Older Nashville 400 with 1502 BW

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

I hate to get on the Nashville 400 kick again, but I played through one of the older Nashville 400's with the 1502 (I think) speaker. Compared to the later production (unmodified)models with the 1501 (SB) speaker there is a world of difference. This amp with the 1502 speaker had all the bass anyone would want, but the mids and highs really weren't there, compared to the later production models.

Obviously the speaker is the reason for the difference in response. I didn't realize there was that much difference in the amp with the different speakers.

I'll have to say, comparing the different Nashville 400 "models" - the original with 1502 speaker, the later ones (no tone mod) with the 1501 and the last production models with the tone mod - I'll take one with the 1501 speaker and the tone mod.

I can see why the tone mod is "necessary" in the later models. Apparently the amp was designed around the bassier 1502 speaker and with that speaker the EQ response was about right. With the 1501 speaker the EQ/tone needed the modification to "match" the amp with the 1501.

jerry wallace · From: Artesia , NM (deceased)

Jack,I never realized untill recently that the speaker and its construction and ability to "move" in responce to the signals it received had so much effect on the tone of a amp.
My favorite amp was a Fender Showman 12 that I bought new in 1966..It had a 12" JBL speaker in it..The voice coil moved with every note played on my old strat,infact you could watch the coil moving with just the tremolo turned on and no playing at all.
It seemed like the paper and construction of the coneing material was much ligther than todays speakers..Unfortunanly this movement allowed the voice coil to rub and I blew the coil out twice..
Am I right in thinking that the more and easier a voice coil can move,the better the reproduction of the instrument? With the down side being they "blow" easier due to ease of movement?

One 60's JBL I had got a tear near the edge of the paper,I got some flexable 3m rubber type of cement and went around the edge of the speaker with it about 1" out from the basket..It stopped the tear but the speaker lost all of it tone..It sounded like a 3" transistor radio speaker after that..I concluded that the movement of the paper and therefor the coil around the magnet was a very important part of the sound reproduction of a speaker..

Simply put,the stiffer the paper,the more wattage it can take but the poorer the frequency response and sound reproduction..right or wrong?

Jerry Wallace- "98 Zum: D-10,8+8, "96 Zum: D-10,8+5,Nashville 1000,Session 500 ,Tubefex,ProfexII, Artesia, New Mexico

[This message was edited by jerry wallace on 04 May 2001 at 10:56 AM.]

[This message was edited by jerry wallace on 04 May 2001 at 11:05 AM.]

Jack Stoner · From: Kansas City, MO

Jerry, it's probably one of those "a little bit of both" type things. The more efficient the speaker is, the more responsive it will be to frequency changes and turning them into mechanical movement. However, if a speaker is too sensitive it can cause premature failure.

I don't think what you were seeing with the old Fender was what caused the voice coil to start rubbing.

I have a pair of older JBL D120-F's that came out of an AB768 chassis Fender Twin. I've used them in my stereo system speakers for about 15 years and they are still working well, although they don't get the workout they would in a guitar amp. I tried them with my steel and a Transtube Fex/MosValve 500 power amp about a year ago and they still have the "Fender sound".

However, back to the differences in speakers. Mike Brown can address this a little better, but the 1501 and 1203 BW speakers that are used or have been used in steel amps and speakers are a "paper" cone speaker. They do have a better mid and HF response/punch than the older 1502 speakers that were used in the Session 500 and early Nashville 400's (and probably Vegas 400's).

The 1502 BW, now, is listed as a bass speaker in Peavey catalogs and probably the reason the older Nashville 400's have the good low end.

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