EVM-15B/L reconing options

[Rhodesplyr]

My brother has been digging through his speaker collection and found an EVM-15B with a bad voice coil (failed at the winding/lead wire connection point).

It appears that you can recone this frame/magnet structure as either an EVM-15B or a -15L, depending on your preference. Drawing on the collective experience on here, does it make a better bass guitar speaker or lead guitar speaker? Those were the purposes mentioned in the EV literature on these two. I'm aware that as you go to a larger diameter speaker, beaming becomes an ever-greater issue.

Checking prices on eBay, it doesn't seem like these sell for that much.

[Bill Moore]

Years ago, I built the 3 cu ft EV enclosure for my wife's grab, and go rig using the 15B, and it sounds great. I used the cabinet for side fill at an outdoor location using generator power, and ruined the speaker, (EV reconed it for free!). While it was gone I put a 15L into the cabinet, and it didn't seem to have the deep "presence" of the 15b. It now has the original back in, and sounds the same as before.
I think the15L is a little brighter for guitar, but the 15B makes a better bass speaker.

[jrfrond]

There are two different cones for that frame: L (for "lead", and is smooth, curvilinear), and B (for "bass" which is half-ribbed). Each one takes a different voice coil wind depth: the LEAD is a .500" VC wind, and the BASS is (if I recall correctly) .675". No problem reconing as one or the other. the 15L is a great guitar speaker, but not really useful unless you like the 15" tone, and usually, that is ground treaded by jazz or pedal steel guitarists. The speaker is, to me, much better suited to bass in that diameter.

[Rhodesplyr]

...the 15L is a great guitar speaker, but not really useful unless you like the 15" tone, and usually, that is ground treaded by jazz or pedal steel guitarists. The speaker is, to me, much better suited to bass in that diameter.

Thanks, John. I have a client who's a pedal steel player, so I had him in mind.

[J M Fahey]

My personal experience is that the 15L is better, both for Guitar *and* for Bass.
The Bass player who digs an EV usually is into popping/slapping/tapping and enjoys the added presence.
The 15B is more oriented towards PA woofer use, has *great* bass sound anyway, rounder sound (duh !) but is often percieved, in a live band situation, as more of a backlaid type of sound.
It gets drowned a little, compared to the other.
Of course it's much preferred by, say, Reggae Bass players, but needs a *big* box to show its colours.
Maybe it's me, buy I always find EV suggested cabinets too small and bass shy , although in theory they are optimal.
Going 2x that volume and above gets *much* more gut-shaking.
jm2c

[Bill Moore]

The little 3 cu ft cab was meant as a rehearsal cab, but we used it at small venues with success. For larger venues she used the old CV BG-250 18/12 cabinet, which really moved the low notes, and still was articulate.
I am using an old SRO-15 in my "Twin" for pedal steel. I believe it uses a similar cone to the 15L.

[J M Fahey]

I forgot to mention that not only the "B" Voice coil is longer than the "L" one, as was posted above, but the "L" is flatwound aluminum ribbon, instead of a twice the weight copper ribbon, used by the "B".
The difference in attack and definition is astounding.