Speaker(s) for an old Fender Bassman 4x12

moishelichtfuss · #1 11-29-2011, 04:13 PM

Hi,

I think I might have to replace on of the speakers in my old Fender cabinet. Since I know nothing about cab-configuration, I was wondering what to put in there to complement the remaining three.

It's a 4 ohm cabinet, which is use with an Bassman 100 tube-amp (100W).

So...the speakers are all 4 ohm, but how does the wattage of the speakers affect the scenario?
Does it have to be the same on all of them?
What specs doe these old Fender speakers (with blue label) have?
I'm kinda lost here...again.

Bassmec · #2 11-29-2011, 04:41 PM

Is this an old Piramid or crossfire cab if so are you quite sure the speaker is at fault. the cabinets tend to buzz and rattle due to the glue coming adrift.
Fender Bassman 100 pyramid 4x12 repair

will33 · #3 11-29-2011, 04:54 PM

There aren't many options out there in 4ohm 12's. I'd look into getting them reconed. Sure they're not 16 ohm all in parallel? If this is one of those pyramid cabs, I don't think they're worth putting much money into. Reconing may be the best bet no matter how you look at it.

I get it done locally but you can check with Orange county speaker repair to see what's available, what it may cost.

will33 · #4 11-29-2011, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassmec

Is this an old Piramid or crossfire cab if so are you quite sure the speaker is at fault. the cabinets tend to buzz and rattle due to the glue coming adrift.
Fender Bassman 100 pyramid 4x12 repair

+1

moishelichtfuss · #5 11-30-2011, 06:58 AM

Nope.

The story behind it really is, that I got the cab with one speaker already replaced, yet this one speaker (A Utah as opposed to the other three "Fender Special Design"-something) is an 8 ohm speaker. While I think that the cab sounds very nice overall, I get a distinct crackling sound and some 'farting' from this one, when I play a little harder.

So I was wondering what would be a good replacement for that.

And the more general question: Which wattage do speakers in those cabs actually have. That just out of general curiosity.

billfitzmaurice · #6 11-30-2011, 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moishelichtfuss

Nope.

The story behind it really is, that I got the cab with one speaker already replaced, yet this one speaker (A Utah as opposed to the other three "Fender Special Design"-something) is an 8 ohm speaker. While I think that the cab sounds very nice overall, I get a distinct crackling sound and some 'farting' from this one, when I play a little harder.

So I was wondering what would be a good replacement for that.

One can only know if one has the T/S specs of the Fender drivers, which you probably cannot obtain.
Understanding Loudspeaker Data | Eminence Speaker

Quote:

Which wattage do speakers in those cabs actually have.

Moot point. Wattage (Pe) is only one T/S spec, an insignificant one at that.

walterw · #7 11-30-2011, 08:42 PM

yeah, with a 100w amp and 4 speakers, you're looking a 25 watts per speaker; as long as you're over that, it's irrelevant.

billfitzmaurice · #8 11-30-2011, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walterw

yeah, with a 100w amp and 4 speakers, you're looking a 25 watts per speaker; as long as you're over that, it's irrelevant.

Hardly. The OPs problem could be that the Utah is actually a guitar driver, and that's why it's distorting. That would be my guess, as I don't recall Utah ever making a real bass driver, and even my 50 watt '65 Bassman could fart out four Utah twelves that were rated at 50 watts each.
In any event the OP will at least have to find out the impedance of the drivers in there now. If it's a 4 ohm cab they're 16 ohm if wired parallel, 4 ohm if wired series/parallel. That opens another can of worms, as 4 and 16 ohm driver choices are limited.

walterw · #9 11-30-2011, 09:31 PM

sorry, i meant the wattage is irrelevant. all those other factors you brought up are what would matter.

moishelichtfuss · #10 12-01-2011, 10:25 AM

Okay. Thanks to you all again.

Concerning a wiring of the cab: I made a drawing a couple of months ago, which I then accidentally threw away. But I remember the wiring to look something like this (sorry for the rather clumsy drawing). Essentially they were wired in two pairs:

Looks really awful.

So is that what they call series/parallel? Would fit, since someone labelled the speakers with a felt-tip marker: 3x 4 ohms, 1x 8 ohms, which I was inclined to believe.