operative451 Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 After much mucking about with DIs, headphones and wires trailing across my living room, I've worked out that the thing that i don't like about my HBW80 amp, is the speaker. It actually makes a really good guitar amp with some drive in front, which suggests its too mid-rangey and bright. It farts out with not masses of bass and needs the treble turned down pretty much all the way! I wonder if they actually put a guitar speaker in by accident! So i decided to change the speaker.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
operative451 Posted April 10, 2019 Author Share Posted April 10, 2019 First job, find a speaker! Bit of a google found the replacement speaker that Thomann sold for the HBW80 which is 4ohms, 50 watts and about 26 euros. So on amazon i found a Pyle PPA12 on amazon - 200 watts RMS, 8ohms and £33.33 which is an odd number, but hey... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
operative451 Posted April 10, 2019 Author Share Posted April 10, 2019 So first job, get the original speaker out. Quick job with a drill with screwdriver attachment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grangur Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 Excellent result - if it works, getting the sound you want for £33 and some fun with a screwdriver. Fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
operative451 Posted April 10, 2019 Author Share Posted April 10, 2019 The speaker has a weird connector.. And the wire from the amp isn't very long, so... The speaker has to go in upside-down! I went for 'wonky' cos then it looks like you meant to do it... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus Lukin Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 (edited) - Edited March 3, 2022 by Jus Lukin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
operative451 Posted April 10, 2019 Author Share Posted April 10, 2019 (edited) I should have stuck a mic in front of it and recorded it before i started... Can't be bothered to put the other speaker back in though! I've actually finished it, i just don't have the pics yet (cos i forgot to take them!) - yeah, the dirst thing i noticed is that the EQ knobs now DO SOMETHING, where all they seem to do before was either add mud or string rattle. It is a bit less loud but a lot more bassy (heft? Might be good for metal?) and i've been using it with a Zoom b3n anyway, but now i could actually use it by itself. I may have to drag it to my local rehearsal space and see how loud it goes. The previous speaker just went PTTTHHHH at about 1/4 volume but didn't seem to go up any louder. I think this speaker will stay clean with the amp more cranked. Also, note the UMC404HD velcroed to the top, i usually DI into that and out to the amp - my benchmark bass tone is the isolated bass recording (its on youtube) of REM's Orange Crush. I stuck that through it and it sounded epic..! Edited April 10, 2019 by operative451 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 I suspect as you have gone from a 4 ohm to an 8 ohm it probably won't go as loud but should sound better when it gets there, unless the previous speaker was literally broken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
operative451 Posted April 10, 2019 Author Share Posted April 10, 2019 Final pic and all done! Been playing this evening with my Warwick bc15.1 using the left and right outputs from the zoom and am very happy with the results! Job's a good 'un! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
operative451 Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 Update: I've been wanting to get this a bit cranked and I don't want to upset my neighbours too much, so I dragged this, my B3n and my trusty bass to my local rehearsal place today. Handily, even though I booked the cheapest room (as I was byo-ing), it had a nice ashdown head and what looks like a 4x10, so that was handy for 'this is what proper bass amps' sound like' reference. Ok, so first job, after getting coffee and tuning, get a sound I like out of the ashdown. Must admit I like a bit more 'twang' than it had but I've never used super posh gear so I have no idea if that's what proper grownup kit sounds like! Next, straight into the hbw... which I wouldn't have bothered with previously as it sounded kind of... blegh. Now: much better, not as much thud as the ashdown but a pleasingly punky honk if I pushed the high mids! There was a Marshall half stack there too. So obvs I was lemmy for a few minutes. Being careful not to hurt the speakers! Then, for reference, played the zoom through the PA. Which was fine and probably closest to my hbw, which was loosely the plan as I wanted it quite neutral and FRFRish to use the cab sims on the zoom. Then into the hbw! Yep, that worked! Not as earth shaking (or loud) as the ashdown but plenty loud enough! And the handy thing about the speaker being able to handle about 4 times the wattage of the amp, there was minimal speaker distortion. It was doing a weird sort of tremolo thing with some nutter fuzz noises at one point but then I realised it was actually vibrating... so, note to self, put it on carpet next time..! Job's most definitely a good 'un... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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