Replacement driver for SWR Redhead?

[BartmanPDX]

Howdy!

An old friend of mine from college has started playing bass and told me that his older SWR Redhead has one blown speaker. He mentioned "PAS." I guess his local Sam Ash has been unable to locate a replacement. I have no idea what year his Redhead was made and he's out of the country right now.

Any ideas on where he can get a replacement driver? I'm pretty sure the knowledgeable folks here at TB can outdo Sam Ash any day of the week.

Thanks in advance!

 

[JTUK]

Most SWR used to use PAS speakers not so very long ago so if the combo is of a certain era, then that is what they wil be. They will be rated anything from 100watts ea to 175watts.

I had this problem ( blown speaker ) a while ago and it is all about trying to source the PAS repair cones.

These people were quite helpful http://www.speakerex.com/?gclid=COSc2aXn6JsCFZJM5QodG3cP5w at the time but this might be out of date now.

You may also be able to find a custom cone maker who can edge wind. but as I am in the UK I had no luck with custom cones as the repair guy said the PAS chassis unit wasn't that good in the 1st place and couldn't garauntee the power rating...???
He also said his units would be a better option and the price was competitive, IMV

I don't know...????? his units were pressed steel so I wasn't overly convinced about his argument and eventually went for Emimence Deltalites...but I did go for a matching pair.

Your problem would be that you might end up with a mismatched driver.

I have heard that PAS are no longer in business and that SWR use Emimence speakers now.

It is a question of what drivers match up the best...but I would still advise getting a pr if money allows..

 

[BartmanPDX]

JTUK, thanks so much for your response. That's the kind of thing that keeps me coming back to TB. That and the pretty bass pictures . . .

Judging from your post, I think his best option is probably to look at getting a matched set of Eminence drivers. He can afford it, and it's probably a hell of a lot easier than trying to chase down one of the PAS drivers. If they are both Eminence then it should end up sounding fine.

Bart

 

[Illinimax]

Thought I was going to buy new woofers for my old Redhead but realized that the originals have a squared-off frame making today's perfectly round replacement drivers hard to fit. The PAS drivers can be reconed by a number of reputable shops. J&J here in Chicago did right by me in reconing my old Redhead speakers.

 

[bigdoug1053]

+1 for getting a pair of new Eminence drivers. I just went though an unnecessary ordeal trying to get a replacement speaker for an early 90s Goliath Jr. The offending driver had a cast aluminum basket and I could not get any response from SWR. So I contacted Eminence asking about the Legend BP102 - they replied the next day and said the BP102 was a good match for the Goliath Jr cab - but recommended an SWR replacement because of differences in efficiency if I was replacing only one driver.

Well, the non-responsiveness of SWR was real disappointment to me. So I bought a pair of BP102s and just loaded them in the cab today. They sound great.

The other SWR driver, BTW, was NOT the same driver as the blown unit. It had a pressed steel (cheaper) basket! Further, the polarity of the terminals was not marked on the SWR drivers (the impedance and power handling rating were also missing) - so I had to re-install the cables to get the Eminence drivers functioning correctly.

 

[fast slapper]

Deltalite II 2510

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[JTUK]

I have put the Deltalites into my Jnr lll and will report back here when I have a considered opinion on the swap..

My preferred option was to replace the cones of the originals but here in the UK that wasn't an option as we can't get the cones. Custom winds on new cones from a few sources I have could not do edge-wound coils so could not give me a power increase.

If I could have gotten my PAS returned to the original SWR spec I would have done so
as it would have been my preferred choice.
Shipping to/from the U.S wasn't cost effective, either for new PAS chassis' or recones for me.

I have had good reports of this swap and it will give me a weight save into the bargain..not that this was a desire, just a consequence.

 

[JTUK]

IMV, Deltalites are a good swap and they retain the same sort or attack and tone of the PAS speakers as well.

The 10's bloom so you can use a sharper attack than normal...and I can use the Gol Jnr as a standalone or with a 15" Bertha which makes the whole rig sound monstrous.

Very good swap, IMO..and the Cab now weighs about 42lbs which is an easy carry..

So, all good..

 

[Chef]

when mine let go, circuitshop.com did a very reasonable recone.