16 gauge conversion

[tresmarshallz]

Always wanted to try this, just converted my two old jcm800 cabs over to 16 guage wire. It seemed to bring them to life, a noticeable difference. Not sure what size wire was there before but it seemed a few guages smaller.

I pondering switching over my newer 1960a cab with the stereo switch to a single jack 16 guage config like my older 800 cabs have. That switching plate seems really delicate to me. I've already had a couple of the connectors break off.

Anyone convert their newer stereo switch cabs to the older configs with good results? Recommended?

thanks

 

[charvel2]

I have a '90 JCM900 1960A and was thinking of doing the same thing as I couldn't believe how small of gauge the wiring is. Almost looks like thread. I'm curious what you noticed about the sound of the cabs you rewired. Was it
more present,brighter ect.? I recently bought some WGS speakers(Awesome
company and GREAT speakers by the way) and asked them about the small
gauge wire Marshall use's and they didn't seem to think it was a big deal and that they felt wasn't worth it. How did you wire your other cabs?(series-parallel, parallel-series ect.) Let us know the results if you rewire the other cabinet. I don't care for the mono/stereo switching myself but can see why
they did it as "rack gear" was popular and would work better with stereo power amps and such.

 

[GIBSON67]

I had a PV 4x10 cab with a stereo switch and when I hardwired around it, the speakers came to life, also.

Right now, I just scored a 425A and really want to use the stereo jack but I think it is robbing the tone some, too. I plan to test this overe the next few weeks....

 

[Micky]

In all reality, 18 ga. wire is sufficient up to 200 watts or so (short runs inside speaker cabs).

The biggest problem I see is the crimped on connectors that are sometimes used. This is what can fool people sometimes...

They replace these connectors and solder on some heavy gauge wire and all of a sudden, their speakers sound great. Chances are, it was not the wire, but the possibly dodgy press-on connectors that were used/replaced.

16-18 gauge wire is sufficient for short runs like inside cabs, and I always prefer to solder the connections to insure reliability. Larger wire generally requires support to prevent strain on the connections.

 

[tresmarshallz]

I'm curious what you noticed about the sound of the cabs you rewired. Was it
more present,brighter ect.? I recently bought some WGS speakers(Awesome
company and GREAT speakers by the way) and asked them about the small
gauge wire Marshall use's and they didn't seem to think it was a big deal and that they felt wasn't worth it. How did you wire your other cabs?(series-parallel, parallel-series ect.)

That is exactly what is seemed, more present and brighter, clearer/louder. I wired it like the series/parrallel diagram at the bottom of the avatar diagram page below.
Wiring Diagrams

The newer 1960 cabs actually have pretty big wires but I hate the thought of the wires going through those circuit boards and connectors so I will likely redo that one also.

 

[tresmarshallz]

They replace these connectors and solder on some heavy gauge wire and all of a sudden, their speakers sound great. Chances are, it was not the wire, but the possibly dodgy press-on connectors that were used/replaced.

I hear what your saying Micky, but my comparison was apples to apples, meaning I had smaller wire with soldered on connections and replaced it with bigger wire with soldered on connections, and it just seems to sing a bit more now. Could be my imagination, but I really like the results.

Charvel2 I would concure that WGS speakers are awesome, that is pretty much my go-to speaker now anytime I need to fill a slot. My current favorite combination is mixing their green berets with some celestion 75's.

 

[AndyK11]

I'd like to lose the dumb complicated stereo/mono switch in my 1960. What fits in the square hole that has a single mono circuit like the 800's?

 

[tresmarshallz]

I think you can just leave the stock square stereo jack unit in the cab....disconnect everything and just use one of the jacks to wire up like the older single jack connection cabs

 

[charvel2]

I'm thinking of trying that speaker combo.(green beret/g12t-75)
Was going to run GB's on top and 75's on the bottom. How are you running them? I have a older Carvin cab with 1 WGS GB and 1 Celestion GB(old made in England) on top
and 2 WGS ET65's on the bottom and sounds AWESOME!!!!!!!
I'm going to re-wire my cab as well. Curiosity getting the best of me.(lol)
Have you tried a Vet30/75 combo?

 

[tresmarshallz]

'm thinking of trying that speaker combo.(green beret/g12t-75)
Was going to run GB's on top and 75's on the bottom. How are you running them? I have a older Carvin cab with 1 WGS GB and 1 Celestion GB(old made in England) on top
and 2 WGS ET65's on the bottom and sounds AWESOME!!!!!!!
I'm going to re-wire my cab as well. Curiosity getting the best of me.(lol)
Have you tried a Vet30/75 combo?

I ran GBs on top with 75s on bottom for a while but ended up going with an X pattern, I was getting too much 'vintage' tone right in the ear with both GB's on top, needed some scooped 75 to even it out.
I don't think I've used a vet 30, but I have a Hellatone 60 with a Celestion 75 that sounds real good, as well as a Hellatone 30 with a celestion 75, both are great. Mixing speakers for me is crucial to get balanced tone.

So, I ended up changing out the wiring in my newer (year 2002 era) 1960 stereo cab to 16gauge wire with soldered on connections. I love the results, and would liken it to almost like a guitar pickup upgrade.....it improves the feel and response, you hear note detail more clearly. I took out the circuit board and jacks altogether and used a different jack. One thing I noticed about the stock wiring in this cab, even though the wire seems thick, it is just the shielding (wrapper) that is thick, the copper wire is not really that thick, so going to 16gauge was an upgrade IMO.

 

[Peaty]

I decided to upgrade the wiring too. When I took the back off the wires looked so thin. I'm sure it will be more of a placebo effect but I feel a little better. Plus, my 13 year old daughter likes to do anything to do with electronics so I had her do all the work. She removed the back, cut the wires and soldered the connections. I also took the opportunity to make the wires to the Ohm switch a little longer and secure them to the cabinet so in future the chances of yanking on the speaker connections is eliminated. I used 14GA wire because that's what I had on hand. Here are a few pics.

 

[Purgasound]

I think you can just leave the stock square stereo jack unit in the cab....disconnect everything and just use one of the jacks to wire up like the older single jack connection cabs

You mean remove the jack from the PCB? If the switch is left intact there is still a possibility of it failing. It would be extremely dangerous to the health of your amplifier to disconnect wires off the PCB and only use one jack. Plus those jacks are PCB mount so replacing it with a cliff jack with solder lugs would be much more desirable for a more solid connection.

 

[Purgasound]

I have seen this switches fail first hand. It sucks when your head dies on stage and you don't have time to figure out why it happened. Just have to sweat it for a bit...

I prefer to just pull the PCB and all wires and replace all of them with 16gauge wire, soldering all connections and using a single jack.

I'm using Speakons for all my rack gear patch bays, if I could find a correct jackplate that would fit the Marshall I'd do Speakons for those as well. Or at least a Speakon/1/4" combo. Those Cliff jacks are ok, but even they can get a little loose after a while, especially those certain cabs that use those Switchcraft guitar input jacks. The Speakon is overkill for most but I'm plugging/unplugging my gear night after night. Locking connectors on everything gives you a lot of piece of mind. A buddy of mine who runs Omega Cabs uses those locking 1/4" Neutrik jacks in all his cabs. Those are pretty cool too. I think his are completely sealed too with gold terminals. Those are great speaker cabinets BTW.

 

[GIBSON67]

Good points AV...

You should also worry about those spade connectors. Those babies are prone to lose connection. That was the first thing I did with my new cab...remove those and connect directly to the speaker.

 

[peterichardz]

I think you can just leave the stock square stereo jack unit in the cab....disconnect everything and just use one of the jacks to wire up like the older single jack connection cabs

I just removed the jacks and switchboard and installed 2 quality jacks.

 

[Micky]

Here is what I used when I rebuilt my cabs:

Dayton Audio MD132 Angled Metal Input Dish 262-838

I mounted 2 Speak-On connectors in the pre-drilled holes, and drilled my own holes for 1/4" jacks and a stereo switch. The plate is metal, and a little larger than the stock jack plate that is found here:

Jack plate - Genuine Marshall, Switchable Stereo/Mono | Antique Electronic Supply LLC

You can wire the Dayton plate any way you desire.

 

[Purgasound]

Wow, those Marshall jackplates sell for 90 bucks!!!

I'll sell mine to anyone that wants them...