i just received my et65s need to wire the cab up temporarily with some 16 gauge wire i got from radio shack, cause i am waiting for some internal speaker cable from lava cables....
I used some female spade connectors from radio shack but they are really loose....ie, just touch them and they fall off. what is the size of the terminals on the speaker? Is there a female spade connector that will fit snugly? if not should i just drop some solder onto the connector just to keep it from falling off until the other speaker wires come in?
no one???
just looking for some suggestions.....
I know soldering is best but would hate to solder everything and then have to redo the wiring when my speaker cable comes in which should be in the next couple of days.
also what gauge speaker wire is recommended? the speaker wire on order is 11gauge.
I have a gig tonight that i need to use the cabinet for....
any thoughts.
Anyone know what size spade connectors to buy? There were lots in the store wasn't sure which is generally closest to what I'll find on stock Peavey, CRATE and Celestion speakers (which are most of mine). I need to make a longer internal cable for my combo amps so I can easily use them as cabs when there is a head on top.
I just went through something similar but it was more for easy in and out for comparing speakers. The bag of female ends I bought from radio shack had multiple sizes. I did not notice this at first so you might have just grabbed an end that was too large.
Most off-the-shelf standard female spade-lug connectors are not exactly the same size as actual speaker connectors ... and yes, they are certainly a little loose! If you don't want to solder, then feel free to use your pliers to crimp the connectors down a little, which should tighten them up enough to get you through a gig. Then, when you do the final wiring on the cab - use some real speaker lug connectors. Good luck!
In my humble opinion, eleven guage wire in a guitar speaker enclosure seems like a bit of overkill.
I've been inside quite a few cabs, and 18 guage wire is common, with a few of the "better" ones having 16 guage and the lower-end cabs (and many combos) being wired with 20 guage wire.
Even dedicated Speakon-to-Speakon high-current spraker cables aren't commonly available in a bigger size than 12 guage.
I'd just use 14 or 16 guage wiring. Good quality, poly or Teflon insulated stuff. I'd also solder the wires rather than use spade lugs / terminals. Solder (properly done) doesn't come loose in transport or in the middle of a gig.
Just my two cents.