tend to be pretty knowledgeable and only post when they have something relevant to add on the topic, rather than posting just to post.
For example; not sure what significance a dissertation on vintage SRO, eBay and guitarampboard.com have to do with someone looking to replace a bass combo amp driver with something close to OEM...

[Ryan Phelps]

If your goal is to install a speaker that replicates the original, then you should look for an old / re-coned Eminence or CTS. These are the speakers that Sunn used back in the 60's-70's. But, this may not be what you really want.....depends upon your desired use, playing style, type of music you play etc. Sunn also offered speaker upgrades to JBL D140F and Cerwin Vega for some amps, but perhaps not for your specific amp.
So....take all of this with a grain-of-salt......if you are looking for the original sound, then listen to the old guys like EdBass, LoudThud and Soundmasterg. But, you know that it's only a speaker. If you don't like the sound, replace it! Most of the fun of this hobby is the quest for tone! FYI...I own an early 70's Stage Bass with the original re-coned Eminence....sounds great! I also own a 200S and 2000S with matching JBL D140F cabinets. Different animals, but they all sound great.

Good Luck!