New cab....need help

[briman]

I just got a Splawn 4x12 in a trade and before hooking it up, I wanted to make sure that it is indeed 16ohm like the previous owner told me. When I opened it up, Splawn wrote on bottom in black marker that the stereo jacks are 8 ohm and the mono are 16ohm.

The speakers are 16ohm and are wired parallel with 2 sets of wires (red and black), 1 set going from each pair to the stereo jacks. One pair goes to the left stereo and one to the right. Then the stereo jacks are jumpered over to the mono jacks. So I think that means it is wired in series/parallel.

The part where I am confused is that when i take a reading from the cable after plugging it in to mono jack, it shows 32- 33 ohms? Both my other Splawn cabs are 16ohm speakers and wired similarly but are jumpered at the speakers and not at the jack and both read 16ohm at cable. Why is this one reading 32ohm?

Just want to be absolutely sure it's safe to use at 16ohm before plugging in to head.

Hopefully someone or Splawndude knows!

Thanks in advance for help!
Brian

[gtrjunior]

Here’s the wiring diagrams I use:

www.portcityamps.com/cabinet-wiring-diagrams/

[briman]

I don't see 4x12 wiring in that link. I am sure my cab is wired gor 16ohm because it came from Scott like this and he wires the stereo for 8ohm and mono for 16ohm as i have read that on previous threads here.

But i wanna know why it is reading 32 ohm? I think i am going to phone Splawn. I can't wait any longer to try this cab out and compare to my other splawn cabs.

[briman]

Tried phoning Splawn but you get directed to email address unless it is a warranty call or place an order. So I emailed them and Scott replied 5 mins later!!

He said I need to replace the speaker jack as it should read around 14ohm and not 32ohm!

I am going to take it out and see if any of the soldering is cracked or off causing this. If that doesn't pan out, I will just wire it series/parallel to only one jack and not all 4 jacks like it is right now. That is how my purlple one is wired since i put those speakers in myself.

[gtrjunior]

Glad it’s likely a simple fix with the jack.
Sorry about the previous link. I would have sworn there was a 4x12 diagram.

[briman]

I fixed it. I removed the 2 stereo jacks from the wiring circuit and re-wired the crossover at the bottom speakers and now both mono jacks read 14ohm's. I never use stereo anyways.

The strange thing is that when it was wire all 4 jacks, the stereo jacks were both reading 8 ohm and the mono jacks were fluctuating all over and the settling at 32-35 ohm's! Weird now they are fine by elimanating stereo jacks from the circuit.😕😕

[briman]

The cab sounds awesome! It has more breakup and less bass than my 2x12 creamback cab. I really like it. It rips! Makes the QR sound more marshally in my opinion ....kinda like Randy Rhoads tone mixed with evh.

I was thinking of pairing the creambacks with the man o wars but not sure anymore. I asked Scott what pairing he recommends for my 3 cabs with a list of my speakers. Hope he responds as fast as he did this am tomorrow.

[gtrjunior]

Awesome!!
When I bought my Port City cab I had the option of having it wired stereo too.
But like you, I never have used a stereo configuration. For me, more hassle than it’s worth.
My Marshall 1936 is my only stereo/mono cab and only because that’s how the factory wiring was.
My CL Marshall that I put the WGS speakers in is straight mono.

[briman]

Wow....Scott responded this am! But his responses are very brief which I am sure is because he is very busy. He said that the stereo jacks are switching jacks and if they were defective or dirty..could cause the problem that i had.

Before he said that he said " Great news. That is what I recommend." So I don't know if he is recommending that i disconnect the stereo jacks like i did or pairing the creambacks with the man o wars which i mentioned in the latter part of my email after listing all my cabs and speakers.

I think he might have been referring to how i fixed the problem. I will post the email here and please tell me what you think he meant?


Thanks for the quick reply Scott. I fixed it today by eliminating the stereo jacks from circuit. I only use mono anyway. Cab sounds incredible. I have a Splawn 2x12 with creambacks and my other Splawn 4x12 has 3 EVH greenbacks and one g12h30 anniversary. 


        I am thinking of switching up the pairings like maybe the creambacks with the man o wars? What would you suggest? My QR's are 2015 stock and 2016 with all options.


Thanks for your time!

God bless,

Brian

His reply......

Hey Brian

Great news, that is what I recommend. The Stereo jacks are switching jacks which mean they make the mono connection when not used. So if the stereo jacks need to be cleaned or they are defective it will cause the issue that you had. 



      Thank You God Bless

            Scott Splawn
       Splawn Amplification
       115 South Gaston St.
          Dallas, N.C. 28034
             704-922-0020
       www.splawnguitars.com

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[splawndude]

Congrats Brian!

Good looking cab for sure.

I'm thinking Scott is saying great news that you got it resolved.

Looks like you've got it all sorted but I'll post this diagram anyway in case it helps someone else. I post this all the time.

[briman]

Thanks Splawndude. Yeah i wired it exactly like that. At first i crossed over on the top two speakers but the ohm reading was off so i switched it to the bottom two like your diagram and it was perfect. (14.3 ohms)

[gtrjunior]

Yes, I’m reading Scott’s response as great news you got it fixed using what he would have recommended as the proper method.

I’d love to have you do some speaker swapping and post up your results. The MoW are supposed to kill with the QR.

[briman]

To be honest, i am loving the new cab more than the 2x12 with creambacks but that is not to say the creambacks aren't great. The creambacks are alone together so they sound like more lower mids and less breakup and smoother high end. If I threw one greenback in there or a man o war with a creamback, i bet it would sound awesome.

The man o war and governor are supposed to be the ultimate pairing so i don't think i will change anything with that cab. I can't remember the full user name of a member here from way back but i think it was craig something. He posted a lot of demos and gig vids here and he was a sick player and had monster tone and he used gov's and man o war's.

I am sure Splawndude will remember him.

I am going to go downstairs and try my greenback cab (there is actually one g12h30 anniversary in there) and see what character difference there is from new cab. The governor are a take on v30's with bigger bottom and man o wars are a take on 12g75t's but a bit bigger mids i think.

Some day i might throw the creambacks in with the evh greenies and that would leave my 2x12 with one g12h30 and one evh greenie. That would only be 55 watt though so i would half to go half power and set to 8 ohm i beleive.

[gtrjunior]

Yeah, I remember somebody had a big post with all type of speakers. I’m pretty sure it still here somewhere. I remember listening to every single clip when I was trying to decide what speakers to put in my Port City.

[briman]

Yeah i just looked at that the other night but most of his clips are with a Nitro. He has a few with Quick Rod also. It's somewhere deep inside the cabinet thread. Like page 4 to 9 i think.....don't remember exactly.