Changing speakers in cabs

plangertinyclanger

Hello all 

Forgive the newbie questions, I'm currently looking to update my set up. I've always used combo amps before but I'm keen to branch out to head & cab territory. Due to budget/transport limitations, I am going for a 2x12.  

Someone has offered me a 1922 cab for a reasonable price. However, I was keen initially to get a Blackstar Series1 2x12, I adore the Celestion V30s and sort of had my heart set on em. 

As the clumsiest person on the planet, I would like some opinions and advice. Would it be feasible or a good idea for me to purchase the cheaper cab (which has some variety of Celestion G12s in it) with a view to buying some V30s seperately and swapping one or both of the speakers out myself? 

I'm sure there are many people on here who have had success doing this. Also - any views on having a cab with mixed speaker types in? I.e. 1x G12, 1xV30? And, is all of this worth the bother???

Cheers 

AlanP

It is entirely possible that your G12s are actually better than V30s.  Find out the exact type and post here - I'm certain you will get opinions...

1 x G12 and 1 x V30 is entirely reasonable, and might well actually sound better than two of the same type... (some "bouteek" makers do exactly this...)

... but it all depends what type of sound you are after - in the end, only you can decide which would be best for *you*...

digitalscream

It's reasonably likely that the speakers in the 1922 are G12T-75s. They're a much-maligned and misunderstood speaker in my opinion.

I'm not too keen on their sound on their own, but - as has been discussed to death on here many times - they sound bloody fantastic when paired with a V30. In fact, that's what I use all the time, both with my Jet City and my Eleven Rack rigs. The end result is a V30-esque sound, but with more balls.

I'd definitely recommend it. Buy yourself a second-hand V30 (already broken in) and shove it in the 1922, making sure that it's the same impedance as the one that's already in there - most likely 16 ohm, then give it a blast at real volume. What's the worst that can happen - you don't like it and have to buy another V30? You're no worse off than you were to begin with

mart

If you want a 2x12 and you like V30s, then you've got to check out the Thomann cab:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_g212_vintage.htm

ICBM

The problem with the 1922 is that unless you're very lucky and it's an extremely early JCM900 one, it's made of MDF and not ply. Many people with say this doesn't make a lot of difference, but in my opinion it does. A 1922 fitted with V30s still won't sound as good as a ply cab with V30s… and that Harley Benton cab is so cheap - barely more than the cost of the V30s - that it's hard to justify buying a crap MDF box to put them in, unless you want one or both the 75s as well. But you can buy a 75 for less than a V30, if you want to try that swap the other way round… so I'd still buy the HB unless the 1922 is *really* cheap. (Like, £100 or less.)

plangertinyclanger

Some really helpful tips from all of you guys, thank you very much. 

The 1922 has been offered to me for £150, so actually as I can get that HB cab new for £160...be silly not to. And yes, it does make more sense to buy the cheaper speaker pair separately and do the swap that way round. 

In terms of actually doing a speaker swap, is it a fairly straightforward process? Does it involve lots of shop tools i.e. ability to solder or anything? I can solder, just haven't done it for years and don't have the space/equipment... 

ICBM

plangertinyclanger said:

The 1922 has been offered to me for £150

That's too much. You can find a 1936 for that or even less.

plangertinyclanger said:

In terms of actually doing a speaker swap, is it a fairly straightforward process? Does it involve lots of shop tools i.e. ability to solder or anything? I can solder, just haven't done it for years and don't have the space/equipment... 

Easy - a chunky Philips-head screwdriver is all you need. (I think the HB cabs use screws rather than nuts for the speakers.) The speakers will be fitted with push-connectors so you won't need to solder anything.

(I'm not going to start that argument again now .)

plangertinyclanger

****Update for those who may be interested! Apologies if it comes across as self indulgent****

Last night I tried out my new setup, and I am totally utterly in love with it. Finally got the Blackstar Series One 50 head (bought new) running through a Harley Benton G212 vintage (found in local music shop for £70 - bargain) 

I had previously tried the head out in the shop through a Blackstar 212 cab they had in there. The clerk did say that it had V30s in, but I suspect this wasn't the case, as I found it very clangy and tinny almost, from the low mids all the way up to trebles. I reckon that this was actually an older cab, before Blackstar started putting V30s in them. 

Through this beat-up looking HB cab though...wow, what a difference. So punchy but deep and rounded at the same time. There's clarity there that I need, but not too much sharpness through the mids and trebs. At this point, I'm not rushing around to swap the speakers, but I will see how it goes. 

Once again, big thanks to all of your for your help and especially to mart who put me onto the HB cab 

Pic for good measure! 

Beexter

If you do end up wanting to swap the speakers, it is very straightforward. First, you'll need to remove the back of the cab.

The wires from the jack socket will be attached to little metal lugs on the back of the speakers - if you're lucky, they'll be little spade type connectors that will just slide off. If not, the wires will be soldered on. If they are soldered, you'll need a soldering iron to get them off (unless you want to cut them). Heat the soldering iron up and touch it to the solder points as you gently pull the wire - it'll just come away. (Just be careful not to drip any molten solder on the speaker cone).

The speaker will be attached to the front of the cab with some screws/ bolts around the edge. Undo them and the speaker will come right out.

Fit your new speaker, slide on the connectors (or solder your wires to the lugs) and rock out.

ICBM

Don't forget to make a note of the polarity before you disconnect anything. If you accidentally reverse the wiring on one speaker the cab will sound thin and weak. Be aware that some speakers have the + and - terminals the opposite way round on the tab. There are also a *very* few speakers which are the opposite polarity even when apparently connected the right way round, but if you stick to ones from the same maker this shouldn't be an issue.