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Secondhand Cab is it Bass or is it for Guitar

Aussie Wayne

Aussie Wayne

Jun 9, 2023
11
9
#1
Howdy I have just bought my first Bass amp as I play Guitar but wanted to have a go at the bass now and I bought this secondhand Bass Amp and Cab but he could not tell me what brand the speakers were and he also was a part time bass player and mainly a Guitar player.
So I'm hoping someone here may be able to confirm if this is indeed a bass cab or perhaps a straight up guitar Cab that he's been using to get by with.
I pulled the speakers out but they have no marking and I noticed inside the cab that it had a fixed wood wall separating the top speakers from the bottom so maybe that's a give away as its not ported but a full enclosed wall between the two.
 

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#2
That little paper label in the fifth pic looks like it was just floating around in the bottom of the cab. If so, it was once adhered to the side of the magnet of one of the speakers. The number 67-90250060(at least that’s what I can make out)indicates that it was manufactured by Eminence, and is furthermore marked 16 ohm. Beyond their own branded products, they furnish scores of OEM drivers to a variety of other amp/cab companies. You’d have to do some research online or contact them to get the details on that particular number/model, but by the looks of that cab design, I’d say it was for bass. How deep is it? Generally, 4x10” boxes meant for bass run 15” to 18” front to back. Plus, you don’t see 4x10 cabs for guitar that much(but they do exist), let alone with the individual chambers.
You could leave the whole thing wired for a 16 ohm rating, which it most likely is right now, if you plan to add another cab eventially(and that is a whole ‘nother topic of conversation), or you could have a qualified individual rewire it(in parallel)to obtain a 4 ohm load, as long as your amp wants to accommodate it, and it is the only cab used.
 
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#3
Pretty sure that's a guitar cab. You can probably still get by playing through it if you don't absolutely crank the low end. I'd mostly be concerned about not knowing the ohm rating of the cab. It probably won't have the deepest sounding bottom, but it can hold you over until you get an actual bass cab.

Are they 10" or 12" speakers? Because 12" would be a dead giveaway that it's a guitar cab.
 
#4
J Posega said:
Pretty sure that's a guitar cab. You can probably still get by playing through it if you don't absolutely crank the low end. I'd mostly be concerned about not knowing the ohm rating of the cab. It probably won't have the deepest sounding bottom, but it can hold you over until you get an actual bass cab.

Are they 10" or 12" speakers? Because 12" would be a dead giveaway that it's a guitar cab.
Click to expand...
Looking at that label again, I see that those are indeed 12’s(“1238FR”), don’t know if the “FR” means full range, but if that cab is deep enough, and the drivers hold up, I don’t see that it wouldn’t work, if the sound is satisfactory. The cab is sealed, not unlike an SVT, especially with the two individual chambers(which is still pretty unusual for a guitar cab). There might be some voodoo gestalt that makes it happen, or else it could sound like crap after all.
 
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#6
my guess is guitar cab. if so, use a hi-pass filter with it (about 60 Hz or so) and you can get by ~

obtw, the controls suggest that the amp is a nominal guitar amp also. again, not really an issue, except the e.q. points will be lees than optimum. a preamp/eq pedal takes care of that.
 
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#7
JimChjones said:
A bit of Web searching suggests that 1238 could possibly be a Peavey guitar speaker, but I'm not sure where the ER/FR comes into it.
Click to expand...
The ‘67’ prefix on the longer number denotes that it is an Eminence…
Speaker Codes & Applications – Weber Speakers

The Speaker Shop Vintage and Antique Speaker Repair and Recone Services

Not being too caught up in Peavey lore, perhaps Eminence provided them with OEM models? But I thought Peavey had their own proprietary line, Sheffield, Black Widow, etc.
 
#8
Thanks to everyone and to answer a few questions
they are 12 inch speakers
and wired in parallel
dimensions of the cab are 28in H x 28in W x 14in D
This is a local made head so its definitely a Bass Amp Rated at 300w and 4ohms impendence
 
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#9
Playing both, guitar and bass, for the past 50+ years, I've always used the cab construction as an identifier between bass and guitar. This is not absolute, but it is common, guitar cabs have open backs and bass cabs have closed backs. Better highs for guitar with open back. Better lows with bass with closed back.
 
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#12
Ok so I take it the worst thing I can do is blow up the cab and I actually got the pair very cheap $350 Aus that's around $230 US so the cab doesn't bother me if it happens to crap out as long as it doesn't hurt the Amp and then I can look for a proper Bass one

This Amp has a built in compression channel which I believe can help to not blow out the speakers.

Also will it be quieter as its a guitar cab v a genuine Bass Cab?
 
#14
Maybe as I practise at Franks (Custom Music) I will ask but a friend of mine reckons its a 300w as did the seller but yep priced cheap as it has a real pop and crackle on the volume and would of put a lot of people off but I spent a few hours cleaning it up spraying down the spindles to the pots and cleaning all the inputs all with Detox-It and also took pre amp tubes out and changed them over with some others I had here and now like brand new.
Winning
 
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#17
high pass filter

I made the mistake of running my Bass through my acoustic amp one church service some years back, 'cause I was too lazy to bring in my Bass amp. It actually Blew the amp! Not the speakers! I still have the cabinet and the speakers, not that I use them anymore. Amp was a Bheringer, solid sate, so no big loss, just a pain in the posterior! :D
 
#19
So the cab will take a certain amount of volume before it starts distorting and generally sounding bad. Don’t expect it to do lots of low frequencies.

SO: don’t turn up the bass eq on the amp or any active low freq eq your bass has. If you have or can get a eq pedal put that in line and cut the lowest slider some. Short of a high pass filter these are good steps to making the speakers have a chance to work as well as possible
 
#20
agedhorse said:
Guitar drivers

Interesting amp name…

never clean pots by spraying anything down the shafts. Any shaft lube that was there is now in places they shouldn’t belong.
Click to expand...
Howdy Ok Didn't that don't actually rate myself in fixing Amps but I will say the crackle and pop which was huge noise wise has gone so maybe got away with it but its almost perfect now.
I used Detox-It D5 which states its more a cleaner and improves connection so just maybe as this Amps probably at least 30 years old there was nothing left to wash down and onto the pots but bottom line right now its fixed what was going on so at this point I will take the win
 

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