Which wire for inside speaker cab?

guitarfishbay

As per title, going to be wiring up a cab from scratch so just want to make sure I'm using the right stuff.  If it matters it will be 4x (Mesa) V30s, so 280 watts total.

I'm pretty close to both Maplins and Screwfix, so I can buy from either of those.

Sporky

Speaker cable, or from those suppliers some 2-core mains will do. If my sums are right you're looking at 6 amps or so full-tilt.

guitarfishbay

Thanks Sporky.  I still feel a little unsure as this for example talks about polarity - http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/shark-loudspeaker-connection-cable-high-quality-ofc-s12-priced-per-metre-xs37s

This stuff is the same but thicker I think.  -  http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/shark-loudspeaker-connection-cable-high-quality-ofc-s10-priced-per-metre-xs36p

Or am I looking way too thick?

This is thinner and cheaper and says rated to 18A, the other two products don't give the same type or rating, sorry my knowledge of this stuff is very basic.  http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/speaker-cable-figure-of-8-6-x-3mm-black-priced-per-metre-n53hu

With the 2 core wire I assume I just twist the two strands together when I solder?

guitarfishbay

I'm assuming I don't want to go too thick as it'll get hard to work with.  The speaker cables I have for plugging from amp to cab are massive in comparison to what I remember being inside cabs when I've swapped speakers in the past

ICBM

Just use ripped-down 2-core mains cable. It's plenty for that, and far cheaper than 'proper' speaker cable. And also easier to wrap through the terminals.

guitarfishbay

@ICBM ; Ok so by ripped down you mean outer sheath removed?  That makes sense, as otherwise the (expensive) Van Damme speaker cable coming up in my searches looks super thick.

According to @Sporky ; I need 6A.

This is 6A rated 2 core at £1.49/meter http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/2-core-6a-mains-cable-black-priced-per-metre-cw69a

Or there's 

Speaker cable figure 8 rated 15A for £1.59/meter http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/speaker-cable-figure-of-8-6-x-3mm-white-priced-per-metre-xr60q

Am I right in thinking:

1. Either of these will work.
2. I twist and solder together the 2 ends before soldering to the speaker and that makes 1 wire.

Probably going to buy 10m and keep the rest as spare in case I wire a cabinet again in the future.  Or is this way too much?

Wiring up 4x 16 ohm speakers for 4ohm total, standard size 4x12 cab.  I'm going to follow the 2nd diagram here http://www.colomar.com/Shavano/4x12wiring.html



Thanks

Sporky

I believe you are correct on both counts.

I would use the speaker cable of those two, simply because it'll be easier to work with. 10m is much more than you'll need, but if you've got some spare you won't need it. If you've only got as much as you need something will go wrong.

guitarfishbay

Thanks guys

professorben

Sporky said:

I believe you are correct on both counts.

I would use the speaker cable of those two, simply because it'll be easier to work with. 10m is much more than you'll need, but if you've got some spare you won't need it. If you've only got as much as you need something will go wrong.

With regard to wiring, my old boss said " it's better to be looking at it, than looking for it"

Sporky

professorben said:

With regard to wiring, my old boss said " it's better to be looking at it, than looking for it"

That was popular at my last place of work, along with "Look with your eyes, not with your mouth".

Bygone_Tones

Any copper wire should work. I normally use 16 AWG. The 14 AWG is overkill and can be difficult to solder onto the speaker terminals. Get some in red and some in black then you can differentiate between the positive and negative wires.

Some people say thicker wire improves the tone, but the 16 AWG is about right in my opinion.

guitarfishbay

Well I got it wired up using the two core speaker wire posted above.

Actually that wire is way too thick and I had to remove some strands from each core to get it through the hole in the speaker tab.  But it is working, and sounds phenomenal.  EVH 4x12 with 4x Mesa V30s... sounds a bit like I remember the Stiletto cab sounding but it is a straight cab with a slightly back angled baffle board (the Mesa's is dead straight on the straight cab).

A question for @ICBM or @Sporky - I think a small amount of solder dropped between the cone and the housing while I was wiring up.  I soldered it up with the cab face down, and I really couldn't see it anywhere when I tried to find it, but it might still be there (probably near the edge of a cone) after putting the cab upright...  I first thought it wouldn't matter but now it is bugging me that it might be there.  Could I use a hoover set to super low power to try and pick it up?  Is it likely to cause any damage to the speaker?  I'm worried leaving the hypothetical piece of solder in there when the speaker cab starts being used loud and the cone really gets moving...  I might just be being a bit OCD.

ICBM

It would bother me too. I would look for it with a bright light and a mirror if necessary - it's probably jammed down right in the angle between the cone and the frame. It might damage the cone, yes - if it's trapped it could wear through the paper.

Put a piece of kitchen roll under the terminals when you're soldering .

guitarfishbay

ICBM said:

It would bother me too. I would look for it with a bright light and a mirror if necessary - it's probably jammed down right in the angle between the cone and the frame. It might damage the cone, yes - if it's trapped it could wear through the paper.

Put a piece of kitchen roll under the terminals when you're soldering .

Thanks.  I dunno why I didn't think of using a mirror!  Also kitchen roll under the terminals is a good idea, will definitely do that next time.  

So how should I retrieve the solder when I find it?  Hoover on low power, or try to get it out with a bit of paper?

ICBM

Hoover might work - although if the lump is small and round it won't pick up very well, and there's a risk of damaging the cone if it pulls on it too hard. Very carefully with a pair of tweezers is what I tend to do when this happens to me say when I'm advising people how to fix mistakes I never make.

guitarfishbay

Thanks for your help.  Ok I'll get it sorted before I use the cabinet again.  In fact this sounds like a job my g/f will do better than me if it involves a mirror and some tweezers.