Can someone help me identifying this cab?

[Gomez]

Hey guys

I'm new here. I'm a sound engineer based in London U.K. Like most sound engineers, I'm crazy about gear... it's great to have found a forum for Hiwatt stuff!

Ok so I recently inherited this Hiwatt cab and I was wondering if you guys could help me giving me some info about it:






The 2 speakers at the top have been replaced. One with an "Emminence Beta" and the second one I have no idea (pictured above).

Type: A P
Serial Number is: 6770
Model: SE4123

It would be cool to find out how old is it and what's the average value. I was thinking to replace the top 2 speakers with Celestion V30's (because I really like them for recording) but I'm not sure if that is a good idea. What do you guys think?

I thank you all in advance.

Gomez

[Dr.HI-TONE]

Hi, Welcome to the Vintage HIWATT Forum!

The cab is from mid-late 1975.
As for a value....it is really hard to estimate based on the condition.
It appears to have some additional screws sunk in to help tighten it back up. Unless they are from castors????
Missing two of the speakers hurts too.
Maybe in the area of 800 pounds?

[Gomez]

Hi there!

Thanks for the info! it's much appreciated.

The additional screws are for the castors. I think mechanically the cab is fine. It has screws missing for the back and cosmetic damage, but everything else is fine.

What are the chances of finding these speakers to replace the other 2?

Would I benefit from fitting 2 Celestion V30 on top?


Thanks again!

[Dr.HI-TONE]

I don't know....
You could try it and let us know what you think.

[Gomez]

I up for doing that.

I'm going to order a pair of v30s.

I don't really know about wattage and these things... if I buy 2 x 16ohm v30 and put them in, would be ok?

[Dr.HI-TONE]

you should be fine.
Those fanes are 50 watts, 15-16ohm
Good Luck!

[OldSchoolDave]

FWIW, I think the odd speaker is an Oxford.

If I were you, I'd wire the two Hiwatt Fanes to the jack, then wire the V30's to another cable and in-line jack or plug. The slotted port on the back makes a perfect exit for such things. Then, you'd be able to A/B/Y the speakers at will.

I did a similar thing with one of my cabs, so I could power blackbacks off a 50 watt Marshall and Fanes off a Hiwatt. One cab - two tones .



Dave

[Gomez]

Hey

Thanks a lot for that.

What you guys are going to laugh about is that I haven't heard the thing yet... I don't have my amp at home at the moment.


A few more questions for the experts:

- What is that "Oxford" speaker? is it something I should hold on to?
- is the magic of this cab, the enclosure itself or the speakers? It's very heavy and big...
- OldSchoolDave: do you not get a weird sound out of your cab when only 2 speakers are working? Your idea is fantastic tough!
- DrHiwatt: how do you know that this cab was made in made to late 75? jus wondering how to get that info.

Thank you guys, I really appreciate it.

[Dr.HI-TONE]

The magic of old HIWATT cabs is in my opinion, 80% custom Fane speaker and 20% enclosure design.

as for the dating, I have or have had a few of them. The two original Fanes will have date codes on them in the form of a two digit number / two digit number. This is the production date code in terms of week/year.

You should check out out Mark Huss' fantastic HIWATT tribute site.

mhuss.com

There is a world registry that is a good way to get a ballpark date.

The oxford most likely came from a Fender. (I see that Old School Dave mentions a vox organ as the possible source of the oxford, and he would know better than me, so I would lean towards his answer)

[OldSchoolDave]

- What is that "Oxford" speaker? is it something I should hold on to?

I've got a (Thomas Organ era) Vox 4x12 cab that came with Oxfords. They sound nice for that Vox chime thing. I wouldn't toss it, if that's the question. You may find someone who wants it for a small combo amp.

- OldSchoolDave: do you not get a weird sound out of your cab when only 2 speakers are working? Your idea is fantastic tough!

With MY playing? That always sounds weird . It's probably not the acoustic ideal, but there haven't been any strange resonances by running one pair of the other in that 4x12 cab.

Dave

[Gomez]

Hey guys

I finally managed to get an amp.

Kill me for this: Triple rectifier. I actually like this amp. very versatile.

Ok, so I plugged it into cab and sounds HORRIBLE. really bright and harsh, horrible bottom end, high-mid gore fest yuk. Then I get my friend to play a bit and I get my ear near the speakers... only the 2 top speakers (the dodgy ones) where working - bottom 2 (Fanes) where dead. God, I was disappointed.

After my friend left, I decided to open the cab and have a look... and for my surprise, the Fane speakers where NOT wired properly (the + was disconnected from both and I haven't noticed it, doh!).

So I unplugged the ugly speakers and got the Fanes wired up in series. Turned the amp on, and I nearly crapped myself. these things sound AMAZING even with the two top speakers out of action. I wanted to check if they work ok, so got an ES335, bridge pickup, on the clean channel (very bassy combo), cranked it up - no breaking up, noises or signs of damage...

Dr.HIwatt: I checked the numbers in the speaker. They are both from June 1976 - you were bang on except for one year

As for the wiring, well I'm a bit worried. I do not have a soldering iron around, so I just did a quick wiring job. I just checked on the net around and I have read that 2 x 16 ohm speaker in series = 32 ohm load. Does that mean I can break either the amp or the speakers? Sorry, being a drummer suck

I really appreciate the input from you both. I'm very excited about this cab!

Thanks!

[OldSchoolDave]

Ok, so I plugged it into cab and sounds HORRIBLE. really bright and harsh, horrible bottom end, high-mid gore fest yuk.

After my friend left, I decided to open the cab and have a look... and for my surprise, the Fane speakers where NOT wired properly (the + was disconnected from both and I haven't noticed it, doh!).

There's a lesson for everyone. I once purchased a Marshall 4x12 that sounded brittle w/ no low end as well. I knew the 55Hz blackbacks were worth taking a chance on, so I bought it. They were cross wired by someone high on solder rosin. Once straightened out, they sounded as they should.

Turned the amp on, and I nearly crapped myself. these things sound AMAZING even with the two top speakers out of action.

See what all the fuss is about ???

As for the wiring, well I'm a bit worried. I do not have a soldering iron around, so I just did a quick wiring job. I just checked on the net around and I have read that 2 x 16 ohm speaker in series = 32 ohm load. Does that mean I can break either the amp or the speakers?

You won't break the speakers by running that pair at 32 ohms total impedence, but your amp may not like it. Rewire them to parallel and set your amp for 8 ohms.

EDIT: Just checking: Are you sure you've wired them in series (one speaker's positive to the positive on the jack, the negative from the other to the negative on the jack and one wire connecting the negative on the first to the positive on the second)? If you've got both positives wired together and both negatives wired together, they're in parallel. Sometimes folks confuse those terms.

Dave

[Gomez]

HI Dave

Thanks for the reply.

I will check this weekend... I can't remember exactly what I did. the amp seemed ok though. I'll post a pic or something.

Thanks!

[Gomez]

HI Dave

Here's how I wired it:



I think it's in series.

Thanks again.

[Gomez]

Hey guys

More questions for you (sorry)!

I noticed there's some buzzing in the cab when playing low notes... could it be the speakers or is it more likely to be the actual cabinet?

Thanks!

Gomez