Ceriatone Forum

Hey,
I ordered a Bluesmaster 100W from Nik and got a 2x12 cab with Celestion G12-65 now.
So my question is if I should wire it in series or parallel? Has any of you guys compared both?

thanks!  :)

parallel is my prefernce, i use 2 celestion leads in trace elliot cabs . boyh are 16 ohm which gives a load of 8 ohm in parallel, if you went series you would need 2x4 ohm for a 8 ohm load or 2x8 for a 16 ohm load, you would also have to insure both speakers were in phase under either senario

I went with 2X12 16ohm in parallel for 8ohm load.

sorry, forgot to mention... they're 8 ohms
so I could go either way.

IMO Using 2 x 8ohm G1265's they sound best wired up in parallel @ 4ohms..

Parrallel sounds better to me. They are also more reliable. If 1 wire or speaker on the series settup goes bad you just lost all your sound. With a parrallel settup you will still get sound, you'd just need to compensate impedance at the amp, if you had lost a speaker, for example.

hmm, how did you wire those 12-65s in parallel? i already wired them to be in series, which was quite the hassle with their tiny hooks  >:(
so how would wire them parallel. or whats the trick of wiring 12-65s in general (considering their small hooks)???  ???

Here's a chart.
http://www.el34world.com/charts/Charts.htm (http://www.el34world.com/charts/Charts.htm)

Doing them in parallel won't be any harder. What guage wire are you using?

I went parallel as well. 2x16 ohm to run at 8 ohms. I use weber 1265 alnico and they sound phenomenal.

Parallel wiring is a best choice. Also one thing to remember, high inductive reactance (ohmage) reduces high frequency and volume, so if your speakers are dark (G12-65s for example) it is better to have them in parallel 4 Ohm.
For more open, Fendery SRV tone I use two 16 Ohm G12 Centuries in 8 Ohm cab.
Here is a sound sample http://www.guitarampcab.com/cclean.mp3

Pickmaster, did you try a G12 Century together with a G12-65?
Would be interested if that is a good match.

Yes, at the CCC we tried loads of different combinations.
The G12-65 and Century won’t work well together because of huge difference in db –
Century is 102 db and the G12-65 is 97, so you can’t hear 65 at all. Century is to loud.
Century works well with the Fane Studio 12L, Fane AXA 12 alnico, Emi Delta Lite II, Emi Wizard and other high db speakers.

Do you find the impedance variations between models (overall and across the frequency spectrum) affect this a lot too?
I find sometimes a pair will differ the opposite way to what I expected from the published sensitivity spec, presumably because of the impedances not being identical

@Thilo278,

if you already have purchased a 12G65 and a Century you can make a L-pad for the Century in order to take it down 5 dB's: http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-Lpad.htm

Hi Tone,

Yes, you are correct.
That happens mainly when you have two similar db, but different power rated speakers.  For example Fane AXA12 alnico and Celestion Gold. At the 50watt Gold will sound louder because it’s max db is calculated at the max power output, when Fane at 50 watt just starts to produce probably 95 – 97 db pressure and reaches maximum at 100 watt. So if you have 2x12 cab with those speakers (150 watt) Gold would dominate near 15 - 50 watt and AXA will be louder at 70 - 100watt.
Also bright speaker sounds louder than same db rated dark one but it is only on high frequencies and it’s just our perception on sound.

Cheers

FWIW, I wired a ToneTubby Alnco and Celestion G12H in series and knew right away I didn't like it.
Can't really describe the difference, but when I put them in parallel, it just sounded 'better'.
In series, they sounded kinda stiff and lifeless.

It sounds reasonable that dissimilar drivers would vary more in their series/parallel behaviour than matched pairs

Thanks for that, but I don't have purchased a Century. I have a G12-65 in my 1x12" combo and think about a second cabinet which compliments the other. But I guess there's still lots of time. Just purchased a new guitar and a C-lator...

I'm not sure about the gauge, but these are the wires:

http://www.tube-town.net/ttstore/product_info.php/info/p2262_Kabelsatz-fuer-Lautsprecher---1.html


also, I just got my Bluesmaster!!! But when  I turned it on, I forgot to put tubes in it  :-X  :-X  :(
The cab was connected. Do you think the amp got any damage (so far it works) ?

thanks!

You're OK with powering with no tubes, just always have a speaker/load connected like you did.

I asked about the quage wire, because of the problems you were having. You know, I assumed you were trying to solder your connections, but going back to your post, I see you really didn't say this. So have you gotten everything wired now? If not, just take your time and you should be OK.