Building a 1x12 extension cab help

[taez555]

I have an old Peavey 1x12 special from 15-20 years ago. (Basically a Peavey Bandit).  It was destroyed long ago, speaker is gone, the guts have been ripped out and harvested, essentially it's just a shell and has been collecting dust for 15 years.

I'm thinking about getting a new speaker for it (Celestian V30 probably), and using it as an extension cab to play with when I don't feel like cranking up my 4x12.

Long story short, how the hell do I wire this thing?  I understand impedance matching, and wattage and all that, but when it comes right down to it, I've never wired a speaker cab from scratch before.  Is it really just as simple as getting a 1/4" output jack like on a guitar and running two wires to the speaker?

If so, would you recommend any special jack, gauge speaker wire, etc?    Anything else I'm missing or should keep in mind?

I'd much appreciate your expertise.    Thanks.

 

[jackthehack]

As long as you get the Vintage 30 to match the impedance output of the amp, it really is just that simple, no special tricks,,,  22 gauge wire should work just fine.

 

[jimh]

Agreed. 

I used orange coloured electrical mains cable when when I rewired my Orange 2x12 from 2x8ohm series for 16ohms to turn it into 2x8ohm parallel for 4ohms so I could run my Bassman which is a fixed 4ohm output.  I can also use my Marshall plexi which is switchable 4/8/16 ohm output.

Speaker cabs really are easypeasy
see the pic I stole from Celestion's website for all your speaker wiring needs.

 

[stubhead]

Tip = positive. That's all the instructions you need.

Oh wait - instruction #2 - make really, really sure there's nothing loose and vibrating in it before you show up to play somewhere. I was just forcibly reminded of this one. :sad1: Really, really, really...

 

[metalman22105]

Hey man, thank you for all the tips and advice with my 1x12 cab, hope I haven't been a pest! I got some heavy-duty 12 gauge copper wire from my work, and wired up the jack, do I need to insulate the wires, or are they good enough as is? The outer coating is pretty thick. I soldered the wires straight to the tips on the jack, but on the other ends I used those little auto-clip things, for ease-of-use when changing speakers, as this will be a recording cab, I soldered the wires into the clips, and the connection looks really solid, I just thought I'd run it by you before I connect my amp, I don't want to risk burning it up! haha! Any concerns? I'm using a celestion G12T-100 watt speaker, I'll be hooking up my blackstar 5-watt head and Krank 100-watt head, ( not at the same time though) any issues I should be concerned about? Is the 100watt speaker ok for the 100watt head, or does the speaker wattage need to be slightly more?
Sorry for all the questions, thanks a ton for your help!

Chris


Hi Chris,

No worries.  Regarding the wire, as long as the insulation material is rated for 100 volts or more, you should be ok.  The rating should be printed on the jacket of the wire.  Oh - this is stranded wire right?

Regarding the spade connectors - yep sounds good.  Thats what I do - crimp them on to the wire then solder them up.

That speaker should be fine for both heads - the Krank won't fry it. It's probably a little too inefficient for the blackstar - it would sound better with something like a 15 watt blue - but you can always swap the speaker if you find yourself using the Blackstar more often.

Have fun,

Trevor

Hope this helps, I built a 1x12 cab over the summer

 

[metalman22105]

oh yeah, I just wired the "+" connector on the speaker to the tip of the jack (hot) and the "-" to the ground, works fine for me! (the speaker I used is 16ohm, so I guess  you would just match the speaker ohm to whatever your amp needed)

 

[taez555]

You guys all rock!!!  Thanks for the help.  This really is the best forum on the web.

I ordered the speaker yesterday, so hopefully I'll have it up and running in a week or so.

Just an FYI,  Sam Ash on-line is currently selling Celestion 8ohm Vintage 30's for $119, plus if you do a little searching on-line you can find a $20 off coupon, and free shipping... so... I just picked up a $145 V30 for $99.  Sweet.

 

[metalman22105]

You guys all rock!!!  Thanks for the help.  This really is the best forum on the web.

I ordered the speaker yesterday, so hopefully I'll have it up and running in a week or so.

Just an FYI,  Sam Ash on-line is currently selling Celestion 8ohm Vintage 30's for $119, plus if you do a little searching on-line you can find a $20 off coupon, and free shipping... so... I just picked up a $145 V30 for $99.  Sweet.

Bummer man, I have x2 like new vintage 30's that I was going to put up on here and craigslist for $69 each!