I have a fairly standard JCM900 1960B 4x12 cabinet. It was making some flubby buzzy noises at high volume, and I didn't like the bass response that much, so opened it to see what was going on. (it's got the stock Celestion 75 watt 12" speakers - I plan to change those to greenbacks at some point). I noticed that the wires connecting the speaker terminals to each other and the input of the cab were really thin. I also noticed a 2x2 wood plank running horizontally from the front panel in the center of the 4 speakers back to the back panel, where there's a screw that connects with it from the outside. Once the back panel is off, it's very loose and kind of hanging off the front panel. I removed the dinky wires and soldered in some fat copper 12 or 14 gauge speaker wire, but noticed that there were tiny little wires running from the speaker terminals to the internals of each speaker anyway.

On to the questions:

Electrical:

1. with the tiny wires used internally in the speakers, was there any point to installing beefier speaker wire in the cabinet?
2. I'm assuming that soldering can result in a better connection than the spade connectors the little connecting wires had been using. Does that really make any difference?

Structural:

The flubby buzzing I had heard appears to be the loose brace I mentioned. I don't want to remove the grill cloth if I can avoid it to tighten it to the front, so would it be a good idea to:

1. glue and or diagonally screw it from the inside to the front panel,
2. additionally brace it with a vertical piece of wood running from the center of the horizontal brace down to the bottom panel of the cabinet, or
3. simply remove the horizontal brace altogether?

So I'm trying to record a rhythm part on my acoustic/electric guitar, but the picking sound overpowers the rest of the sound and gives it a muddy/distorted sound. It almost sounds like clipping but it's not. I am using the line out on my guitar into my small mixer, which is then plugged into my computer. I have tried thin and thick picks, different strumming techniques, different pick angles, and various settings for the compressor in my recording program, but it all sounds pretty much the same. The EQ helps a little, but the noise is still there unless I completely destroy the track. The picking sound isn't that bad just listening to the guitar, but in the recording it sounds terrible. Is there anything else I can try? Are there any effects that could help other than compression and EQ? I don't understand how people get such clean acoustic sounds on recordings. I do have a dynamic mic, but I've tried a few placements of that and It didn't sound much different than the line out of the guitar. Any help would be appreciated.

Another note, I can play something picking individual notes and it will sound fine, it's just when I'm strumming chords that the picking noise is really loud.

I regularly cruise the Kijiji/ebay sites just to check out guitars and equipment and I have a question for all you who know about such things.
I'm seeing a lot of small amps for sale and some are listed as "acoustic" amps. I was wondering what is the difference between an acoustic amp versus an electric guitar amp. I would expect that an amp is an amp. I have use my Roland JC120 with the piezo on my acoustic and it works fine for many situations but I prefer going through the p.a. system to that option.

Is an acoustic amp different than a standard electric amp?
I understand that speakers are designed for specific frequency responses and one can tailor the speaker the same way you can a guitar pickup to achieve a certain sound.

Is the circuitry different for the acoustic amp?

Whatup?

I traded for this on Craigslist...traded it for Sabian B8 hi-hat cymbals
it is a TV Yellow Epiphone Special Custom Shop model...painted neck..upgraded factory tuners and it has a neck plate engraved plus a cool tattoo decal on the back of the head that certifies it is the top of the heap in the low end market.

It has a nice straight speed taper neck and it stays in tune for one or two songs (at least the way I play it)
epi special.jpgepi special back.jpgepi special plate.jpg