Piglet

[djw]

Both sad and beautiful. Bittersweet.

I'm gigging more these days, which is good news, but it also means: screw hauling that damned pig all over the place. So my rig has undergone a bit of a transformation lately: new pedalboard (got a PT2) and soft cases for everything. And I finally pulled the trigger on getting a head shell made for my LSC. It arrived today, and I couldn't wait for the speaker cab to arrive... so I went ahead and put it in.

Saxon Cabs - Hand Made Guitar Cabinets
http://www.saxon-cabs.ca

Soon to be followed by a Freda 1x12s Shortbody (http://www.fredacabs.com/1x12s.cfm). I ordered an unloaded cab, as I currently have three speakers I can experiment with: my C90, a 50w Weber Blue Dog ceramic, and an old EVM 12L. Should be fun, and a lot less hassle than swapping them out of the combo.

I'll probably install a shorter power cable, as it's pretty tight in there; I also had to remove the reverb tank from the vinyl bag. So far no detrimental effects. One other interesting thing is that I was wondering if I'd need to apply some foil to the underside of the shell's top, to meet that grounding screw... but I didn't, and I didn't tighten the screw either. No grounding issues that I can see yet, though maybe I just haven't found the right circumstances to reveal them. We'll see I guess.

Last step will be to attach the Mesa logo plate to the front. Have to think about that a bit.

I feel lighter already!

 

[Leroy the Massochist]

Congrats! A courageous decision minister.

Look forward to your report on the Webber.

Cheer

 

[plan-x]

Sweet! Yeah, I soft case both my pedals and guitars. Luckily I leave my Pig at the venue I play at and don't transport often. Maybe a couple times a year for other gigs. That's my excuse for not doing this yet.

I like the Freda, I mean really like it! One of these days I'm going to build a copy to that type of design with the port. I like the Saxon 2x12 diagonal also. That would be a perfect cab to detune.

Even without the logo, It's clearly a Lonestar. The reverb pouch is definitely a luxury and not an essential. It looks like a mesa factory build. Not exactly, but close enough. I'm sure you are going to enjoy the new tones from this split. It's only going to get better. You'll be pushing some 5 star tone. Piglet will rock the 100 acre wood!

 

[djw]

Thanks guys! :lol: Now if I can just find some haycorns... Yes, I waited until I was really ready to separate it from that cabinet... which is, honestly, probably the best sounding combo I've heard. But I agree, it's only going to get better. So when I get the Freda I'll have a sweet 1x12 for 99% of my use, and for the big stuff I can use my Marshall 4x12 -- and I won't have to haul both that and the combo. It's all good.

Leroy, I actually used the Blue Dog for a while in my combo, and I liked it... but I think either I should have gotten a 75 or 100 watt version, or it wants to be paired with a mate because it's a tad sharp at lower volumes, and really sounded better with the oomph of 6L6s. My needs make me steer toward 6V6s, and the C90 works better with those. Great speaker though, and I'm definitely going to give it another whirl. If I can get my hands on a California, I'll be psyched. But that EV might finally get its day...

 

[handyandy]

Nice job! Do the drivers sound much different without the amp in the combo?
As you may or may not have seen, Im putting a new front on my combo (still waiting on the cloth) :-( but it got me thinking how hard it would be to turn it into a head and two 1X12 cabs. Wondered just how important the foil was on the inside of the amp!
Anyway nice job man it really looks the part, like a mini box of sweetness!

 

[djw]

Nice job! Do the drivers sound much different without the amp in the combo?
As you may or may not have seen, Im putting a new front on my combo (still waiting on the cloth) :-( but it got me thinking how hard it would be to turn it into a head and two 1X12 cabs. Wondered just how important the foil was on the inside of the amp!
Anyway nice job man it really looks the part, like a mini box of sweetness!

Hey Andy,

The combo definitely sounds weird without the amp filling that space. I haven't tried filling the gap with anything, since I'm not planning on using it this way, but I imagine it would be ok with some tweaking. It's the same exact size as the Mesa 1x12 widebody 3/4 back cabinet, though the speaker is a little lower vertically. Probably not ideally tuned and it would look a little funny, but it would suffice. Maybe putting a dummy amp chassis in there would look cool. :lol:

I left the foil out, and so far so good. My house is sort of noisy, so I was expecting it to be a good indicator for grounding issues, but nada... Maybe it's a combo-only thing??? Doubt it. But it'll be easy to address I guess... good luck with the re-fronting!

 

[djw]

Ok, the transformation is complete. Got the Freda this weekend, and started by loading it with the C90. Sounds killllller. Definitely sounds bigger and heavier than it is. The closed back oomph in the lows: check. Wide dispersion via the front port: TBD, I'll know more after my first rehearsal with it tonight. But so far so good, I don't miss anything that I had with the combo yet.

It's also really, really lightweight. I'm happy.

I knew I wouldn't be able to match the shell and cabinet 100%, what with the different tolex styles and whatnot, so I decided to go with a little contrast in the front grill cloth. So it looks like a pieced together rig... which it is. Don't care.

One more thing: I also had a slipcover made for the head, by Studio Slips (http://www.studioslips.com), with a big pocket for the front for cables etc. Very nice.

 

[plan-x]

Ha, that rig is gonna turns some heads, or should I say some ears. People will be surprised at the sound that piglet rig puts out. And yeah, I think the C-90 is tough act to beat. I'm sure that cab is a winner also. Nice!

 

[djw]

Thanks! And more good news is that at rehearsal last night the cab passed with flying colors. We play in a big, concrete-floored room with a high ceiling, so it's a little echoey, but it's in an industrial/residential neighborhood so we don't play super loud. Anyway, I was able to crank it up and got plenty of beef out of it, but at one point we all decided to dial it back, and it was quiet but still perfectly audible. I've noticed a little drop-off at that level in the combo in that particular space, so it was nice to be able to get right where I wanted without too much struggle.

Nice cab. Highly recommended. All around goodness.
Shouts out to the makers, all small businesses and good people to work with:

Head shell: http://www.saxon-cabs.ca
1x12: http://www.fredacabs.com
Cover: http://www.studioslips.com

 

[toneguy86]

Thanks! And more good news is that at rehearsal last night the cab passed with flying colors. We play in a big, concrete-floored room with a high ceiling, so it's a little echoey, but it's in an industrial/residential neighborhood so we don't play super loud. Anyway, I was able to crank it up and got plenty of beef out of it, but at one point we all decided to dial it back, and it was quiet but still perfectly audible. I've noticed a little drop-off at that level in the combo in that particular space, so it was nice to be able to get right where I wanted without too much struggle.

Nice cab. Highly recommended. All around goodness.
Shouts out to the makers, all small businesses and good people to work with:

Head shell: http://www.saxon-cabs.ca
1x12: http://www.fredacabs.com
Cover: http://www.studioslips.com

I couldn't see a listing for prices and options for headshells on the Saxon website. What did you pay?

Also, can anyone tell me a bit more about the sound change from the stock Mesa speakers to Webers? I am really thinking of putting Webers in both my Lonestar and my silverface Vibrolux (the original speakers in this amp suck for guitar).

Mark

 

[djw]

I couldn't see a listing for prices and options for headshells on the Saxon website. What did you pay?

Also, can anyone tell me a bit more about the sound change from the stock Mesa speakers to Webers? I am really thinking of putting Webers in both my Lonestar and my silverface Vibrolux (the original speakers in this amp suck for guitar).

Hey Mark,

Tim at Saxon is very responsive to email, so you should ping him -- it was a custom job, but he's very affordable. It was around $150 for the shell.

As far as Webers go, I used to run a 50w Blue Dog Ceramic in my combo, and it sounded pretty good -- very clear & crisp, tight low end and punchy. Webers have a reputation for being very "accurate" speakers though, which can make some of their handling of overdrive a little spiky, whereas less-accurate speakers tend to round off the rough edges. I can't say this is definitely true for all Webers, but I did find with my Blue Dog that I missed the rounded response of the C90, so I switched back. Also, I run 6V6s in my LSC, and the Blue Dog wasn't really happy unless it had 6L6s behind it, so I had some volume issues to work with. I hear the Weber California is good with the LSC, but the Weber site claims this speaker is not good with OD tones either. They recommend the Chicago, which I'm curious about. The only other experience I have is with the 12F150, which is a Jensen replacement and is in my old Deluxe Reverb, and it sounds great.

 

[djw]

PS Oh yeah, you should also communicate with the Weber people, they're usually really responsive and helpful too.