vintageHIWATTconvention.com

This is what we'd call in the automotive world a "Barn Find"

Stunning

Bossco wrote:Congrats on an amazing find!! So, when do we get to hear samples of them in action?

Be at least week or two as I have to move house

Gilmourian wrote:

Bossco wrote:Congrats on an amazing find!! So, when do we get to hear samples of them in action?

Be at least week or two as I have to move house

Wow and I find moving a Hiwatt stack to be a back breaker!

Sorry, couldn't resist. Hope all goes well with the house.
Then it's tone test time!!

I'm thinking about loading my quad of fane Cresendos into my marshall 4x12, but before i do I want to check that its not going to damaged anything. advice welcome

As long as the posts in the cab match up to the holes in your speaker frames, it should be fine. They might not sound as good as they would in a larger volume cabinet, but that's hard to say for sure.

--mark

Gilmourian wrote:... but before i do I want to check that its not going to damaged anything.

Just be very careful around the extremely heavy and extremely strong magnets on those Crescendoes. Centering them on speaker studs and/or tightening bolts with a screwdriver can be a challenge. The magnets want to grab onto anything ferrous.

As Mark said, the smaller volume Marshall cab may not be the ideal host for those speakers. If you do load them, try it open back before sealing it up (a la Allman Brothers and their JBLs).

Dave

Mark Huss said:

They might not sound as good as they would in a larger volume cabinet, but that's hard to say for sure.

OldSchoolDave said:

As Mark said, the smaller volume Marshall cab may not be the ideal host for those speakers.

Even though I fully agree with you with regards to the sound, the actual facts and figures do not support the above statements.

Please allow me to elaborate:

A WEM Super Starfinder 200 (supposedly the ideal cab for crescendos) has the following dimensions: 30 x 30 x 14.5 inches.

Marshall gives the following dimensions for their straight cabs (let’s compare apples with apples), e.g. the 1960 BHW, as being: 765 x 738 x 364 millimeters which equals 30.1 x 29.0 x 14.33 inches (I’ve got one here: these official dimensions are not far off). A little bit smaller indeed. But does that mean that it has “smaller volume”?

Not at all! Marshall uses 5/8 inch thick plywood instead of WEM’s ¾ inch plywood, which in turn leaves more inside volume with the same outside dimensions.

After doing the math you’ll find that the actual difference in volume is..... nothing.

Fanedango wrote:
A WEM Super Starfinder 200 (supposedly the ideal cab for crescendos) has the following dimensions: 30 x 30 x 14.5 inches.

For some reason, I was thinking those were more like 32 x 32 x 16...

Anyway, not going to get into a p*ssing match over interior cabinet volume. Load 'em up and try 'em.

Dave

No pithing contest intended; I'm sorry you got that impression. On the contrary: your expertise is held in the highest regard and I was hoping you would be able to shed some light on this matter.

As it happens, I'm up the same creek as Gilmourian. I have four 12" Crescendo A's that need a suitable cab.
But the million dollar question is: what would constitute a suitable cab?

Of course the obvious choices would be:
1. The Hylight Hiwatt SE 4128
2. The WEM Super Starfinder 200
Both were originally factory loaded with crescendos.

Finding an original would be fab, but alas, what are the chances? So an alternative needs to be considered: something similar or a replica.

However, there is absolutely NO info available on the SE 4128. Which for obvious reasons is rather a pity.

Also, any reliable info regarding the Super Starfinder 200 is very scarce and even that is highly confusing.
To illustrate: attached you will find three original brochures of which all three three give different dimensions:
1. The 1969 WEM catalog states the dimensions as: 30" x 30" x 14.5". That looks feasible, were it not that Charlie Watkins' ruler and/or calculator must have been faulty, because 35.5 cm equals 14.0" and not 14.5". So which one is it?
2. The 1973 Bell catalog states the dimensions as being: 30" x 30" x 10". I think we can rule that one out: no-one would be daft enough to place four 100W crescendos in a cab that is only 10 inches deep.
3. The 1974 Bell catalog suggests that the dimensions of the Super Starfinder are: 33" x 33" x 14". Even though the dimensions are given below the picture of a cabinet, it is obvious that this illustration is of one of the other two non-square cabinets on the same page. The absence of any dimensions below the write-up on the Super Starfinder 4x12 can only mean that they belong there. (How's that for elementary, Sherlock?) Unfortunately we also notice that it appears to have grown quite substantially (70%) since the year before. Right....

Okay fine, so now what?

Fanedango wrote:3. The 1974 Bell catalog suggests that the dimensions of the Super Starfinder are: 33" x 33" x 14". Even though the dimensions are given below the picture of a cabinet, it is obvious that this illustration is of one of the other two non-square cabinets on the same page. The absence of any dimensions below the write-up on the Super Starfinder 4x12 can only mean that they belong there. (How's that for elementary, Sherlock?)

Apologies if I sounded dismissive. Maybe it was the moving fatigue .

Given the above, and the wiggle room provided by the phrase "generally as Super 80" in example 1, I'd bank on the larger dimensions. I'm working from memory, but swear the WEM's looked larger than the HIWATT cabs they stood aside in clips I've seen.

If I were on such a quest, I'd get a large cab built.

As a second - and probably radical - alternative, I'd seek out a late 70's front-loaded HIWATT cab. The extra porting and very stiff baffle bracing could be just what the Crescendo's ordered.

Dave

Now there's a novel idea. Onward, Hiwatt Soldiers: let The Quest (re)commence!

And if it doesn't quite work out as desired, at least the pressure will blow the speakers forward into the crowd

To be continued....

After chewing on it for a bit: "very stiff baffle bracing"... I think you may have a point there.

Super starfinder cabs for 140 quid. Ah, for a time machine....

--mark