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What's your one amp and cab or combo to rule them all?

Mustardc Caps

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2021
Messages
83
Also, have you ever compared those 15" Altecs with Coffee Can SRO 15's?

I love SRO's, particularly the alnico Coffee Can 12's, and ceramic Coffee Can SRO 15's, and would love a speaker that combined the alnico mojo of the SRO12 with the huge voice of the SRO15.
I havent compared the 2. I know many love the Evs. Im sure I would.
 

Mustardc Caps

Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2021
Messages
83
That looks every bit as clean inside as my Hiwatt Custom Shop and Reeves Custom 100's. I have all NOS Mullard glass in the Hiwatt, with NOS Mullard and Telefunkin glass in the preamp of the Reeves and SED EL34's in the power amp.
A friend of mine used a Hiwatt DR103 from 1971-80s as a Bass amp. He used 4 JBL K140s, and an 18in Celestion. He says he never ran it past 6.
Love those Hiwatts!
Ever see the Rawson Sparfield Starfinder Speakers?
Id bet, you know exactly what they are.
Authentic repro of the original Fane 1000w Cresendo, which Gilmour, uses to this day, with his Hiwatt.
Also, they just came out with a Repro, of the Fane Purple Speakers. Yorkshires. They are getting great reviews from the few Ive seen that bought them.
The Starfinders, are also Electriclly, and physically the same, as the original Cresendo A.
I know youve seen all those WEM cabinets early Floyd had. They were all loaded with 100w Cresendos.
Cresendo was the First 12in speaker to achieve 100w RMS x 100db-1w/1m.
JBL of the time. D120F was at best 60s, and the Altec 417C was 75w.
Cresendo/STARFINDER also has a Huge frequency response. 30Hz-16,000Hz. Widest Ive ever seen on a 12in guitar speaker. 20,000 Gauss vs 13,500 for a JBL E120. Almost 1/3 More Powerful magnet.
Starfinder is even Magnetized, on the original machine Fane used.
Fane Purple repro. I dont think its being advertised yet, but is available as someone on TGP, both one, or 2. So far, he says it kills with his JTM45. RIght out of the box. Its a 70w speaker. 14,000 Gauss. Very powerful magnet.
Ive got 4 original Cresendos, and 2 of the Starfinders. Ive collected speakers since 1972. Ive got way more speakers, than cabinets for them!!!
 

Hiwatts-n-Gibsons

Well-known member
Joined
May 10, 2024
Messages
777
A friend of mine used a Hiwatt DR103 from 1971-80s as a Bass amp. He used 4 JBL K140s, and an 18in Celestion. He says he never ran it past 6.
Love those Hiwatts!
Ever see the Rawson Sparfield Starfinder Speakers?
Id bet, you know exactly what they are.
Authentic repro of the original Fane 1000w Cresendo, which Gilmour, uses to this day, with his Hiwatt.
Also, they just came out with a Repro, of the Fane Purple Speakers. Yorkshires. They are getting great reviews from the few Ive seen that bought them.
The Starfinders, are also Electriclly, and physically the same, as the original Cresendo A.
I know youve seen all those WEM cabinets early Floyd had. They were all loaded with 100w Cresendos.
Cresendo was the First 12in speaker to achieve 100w RMS x 100db-1w/1m.
JBL of the time. D120F was at best 60s, and the Altec 417C was 75w.
Cresendo/STARFINDER also has a Huge frequency response. 30Hz-16,000Hz. Widest Ive ever seen on a 12in guitar speaker. 20,000 Gauss vs 13,500 for a JBL E120. Almost 1/3 More Powerful magnet.
Starfinder is even Magnetized, on the original machine Fane used.
Fane Purple repro. I dont think its being advertised yet, but is available as someone on TGP, both one, or 2. So far, he says it kills with his JTM45. RIght out of the box. Its a 70w speaker. 14,000 Gauss. Very powerful magnet.
Ive got 4 original Cresendos, and 2 of the Starfinders. Ive collected speakers since 1972. Ive got way more speakers, than cabinets for them!!!
I've got a '72 Hiwatt cab with three Fane Purples, and one Fane Blue with the metal dust cap. Tbt I prefer the Purples, I play too much heavy fuzz and distortion, and use a Treble Booster that is almost always on. One of these days I'll get another vintage Fane Purple to add into that cab.

Funnily enough I just sold a 2000's Fane Crescendo A prototype I bought from Fane when they closed up shop before the new owners of the name released the Ascension series. It was an absolute beast of a speaker. It's basically their Studio 12L with an aluminum dust cap. The chime was like angels singing through crystal is the best way I can describe it.

It was huge sounding with amazing transient response. Paired in an open back 2x12 cab with a regular Studio 12L it was perfect for huge, clear, and bright clean tones, and also did amazingly well for amplified acoustic tones.

I also had it in an Orange closed back 1x12 for a while as a dedicated clean cab, and low volume bass cab. Man for a small 1x12 that thing thumped hard for bass, with great attack for slap bass and clarity for melodic chord passages.

And yeah, my Hiwatt sounds amazing for bass. Through a 4x10 it's punchy as hell, and through a 4x10 + 1×15 it sounds huge and thumps like mad. With the normal and brilliant inputs bridged and their volumes up high for preamp grit hrough my JCM800 1935 Bass 4x12 with 55 hz G1265's it sounds like Lemmy's bass tone.

I heard Scholz started producing his Sugarcones again, and I am very highly interested in getting my hands on a couple to place in my currently empty Boogie Halfback cab.
 
Last edited:

Hiwatts-n-Gibsons

Well-known member
Joined
May 10, 2024
Messages
777
A friend of mine used a Hiwatt DR103 from 1971-80s as a Bass amp. He used 4 JBL K140s, and an 18in Celestion. He says he never ran it past 6.
Love those Hiwatts!
Ever see the Rawson Sparfield Starfinder Speakers?
Id bet, you know exactly what they are.
Authentic repro of the original Fane 1000w Cresendo, which Gilmour, uses to this day, with his Hiwatt.
Also, they just came out with a Repro, of the Fane Purple Speakers. Yorkshires. They are getting great reviews from the few Ive seen that bought them.
The Starfinders, are also Electriclly, and physically the same, as the original Cresendo A.
I know youve seen all those WEM cabinets early Floyd had. They were all loaded with 100w Cresendos.
Cresendo was the First 12in speaker to achieve 100w RMS x 100db-1w/1m.
JBL of the time. D120F was at best 60s, and the Altec 417C was 75w.
Cresendo/STARFINDER also has a Huge frequency response. 30Hz-16,000Hz. Widest Ive ever seen on a 12in guitar speaker. 20,000 Gauss vs 13,500 for a JBL E120. Almost 1/3 More Powerful magnet.
Starfinder is even Magnetized, on the original machine Fane used.
Fane Purple repro. I dont think its being advertised yet, but is available as someone on TGP, both one, or 2. So far, he says it kills with his JTM45. RIght out of the box. Its a 70w speaker. 14,000 Gauss. Very powerful magnet.
Ive got 4 original Cresendos, and 2 of the Starfinders. Ive collected speakers since 1972. Ive got way more speakers, than cabinets for them!!!
And yeap, I've seen the Rawson Starfinders. I'd be interested in trying them out, but yeesh that price tag. For that money I'd rather get a vintage Fane Purple to match my other three in my Hiwatt 4x12 or a couple more low wattage Pulsonic cone Fanes from the late '60s - early '70s to put in my Boogie Halfback (I sealed the upper bout), and pair with the two (20 watt 75hz and 25 watt 55hz) I have in my open back 2x12.

Or for that money two more original cone alnico EV SRO12's, which as much as I love all my Fanes are to my ears the best 12" guitar speakers ever made.
 

Amp360

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 16, 2012
Messages
923
1960 Vibrasonic. So good!

441485248_10231612104794602_7402314253803487764_n.jpg
 

LeonC

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
834
I've been using Fractal gear for about 6 years now and am totally crazy about it. (I currently run my FM9 into a little QSC powered speaker.)

Before that, when I was playing rock music, I most enjoyed an amp I built based on the (Valco) Supro 1688TN design. Valco overdrive is addicting and hard to beat! Cleans up beautifully too, but not enough clean headroom for some gigs. For more clean headroom, I think an old Vibrolux Reverb is tough to beat.

Here's a clip of my home-brew 1688TN
 

Hiwatts-n-Gibsons

Well-known member
Joined
May 10, 2024
Messages
777
I've been using Fractal gear for about 6 years now and am totally crazy about it. (I currently run my FM9 into a little QSC powered speaker.)

Before that, when I was playing rock music, I most enjoyed an amp I built based on the (Valco) Supro 1688TN design. Valco overdrive is addicting and hard to beat! Cleans up beautifully too, but not enough clean headroom for some gigs. For more clean headroom, I think an old Vibrolux Reverb is tough to beat.

Here's a clip of my home-brew 1688TN
That sounds great. Is the first clean progression your own music? I really dug it.
 

LeonC

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 30, 2002
Messages
834
That sounds great. Is the first clean progression your own music? I really dug it.
Thanks. The answer is no, not really...that's me noodling around with my half-ass recollection of how Jeff Buckley covered that Leonard Cohen tune Hallelujah. BTW...there was a rumor that Jeff used a 1688TN; that's why I tried remembering that tune. I knew it at one point in time back in the early 2000s...
 
Last edited:

Hiwatts-n-Gibsons

Well-known member
Joined
May 10, 2024
Messages
777
A friend of mine used a Hiwatt DR103 from 1971-80s as a Bass amp. He used 4 JBL K140s, and an 18in Celestion. He says he never ran it past 6.
Love those Hiwatts!
Ever see the Rawson Sparfield Starfinder Speakers?
Id bet, you know exactly what they are.
Authentic repro of the original Fane 1000w Cresendo, which Gilmour, uses to this day, with his Hiwatt.
Also, they just came out with a Repro, of the Fane Purple Speakers. Yorkshires. They are getting great reviews from the few Ive seen that bought them.
The Starfinders, are also Electriclly, and physically the same, as the original Cresendo A.
I know youve seen all those WEM cabinets early Floyd had. They were all loaded with 100w Cresendos.
Cresendo was the First 12in speaker to achieve 100w RMS x 100db-1w/1m.
JBL of the time. D120F was at best 60s, and the Altec 417C was 75w.
Cresendo/STARFINDER also has a Huge frequency response. 30Hz-16,000Hz. Widest Ive ever seen on a 12in guitar speaker. 20,000 Gauss vs 13,500 for a JBL E120. Almost 1/3 More Powerful magnet.
Starfinder is even Magnetized, on the original machine Fane used.
Fane Purple repro. I dont think its being advertised yet, but is available as someone on TGP, both one, or 2. So far, he says it kills with his JTM45. RIght out of the box. Its a 70w speaker. 14,000 Gauss. Very powerful magnet.
Ive got 4 original Cresendos, and 2 of the Starfinders. Ive collected speakers since 1972. Ive got way more speakers, than cabinets for them!!!

So, I just saw today that Rawson Sparfield is now making a Fane Purple clone called the Yorkshire. Hmmmm.
 

Hiwatts-n-Gibsons

Well-known member
Joined
May 10, 2024
Messages
777
Yep, I posted that in one of my previous responses.
MHG, at TGP, has 1-2, and just got them a couple days ago, and is using them with a JTM45, and say they sound glorious., right out of the box.
What I find hard to grasp is that as well recieved as many of the new Ascension Series Fanes are why don't they do an accurate repro of the brands two most famous and sought after speakers of all time in the cast frame 50 watt 12" Fane Purple, and cast frame 100 watt 12" Crescendo 12A? One would think that if they offered a relatively reasonably priced version of each that they would sell a ton of them.
 
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