Upgrading a 4x12 piecemeal

[Bubba po]

Is it feasible, do you think, to change the speakers in a stock 1960A cab one at a time? Would it even be workable tone wise? It occurred to me that the odd V30 or greenback might crop up occasionally and it might be cheaper than doing the whole cab in one hit.

Any thoughts?

 

[Greg_L]

Is it feasible, do you think, to change the speakers in a stock 1960A cab one at a time? Would it even be workable tone wise? It occurred to me that the odd V30 or greenback might crop up occasionally and it might be cheaper than doing the whole cab in one hit.

Any thoughts?

I'd recommend going two at a time. That way you can stack like speakers, x pattern, over under, whatever. One odd speaker in there can get weird.

 

[Bubba po]

I'd recommend going two at a time. That way you can stack like speakers, x pattern, over under, whatever. One odd speaker in there can get weird.

I get it. What would be the deal with V30s, btw? Them being subjectively louder than other speakers?

 

[minerman]

I can agree to replace 2 at a time Bubba, I've got 4 different speakers in my cab, & while it's not as weird/terrible in the room as you'd think, it doesn't sound like it did with a quad of the same speakers (it had T-75's in it when I bought it)...

In my cab, the louder speakers are in the bottom (V30 & G12H), with the lesser in the top (Greenback & G12-65 re-issue) so they wouldn't overpower the lesser ones...

 

[Greg_L]

I get it. What would be the deal with V30s, btw? Them being subjectively louder than other speakers?

They're not subjectively louder, they ARE louder. They will overpower your stock 75s. But it's not that bad. Some people like the ghost low end from the 75s with the cut of V30s.

 

[Bubba po]

I can agree to replace 2 at a time Bubba, I've got 4 different speakers in my cab, & while it's not as weird/terrible in the room as you'd think, it doesn't sound like it did with a quad of the same speakers (it had T-75's in it when I bought it)...

In my cab, the louder speakers are in the bottom (V30 & G12H), with the lesser in the top (Greenback & G12-65 re-issue) so they wouldn't overpower the lesser ones...

My word, that's a misbegotten beast! How did you end up there?

 

[minerman]

My word, that's a misbegotten beast! How did you end up there?

It was actually a suggestion from the Gerg dude, & it actually kicks ass...All the clips you've heard from me over the past year & 1/2 have all been my "bastard" cab dude. That's it's name for now, until I get another one & match some speakers up...

To be honest, it saves a hell of a lot of space & $$$ Bubba. If I want a mic'd Greenback it's there. If I wanna change to a V30, move the mic to another speaker. It actually doesn't sound terrible in the room either, but for close-mic'd tones, it actually works great, I've got all kinds of possibilities from just one cab dude...

 

[Bubba po]

It was actually a suggestion from the Gerg dude, & it actually kicks ass...All the clips you've heard from me over the past year & 1/2 have all been my "bastard" cab dude. That's it's name for now, until I get another one & match some speakers up...

To be honest, it saves a hell of a lot of space & $$$ Bubba. If I want a mic'd Greenback it's there. If I wanna change to a V30, move the mic to another speaker. It actually doesn't sound terrible in the room either, but for close-mic'd tones, it actually works great, I've got all kinds of possibilities from just one cab dude...

Ah, I can see the point of it from a recording point of view.

 

[minerman]

Ah, I can see the point of it from a recording point of view.

Yeah man, it works. Last summer I took it to a couple jam sessions, & it sounded fine. I'm sure a matched set of speakers would sound better, but for recording, it's actually awesome.

It came about because I was using an ISO cab, & swapping my speakers out when I wanted. Greg suggested the different speakers, & off I went. At first, I had it split into "2x12's", with a Greenback/V30 wired up on one side, & the T75's on the other. I finally bought the G12H & '65, then wired 'em all up on a single jack...I gotta say, Greg's pretty slick with this shit man...

Speaking of your jack on you cab, is it the original, pcb type Bubba??? Greg also got me to do away with the pcb, & hard-wire it to a regular, 1/4" metal jack. His went bad, & while it didn't hurt his amp, it could've possibly fried his transformer...Just sayin'...

 

[Bubba po]

Speaking of your jack on you cab, is it the original, pcb type Bubba??? Greg also got me to do away with the pcb, & hard-wire it to a regular, 1/4" metal jack. His went bad, & while it didn't hurt his amp, it could've possibly fried his transformer...Just sayin'...

I wouldn't know mate. I assume PCB ones are the switchable type? I've never switched it to 2x 2x12 stereo mode and I've had it virtually from new. I'm not sure I'm ready to give up the stereo capability just yet.

 

[minerman]

I wouldn't know mate. I assume PCB ones are the switchable type? I've never switched it to 2x 2x12 stereo mode and I've had it virtually from new. I'm not sure I'm ready to give up the stereo capability just yet.

Yes, the switchable type. I used the old plate/cover, & just threw the plastic jacks/pcb away. Here's how mine looks now:

(I had that piece of tape there because 2 speakers were 8ohm, & the other were 16ohm. All the speakers in the cab match ohm-wise now btw. You can't really see it in this pic, but there's a hole there instead of the slider/switch now...)


I'm not sayin' it'll go bad, it may last forever, but I didn't even give mine that chance. I didn't care about the stereo thing either so...Just sayin' dude....

 

[Bubba po]

Yes, the switchable type. I used the old plate/cover, & just threw the plastic jacks/pcb away. Here's how mine looks now:

(I had that piece of tape there because 2 speakers were 8ohm, & the other were 16ohm. All the speakers in the cab match ohm-wise now btw. You can't really see it in this pic, but there's a hole there instead of the slider/switch now...)


I'm not sayin' it'll go bad, it may last forever, but I didn't even give mine that chance. I didn't care about the stereo thing either so...Just sayin' dude....

I assume the twin sockets are wired in parallel?

 

[minerman]

I assume the twin sockets are wired in parallel?

They are now Bubba. At the time the pic was taken, it was a L/R thing, only 2 speakers would work at once because of the impedance mis-match it had. I didn't keep it like that very long, maybe a month or so & I bought 2 speakers to match the impedance of the GB/V30...

 

[Bubba po]

They are now Bubba. At the time the pic was taken, it was a L/R thing, only 2 speakers would work at once because of the impedance mis-match it had. I didn't keep it like that very long, maybe a month or so & I bought 2 speakers to match the impedance of the GB/V30...

I get it. I understand the standard wiring but that needs four 16 Ohm speakers to work. Likewise, those can be split into two 8 Ohm pairs.

Did you buy four 8 Ohm speakers and wire them in series/parallel for 8 Ohms total, or did you get four 16 Ohm speakers and wire them in the standard configuration resulting in 4 Ohms?

 

[minerman]

four 8 Ohm speakers and wire them in series/parallel

^ this

 

[Bubba po]

^ this

I thought as much. That's why you had an issue part way through the conversion, yeah?

 

[Greg_L]

Now that it's been mentioned, your switch is gonna fail. The seal has been broken. Get rid of that stupid thing.

I hard-wired all of my cabs. 16 ohm mono with parallel jacks to link cabs together. Works great, no more fried switches. I never once used a single cab in stereo anyway. That's what two cabs are for.

 

[minerman]

I thought as much. That's why you had an issue part way through the conversion, yeah?

No Bubba, I didn't have any issues, I just nipped it in the bud before it had a chance to fuck up on me. I've read in a couple different forums that a couple different people have had issues like Greg did & some weren't so lucky, the pcb/jack(s) failed, & took a transformer out with it. So again, I just did this so I'd be sure it wouldn't happen to me...It'd be a shame to let a $2 1/4" jack fuck up a $150 transformer (or whatever a transformer would cost...I know it's a lot more than the price of a couple 1/4" jacks), & maybe fuck something else up along with it...Just sayin'...

Now that it's been mentioned, your switch is gonna fail. The seal has been broken. Get rid of that stupid thing.

 

[ocnor]

I finally bought the G12H & '65, then wired 'em all up on a single jack.

Are they the old original versions or reissue?

 

[minerman]

Are they the old original versions or reissue?

Re-issue dude, as those are the most expensive speakers I have, I just couldn't swing some of the crazy amounts that the originals go for. Plus, my speakers were bought new, so there's no guessing about how they've been treated, how long they'll last, etc...I know these original speakers can be had at a decent price, but I'd honestly be really wary of 'em for the reasons I mentioned, especially buying online....