Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: WezV on July 25, 2007, 04:42:46 PM

Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: WezV on July 25, 2007, 04:42:46 PM
I have spent the day re-tolexing half of an old carlsboro cab ready for when my little rock arrives!!!!!

It used to be a 4 x 12 cab but has been sawn in half because it was so bloody heavy(not by me).  Anyway it was given to me free with the Mckensie speakers that were in it originally.

I didnt take any photos before but this is how it looks now:

(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/XL800979.jpg)
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/XL800980.jpg)
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/XL800982.jpg)
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/XL800978.jpg)

There is still the odd little bubble as the solvents are evaporatin but they should be gone tommorow.  also the white piping will be reinstalled neater once i have the speakers in and it wired up.

For my first time working with tolex i am quite happy.  i think i am going to add a big white logo to the middle though!!
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: TwilightOdyssey on July 25, 2007, 04:45:08 PM
Looks hott!!

The handles look just like the impossible to hold ones on my Hiwatt cab!!
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: WezV on July 25, 2007, 04:50:47 PM
Cheers TO. . .  there is no easy way to lift this thing so i might add a couple of handles to the top at either end - not sure yet.  God knows how anyone lifted it when it was a 4 x 12.

I decided to keep the old 'bumpers' that go around the edges of carlsboro cabs because they saved me having to do many difficult corners.  they are slightly battered but i like the look
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: ToneMonkey on July 25, 2007, 05:08:36 PM
That looks like a right bitch of a job.
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: noodleplugerine on July 25, 2007, 05:40:39 PM
Very neat!

You seem to be a man of many talents Wez!
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: WezV on July 25, 2007, 05:49:28 PM
it was much easier doing this over any other cab because of these handy bumpers around the edge

I might try something with more corners next since i have so much red tolex left over.  I have a 5w champ amp i made a few years ago that i never got around to covering.

the good thing is that my girlfriend like the colour and has agreed that it looks good in the lounge!!!!  I was letting her have that room to herself since the rest of the house is full of planks of wood, dirty tools and guitars in various states of completion!!!
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: WezV on July 25, 2007, 05:49:56 PM
oh, and i might cover one of the pedals i have made!!!
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: noodleplugerine on July 25, 2007, 05:50:54 PM
Tolex pedal would be awesome!

And I agree with your GF - It's very loungelike.
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: opprobrium_9 on July 26, 2007, 12:19:20 AM
Totally awsome, i hope to build myself a cab next summer, should be very cool!  I love making my own stuff.
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: dave_mc on July 26, 2007, 05:55:51 PM
that looks sweet.  :twisted:
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: PhilKing on July 27, 2007, 12:06:20 PM
You can'r beat red for Matamps   :D  Are the Mckenzie's rebadged Celestions?
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: WezV on July 27, 2007, 02:17:57 PM
really not sure - cant find out much info on them but they seem to be a north england speaker manufacturuer and they look almost identical to a greenback with the green bit removed, apart from the red paint of the frame. . .  its certainly possible.

i am sticking with the mckensies anyway .  I tried it out with a small valve amp i made a few years ago and it sounds much better than the amp ever has before.    Not bad for a freebie - well aprt from the money i spent on tolex and grill cloth.

Somebody on another forum did me a couple of mockups with a logo and i gotta say, its gonna look great!!

(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/wes-cab1.jpg)
(http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e31/WezV/wes-cab2.jpg)

i have a technical question since i am new to this whole speaker cab thing.

I measured the resistance of each speaker and they both measure 6.6 ohms which i understand makes them 8 ohms impedance.  That bit i understand.

so i have the cab wired up with a series/parallel switch because i want it to do 4 and 16 ohms.

I was expecting to get reading that is less than 4 or 16  ohms for the resitance  with a multimeter but that isnt what i have ended up with.  the resistance measures around 7 ohms for parallel and 25 ohms for series operation.

Now i dont fully understand the relationship between resistance and impedance so i was wondering if this is normal and ok to use as it is.

 I had the speakers wired in parallel for 4 ohm impedance to try out with my other amp yesterday - it measured 7 ohms resistance but worked fine.  but i dint really want to risk it with the little rock when that turns up!!
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: dave_mc on July 27, 2007, 06:28:56 PM
try the white logo with a thin red surround? the red one is too red, while the white is badass- but could use a little red to tie in with the red tolex.

No idea about the technical talk, sorry...  :lol:
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: indysmith on July 27, 2007, 09:18:03 PM
like the red
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: WezV on July 27, 2007, 10:07:09 PM
i wanted to do black and white because i can do that with the scratchplate material i have - but then i could always do a red and white logo with some of the tolex i have left, since i ordered enough for a 4x12 and head there is quite a bit left!!!
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: indysmith on July 27, 2007, 10:09:09 PM
you could use the pickguard material, and put the red tolex over that? so it'd be a red face with white/black/white layers...
Could be tricky though
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: WezV on July 27, 2007, 10:15:07 PM
i reckon i could make that work - i am waiting for the matamp to appear before i make any decision seither way!!

apparently they had a problem because the supplier of the circuit board incresead the price from £7 to £26 so they have had to source some more from germany - appparently it will be done as soon as the new boards arrive....itchy fingers, need new amp!!!!

to be honest i knew this was part of ordering a matamp, a wait is to be expected!!!
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: dave_mc on July 28, 2007, 05:28:09 PM
Quote from: WezV
i wanted to do black and white because i can do that with the scratchplate material i have - but then i could always do a red and white logo with some of the tolex i have left, since i ordered enough for a 4x12 and head there is quite a bit left!!!


more photoshops are in order!

 :twisted:
Title: new (old) cab!!!
Post by: HTH AMPS on July 28, 2007, 06:49:06 PM
The white logo looks badass.  On second looking, those McKenzie's do look exactly like Celestion frames right down to the same tagstrip to solder the connections.  Are there any codes/writing on the cones? - if you see something like 003, 444 or 1777 then they're rebadged Celestions for sure.

 :twisted: