421H Altec

[rhardman]

anybody try this in an open back cab???

[rooster]

It's a 15" bass speaker, right? Probably cuts off at 5K or lower so it might not be the best for guitar. The specs are on line somewhere. I use an EVL15 in an open cab and it sounds great, but it goes to 6.5K

[RCGPNY1]

Keep in mind that Altec(and JBL)speakers are designed to be used in ported enclosures...it's power handling is about 1/2 in an open back cab. Since it has the aluminum dust cap it has more highs than you would think. In fact I never liked Altecs for guitar as they have a peak caused by that dust cap...you can hear what I'm talking about in Randy Rhodes tone. BTW ,Rooster the EVM is at least 10db down at the freq. you quoted.

[rooster]

Oops, your're right, 6K.

[rhardman]

I was aware of the 50% drop in power handling. Most of the time I run a 5 or 10 watt amp. not an issue.

I found the spec sheet on the Lansing Heritage site…and saw that HF spike caused by the dust cap. very wild!

[David Root]

I didn't know that about Altecs, but have been using an Altec 417B in an Avatar 1x12 open back cab for some time now.

Dumble liked them, especially the Type II ceramic magnet 417.

I keep meaning to put a paper circle over the grille cloth to tame that dust cap, it is indeed a bit peaky.

[RCGPNY1]

The thing that strikes many guitarists is the pure efficiency of speakers like Altecs, JBL, ElectroVoice and Gauss. Many are many db more efficient accross a wider bandwith than say Jensens,Celestion and a good portion of Emminence guitar speakers.They are also flatter in response..less peaky. It makes clean playing more revealing somehow, but much more difficult to dial-in for dirty tones. We find "flat response" doesnt really lend itself to overdrive tones.

[Teleguy61]

I find that JBL Ds, with kind of a darkish amp, work best with OD tones or pedals.