Peavey 115 Black Widow Bass Cabinet

The New model about 2002/3 vinyl covered with Front port earlier models had rear port and carpet cover. This is a 4 ohm 350 watt unit. Got this just before they started fitting draft excluder to stop the grill rattle. Big black wood box, heavy with single jack out on the back.
I wish it had come with Speakons and an extra link jack for the 8 ohm cabs, but needs to be standard on both 8 and 4 ohm models. I fitted a speakon myself next to the jack. Good handles.
The main and most important feature is that they have built it to the size it needs to be for a bass cab pumping out 350 watts down to 30 Hz. Alot of manufacturers shy away from the Physics and turn out boxy sounding cabs that cant breath.

This is a very articulate cab, The Black widow speaker is an incredible speaker they sound great, have a huge frequency response up to about 3K This bright snappy top end will allow you to use this cab stand alone.
I am not saying this is a bright cab but it can be if you want it to be It has real good tight bottom end on a five string and the tuned freq. allows the bottom notes to cut through well defined.
Prior to getting this I was using two small Trace 15inch 8 ohm 200 watt cabs. They coloured the sound and broke up unpleasantly when driven hard. This Peavy was to be my bottom end on a biamp rig. I compared it side by side with a Carvin 15 and it was much clearer and articulate. I beleive this cab is better than some much more expensive. Congratulations Peavey on a Great cab at very low price

These will take some punishment on the road the boxes are well made and braced. They are fitted with Black widow speakers which have replacable baskets and vented pole pieces you can run these all night flat out. I have used these in Peavey PA systems for 15 years they have never let me down. Check the competitions Speakers what size Diameter is the coil and are they vented. Bass speakers coils can run up to boiling point during continuous use. I Recently changed a cross over in my PA bins and the spaeker coil vent mesh was the color of an 18 wheeler exhaust.
No problem.

Never needed them, except for a broken PA cab handle

Been playing 25 years have owned
OHM combo
Carlsboro amp and cab
Trace elliott cabs with Carvin head
Ampeg B1
Carvin 210 with the Peavey underneath with Carvin head

I would recommend the Peavey 115 BW to anyone it is a great alround cab well worth the money. you will be hard pushed to better this. and sound quality for the money you won't.

115 BVX BW, owned NEW since 2002. Cost: Euro 430.- (although I traded it for a Peavey TNT 1x15 combo, which is quite crap for heavy playing).
1x15" 4 ohm Black Widow bass speaker rated 400W RMS, 800W peak. Frequency range from 40 Hz to, I think, 1 to 2 kHz. Black vinyl covered, solid built cab with reinforced corners and a solid grill, with Peavey and "BW Equipped" logos that don't break off (e.g. Trace Elliott, Crate and Marshall cabs always have their logos to break or fall off).
One single jack input. Bass ported in front. Dimensions seem to be very suitable for the sound (bottom end really stands out that way) though the cab is quite big. It?s not very heavy and can be lifted alone.

But:
No tweeter (which I don't miss because I mostly use distortion).
Has no Neutrik speakon connector, like all Peavey gear, which is really regrettable.
Relatively short coil for a much hyped bass speaker (I will always buy 8 ohm speakers in the future).

The speaker sounds absolutely wonderful together with a Peavey TVX 4x10 cab and a Peavey Firebass 700W model II amp. They really are a match made in heaven. The 1x15 sort of bi-amps itself with the TVX 4x10, surprisingly enough the 4x10 takes the ultra-low frequencies and all the highs when the tweeter is on (which I almost never use), while the 1x15 takes middier and higher bass range up to higher midrange.

I use it with two Cort Artisan A5 bass guitar models, the old (1996) and the newer (2005) series. I'm playing the bass guitar for 10 years.
I mostly play metal, both clean and distorted. Clean the speaker sounds deep, clear and crisp, while distorted it roars and rumbles. Together with the 4x10 it surely has the deepest bottom end I have ever heard from any bass amp and sounds like an earthquake.

Blew the thing up twice in the first year. Has been reconed both times (paper cone), first time by the local music store, second time by peavey themselves, and ever since it did never blow up anymore. I doubt the 400W max load, as it has always been used with a 4 ohm 4x10 TVX cab together. So it should take 350W load using the firebass, which has DDT Speaker protection always on and is never driven into the limiter for long periods of time.

Physically, both speaker and cabinet are great. The cab is rock solid, and the speaker will never tear apart at high volumes. Even with octavers used causing extreme speaker excursion, it will never give way.

I always gig on this set. If the 1x15 would ever break down again, I would use the 4x10 alone, which is rated 350W RMS max, but can handle 475W through 4 ohms easily. If I would ever need a backup set, I would buy exactly the same set, but with 2x115 and 2x410 8 ohms.

Absolutely great. They tested my Firebass 700W for free after I blew up the speaker for the second time (no problems found), and even reconed the speaker for free. And I am convinced they would have done the first time too, if it wasn't for the music shop to refuse sending it to Peavey during warranty (they said it was my fault). First recone job costed 200 euros, so I'm much more careful with this speaker now.

Overall, I love the sound combined with the TVX 4x10. Very deep, great midrange on the 15 inch. If I'd ever have to buy a new set of them, I would buy 2 sets of the (in weight heavier) 8 ohm BVX BW 1x15 and TVX 4x10 (all 4 combined 2 ohm, minimum load of the Firebass) which is to blast almost twice as loud as the 'single' stack at the same power. Maybe I'll sell this speaker and buy two 8 ohm ones sometimes.
It IS a speaker which has to be dealt with careful. If you always use your amplifier at the maximum, be really sure never to put more than 350W in the speaker, because it surely will blow up.

The rating is for the great sound and price (compared to top brands as Eden, SWR, Ampeg it's much cheaper but achieves the same quality), but the proven low maximum load of the speaker.

People who say Peavey sucks (maybe due to past experiences), try this speaker with the 4x10 and the Firebass, you'll be amazed. I love it, and will never buy another brand anymore for bass amplification.

I have two identical cabinets that were manufactured from the 80's and they are built rock solid with recessed handles. These have withstood the test of time constant use very well. I do not know about the other reviewer who said the sound was muddy. I love these speakers because they are not muddy so I do not know what his problem might be. I did use a Trace Elliot cabinet with a 15 for a short time and it did sound muddy. These have a nice tight focused round sound and are surprising bright for a 15 incher. These speakers have 4 inch vouce coils and can take alot of power for long periods of time. I loaned out one of my cabinets and it came back with a blown speaker. My tech reconed it with a kevlar cone and now it sounds incredible like one reviewer said it has that wow sound.

I use this cabinet with a peavey mega bass head biamped with a hartke 2x10 or a hartke 4x10 cabinet it just depends on where I am playing. I either a Jackson concert series bass with Seymour Duncan active pickups or a Fender Mark Hoppus signature bass with a Seymour Duncan quarter pounder pickup. I play a variety of rock, blues and country usually in a three piece band so I do not like muddy sounding speakers. I do not use alot of effects other than some slap back delay for rockabilly or some light chorus to fatten up the sound.

I have been using these since the 80's and I have never had to do anything to them. These cabinets are built very well and almost indestructable. They have definatly withstood the test of time with flying colors.

These have never had any warranty issues. I have dealt with peavey on other warranty issues on other pieces of gear with great success. Black widow speakers are designed to be fixed. The whole magnet assembly comes off the back and you simply install a new voice coil,my teck likes them. Also if you can have them reconed with the new kevlar cones do it you will be amazed.

I have been playing guitar since the 70's and bass since the 80's. I own around 30 guitars and about 20 or so guitar and bass amps. Any time I see these cabinet used for $100.00 or less I buy them. Like I said I have tried other "name brand" cabinet that cost much more and found that they either did not sound as good or they sounded just as good. I have played through some cabinets that cost around $2000.00 and higher that sounded amazing but I do not have that kind of money for a cabinet.

Bought new. 1 x 15 speaker, 300 into 4ohms. Cab covered in carpet like material. Only 1 input for spakers, no 2nd to chain cabs through.

I've now sold my Peavey 115 cab and replaced it with an Ashdown cab that cost over twice the price of the Peavey. I gigged with the Peavey for about 4 years. The sound was basically OK. No distortion, coped well with tansients, reasonable bass and treble response. However it was never 'great', never 'wow thats a great sound' etc. As my playing has improved I've strived for a better sound and eventually found that the Peavey just wasn't quite able to give me what I wanted. My new cab (at nearly #700) does give me that 'great' wow' etc sound. So basically I found that the old saying "you get what you pay for" is very true of bass cabs! The Peavey is an OK price and an OK sound.

Very well built and reliable. Coped with 4 years of gigiing with no probs. Never needed a backup.

Never used.

In sumary an OK cab for someone to start gigging with. It was reasonably priced and served me well for 4 years. Also it kept a good re-sale value, which helped towards the cost of the new rig :-)

Pretty simple cab, 1x15" 350w 8 ohm Black Widow speaker, recessed handles on either side, single 1/4" input on back. Bought mine used with casters already on it and the speaker was brand new. I wish it had an output jack for some daisy chaining but other than that it does everything I want it to. Because of the 8 ohm rating I've never really put more than 200 watts to it but it feels like it would handle the 350 w/ no problem.

I mainly use it with a couple of Ibanez basses for hard rock/metal and it definitely gets out enough lows for that sound... It sounds great stand-alone or in combination with other speakers... It is overall one of the best sounding cabs compared to others I've had (SWR, Ampeg, Crate, GK, Avatar, Fender)

This thing needs no backup. I've had it for 3 years and it's never failed in any situation.

I've been playing for about 5 years and I've had a few different full stack setups and several small/ medium sized combos. If it were stole I'd prolly replace it with an Avatar 'cause they're such great deals. I love the tone and reliability of this cab, and though it has casters it's not one to be lugged around al the time everywhere unless you have to. I found this cab used in the Harmony Central classifieds nad I knew it was gonna be good with a new speaker for $150. the only other thing I've got to say is go to www.avatarspeakers.com and check out their cabs' ratings on this site. You won't be disappointed if you get one!

bought new in '92. 300W@4ohms. great recessed handles that are easy on the fingers. super solid construction. recessed 1/4 inch input would be nice.

I play thru it a GK400Rb and also use a Bullfrog alumi-bass 2x10. Sounds absolutely killer. Punchy and tight yet has great texture. I use distortion (x2) and play from punk-jazz to honky tonk and it really performs. Clear, crunchy, loud or quiet. Wonderful growly low-mids.

has never let me down. Solid as a rock. Over 10 years of use (abuse) and only minor dings.

N/A

I would be very sad without it and would scour the countryside for another. Its a great cab.

1-15" Black Widow speaker. 300 watts @ 4 ohms

I read the other review and was surprised with what I read. Maybe he got a bad one. I bought one because I loved the sound. Nice deep rich bass. And in the search for a new head, I have tried others in stores and they sounded about the same as mine. Great. I would try one out for yourself and see.

Indestructable.

I have dealt with Peavey on ohter things and they have been great.

As Isaid earlier, try one yourself.I bought this oe over a SWR. At the time I had a SWR head and 410, so I planned on going with them on the 115.But the Peavey just blew it away. I was so impressd with the Peavey I now have a Peavey head and will get a 210 cab. 410's just to heavey for this old man. I don't regret getting rid of th SWR things and going with Peavey. And to add to it I had some nice cash left over.

1x15 front ported bass cabinet. 1 input 1/4 jack
Black widow 15" speaker power rated @ 300 watts, 4 ohms impedance.
Very light weight cab, so easy to carry.

My main feeling is that this cab lack definition in its sound.
Its ok at low volume, but at higher volume it doesn't clearly reproduce what its given. Low bass notes (especially 5 string) have no clarity, no resonance, they just turn to mush.
I've begged/borrowed several amps & bases to see if they made a diference but always disapointed in its lack of bottom end clarity.
You will strugle to be heard on stage with this cab. You just blend into the bass drum...

Cab construction solid. Recessed carry handles, sturdy metal speaker grill. Speaker works reliably

Never used. Bought it from my local music store, so probably able to get parts easy.

Due to the lack of sound quality, my overall rating is low.
its well contructed and reliable and light weight and easy to transport, but if the sound isn't there, the rest don't matter.
I'm going to swap it for a heavy awkward Trace Elliot!