DIY: How to Install Speakers in a 4x12 Cab, Part 1

[@sammominks]

The tip about installing the speaker with the cab standing up is absolutely golden. Great stuff.

[@kevindenyer5602]

Its amazing being shown how to do this stuff by the master himself...Carlos Santana.

[@jacobb4077]

It's a good thing he showed us how to open the cardboard box and cut the plastic bag... I was stuck at that step

[@jaym4958]

Please remove me from your list I will be Waiting

[@VoiceOfGood]

You're a real cad .. such brilliant observation

[@TheCalm25]

Yeah, thank goodness he didn't waste time showing the soldering and twisting of the wires. I hate it when people show all the annoying details of necessary actions in tutorials. I just need a nice, zoomed-out picture of the work completely after it's been done.

[@cardbored_]

Yeah I couldn’t even get the box open. There’s a plastic bag?

[@vanzeppelin667]

7 years later and this comment upholds

[@benjimenez7702]

Hey Brother Skip - thanks brother - thanks to you I wired 4 - 12" organ speakers that I bought from Craigslist for $5 a piece. I made a cabinet and have an orange head - and it sounds great. So thanks gain, brother

[@stonedrocker666]

Looks like Lemmy went country! Good video!

[@thegolfnut812]

Just wanted to say what a great job you did on these 2 videos. Thanks!

[@joeytruelove]

This way facilitates the ohmage better (you'd end up with 4 or 32 ohms otherwise), and you'll have the option of running the cab in stereo without too much modification. This wiring also would give you the best compromise between series and parallell wiring in regards to speaker interaction and their sound.

[@donjohnson7550]

Great, just got my green backs today, I love it!

[@clydeg4274]

i like this man. this is the kind of in depth explaining i need.

[@jawsxx8683]

No. This guy doesn't know what he's talking about.

[@charliejamz.]

Make sure you have a sharp, knife, when opening boxes.. smh.

[@zzubuzz]

I just bought a used 4 year old Marshall cab with greenbacks, and since a 4x12 can hide and disguise speaker issues on one or more I decided to take the back off and do the battery thing, and the impedance too. Well, though all four LOOKED exactly the same (20 watt g12m heritage series)...the two on the top did not move as much as those on the bottom and one on the top barely moved at all from the battery..so I keep doing more to test them. I de-soldered the speakers at the terminals so I could test them individually. Yep, the one that barely moved sounded like about 1/5th the volume and dynamic range as the one next to it (which I also suspect has some damage as it didn't move as much as those on the bottom. So, I make an aligator clip on speaker cable, and switch from one speaker to the other without changing the volume settings on the amp, so now I KNOW there is a major issue with at least one of them. NO the bad speaker does not rattle, fizz or other sounds, it just sounds like it's missing all the bass, most of the other freqs and the volume is about 1/5th of what the other has. Bottom line, most would not even notice it, I really did not hear anything wrong when I first plugged into the cab and was right in front of it, I even used a digital decible meter in front of each speaker, it measured the same on all speakers. So, what I'm saying is when you buy a used cab, test them out individually, don't just stand in front of the cab and wail away on the guitar and say "sounds legit". Wish me luck because I bought this thing at Guitar Center! I want to fix it myself if they'd either send me a partial refund in the amount of replacing the bad speaker/s or send me a new speaker/s. I don't want anybody at GC to be monkeying around with this cab, it is a 50th anniversary cab with the E.C. pinstripe grill cloth (very delicate stuff, and very expensive)..and so, basically I expect them to tell me to bring it back (so they can verify there is something wrong..ha ha).. Anyway, I have a few tips as well on this, as I've done it quite a few times..but one thing is for sure you can't be too careful when buying a USED 4x12 cab. The previous owner probably took them out of a 2x12 cab cause I can't imagine blowing a 4x12 with four 20 watt speakers unless they were a metal head. They did other very stupid things to it too, like when they removed the back panel, they forgot to remove the screw in the center which goes into the center post and they ripped up the MDF base which I have allready glued back to together. They moved one of the side leather straps to the other so they could grab it from the top and discarded 2 of the four metal glides. So, some dumb-ass had their way with this thing like it was a hotel room rented by Keith Moon.

[@donjohnson7550]

Once I read “from Guitar Center” it meant trouble for me. After a bad experience from Guitar center I usually buy stuff from Sweetwater or Zzsounds, although Zzsounds belongs to GC they actually do a much better job and I trust them more than GC.

[@Boogieplex]

This video is pure gold.

[@n.h.moreno]

This is a great video! I have been wanting to use speakers in a monitor from a car. The diagram helps, too! Thnx

[@riverman-mk8pn]

Very helpful. Please consider using 14 gauge wiring on one branch of the wiring ( 2 speakers ), and note the difference in expanded frequencies. Works for closed back cabs best. I use #12 only in my cabs May lose some classic Marshall tones, but you can dial that back in if desired. Also replace the head to cab cable with 12 - 14 gauge lamp cord style, and stand back. 22 gauge...? This is my "secret sauce". Like the hat. I wear a boonie when I get serious. Helps.

[@davyrockstar4595]

Great job man experience shows others too

[@mikeskeins1981]

hi i have a marshall 8100 valve state amp head and on the back it says " 100watts RMS/4 ohms. how would i wire a 4x12 cab with 16 ohm speakers in it to work with this amp { speakers are Marshall AX -75 BTW ", thank you, great video i used it for my evh head and green backs

[@ssvman100]

Awesome video, great information. Steve from Australia:)

[@elephantricity]

Please do a video on replacing speakers in a fender style combo. Like a deluxe reverb! Thanks!

[@bryanbrewer4272]

A mullet for the ages!

[@thebluntandonly]

wonderful video and the hat is great. Reminds me of a bavarian hat

[@electronicshelpcare]

nice work

[@Dime5150]

Lots of great tips! Thank you .

[@Loscha]

By the looks of the tools on his wall, the rake and stuff, he's just in his garden shed.

[@clydeg4274]

you gotta take off those garden shed colored glasses my friend

[@middle_pickup]

Does the cork on the front mounting area of the speaker's frame act as a gasket? If you front mount a speaker, do you need a new gasket to place between the speaker frame and cabinet?

[@pechondelgado]

My dude, you have an excellent look, kinda like Mike Myers friend in So I Married an Axe Murderer.

[@headbuster03]

It's Kurt Russell from Tombstone! Rock on dude!

[@mikaruonala2297]

Do you only bias once or do you have to repeat this for all tubes?

[@ryanshook8284]

Great vid.

[@DevunGames]

Is there a specific way that I can wire the cabinet to get 4 ohms, like in parallel in a 2x12?

[@97warlock]

I mount My speakers in from the front, so that the screws can lock the speaker in & the sharp point is Inside. I also use 8 screws when possible.

[@rgr4929]

What about the little bit of paper cone that it is in the screw hole of the speaker? I am installing a new speaker and all the holes has paper on it that I must drill. Any particular way of doing it? In this video it seems he has any care about it and he put the screws directly through the paper...

[@MrObelisk2290]

no prob i was given a wrong link i'm patient plan to make my own cab eventually have wired many recording studios, including the college i taught in, next i will make my own cab

[@TheCalm25]

This video should be called "How to Double Check Your Work After Everything's Done."

[@leon_mnl]

Why is the series on one side made on the positive side and the other on the negative wire,is there a resistance reason to do so? I know different wire cauges have to do with the power it can handle but why so thin?

[@davyrockstar4595]

What if the fire falls out of your joint on the speaker, can you place the vertical on the bench too?

[@lukenolan79]

What about wiring up just to speakers in the cab to make 8 ohms from 2x 16 ohms speakers from the quad box and set my jcm 900 to 8 ohms and that way it will kick some arss just a thought 😢

[@milossegrt8047]

I have 4x12 celestion speakers each is 8 ohm. which cables to get for a properly parallel connection? Gauge? THX

[@strontvliegable]

I'm about to make one myself, arere there things i should take into account so that the speakers are compatible with the head? Can i maybe mix brands of the speakers or use 2 bassguitar speakers with lower frequency range sothat i could use it as a guitar/bassguitar cabinet?

[@ralphpecca67]

Can anyone tell me what size the screws are that hold the speakers in?

[@hierrogm]

Great vid like your workflow brutha

[@Aiden057]

Excellent video, thank you very much.

[@adrianogomes3271]

Great videos. Do you think it would look cool for 2 celestion V30 and 2 celestion 70/80 together in the same box (4x12)? Thanks for answering.

[@AmpsforBuddha]

Would anyone recommend what type of speakers would give a good low end while remaining with articulate highs? Right now I own V30s in a Mesa Cab. …I also hear that Ear Candy Cabs are good.

[@sambuck3531]

I cut through all 4 speaker cones because of this video 🤣😂🤯

[@despot62]

Great ! Thanks Skip,

[@lukenolan79]

Hey mate I have a Marshall Jcm 900 50w head that has the impedance switch on the back witch says (4)16 on one side and 8 ohms on the other side the (4)16 ohms is confusing me and my cab has 4 12 inch 16 ohms speakers what ohms should I wire my cab to for these impedance settings on my amp because I haven’t even used it yet I’m scared I’ll blow it up lol and I don’t know what (4)16ohms means is 4 or 16 every other amp has one number to set to like 4 8 or 16 if you could help out cheers Luke from Australia

[@srenchristoffersen8250]

LOVE GREENBACKS :)

[@shermanemma]

NOTE: This diagram that is embedded in the video is shown at 15:40. PS) I couldn't get the given diagram link to work.

[@GnarlyGroove]

Why does he wire 2 sets of 2 speakers in series in parallel instead of all 4 in parallel or all 4 in series? Thanks

[@xander999fleischmann9]

Might be a stupid question. But i guess ill ask anyway. Got an 8ohm fender 4x10 pro the other day and noticed it runs "1,000 watts program (500 watts continuous at 8 ohm" and i have a head that is 4ohm/750 watts. Does that diagram work for this bass rig so i can rewire it following along on here? Sorry for the newb ignorance. Just dont have cash to get another 8ohm cab to parallel connect, my head. Thanks yall and thanks for this video!

[@haydencarlson1229]

From my understanding, wiring the speakers in series let’s the current flow through all components making the ohm’s output higher. You might wanna look into wiring them parallel, considering they aren’t already wired that way, I think that’ll make the ohms output from the cab decrease. Just started learning about this kinda stuff too but I hope that helped!

[@haydencarlson1229]

www.ehx.com/forums/viewthread/9179/#41159 check out this link it explains it way better than i just did

[@xander999fleischmann9]

@@haydencarlson1229 thank you so much bud! Im about to check it out! Thanks for reaching out!

[@phillipgurney1402]

Great information! Now here's a question..how do you remove the grill on a sealed back carvin 4x12 with the cloth grill. I am totally perplexed

[@lyric.kayden]

Possibly and most likely speakers are front mounted onto the baffle. Grill cloth/grill cloth frame should be able to pull off and either held on the front by Velcro or possibly just tightness. Some cabinets like this will have a small ribbon pull for removing the front grill cloth frame from the cab to reveal the front mounted speakers. If no ribbon that use something flat, thin and a little sturdy to slip between cab and the grill cloth frame and slowly work the grill cloth frame off the cabinet and you may have to work your way around all four sides till the grill cloth frame pops out. Think about it, if the back is sealed then there is only one way in and that’s through the front ;)

[@phillipgurney1402]

@@lyric.kayden Thanks for your input. I'm one of those guys that absolutely will not ( dive in blind) break something due to ignorance. Will try that again with a little extra force and see what happens. Got this cab second hand. Hope it's not glued down by a previous owner

[@lyric.kayden]

Phillip Gurney yeah if no screws holding the back panel on then it will be the only way to get inside is from the front unless you cut it open - don’t do that though lol. And the previous owner could have used the heavy duty Velcro which acts like a locking grid instead of the typical Velcro - if this is the case and they used it through several points of the cabinet than it’s gonna feel pretty glued on tight tight but it should release. And honestly if your ever interested in upgrading or modifying the cab it’s the only way to know. Last time I checked Carvin cabinets were all if not most front mounted and not rear mounted. Carvin gave the option of a grill cloth frame to cover the front or you could go with individual speaker grills that cover the speaker only. Good luck and hope your able to solve it.

[@lyric.kayden]

22 awg wire is a little on the thin side, Hell I consider 18 awg small as heck. I would honestly not go any smaller than 16 awg and 14 awg seems like the sweet spot.

[@magoblancoguazu7233]

Hi my friends.yasterday I buy. A Marsahall modelo valvestate AVT 2000 of 150 watts. But the cabinet is Cráte brand, and the speakers are diferentes brands, in México is very hard to buy Celestion speakers. Only can buy Eminiens speakers. Can you tell me say how is the correct Power and the oms?... Tankyou for your vídeos are FANTASTICS" and great guitar manera!!

[@rayoorb]

with a fender rocpro 1000 head, would i be able to use a single input on the back of my cab? i am looking to redo an old crate cab that has blown celestions, but it also has 3 inputs on the back

[@FURYANTV]

If I had a 8 ohms speaker and like to mounting a 4x12 cabinet, and the impedance who I like to output is 16 ohms, can wiring the speakers in series only?

[@robertbirneyjr513]

Only question I have is what is done with the other positive and negative prongs on the jack? anything?

[@Aniva66]

01:40 "22 AWG wire" might you use a thicker gauge wire?

[@GnarlyGroove]

Thanks!

[@CatfishLove]

May be a dumb question but why 16 ohm?

[@TheGamerx584]

Whats the genre for the background music ? sounds chilled

[@ethixhiggins5059]

What if your cabinet doesn’t open from the back only the inputs

[@AnalogOpher]

what kind of screws are being used here? Wood or machine? Just screwing straight into the baffle?

[@bigcatdaddy76016]

1 inch machine screws.

[@AnalogOpher]

bigcatdaddy76016 machine screws into wood? Is he wood tapped? Or are we talking T nuts, but if this is a vintage cab there were no T nuts used on these as far as I know?

[@AnalogOpher]

AnalogOpher the wood

[@jimdunham3214]

AnalogOpher ...yes t nuts....the anchor is embedded into the wood on the other side...good stuff.

[@billy2cold]

I'm looking for a good amp tech, I'm in Nashville also, where are you located?

[@MrSwordstaff0]

Would the diagram be the same for 8 Ohm speakers? Help much appreciated.

[@jamesinator100]

MrSwordstaff0 Yeah, because at the end of the day. Speakers are just speakers. Doesnt matter about the Ohms or watts they can be installed the same way.

[@AlienAndrew51]

External It would be slightly different for an 8Ohm configuration Im sure you can google it.

[@Chris_Mann_2020]

I smoke lead solder in my bong.

[@MrMeAndMyDogs]

thanks a lot!

[@katrielfrench7359]

You checked the ohms they all where at 13.5, how is that acceptable when they're rated at 16

[@joeytruelove]

The Fane Medusa 150C could be what you want. Then it may have too firm a grip for your taste.

[@Luxorcist]

So this is a 16ohm cabinet, right? So if i wanted to do an 8ohm cabinet i would get 4x 8ohm speakers and wire them up the same way, correct?

[@jordandedomusic]

+Luxorcist yes, that is correct

[@keefer88]

12-16 AWG on mine please

[@unklefester1980]

Well here I am years late to the party. Why would you use 22awg? Seems very thin but I get it that this is not a Hair Dryer being Wired. Anyway at theOrange Box I tries 14 awg and too thick hard to solder and nodoubt will put my vintage GreenBacks to risk. So back to arange box and there is 18-20 awg seems too skinny So I finally found 16 awg on the E of bay. My 1960A is Feb 1971 all original speakers but the original wire was removed and replaced with the huge speaker wire, and the soldering is a mess. So before I start twisting why are you using 22awg ? 60/40 lead, Yeah no doubt. Look forward to your comments. PS my local Tech ask why I would want to change the heavy wire? Sorry to thow that at ya, but here we are. Thanks

[@l3ertuz362]

what would be the negative effect of not using the correct speaker wire gauge? This video uses 22 AWG.

[@davidjonston1831]

l3ertuz the wire melts and you can set your cab on fire of the quality is a little worse depends

[@Guitarwzrd]

I don't get it, I think my cabs are just poorly made or what. Every new celestion appears to want to basically hang off the screws. If I even get them snug they sound bad in the high end.

[@rayoorb]

i don't have a volt meter/multimeter which brand are you using?

[@underpressureman]

So if someone could help me out, just to be clear, In this video, the cab is coming out at a total of 16 Ohms? So, If I follow the same method, but with all 8 ohm speakers, the total ohms will be 8 Ohms?

[@haydencarlson1229]

James Cassidy I’m also curious about this, did you ever get the answer??

[@andy9150]

where is part two???

[@MrObelisk2290]

where's part 2

[@onewiththings]

Out of phase with your band members???

[@Loscha]

As a real electronics engineer, this made me laugh my ass off.

[@Mark-zi6nt]

Why?

[@jawsxx8683]

I've been an electronics technician for decades with an education and this made me laugh as well.

[@jerrylancaster256]

@@jawsxx8683 why?

[@jonathanjensen9147]

Now this is how you open a box...

[@TheSonsofHorusx]

why thank you good sire!

[@hightcd]

I need help with a project

[@brandonneff9646]

What would happen if I had two 8ohm and 2 16ohm?

[@DevunGames]

Brandon Neff you wouldn’t match the impedance

[@donjohnson7550]

Leave the vintage for another day Three Doritos later>>> We’re doing vintage style

[@looking_33]

alligator clips, 2mins, done!

[@stevensobba1785]

Difficulty finding part 2…?

[@rayoorb]

one is for bypass another is for 4 ohms and the 3rd is for 16 ohms

[@DirtyCityMick]

22 gauge speaker wire? I used it but it sure is skinny.

[@kazkylheku1221]

In the second video, Skip finds after soldering on the jack that there is almost an ohm of additional DC resistance to the speakers (not explained by the 22 AWG, whose linear resistance is only 0.053 ohms per meter). This is just fine according to Skip, because it brings the value closer to the nominal 16.

[@MrTopsoil911]

you wired the P+ to a -N terminal on a spkr!! isn't that out of phase. why not wire spkr to spkr then two seperate jacks

[@tatsumaru12345]

+nigel mahabir Nopers. That's called series wiring. So hes doing series and parallel together. The speaker hes doing positive on one, and negative on the other. That makes a 32ohm load. Then once you do that on the other 2 speakers, and put it all together? That brings it down to a 16ohm load for that entire box. Series- increasing the ohms. More efficient, harder to power. Paralell, decreasing the ohms. Less efficient, but much easier to put loads of power on them, if your amp supports it. If you ever have a few speakers sometime, try it!

[@ViaticalTree]

Also too

[@sctogtr]

A little patience maybe? This was just uploaded 3 hours ago. LOL

[@hbert06]

2:45 You didn't explain how to open a card board box to people, did you? 🤦🏻‍♂

[@D3ft0ne]

Alright, alright, alright... : ) dude sounds like matthew mcconaughey

[@Enenemoni]

It'd be a lot cooler if he did... [Dazed and Confused]

[@tMatt5M]

Apperently this guy is a T-Swift fan.. haha

[@MaddoxHudsonTV]

Question: Since you have four 25W speakers, does that mean that you now have a 100W speaker cabinet? Will connecting a 100watt head be safe? Sorry for this dumb question but I'm a total noob. I'm planning to build a 2x12 cab with Celestion G12T-75 16ohm speakers. Each speaker is 75W. Will that mean that I will have a 150W speaker cab? And that connecting a 100W solid state amp will be safe for my amp? If I made it into a 4x12 with 75W 16ohm speakers will I be having a total of 300W?

[@DevunGames]

Zarahemla honestly, the more important thing is the ohms on your speaker. If your amp is 16, then match the ohms with a speaker. If you have something like a Vox Mv50, then you should be good with any ohms you’ll put in the cab.

[@DevunGames]

Wire 2 8 ohm speakers in parallel for 4 ohm, 2 4 ohm speaker in parallel for 2 ohms and 2 16 ohm speakers in parallel for 8 ohms.

[@DevunGames]

Zarahemla if you have the same or more watts in your speakers than you have in the head, then you’ll be fine. Any less and you’ll have a chance to fry your amp. Match impedance.

[@JohnHartmanMortalDecay]

interesting

[@simMFquiring]

if I spent 150$ on a speaker it better be the correct impedance and phase. JEZZZ If I have to check then it aint no Celestion

[@dougholt858]

Would it not have been smarter and easier to lay that cabinet face down and do this ? Less chance of dropping a speaker. Easier to put screws in.

[@handsomemikeG]

Working with an A-list act....that must discredit the tech this video.

[@stuartwarnich2112]

You've wired each par in series and the 2 pairs in paralell............ Idea! ----- If you wire each pair in parallel and then the the 2 pairs in series, you would use half the wire and would reduce the resistance of the wiring in the cabinet, donno if i'm just being fussy.....

[@mrsimpson2022]

Stuart Warnich Wire is cheap and you will have tge same resistance either way! In series you add ohm load and in parrellel if loads are equal you cut in half ohm load..e=i * r r

[@pierluigicolotto9570]

I made it with Woodglut plans!