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Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11794]

Fri, 11 September 2009 15:53

ZiggyDude
Messages: 24
Registered: May 2006
Location: Harrisburg PA

Junior Member

Greetings!

I just got a blue T&R cab on Ebay. I think that it is a Frankie 2x15 as the size of the cab is smaller and it does not have the 2 chrome ports. It is actually in pretty good shape.

CTS speakers I believe.

I plugged a head into it and I was surprised how quiet it was. I expected it to be more efficient. A nice midrange tone, OK highs, not a lot of lows.

Does this seem right?

- Ziggy -

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Re: Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11795 is a reply to message #11794]

Fri, 11 September 2009 16:03

Shaun_Musings
Messages: 323
Registered: April 2009
Location: Reading, MA

Senior Member

Well, 10-inch speakers usually throw the highs pretty well. Did you check all the connections inside?

Born on the Baaaaayou (Ok, in Massachusetts)

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Re: Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11796 is a reply to message #11795]

Fri, 11 September 2009 16:04

ZiggyDude
Messages: 24
Registered: May 2006
Location: Harrisburg PA

Junior Member

I think that it is a 2x15. The holes look too large for 12s. The cab is about 40" tall at best.

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Re: Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11797 is a reply to message #11796]

Fri, 11 September 2009 16:50

LesS
Messages: 478
Registered: December 2002

Senior Member

Those are CTS 15's from about 1967.
I believe they are 16 ohm.
Wired in parallel your cabinet would be 8 ohms - if you are comparing it to a 4 ohm cabinet, the 4 ohm cabinet might be more efficient.

If by any chance they are wired in series it would be 32 ohms total - which would be very inefficient.

Make sure you check the phasing - that would reduce the bass output. (Connect a 9 volt battery to the cabinet input -both cones should move in the same direction at the same time.)

Are both speakers working?

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Re: Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11798 is a reply to message #11797]

Fri, 11 September 2009 17:02

Shaun_Musings
Messages: 323
Registered: April 2009
Location: Reading, MA

Senior Member

Acck. Foot in my mouth. For some reason I have equated Frankies with the 2x10 cabinet I have. Excuse me for the error... ::Bows out::

Born on the Baaaaayou (Ok, in Massachusetts)

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Re: Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11801 is a reply to message #11796]

Fri, 11 September 2009 17:34

pleat
Messages: 1454
Registered: June 2004
Location: Belding, Mi

Senior Member

If you count the number of tuck and rolls across the top of the cabinet and it is 11 T&R then it is a 2x15 Frankie style cabinet. If it counts 10 T&R it's a 2x12 cabinet. Kustom increased the width to 12 T&R with the K200 series amps.
Given the fact that the cabinet is 40 years old, you will have to remove the back to make sure how it's wired, type of speakers, and as Less said make sure both speakers are working and that the cones move in the same direction. You mentioned "You plugged a head into it and I was surprised how quiet it was. I expected it to be more efficient. A nice midrange tone, OK highs, not a lot of lows." What kind of amp are you using? I equate quiet as not a lot of background hiss.
Don

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Re: Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11809 is a reply to message #11801]

Sat, 12 September 2009 14:43

ZiggyDude
Messages: 24
Registered: May 2006
Location: Harrisburg PA

Junior Member

Thanks for the replies guys.

By "Quiet" I was saying not loud. I had the cab in a line downstairs with 3 other cabs - some 4 and some 8 ohm. The Kustom was less than half the volume of the others. Power was an Acoustic B320 - lots of juice though I did not turn it up. The same amount of juice made the other 3 much louder. One was a 2x15, another a 6x10, and the last a 18 in a W bin.

I will try to get the back off tonight and see what there is to see.

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Re: Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11830 is a reply to message #11794]

Mon, 14 September 2009 06:10

stevem
Messages: 4775
Registered: June 2004
Location: NY

Senior Member

Your not conpairing apples to apples, just going by pure speaker size, a 2-15 cabinet has 353 SQ IN of area, 6-10s have 471 sq in.
This means that ruffly the 6-10 cabinet will have 33% more sound preesure than the 2-15 cabinet.
Is the 1-18 cabinet a folded horn type, or is it front loaded?

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Re: Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11834 is a reply to message #11830]

Mon, 14 September 2009 08:14

ZiggyDude
Messages: 24
Registered: May 2006
Location: Harrisburg PA

Junior Member

I realize the surface area thing - but there were also 2 other 2x15s in the room. No - this is simply a huge volume difference.

I was not able to pull off the back yet - my bad and a busy weekend. I will give it a shot tonight.

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Re: Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11848 is a reply to message #11834]

Tue, 15 September 2009 11:07

ZiggyDude
Messages: 24
Registered: May 2006
Location: Harrisburg PA

Junior Member

Well - got it open last night. It looks to be wired in series. There is a thin red wire that runs to the top speaker from the jack, and another to the bottom. Then a wire from speaker to speaker. Only one speaker had anything printed on it. That was 5815076 and under the number 137 748. Both speakers looked tha same and I would guess they are original. Square magnets and stamped frames.

The cab has two small ports between the speakers in Kustom fashion - with no tubes on the ports. Maybe that was a later thing.

Wiring the cab in parallel would liven it up some. But - I am also a bit hesitant to change it from the stock set up.

Ideas?

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Re: Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11850 is a reply to message #11794]

Tue, 15 September 2009 12:30

stevem
Messages: 4775
Registered: June 2004
Location: NY

Senior Member

Kustom 2 driver cabinets where always wired in parallel as you will see in the email I will send you, so if its wired in serise than that is not factory.
I would check the resistance of each speaker seperate with a meter and if they check at 8 ohms I would rewire them in parallel to get a 4 ohm load which will double the volume from what you had before.

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Re: Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11851 is a reply to message #11848]

Tue, 15 September 2009 12:41

LesS
Messages: 478
Registered: December 2002

Senior Member

I have a narrow panel no port tube 2x15 cabinet with CTS 15's dated 1967 (137-718).
The CTs 15's are 16 ohm and they were wired in parallel.
Kustom would not have used series wiring on this one due to the net impedance of 32 ohms.

I would definitely return the cab to parallel wiring - it will be much louder.
Going from 32 ohms to 8 ohms - it should be a lot louder.

The only time that I have seen Kustom use series wiring for two speakers was on the K100 2x10 combo - my guess is that Kustom did this because the 8 ohm speakers which they used maybe were easier to get plus the 16 ohm load reduced the amp's output a little and made it less likely to blow the light duty drivers.
(Less likely, but not impossible - but that's another story.)

OK - I guess there is room here for a story, maybe even a story with a question. I sold a beautiful cascade 2x10 combo to a guy once who immediately blew one of the tens (he said "I only had it on 4". If I blew a 38 year old vintage speaker I would be too embarrassed to tell anyone, much less demand a refund.)
Anyway...in series wiring if both speakers don't fry at the exact same time, the speaker that blows acts like a "blown fuse" and prevents the second speaker from blowing. So the question here is, if both speakers are identical, which one blows first? - the speaker wired to + on the amp, or the speaker wired to - on the amp?

-Les S

[Updated on: Tue, 15 September 2009 13:14]

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Re: Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11852 is a reply to message #11851]

Tue, 15 September 2009 12:53

ZiggyDude
Messages: 24
Registered: May 2006
Location: Harrisburg PA

Junior Member

Interesting.

I look forward to the email.

I could tell that the cab had been opened once from the condition of the screws. Also - though the T&R is very nice - there is one tiny mark on the back where a screw could have gotten it if the back panel was laid against the T&R while someone was in there. I had to avoid doing that myself and that was how I noticed it.

I will see if I can find new screws to replace a few of the buggered ones. Tighten up the holes a bit as a few were a bit loose, and rewire it.

My guess is that someone may have been using a tube head on it and wanted the higher ohmage?

When I find the multi meter I will test the ohms.

Was the red wire correct? It is really thin. I was thinking of using some heavier cord.

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Re: Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11853 is a reply to message #11852]

Tue, 15 September 2009 13:00

LesS
Messages: 478
Registered: December 2002

Senior Member

I think the stock wiring is a red wire and a black wire.
Yours still could have been changed.
Thin wires probably don't matter much in a speaker cabinet - where the wire length is just a few feet - but I would still use 16 or 18 guage wire.

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Re: Got a Blue Sparkle Cab - waz izit? [message #11854 is a reply to message #11794]

Tue, 15 September 2009 13:08

stevem
Messages: 4775
Registered: June 2004
Location: NY

Senior Member

You need to private message me your email adress if you wnat me to send you the wiring diagram.

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