Hey Soulinsane, what was the voltage rating on that 10 AWG you used?

If I remember correctly the 10 AWG was rated at 600V. I tested the resistance on 2 feet of the stuff and got the same reading as on my Mogani speaker cable. I know it was rated at more than 300V. It cost a good deal more ( like $5 total ) than the shit that was in the cab but I was only doing one cab. It wasn't like I had to pay to rewire 100 cabs so it was a good, cheap, and easy investment.

As for getting the most out of a stereo cab? I'm afraid that is not an easy question. Mine is 4/16 Ohms mono, 8 Ohms stereo too. I think it just depends on what sounds good to you, but I like using mine in stereo. It sounds the best to me. 8 Ohms in parallel stereo = 4 Ohms total for the 2 outputs on my head. My amp just sounds like poop when I use 16 Ohms. I've noticed lower Ohm loads increase head room but I can see where some amps would sound better with higher Ohm loads. Hotplates are matched to a certain speaker load ( 4,8,16 Ohms ) aren't they or can you select its' speaker loads?

I say as long as your amp sounds good using a certain load then you are getting the best out of the cab. Thank goodness most modern cabs have assignable Ohm switches so we can compare different settings. Once you switch cabs though that may not be the case. Your amp might sound better using 8 ohms with a different cab. Its all depends on the speakers, wiring, design, material, and building method of the new cab.

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Thanks for the V rating.

I hear you in regards to ohm loading. I think the only attenuator that does switchable ratings are the Power Brake, Ultimate Attenuator, and the Weber Mass.

I have found that the 2203 and 1959 model Marshalls as well as their 50 watt versions of the same amps will sound good if you halve the impedance of the amp to the cabinet. I have only tried this on a 16 and 8 ohm cabinets. Setting the amp to either 8 ohms or 4ohms respectively. I have no idea how other amps would react so not sure if I would try it on another brand or Marshall model. By halving the impedance you decease the headroom some and will be able to squeeze out a slight but noticable amount of grind out of the amps.

Edit: typo

I have just completed a partial mod to my cabinet today. I rewired it with 10AWG and 14 AWG wire. Initially I wanted to use 10 AWG all the way through, but my speakers (older Celestions) and cable jack would not allow me to use disconnects. So I hard wired the two short lengths of 10 AWG so that I had two speakers connected + to - to create a right and left pair. I used 14 AWG to complete the Series-Parallel wiring as this was the largest wire that I could solder to all connections.

Must say, I already have a 100% improvement in output tone. The stock Marshall wire was I'm guessing 22AWG. It was the same size as the teflon coated 20AWG I used to hook my 2203 clone amp together. It was that freaking small.

The wife went and took a nap so I was not able to see how the foam affects the cabinet. I am double sided taping the foam in place as I go so I can see how each piece reacts. Once I find the amount that I like for my speakers I will go back and glue the foam down.

Awsome I so glad to hear that the modification has been a success for you.

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Im lookin at gettin an Avatar cab at some point and ill definitely be doin these mods, thanks Soulinsane!

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Avatar are great cabs and for a even better price. Avatar actually post new cabs on Ebay so you might be able to get a better price from them there. Just make sure you tell them you want your speakers mounted through the baffle board via tee nuts-and-bolt or nut-and-bolt. I believe they are now doing this, but I have read user reviews where they only just screwed the speakers into the baffle board wood. Speakers need to be mounted through the baffle board to insure proper seal and stablility. Otherwise the speakers will work themselves lose from the baffle and that is bad news.

Just as a side note: 10 AWG wire is infact hard to make work with most speaker and jack terminals without extra hardwear and/or elite soldering skills. 10 AWG can be used but it takes time and careful inspection of every solder jount. 12-14 AWG is more that acceptable. I used 10 AWG as an overkill, but I had to solder the female connectors and the jack terninals with NASA like skill ( Keep in mind I can just about solder a motherboard back together in complete darkness while trapped within a sinking ship). Using 10 AWG took a lot of planing because the copper stranded 10 AWG wire doesn't crimp, solder, or move as easy as 12-14 AWG. Whatever.

The most important thing to know is just make sure the wires inside the cab don't cross to close to each other ( 1-2 inches at the least ). You got ROOM inside of a cab so make the best of it. Also make sure the wire doesn't vibrate on any surface. The speaker cable that connects your amp to the cab is intirely different, but if you read back in this thread I kinda explain why. Electrical signal conductors should never come in close contact with each other without some sort of compensating design ( like how high quality speaker cable is designed ).

If I'm not clear with everything hear I will help explain.

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I followed you regarding the wires touching eachother or coming too close. Yes 10AWG is like soldering a piece of rebar to speaker terminals. My soldering skills are not to where I can resolder a MOBO in the dark, but there is nothing electronic in a guitar chain that I can't solder better than stock. The two 10AWG pieces that are still in the cabinet I had to just lay the wire across the terminal and give it a nice blob, not too much not too little. Just made sure that all joints were solid and none cold.

You mentioned Avatar cabs. They are a good deal, but a bit plain looking. I recently ran into this guy at a shop up in Austin. Armadillo Amp Works www.amprestoration.com He makes some really nice looking cabinets and will custom do them in any wood combination you want.

Yea ive only heard good things about Avatar cabs. I was gonna go with the V30, G12-H30 combo in a 4x12. I agree they are a bit plain looking but that leaves a blank canvas for me to have some fun.

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