I might be guilty of overkill in this department.
(big grin)
I've long been amazed by the crappy/cheap speaker cables some players use! In
particular, I used to play with a guy who was using a 100 watt tube amp, and
connected his speaker cab with a tiny little cable that couldn't have been more
than 18 gauge.
Think about how much current that amp would be trying to shove down that little
wire, should you ever really turn it up!
I did an experiment back when I was still playing my JCM 800 (50 watt). I
cranked it up once while using a tiny little cable. After playing about 15-20
minutes at *high* volume, the speaker cable was actually slightly warm to the
touch. That suggested to me that it was not big enough to do the job and I was
wasting part of my amps output, as heat.
I switched to a heavier cable...and really do think the amp sounded tighter and
chunkier, with better low end response. The thicker cable did not get warm,
either.
Ever since that day (20 years ago?), I've always used heavy cable...typically
12--14 ga. Yes, it's difficult to work with... but that's what the big 1/4"
plugs are for, eh? I usually use 14 ga inside my cabs, too.
Is this overkill? Maybe. But my theory is that the easier it is for the amp
to push the current through the wire to the speakers, the better it is for your
amp and your tone. You might be able to use thin speaker wire for smaller
solid state amps....but I wouldn't do it with any tube amp over 20 watts or so.
My 2 cents...
Mike
P.S. I also get a kick out of sound guys who connect a 2 kilowatt amp (or
more!) to their subs via a 1/4" plug. Funny....sort of.
Post by GripI was thinking 14-16? I'm wiring 4 25 watt 10" 8 ohm speakers in a combo
amp. Amp is 60 watts. Looking at all my other old amps....well they all
vary. I know anything will work, but never hurts to ask for other opinions.
Thanks guys