15" speaker for guitar: pros and cons?

[TChen]

i found a traynor yba-4 i am thinking about picking up. havent had a chance to pla it, but im pretty sure its a yba-1 with a 15" speaker. are there any particular genre's or applications a 15" works or doesnt work for?

[chervokas]

I love 15 inch speakers because they'll deliver a full clear bottom--no matter how hard you hit 'em with bass notes they don't crap out. But not all 15s are great for rock guitar. Often they are voiced for bass, or keyboard, or PA applications and they can be a little hifi, clean, and even strident. I'm not sure about the original speakers in those Traynors. There also aren't that many makers of 15" guitar speakers at the moment so finding the right, affordable 15 for a 1X15 can be a big of a challenge.

[smolder]

I found a refined EV... And it pretty nice. Bigger low end, but not lacking in the mids or highs. Great solution if you are the only guitar or want a little bigger sound.

[Tone_Terrific]

Try the Traynor.
Usually, the old ones had some of the worst speakers that could be used. I haven't tried that one.
A well-voiced 15 is A-OK for guitar.

[mad dog]

Not sure you'd want to use a 15" speaker for speedmetal, heavy jazz fusion ... anything real fast. The speaker reacts a bit more slowly than 10s and 12s. Me, I don't play that stuff, have yet to find anything a good 1x15 can't do. It's an acquired taste. Everyone's different that way. Give it at try, you might like it.
MD

[DGG]

15's are wonderful. Give 'em a try. A few different brands out there but IMO a great speaker for guitar. Again, my personal opinion.

[BCJek]

I had a YBA-4. Way too bassy for guitar in its standard form. I got rid of the 1x15 cab and made it into a head, but you might try taking the back off first, and certainly try a more guitar-friendly speaker in there. It does have a jack for speaker-out, so try it with a different 1x5 cab if you have a chance.

Otherwise, it IS just a 70's YBA-1 in a combo cab.

The older YBA-4's [flat front panel] had the chassis rubber-mounted to the sides of the cab, which is a great idea for tube longevity/microphonics, but sure feels funny when the chassis moves inside the cab as you turn the knobs.

[LowWatt]

Originally Posted by TChen

i found a traynor yba-4 i am thinking about picking up. havent had a chance to pla it, but im pretty sure its a yba-1 with a 15" speaker. are there any particular genre's or applications a 15" works or doesnt work for?

The traynor 15" are better than the 12s or 10s they had but still often nothing special. Sometimes you get a rebadged Jensen and win. Other times you get a super ratty and inefficient Marsland.

Having said that, I just picked up a 1970 1x15 Bass Mate combo (the 6V6 one) and the original Marsland sounds pretty sweet with bass or guitar.

And 15" speakers can handle anything. Maybe if you play superfast and punchy, it might struggle keeping up with you, but outside of that, I see no issues. A 15" has it's own tone and it can be made to work in just about any genre. Personally, I love them.

[Old Tele man]

...old Vibrasonics are very popular...still!

[Troy T. Blues]

I have a '72 Vibrosonic with an EV. It's basically a SF Twin with a 15. Holy smokes! This amp changed my life! Beautiful, clear, tight bottom end with a nice balanced overall tone. For the stuff I do, it works great and it KILLS with Tele's!

[DuncanNZ]

I play a Victoria regal 1 x 15. It's an Eminence Legend in there and it sounds great. I personally run it with bass on about 2 and I find that is great. Despite what you might expect (or what I did) the treble is gorgeous and sparkly.

[solitaire]

If you want to use your speaker for metal, go with one that is really aggressive. Don't go with one that says it's like 103dB sensitive but measure only 97dB on the plot. See to that it really reads 103dB at 1kH on the plot as well.

[dunara]

I use a Lab Series L9 with a 15" speaker. Love it! Especially good with my baritone.

[twanguero]

I really want to replace th 4 10s in my classic 50 with 1 15, but I'm not sure it'll keep up with quick staccato funk rhythm guitar in my cover band.

Anyone know a 15 that still has a little bit of punch to it?

[Calloway]

The eminence big ben has tons of punch and is my favorite 15.