Posted on 07/01/2005 4:55:39 PM PDT by Drew68
Here's the story:
I came into what appears to be a pretty good deal. It is a Marshall speaker cabinet holding four 12" speakers. It is a top (slanted) cabinet. The tag on the front lists it as a JCM800 Lead Series. The tolex has a few tears and there is a small tear in the speaker grille. It looks like it has seen some life on the road but it is solid.
I purchased this cabinet for $200. I do not currently possess a head with which to play it through. Not out here in Florida anyways.
Now here is where I get confused. Upon bringing it home I removed the rear panel so that I could see what shape the speakers were in. I knew they all worked because I tested it through a crappy solid state head. The speakers appear to be in good shape. I can't see any tears in the cones. All four are wired into one recessed 1/4" jack in the rear panel.
The lettering on each speaker magnet reads:
Rola Celestion LTD,
Ditton Works
Foxhall RD
Ipswich, Suffolk
England
Ideally, I want an old Marshall JCM800 head, but the ones I've seen are only switchable between 4, 8 or 16 ohms. Nothing for 15 ohms. On Ebay, I see many cabinets that are 16 ohms. I simply cannot find out much information about ohms!
Do I have some strange cabinet I won't be able to use? As it sits, it is currently a stand for my much smaller Marshall practice amp.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
OOPS! Weird British-wired cabinet.
Get any Marshall head and you'll be fine.
I owned 2 english automobiles, so I have to ask, "Does it leak oil?" If not, it isn't English.
Ohms is just a measure of resistance. You can plug it into ANY rated ohms speaker- but for best output they should all be matched.
For example, If you had a regular set of stereo speakers rated at 8 ohms, and you connected a second pair it would bring the resistance down to 4 ohms, and the output would seem louder to you (get it? same power through less resistance)
OK thats the best laymans terms I can come up with on short notice
OK. So if I have four speakers @ 15 ohms each are they now 3.75 ohms wired together? With tube amplifiers (the only type that matters) it is integral that impedance is matched. Most amps can be switched between 4, 8 and 16 ohms impedance. Would I want to select 4 ohms (close to the combined impedance) or 16 ohms (close to the individual impedance)?
All I know is that a good tube amp is something of an investment and I don't want to screw it up.
Or I wouldn't mind a Hiwatt DR-103. An old one made before they started mounting the tubes directly onto the circut boards in the early-mid 1980s (this cost effective but bad, bad idea doomed Hiwatt amps).
Bump!
ping for you
Any Marshall head will be fine, though I would also suggest you check out Sovtek heads as I feel like you get better tone for less $$$.
Any Marshall head will do. I would suggest trying out a Sovtek head as well as I feel like you get better tone for your $$$
Made in St. Petersburg, Russia. Hmm... That kinda scares me, though I have heard good things about Sovteks. I know the ole' CCCP embraced tube technology much more than the West did.
One question I forgot to ask was this: What style of music? For metal or very heavy distortion a Marshall head is the answer. For blues/rock and roll I would definitely suggest Sovtek.
bttt
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