Got a Couple of Jensen P12S.

[mayfly]

Hey folks,

Down the block someone was throwing out an old console stereo.  I had a quick look and there were 12" speakers in there!

I pulled them out, cleaned them up, and here they are:

Yep!  A couple of private label Jensen P12S from the 50's.  In stunning copper no less 

The question is now... what to do with them?

 

[Logrinn]

Of course you'll need to build an amp to put them in.

And then you'll probably have to build a new guitar to go with the amp.

 

[Fat Pete]

Wish I had that kind of luck! I have a P12Q in my 'Jetsons' cab, but it was new and I certainly had to pay for it.

 

[mayfly]

Well, the P12S is only rated for 10 Watts - so that leaves me with a bit of a conundrum...

 

[Fat Pete]

Well I'd offer to swap my one 're-issue' Q for your 2, but the UK <=> Canada thing makes it a bit of  a faff.

Seriously though, low power is all the rage. I'll bet you could put together a little 1 - 5 watt amp in half an hour.

 

[rgand]

Of course you'll need to build an amp to put them in.

And then you'll probably have to build a new guitar to go with the amp.

This type of justification is golden. :hello2:

 

[BigSteve22]

Of course you'll need to build an amp to put them in.

And then you'll probably have to build a new guitar to go with the amp.

Good Sir, you state the obvious! It would be an utter crime not to..... :sign13:

 

[Cagey]

Load 'em into a Twin cranked up to 11, plug in some kind of humbucky guitar through a preamp/booster of some sort, put a video camera on the thing, and practice Ted Nugent licks until those speakers make an interesting video. Shouldn't take too long  :laughing7:

 

[Re-Pete]

Firstly, do they work?

Secondly, could you build a FRFR Class D power amp of say 10x10 watts stereo and use that as a practice amp stage for your AxeFX?

If all else fails build a cabinet to house them, cover it in Tweed and offload them for a tiny profit?

 

[swarfrat]

Well, the P12S is only rated for 10 Watts - so that leaves me with a bit of a conundrum...

Any clue on efficiency? If it's reasonably efficient, how about a push-pull pair (ie a quad) of 12AT7 with a Hammond 125A for 2W of PUSH-PULL goodness.

 

[mayfly]

You know - those are some interesting ideas...

 

[Sovereign_13]

New speaker(s) for that Champ combo you built recently?

 

[swarfrat]

That idea reminds me of one of my ideas I still want to build...

Push-pull is an essential component of power tube stuff (I actually don't care for SECA in overdrive).  Throw a MOSFET in the plate for a cascode and you get a pentode knee, and you're still looking at ~1W PP.  You can turn a watt into heat without serious consequences... Now feed BOTH sides into a dummy load, divide back down and feed BOTH sides into a mixer. VOILA you now have a 1W push-pull pentode with a knob that is basically "Clipping Symmetry", feed it to one side for class A single ended clipping, the other extreme (plus a resistor making a fixed half of the total variable resistance) and you have a perfectly balanced push-pull clipping stage.

Feed that to either a monster clean power amp and speakers, or a cabinet sim and FRFR.  But I like the "Symmetry" knob idea and do plan on building it some day.