AMPLIFIER KITS
First, you need to isolate where in the circuit the noise is coming from. This can be done by just pulling a tube in the preamp starting with V1 and listening. If the hum persists, just keep pulling the tubes till it goes away. Each tube serves a certain circuit in the amp. If you pull a tube and the hum goes away, it’s usually isolated to the circuit feeding the tube or immediately after that particular tube. If you pull all of the preamp tubes and the hum is still there, then the issue is in the output section or power supply. This is a quick way to narrow down the source.
You will want to do preliminary checks of the power transformer BEFORE installing your tubes. Doing so can wreck your tube (s) and/or the power transformer. BE CAREFUL tube amps have lethal voltages in their circuits! Check your power transformer secondary voltages first. When these are found to be within spec, then install your tubes. Using your multimeter, start checking the voltages across the amp. This will generally tell you if there is a wiring discrepancy in the amp somewhere. If all of your voltages look good and you still have no signal then start working the process in reverse. You should hear a noise through the speaker when testing your output tube voltages, usually on pin 3 (Anode or “plate”). If not, there may be an issue with your output section, possibly missing cathode ground or a bias issue. If you do get a sound, then going backwards, check the voltage of your phase inverter or driver tube. You should hear a reaction when touching the tube. If not, look at your PI circuit. You do this all the way back to V1 checking the circuit that particular tube services, right back to your input jacks. Of course, you may need to get more in depth to find issues sometimes, but this is a good quick check for signal going through the amp.
Here is a list of Mojotone dealers that put their own twist on the kits by offering full support. If you purchase a kit from one of these dealers, you should be able to take advantage of their incredible tech support team. Dealers, if you want to be on this list, let us know which models you are supporting.
KIT SOURCES USING OUR PARTS WITH TECH SUPPORT
Whether it has to do with availability of certain materials or reexamining a bit of electronic functionality, there are minor changes in all of our kits.
Difficulty and time of build will vary from builder to builder. Those with more experience may find themselves finishing an amp kit even more quickly than expected, while others may take a number of additional hours to finish up. We have compiled a list of build times (below) based on the average time it takes an intermediate to experienced builder to complete a given kit. We have also included what we feel to be each amp's difficulty level on a scale 1 to 5.
Tweed Style Amps
- Tweed Champ: 1 / Build time: 4 hrs
- Tweed Princeton: 1 / Build time: 4 hrs
- Tweed Deluxe: 2 / Build time: 5 hrs
- Tweed Vibrolux: 2 / Build Time: 5 hrs
- Tweed Bassman: 3 / Build time: 6 hrs
- Tweed Pro: 3 / Build time: 6 hrs
- Tweed Super: 3 / Build time: 6 hrs
- Tweed Twin Low Power: 3 / Build time: 6 hrs
- Tweed Twin High Power: 4 / Build time: 7 hrs
British Amps
- 18 Watt: 3 / Build time: 6 hrs
- British 45: 3 / Build time: 6 hrs
- 100 Watt: 4 / Build time: 7 hrs
- 800 style: 4 / Build time: 7 hrs
Blackface Style
- Blackface Vibro Champ: 3 / Build time: 5 hrs
- Blackface Princeton Reverb: 2 / Build time: 5 hrs
- Blackface Deluxe Reverb: 4 / Build time: 7 hrs
- Blackface Twin Reverb: 5 / Build time: 8 hrs
- Blackface Super Reverb: 5 / Build time: 8 hrs
- Blackface Bassman: 3 / Build time: 5 hrs
Special Design
- Mojotone 1484: 3 / Build time: 6 hrs
- Mojotone Bedroom Amp: 2 / Build time: 4 hrs
- Mojotone 50W Bass Amp Kit: 3 / Build Time: 6 hrs
Our wiring diagrams are meant to be used as sets of general guidelines. Lead dress, grounding schemes, and wiring techniques are all likely to vary from builder to builder, and these things happen to be paramount when it comes to creating a perfect replica.
Additional research is recommended if you are looking to make a true-to-form perfect replica of a vintage amplifier.
Mojotone's amp kit design team recommend building the kit using our supplied components, this is especially helpful in the event tech support is required.
You can select variations to the kit from the drop down menu, located on the appropriate kit page.
If you change any other parts, it is no longer considered a kit, at which point you should create a list of the parts you need using the bill of materials.
"Export Version" refers to a power transformer that accommodates various voltages such as 100v 60hz, 120v 60hz, 200v 50hz., 220v 50hz, and 230+240v 50hz. Export transformers are typically only needed when building or repairing an amplifier for use outside of the United States.
What we offer is a reproduction vintage amplifier kit. These are not meant to compete with the assembly line, PC board amps that larger manufacturers are selling. If you've ever played a vintage hand-wired amp, you have likely noticed that they have a bit of "magic" to their sound. We believe the "magic" comes from the sum of the parts used to build a true vintage hand-wired amp; i.e., quality components, hand-wired turret board or fiberboard, and a solid pine or baltic birch cabinet.
Small components can make a big difference in tone as well. Everything we provide in our kits is as close as possible to the original components that Fender or Marshall® used in the 50's and 60's. We are not claiming that Mojotone Kits sound better than anything else, we are simply trying to provide a quality amplifier with quality components that is as close to the real thing as you can possibly get.
We stock and supply a wide variety of capacitors:
Our Fender style kits include Sprague and TAD electrolytic caps, Mojotone Dijon coupling caps, silver mica for small value tone caps, ceramic disc for vibrato oscillators, and JJ/Tesla Can Caps.
Our British style kits come with the same array of caps but instead of Mojotone Dijon coupling caps, we supply Mallory 150s.
We supply carbon comp resistors to be used throughout, except for the power stage cathode resistors, which are cement, and the power supply resistors, which are flameproof metal film or metal oxide.
Our transformers are custom-built in the USA by Heyboer Transformers. In an effort to achieve the most accurate reproduction transformers that match the originals as closely as possible, we located all of the original vintage transformers for our kits and sent them to Heyboer to be completely reverse-engineered.
All of our Tweed and Blackface style amp kits use cloth covered wire throughout the entire amp. The fiberboard and components use 22-gauge solid cloth covered wire, while the wiring across the tube sockets is 18-gauge solid cloth covered wire.
The British 800 and our Mojotone 50 Watt Bass Amp use 20-gauge PVC-coated wire throughout the entire build.
Our speaker wiring harnesses use 18-gauge stranded cloth covered wire.
We chose to omit the tube shields, as they can sometimes cause a preamp tube to be somewhat harmonic in combo amplifiers. Another reason we left the tube shields off is that many users like to see the tubes glow, and it allows the tube to operate at a cooler temperature, prolonging tube life.
AMPLIFIER MODIFICATIONS
Fuses are designed to protect over-current, not over-voltage. Therefore as long as the fuse amperage is sized appropriately and as long as your fuse voltage meets or exceeds your application voltage the fuse will safely protect.
The best way to remember this, is the voltage listed on the fuse is the maximum rated voltage the fuse can be subjected to. You can never apply a fuse whose max voltage rating is smaller than the application voltage. You can replace a 125V fuse with a 250V fuse of equal amperage as long as the application voltage is 250V or less. However, the reverse is not true. You can not replace a 250V fuse with a 125V fuse of equal amperage if the application voltage exceeds the 125V.
Speakers (Most bang for the buck) - They can have more effect on your sound than anything else and cost far less to change out than anything but tubes. In certain situations, you can double your volume just by changing speaker types. Nothing else in your amp can do that for you.
Tubes - Old tubes can slowly degrade your sound to the point where you are no longer getting any performance out of your amplifier. Different types of tubes do have different sounds so play around.
Output Transformer - This tends to fall more into the good OT or bad OT category rather than the different flavors for different people category. A good transformer company will make a good transformer for any application. Getting under the hood of the minutia of transformer building is not a task for someone without materials and mathematical data. Bad OT's from China tend to sound about 60% as good as US made products. Tweaking beyond that might yield 3% change, is very expensive, and isn't easy for those without the aforementioned experience.
Cabinet - An expensive change, but one with a provable outcome. A good finger-jointed non-particle-board cabinet will sound at least 15% better than a butt-jointed press board cab.
Capacitor/Resistor Tweaks - These mods involve lots of experimenting, so it's best to either pay someone and trust them to do it, or acquire the skills and patience you will need to find your tonal favorites. You can greatly effect the gain and tone shaping of your amp, but usually you will not be able to improve things more than about 3% without vastly changing the usefulness and versatility of your amp.
Power Transformer - Usually only changed to replace bad or burnt originals. Also can be changed to accommodate circuit modifications, such as tube rectifier or increased/decreased B+ voltages. There is a tonal component to your power supply but it is very subtle.
TRANSFORMERS
No, the transformer is not bad. This is normal. Transformers and speakers alike are measured in impedance, not DC resistance. Impedance is the sum of all electrical forces such as resistance, reactance, capacitance, inductance and other properties acting in a conductor. Typically if you read DCR in an 8ohm speaker, you can see a range of 6 to 7 ohms. In a 16ohm speaker, 9 to 14 ohms and in a 4ohm speaker 2.5 to 3.5ohms.
Most transformers are wound with one coil on top of another. Especially on small transformers, you can have one half of a coil, for instance a hv secondary coil, wound on top of another coil with a center tap. For clarity, let's call the 2 parts of this coil the start, or inner coil, and the finish (after center tap) the outer coil. When you wind what needs to be a “balanced” coil where both sides of the coil need to be within 1% of each other, you need to wind the outer coil with slightly more wire. Why? Because the further the coil winding is away from the core, it gains inefficiencies or loss. To compensate for this loss you need to add a little more wire. The higher the wire resistance, the higher the coil impedance. This is true on all vintage audio transformers. If you had the 2 halves of the coil wound to the same DCR, you would have an imbalance in your coil impedance which relates to a voltage imbalance.
No, most multimeters will show any resistance of less than 50ohms DCR as direct continuity. So, because most filament secondaries are very low resistance (<10ohms) you will show both legs of the filament coil shorted to ground. This also goes for your high voltage secondaries in most power transformers (usually less that 50ohms per coil side) and output transformer secondaries which can be less than 2 ohms.
VACUUM TUBES
Generally speaking, yes you can. However, this depends on the circuit. Some will say for instance you can throw a 6L6 in a Tweed Champ or Princeton and it will add more power. This is not necessarily the case. Unless you modify these circuits to accommodate the 6L6 with different grid and screen resistors, the amp will sound fairly flat. That’s because the 6L6 needs not only different voltages for your grid, screen and cathodes, you also need an output transformer that is compatible not only with primary impedance, but with increased power handling capabilities. As long as you keep your output power of the tube dialed back, you can use the 6V6 OT, but remember your OT secondaries will need to be changed to accommodate the different OT primary properties. (Remember, any impedance change you do to an OT primary or secondary, it will be reflected in the other winding).
Yes, in most cases, normally there would be no circuit modification needed to swap these tubes. Most of your popular preamp tubes like 12AY7, 12AT7, 12AU7, 12AX7, 5751 etc. all have the same pinout. The only time you run into an issue is if the 12AX7 (highest gain factor in this family of preamp tubes) causes extra noise in the preamp. Older Fender amps will use a 12AY7 in the first gain stage to cut down noise, hum and oscillation issues. Adding a higher gain tube can let these problems manifest in different ways. This is also true for reverb circuits. If you have too much gain being fed into a reverb or tremolo circuit, it can cause some strange things to happen in the signal chain. Also, using a different tube can draw more or less current which can cause some power issues down the line for other tubes. But, regardless it is fun to experiment with!
There is a lot of information floating around on the net, some good, some bad. At Mojotone, we are not in the business of telling you to change out your tubes for one reason or another. However, you should be aware of some common signs that it might be time to change tubes...
- Output is weak or severely unbalanced
This one is tricky because, in older amps, it can also be due to the output transformer. But, if only due to complexity, the tube change makes sense as a first step. - Tubes show signs of overheating/darkening of the glass
This can also be a sign of OT damage or decay or overbiasing. With any output tube change the bias needs to be checked but with this one it is especially important. - Arcing over
Make sure and check the tube sockets and screen grid resistors if this happens. Usually accompanied by B+ or mains fuse failure. - Bad tone
This one is highly subjective and if your output is not lowered it is likely that your tone issues lie elsewhere - the preamp tubes may make more sense in this case. - Looking for a different sound
Again, pre-amp tubes are probably a better choice for this but if you have some experience and have heard a lot of tubes, the output section can be a place to tweak your amp. - Cracked glass
No choice here. Pony up and get the best replacements you can!
Things that do not directly indicate time for an output tube change:
- Blue light in the tubes that pulses with your playing
When tubes are flashed, the residual impurities in the vacuum are more or less removed. The less perfect the vacuum, the more blue pulsing you will see. By itself, this indicates almost nothing. - Dirty tubes
Wait until they are cool and clean them. Your amp will run cooler and love you for it. - Humming, noise, hiss, etc
None of these directly indicate power tube failure. If you don't know for sure and your tubes are relatively new anyway (say 1 or 2 years of moderate playing) then taking the amp to a tech may be less expensive in the long run. Hum, for instance, could come from out of balance on the output section. But that could be coming from a problem with biasing or the OT or it might have nothing to do with the output section and might be a crossed heater wire in the preamp or an unbalanced hum rejection circuit for the heaters, failing filter caps or any other number of things.
Fender Amps
- (Most Fender 6V6 Amps) Nominal Output 20-30 watts - 18-30ma
- (Fender 5E3 Tweed Deluxe or equivalent) Nominal Output 15-20 watts - 35-50ma
- (Fender Tweed 6l6 Amps) Nominal Output 40-80 watts - 45-80ma
- (Fender Black Face style 6l6 Amps) Nominal Output 50 Watts - 25-40ma
Marshall® Amps
- Marshall® 50 Watt Amp (EL34's) - 25-42ma
- Marshall® JTM45 (KT66's) - 30-40ma
- Marshall® 100 Watt (EL34's) - 25-40ma
- Marshall® EL84 amps - 20-30ma
CAPACITORS
Changing the type and value of capacitor used in your guitar's wiring harness can have an effect on the overall sound of your guitar. We have compiled a list of sound characteristics for each different type of capacitor, but please remember that all changes to tone are subjective and each user could understandably derive different sound traits from any component change.
Ceramic Disc - Flat sounding, slightly harsh or edgy.
Foil Film (Mojotone Dijon) - Transparent and smooth. Our most popular cap for amps and guitars.
Oil Filled (Mojotone Vitamin T) - Slightly darker and smoother.
Metalized Film (Orange Drop) - Flat sounding with a little more warmth and transparency than ceramic disc.
In regards to cap values, this really depends on how much and how quickly you want the treble to roll off. The higher the value, the more treble will be rolled off.
We have received numerous inquiries on the Dijon caps as to what to expect from them so we decided to give out some info on how we came to carry them.
The original project was to either manufacture Mallory 150 style caps that looked like the original mustards used in early British amps, or to replicate the manufacturing of them in a standard looking package, or if we were really lucky both. The manufacturer we went with said they could replicate the build process but not the look, and that the reason more caps are not made this way is; part of the process requires human hands as part of the manufacturing. With that we had samples made.
Normally first run samples have issues that have to be worked out, this was not the case with the Dijons. We sent them to many OEMs and received rave reviews. We left it to them on the sound tests - but we did decide to cut a few caps open and have a look. The pictures show 3 .022 caps. A Sprague Orange drop, a Mallory 150, and a Mojotone Dijon. What may or may not be obvious from the pictures are the following observations.
The Sprague has heavy plastic insulation layers that are thicker than the aluminum foil used.
The Mallory 150 being a metal film has brittle layers of plastic that have been coated with a metal coating.
The Dijons have a much more elegant build. Even layers of film and foil result in a cap that when cut apart fans out nicely.
So with that said you may still be asking yourself "why try these caps?" Our only answer is "why not". They are not extremely expensive and if you like them as much as most people do, you will have another tone tool in your arsenal.
Some people want to know which side of a capacitor is connected to the outside layer of foil, so they can connect it to the low impedance side of the circuit. In the case of Vitamin T capacitors, the outside layer is the case, which is visibly connected to one of the leads.
Unfortunately there is no way to determine which lead is connected to the outer layer of foil with our Dijon caps. In regards to the direction of the text, this should never indicate the direction of the leads as the cap may enter the printing device in any orientation, thus making the print inconsistent.
Sprague Atom Capacitors are a historical product line which has served well for vintage amplifier reproduction and repair. During the past 10 years or so they were listed as "not suggested for new designs." According to Sprague, this is not because they intend to discontinue them at any time, but in any case, the price has doubled and we have decided to move on to other sources.
Our solution is to work with Tube Amp Doctor's capacitor line. As we run out of stock of each Atom type, it will be replaced by the comparable TAD capacitor. The physical size of the TADs will be smaller and the price will be somewhat less, but the operation will be the same. Since the spring of 2007 all TAD caps have weathered the changeover and all reports of replacement use have been satisfactory.
REVERB
The best way to find out what reverb tank fits your amp, is to locate the manufacturer number stamped on the top or side. This may require you to remove the tank.
Locate the 7-digit alphanumeric code on your tank; e.g., 4AB3C1B. Once you have this code, simply browse our reverb tank selection until you find a match.
DIGIT #1 - REVERB TYPE
- 8 = short tank, three springs
- 4 = long tank, two springs
- 9 = long tank, three springs
DIGIT #2 - INPUT IMPEDANCE
- A = 8 Ohm
- B = 150 Ohm
- C = 200 Ohm
- D = 250 Ohm
- E = 600 Ohm
- F = 1475 Ohm
DIGIT #3 - OUTPUT IMPEDANCE
- A = 500 Ohm
- B = 2250 Ohm
- C = 10000 Ohm
DIGIT #4 - DECAY TIME
- 1 = Short (1.2 to 2.0 sec)
- 2 = Medium (1.75 to 3.0 sec)
- 3 = Long (2.75 to 4.0 sec)
DIGIT #5 - CONNECTORS
- A = Input Grounded / Output Grounded
- B = Input Grounded / Output Insulated
- C = Input Insulated / Output Grounded
- D = Input Insulated / Output Insulated
- E = No Outer Channel
DIGIT #6 - LOCKING DEVICES
- 1 = No Lock
DIGIT #7 - MOUNTING PLANE
- A = Horizontal Open Side Up
- B = Horizontal Open Side Down
- C = Vertical Connectors Up
- D = Vertical Connectors Down
- E = On End Input Up
- F = On End Output Up
SPEAKERS
Using different speakers in a single cabinet is totally fine as long as the impedance of both speakers match and they are wired to the correct impedance for your amp. Many people use different combinations of speakers in order to mix the qualities of each speaker.
In a nut shell, a speaker with a higher power rating will be "cleaner" than one with a lower rating. This is to say that there will be less "speaker distortion" in the higher powered speaker. When we're talking about distortion in amps, obviously there are a number of factors which come into play; e.g. power tube distortion, preamp tube distortion, and speaker distortion. With a higher wattage speaker displaying less speaker distortion, one will hear more of the power and preamp tube breakup. With that said, there are also many other factors that make up the overall "tone quality" of a speaker, eg. voice coil size, paper type, efficiency, etc. All of these things can have as much or more effect on tone than just the power rating alone.
There is also the concept of how a particular speaker interacts with your amp and your specific playing style. Given that there are so many deciding factors, it is always best to try out as many speakers as you possibly can. This way you will be able to determine which kinds of breakup you prefer and which speakers pair best with your amp, guitar, and playing style.
Mojotone introduced a line of speakers back in the 1990's that showcased the perfect marriage of versatility and affordable performance; below is a list of those speakers. If you want the same quality and value today, try one of our current production Mojotone speakers.
- Mojotone Black Beauty BB10G
10", 20oz. Ceramic magnet, 70 cnt watts/140 pk watts, 8 or 16 ohm, 97db eff., 1 1/2" Kapton voice coil - Mojotone Black Beauty BB12G
12", 46oz. Ceramic magnet, 100 cnt watts/200 pk watts, 8 or 16 ohm, 101db eff., 2" Kapton voice coil - Mojotone 8" M815
1" voice coil, 15 watt, 15 oz. magnet, 4 ohm - Mojotone 10" Alnico MP10R
1" paper voice coil, 30 watt, 6 oz magnet, 8 & 16 ohm - Mojotone 10" MP10RHD
1" kapton voice coil, 40 watt, 6 oz magnet, 8 ohm - Mojotone 10" M10VT32
2 " voice coil, 100 watt, 30 oz magnet, 32 ohm - Mojotone 10" M10RR
1.5" voice coil, 50 watt, 20 oz magnet, 8 & 16 ohm - Mojotone 12" Alnico MP12R
1" paper voice coil, 20 watt, 8 ohm - Mojotone 12" Alnico MP12RHD
1" kapton voice coil, 30 watt, 8 ohm - Mojotone 12" M121660
2" voice coil, 60 watt, 20 oz magnet, 8 ohm - Mojotone 12" M12B
1.375" voice coil, 80 watt, 38 oz magnet, 8 & 16 ohm - Mojotone 12" M12V30
1.5" voice coil, 50 watt, 30 oz magnet, 8 & 16 ohm - Mojotone 15" MJ15B Bass
2" voice coil, 100 watt, 38 oz magnet, 8 ohm - Mojotone 15" MJ15G Guitar
2.5" voice coil, 150 watt, 56 oz magnet, 8 ohm
In electrical engineering, impedance measures how easily a circuit conducts current when a voltage runs through it. Measured in Ohms, impedance is a way of telling you how much of the voltage introduced at one end will really make it to the other end. Impedance depends on other qualities of electricity, such as resistance, reactance, inductance, and capacitance.
The simplest kind of impedance happens with direct current, or DC, electricity. In this case, it's the same thing as resistance. All that gets in the way of electrons making it through the circuit is the circuit's resistance to the flow of current. Resistance usually takes the form of leaked energy that gets diverted from its intended pathway and creates extra heat.
With alternating current, or AC, impedance is much more complicated. The best way to understand how this characteristic works is to use an extended metaphor of freeway traffic. The whole point of a good freeway system is to transport people in vehicles, the way that a circuit carries electrons. The system might become less efficient if there are fewer people on the freeway, too many people, or too few lanes. There could even be bumps or obstacles in the road that cause cars to slow down, or lanes that accidentally route traffic away from its destination. Electrons face similar impediments.
Impedance is determined by resistance and another value, reactance. Reactance takes into account opposing forces and frequency; in other words, cars headed in the other direction and how many cars move past the same point at one time. Of course, more people will get to their destination if there are more net cars moving in one direction past a certain point, analogous to the effect frequency has on electron's energy. Two elements of reactance, inductance and capacitance, correspond to frequency. Inductance is in proportion to frequency while capacitance is inversely proportional to frequency.
Here at Mojo, in regards to amps, we use the Impedance rating on different items we sell, such as a pickup’s impedance (which is AC voltage), power and output amp transformer, and of course speakers. Here is a simple explanation of the transformer impedance:
Generally, there are 2 “sides” to the transformers we sell, known as the primary side, which handles the “input” or the line voltage to be transformed in the transformer. The other is the secondary, which has the voltage that is transformed to be fed, via different coils, to different parts of the amp.
Please note that with the transformers we sell, the “transformation”, in a power transformer, is taking the 120V from the wall basically a low voltage- high current supply and making a high voltage low-current supply to feed various voltages throughout the amp. With output transformers, it does the exact opposite. It takes a high voltage low-current DC voltage via rectification (usually known as B+), and makes a low voltage -high current feed for the speaker to translate what the amp has amplified.
Now, that being said, the impedances that relate to the output transformer primaries and secondary’s has to do with what is feeding the transformer (tubes) and what the transformer feeds (speaker). If you notice, different amps use different tubes, and those tubes have different power and signal input requirements, e.g. plate resistance, for the type of amp you have such as cathode biased Tweeds and Vox, fixed biased Blackface and Marshalls, Ultra-linear Silverfaces, etc. and the multitude of different tubes you can use for the amp.
One last word…. About speaker impedance….. people generally relate the impedance and resistance of the speaker voice coil as to what the meter tells them. Everyone has noticed that an 8 ohm speaker is actually 6.6~6.8 ohms, which is the actual resistance, not impedance of the voice coil. Most speaker companies rate speakers by Nominal impedance, not resistance. Which is, again, is the total of the resistance, plus reactance, capacitance, and inductance.
See sample of a Celestion G12M below, noting the resistance vs. impedance.
- Chassis type-Pressed steel
- DC resistance, Re- Available 6.7Ω or 13.1Ω
- Frequency range- 75-5000Hz
- Magnet type- Ceramic
- Magnet weight- 35oz, 0.99kg
- Nominal diameter- 12", 305mm
- Nominal impedance- Available 8Ω or 16Ω
- Power rating 25Wrms
- Resonance frequency, Fs- 75Hz
- Sensitivity- 98dB
- Voice coil diameter- 1.75", 44.5mm
- Voice coil material- Round copper
The idea for the BV series came when Celestion moved much of their operations to the far east and began sourcing what we considered critical parts there as well. To our surprise, the Asian-produced Celestion's have turned out to be excellent speakers but we often hear complaints of customers having cone cry issues. We sourced the original soft parts (cone, spider, dust cover) from the correct British manufacturer and then had our own baskets and magnet assemblies tooled in the US. The result is an American-made speaker with a British sound that is unmistakable.
We did a lot of testing with some very demanding players and amp builders - mostly the kind who like their British stacks and Gibson Les Paul's. We weren't done until they were certain the tone was as good, if not better than their vintage equipment and the incidence of cone cry was substantially reduced. Since Mojotone introduced the BV series, every other speaker manufacture has attempted to do the same thing - including the most obvious one! Those who have had a chance to try them, all agree the BV series stands out.
SWITCHES & JACKS
People use "switching" and "shorting" interchangeably to describe jacks such as the J12A and the J1.
All Switchcraft brand toggle switches are pre-tinned with solder from the factory. Don't worry, we would never sell you a used part unless specified.