The CV L36 is a mushy sounding beast not because of the speaker size or the horn design, but because the speaker used is mushy.
I am very familiar with the sound of the Martin 2x15, from 1981 to about 1987 used cabinets of my own design that were very similar to the straight horn Martin 2x15". I was inspired to build them after hearing the description of the Martin 2x15" Supertramp was touring with, they knocked plaster off the theater's ceiling while sound checking the kick drum
.Several English bands used to the Martin sound ended up touring with Southern Thunder Sound (my company until 1992), nicknaming the L2 and L4 cabinet design the "Welter Belter".
Unfortunately, the Martins (or the L2) required a lot of units (like at least 4 per side) to get the type of punch and depth you are probably looking for.
NeoDan linked the plans for my Keystone sub in post #10.
Loaded with the BC18SW115 or the Eminence Lab 12s it is very punchy, and goes deeper than the Martin dual 15 front loaded horns. Interestingly, loaded with the Eminence 4015LF (a 15") it lost punch at high volume, the speaker "mushed out".
Although the Keystone does not have quite the punch of a FLH (front loaded horn) it is more punchy than bass reflex cabinets.
Unlike FLH, tapped horns work well with one single cabinet.
By the way, "long throw" is a misnomer, all sound falls off at 6 dB per doubling of distance, although with a very large array, the point at which the inverse distance law starts is some distance in front of the array, regardless of the enclosure design.
Art Welter
Dan,
The Lab 12 BL2/RE comes in at only 52.45, but they sounded cleaner and punchier in the Keystone than the 4015LF.
Tapped horns put a lot of stress on the cone. Even running the 4015LF under Xmax, the cone breakup distortion was evident, so much so I didn't even bother doing my usual distortion testing, though I regret not having done it while I had the chance.
Before I purchased the BC18SW115 I thought the 4015LF was a fairly stiff cone, it is floppy by comparison.
The Lab 12 is even stiffer than the BC18SW115, but doesn't have the BL.
Art
The McCauley M421 as was referred to earlier I think is very close in design to the Martin 215, I do think however that you guys are correct in that I was just told by my friend who had a lot of the Martins in the early 80s that one Martin will not give the effect I am thinking of, he said at LEAST 4 of them will do but under that he's not sure., I have attached a pic of one of his rigs which he had used in 1987 which was what I had heard for the first time.
Ok so we are narrowing this down, for my very small application, which ONE cabinet would you guys recommend will most likely give me the closest effect of the Martin?
Ok so we are narrowing this down, for my very small application, which ONE cabinet would you guys recommend will most likely give me the closest effect of the Martin?
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Yeah some serious bass came out of that rig which was only half of this guys's total equipment, later on he and all DJ's down there switched to the L36 mainly because the Martins were simply too heavy and odd shaped.
Yeah, I can't use 4 of anything here guys due to the neighbors, I tried using 2 L36 and 2 EV eliminators last year and the bass could be heard for up to a mile away people said. I want the bass to pound mainly on my property, now that I have the Sonic for near throw bass, I just need one cab to reach the back of the crowd, I think I may have to go with the EAW SB850 which is the only cab I have heard [just one] which sends the bass out at 25' or so with good feel but doesn't throw nearly as far as a folded horn or scoop, it is obviously not gut wrenching but I guess it will have to do for my application, appreciate the input/advice everyone!
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A couple of years ago I ran used 4 off 2 X 15 FLH cabs at a festival - We had the smallest rig there but the sound police kept on coming back to us and saying that they could hear us all over the site - I expect that the effort that we put in to the quality of the sound source made a big difference.
As Art has stated long throw and short throw is a misnomer. there is only loud and quiet - One mile is not very far depending on the weather conditions.
Maybe you should only have parties on windy days!
It might be possible with 3 bass cabs and DSP to direct the sound and aim it away from your neigbours property.
Hi Mike,
You've been asking all along for something that you DON'T want. I think a good tapped horn is what you are looking for as they don't have the directivity of a sub/array with large mouth area but they can still kick off some very serious bass. Where do you crossover to subs? Since you don't seem to be looking for ultra low bass a Danley TH118 would probably fill the bill. If you want to build something there are a few good options, Ricci's Othorn would be my first choice in a single box solution. Though I'd double up the bottom panel with a 1/2" inner layer and 3/4" outer, with 4" strips of ply on edge across the access hatch panel. I'd also recommend you read the Void Bass Guide as your problem may be setup related.
You've been asking all along for something that you DON'T want. I think a good tapped horn is what you are looking for as they don't have the directivity of a sub/array with large mouth area but they can still kick off some very serious bass. Where do you crossover to subs? Since you don't seem to be looking for ultra low bass a Danley TH118 would probably fill the bill. If you want to build something there are a few good options, Ricci's Othorn would be my first choice in a single box solution. Though I'd double up the bottom panel with a 1/2" inner layer and 3/4" outer, with 4" strips of ply on edge across the access hatch panel. I'd also recommend you read the Void Bass Guide as your problem may be setup related.
I don't know Dan, the TH118 design seems close to the EV T18 subs I had and if they are then that's definitely not the bass I am seeking, the other one I like the design but wouldn't want to attempt a complicated build like that. Just spoke to a friend of mine in FL who used Martins back then, he said I can get a certain level of effect with just one Martin 215 cab as he used 4 when doing commercial gigs but only used one at home, the type of bass he said which will come out of the Martin is like a "kickbass" from a drum machine which I think is the best way to describe that bass but if I cannot get the Martin cab then he advised to go with 2 EAW SB850.
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