Cheap cabs alert

[Newfoundfreedom]

Wharfdale is far from an obscure brand. Although granted they're not really known for producing guitar and bass amps. But having looked into these a bit more it would appear they they are actually Albion amps / cabs probably rebadged or built under licence by Wharfdale. 

The guy who actually designed them, Steve Grindrod (I think that must be his stripper name) is an absolute legend in amp building terms, having designed and build pretty much everything that came out of the Marshall factory for 20 years from 1980 then everything from the Vox relaunch including all their Valvetronic range, before going it alone with Albion. So forget the name badge, those cabs come with a surprising amount of pedigree. 

Here's an interesting article about Steve. He's had quite an illustrious career. 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.guitarplayer.com/.amp/gear/meet-your-maker-amp-designer-steve-grindrod

[Dan Dare]

At those prices, it could be worth buying cabs and putting better drivers in them.

[Dan Dare]

3 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Wharfdale is far from an obscure brand. Although granted they're not really known for producing guitar and bass amps. But having looked into these a bit more it would appear they they are actually Albion amps / cabs probably rebadged or built under licence by Wharfdale. 

The guy who actually designed them, Steve Grindrod (I think that must be his stripper name) is an absolute legend in amp building terms, having designed and build pretty much everything that came out of the Marshall factory for 20 years from 1980 then everything from the Vox relaunch including all their Valvetronic range, before going it alone with Albion. So forget the name badge, those cabs come with a surprising amount of pedigree. 

Here's an interesting article about Steve. He's had quite an illustrious career. 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.guitarplayer.com/.amp/gear/meet-your-maker-amp-designer-steve-grindrod

Grindrod probably a real name. I was taught history at school by a guy named Dan Grindrod. Steve G looks to have serious pedigree.

[Newfoundfreedom]

12 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

At those prices, it could be worth buying cabs and putting better drivers in them.

I honestly don't think it will need any. If there's one thing Wharfdale do well it's build speakers. 

[stevie]

I'm with Chris B on this. And if nothing else, that disastrous grille design should set alarm bells ringing.

It'll be interesting to read the opinions of those who dare to take the plunge.

 

 

[No. 8 Wire]

12 hours ago, Bob Lord said:

£139 for a 4x10's got to be worth a punt, even if it turns out to be not amazing sounding, and not something you'd take on the road for 20 years.

Having said that, I'd rather try and pick up a second hand Ashdown ABM 410 from ebay, for about that price - there seems to be a lot of cheap ashdown gear out there, and I think probably a safer bet in terms of sound and durability than an obscure chinese brand (didn't wharfedale make cheap stereos you'd get in argos, like alba?!)

These cabs could be a good way of turning of turning £139 into £50 🙂

I can see how these are a good option if you need postage.  For me I'll think I'll leave it until I really need one rather than having a cab sitting around in the shed.

[yorks5stringer]

Wharedale used to manufacture in and around Bradford in the 70's and 80's, I remember factories in Idle and  a TV? one in Shipley. Not sure if they went bust and the brand name was bought and or just transfered all production to China some years ago.

[Newfoundfreedom]

2 hours ago, stevie said:

I'm with Chris B on this. And if nothing else, that disastrous grille design should set alarm bells ringing.

It'll be interesting to read the opinions of those who dare to take the plunge.

 

 

I think they look awesome, but then again my real life initials are "MW" so I'm going to flip the top grill over for a personalised bass rig. 😁

I have ordered the 1x15 and the 2x10 which are due for delivery on the 5th January so I will give them a bit of a review after that. The good, the bad, and the (not so imho) ugly. 

[LukeFRC]

23 minutes ago, yorks5stringer said:

Wharedale used to manufacture in and around Bradford in the 70's and 80's, I remember factories in Idle and  a TV? one in Shipley. Not sure if they went bust and the brand name was bought and or just transfered all production to China some years ago.

Airedale then surely?

[yorks5stringer]

Gilbert Briggs built his very first loudspeaker in the cellar of his home in Ilkley, Yorkshire. This sleepy little market town was located in the valley of the river “Wharfe” - an area known to this day as ‘Wharfedale’. This unlikely location would see the birth of a brand that was to become recognized all over the world, synonymous with quality in high-fidelity reproduction.

Gilbert Briggs is still much admired and respected throughout the world for his pioneering work in hi-fi reproduction and his endless pursuit of better sound quality – driven by his love of live music.

Gilbert setup a small factory near Bradford to build his new loudspeaker drive units. Radio was an exciting technology and word of the new transducers had spread quickly around the area. Demand was growing quickly. Initially, the true spirit of the cottage industry, his wife, Doris Edna Briggs was the production department, spending many late nights soldering wires and winding coils.

In the same year, he entered the Bradford Radio Society’s annual competition and won first and second place, earning the company their first major order. From this point, the Wharfedale Wireless Works never looked back, going from strength to strength, producing up to 9000 units per year until the outbreak of World War II.

Gilbert’s company had outgrown their small premises and moved to a larger factory, again in Bradford. When the war came, the factory continued. During the second half of the war, the Wharfedale Wireless Works were commissioned to make transformers for Marconi. Some 40,000 units were completed by an expert team of just 20 staff before the war finally came to an end.

Gilbert embarked on an ambitious collaboration with a close friend and colleague, Quad’s ‘Peter Walker’. With Quad supplying the amplification and Wharfedale building the loudspeaker systems, they embarked on what was to become an industry-defining series of concerts wherein audiences were invited to experience live versus recorded music first hand. Touring UK and the USA and playing at venues as auspicious as the Royal Festival Hall in London and Carnegie Hall in New York.

Wharfedale Wireless Works was sold to the Rank Organisation, a controversial move at the time, but one which led to rapid development and expansion of the brand into areas such as electronics. Gilbert Briggs, then 68 years old, continued to manage the day-to-day running of the company until his well-earned retirement in 1965.

Demand for Wharfedale products continued to grow at an ever increasing speed and the existing factory in Bradford Road was limiting growth. In 1967, a decision was made to develop a new, more efficient factory on a green field site in Highfield Road, Bradford, just over a mile away. The factory took some seven year to complete. When finished, it comprised over 170,000 sq. ft. of production with additional office space and large scale research and development facilities

[The59Sound]

Thanks Wikipedia.

[yorks5stringer]

9 hours ago, The59Sound said:

Thanks Wikipedia.

Not true, I painstakingly researched this by tracking down members of Gilbert Grigg's family and interviewing them in person.

 

Actually taken from the Wharfedale website.

[LukeFRC]

19 minutes ago, yorks5stringer said:

Not true, I painstakingly researched this by tracking down members of Gilbert Grigg's family and interviewing them in person.

All cos I mused on them being built in Airedale...

[LukeFRC]

(The original stuff, these will have been built in a city of millions in China that I’ve never heard of and probably was a farm 50 years ago )

[paul_c2]

Hmmmm, raises more questions than answers really! The value attached to the names Wharfdale, Albion and Steve Grindrod have to be taken with a (large) pinch of salt. Firstly because these items AREN'T coming from the era where those brands earned their good reputation, they are later on once that brand had 'value' and was effectively sold-out then attached to a Chinese-manufactured product of some kind.

And secondly because this isn't your usual scenario. I am sure history has examples of where a previously-good brand transferred manufacturing to China, with variable results. No doubt in some cases there was little/no drop off in quality, or maybe even an improvement - a known brand dictates the specification and build process, and a third-party Chinese manufacturer pretty much does what its asked to - manufactures something to that given quality. But this isn't the case here. They were manufactured - these things exist - but then they were placed into a warehouse, and stood for 8 years. That's not normal!!! Why? Nobody knows, but something weird happened, eg there was money owed, they got held/not released, something wasn't right with the items themselves, etc etc

Sure, the prices are a bargain - a big bargain! For some, its worth taking the punt. 

Will be interesting to hear how these turn out long term!

[Newfoundfreedom]

Well mine are currently winging their way across Austria and are due to be here by the end of next week. So time will tell. 

[lemmywinks]

Can't really see how paying £140 for a heavy budget 4x10 is good value if where you live has any sort of 2nd hand market, fair enough for the guy above who struggles finding cabs. You can buy a used Hartke/Ashdown equivalent for less which will hold it's value - there's a frickin' Eden Nemesis 4x10 in the FS section for £70, an Ashdown 2x10 for £80 and a Mi12 for £100.

 

The 1x15 and 2x10 had a shop floor price of £129, not exactly a massive discount seeing as these have been sat in a warehouse for 8 years. The used one on here sold for £40 in 2014 apparently......

 

Edited December 28, 2018 by lemmywinks

[Unknown_User]

I've been waiting to upgrade my amp all year and splurged £400 I don't have on the 1x15 and Orange head deal.  Supposed to be arriving today.  I thought it sounded pretty good on the video on the Andertons website.  Better than some of the combos I'd been looking at.

Have to see how it goes when it arrives, but the amp head was almost half price at under £300, which isn't bad for Orange gear.

[King Tut]

Never mind the cabs - those heads are an absolute steal for an all valve head. A guitarist I worked with a couple of years ago bought a very similar looking head as an oddity and gigged it regularly - I remember it sounded pretty tasty!

[Unknown_User]

Well it didn't turn up the day it was supposed to.  Delivery was rearranged for today, but it turned up yesterday.  Glad I was in!  First time I've used Andertons and not massively impressed.  Still no sign of the reward points that were advertised despite me asking after them twice.

Anyway I had half an hour or so messing with the Orange head and 1x15 Wharfedale cab yesterday and it sounded very nice and plenty loud at volume 1.  Got practice tomorrow night so I'll be making some noise with it then.

It's the first time I've used anything other than a combo so it's hard for me to compare the quality with other setups, but the sound was very smooth and clean.  Nice lows but better than that were the higher registers which on my existing cheapo Behringer combo (1x12 with a tweeter) can sound a bit harsh.

Looking forward to gigging with it at the weekend!

Edited January 7, 2019 by Unknown_User

[Newfoundfreedom]

24 minutes ago, Unknown_User said:

Well it didn't turn up the day it was supposed to.  Delivery was rearranged for today, but it turned up yesterday.  Glad I was in!  First time I've used Andertons and not massively impressed.  Still no sign of the reward points that were advertised despite me asking after them twice.

Anyway I had half an hour or so messing with the Orange head and 1x15 Wharfedale cab yesterday and it sounded very nice and plenty loud at volume 1.  Got practice tomorrow night so I'll be making some noise with it then.

It's the first time I've used anything other than a combo so it's hard for me to compare the quality with other setups, but the sound was very smooth and clean.  Nice lows but better than that were the higher registers which on my existing cheapo Behringer combo (1x12 with a tweeter) can sound a bit harsh.

Looking forward to gigging with it at the weekend!

Mine is scheduled for delivery today so I will update when (if) they turn up. Although I probably won't get a chance to play through them until tomorrow. 

[Newfoundfreedom]

My cabs finally turned up today. So here's a bit of a review as promised, for anyone who's interested. 

Firstly the weight. Ok to be fair they're not lightweight cabs. But they're certainly not massively heavy either. Certainly much lighter than my current Bugera 2x10. The 2x10 is listed at around 23kg and I'd say that's probably about right. Surprisingly the 1x15 is noticeably lighter. 

Build quality wise they appear to be extremely well made and absolutely rock solid. If have no qualms about throwing them in the car and gigging them. 

Feature wise. They only have a single connector on the back, so no option to daisy chain the cabs. Not a problem for me as I have 2 outputs on the amp but it could be an issue for some. The connector is a dual purpose speakon / jack lead connector though so at least it gives you the option to use either kind of lead. The handles are pretty good, functional, solid and look smart enough. They're also flat and slightly recessed so it gives you the option to use or stack them sideways which is nice. The 2x10 has a built in horn which is angled upwards so it's directed towards the player. I'm not sure if this is genuinely a "feature" or just a gimmick but it seems to make sense. There is no switch or volume control for the horn so it's always on which is a bit annoying, having said that it puts out a pretty balanced sound so as not to be intrusive. In fact it's barely perceivable, but this could be a lot to do with amp setup as I tend to roll the top end down anyway. Maybe it would be more noticeable to people who like a trebly sound or play slap. 

Looks wise. Well beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I genuinely think they look really good. They look a lot better "in the flesh" than in the pictures or YouTube videos I've seen. The Tolex is well fixed and looks fairly robust, not the paper thin stuff you get on some budget gear. The metal grills are well finished and really solid. The logo's look quite nice and are more golden than they look in pictures. The whole rig, 1x15 and 2x10, is actually reasonably compact, certainly not 80's half stack or full on fridge sized. So no problems on a modest stage. 

Sound. Well it's early days and I haven't had much chance to play through them yet, but first impressions is they're quite neutral. Maybe what you would expect from a company more known for making hi-fi and PA speakers. It suits me as I'm happy to let the amp, bass and effects pedals create the tone, but probably not for someone looking for a particular sound. The drivers appear to be extremely well built. I turned my 300w head up full and gave it the beans and the cabs never even broke a sweat, but the house windows nearly fell out, so I'm pretty confident they'll be fine for any gig I'm likely to throw at them. 

Value for money. I'm very happy with them and I'd say they're an absolute steal for the price they were being sold. Fair enough they will probably have less second hand value than an empty bean can, but that was never the reason I bought them. Even then, at the price I paid I could use them as firewood in a couple of years and who cares? 

 

Edited January 8, 2019 by Newfoundfreedom

[fleabag]

I know looks are subjective, but i dont have a  problem with those.  They sound like they could be a bargain after all

[Phil Starr]

Having said earlier in this thread that my Wharfedale PA speakers had been faultless to date the inevitable happened and a speaker went down. To be fair it is almost twenty years old and blew when someone else borrowed it. However I took it apart and was very impressed with the construction. Cabinet is way too heavy with 18mm MDF but very well constructed, the amp is nicely made and very well over specified with 10 output transistors. The blown driver is nicely made too with a substantial ceramic magnet and a nicely made deep double roll surround. Best news of all is that although this particular speaker has been discontinued for several years Wharfedale still carry spares which are reasonably priced (cheaper than an Eminence or Fane equivalent) and available by return of post. That's great service in my book from an old UK firm (IAG who are Quad, Wharfedale, Audiolab)

If this is their aftersales then I don't think the company is one to worry about

Edited January 8, 2019 by Phil Starr

[Newfoundfreedom]

20 minutes ago, Phil Starr said:

Having said earlier in this thread that my Wharfedale PA speakers had been faultless to date the inevitable happened and a speaker went down.

That's sods law in action.