Panama Cab Sound Sample - Thoughts & Opinions

RVA

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OK, so this cab & speaker setup is unlike any I have had before. Sometimes it sounds crisp, sometimes boomy, sometimes flubby, and sometimes ice-picky. It is definitely is NOT warm. It breaks up early. The speakers are marketed as having a British tone, as follows:

Big Ben 10 Drivers: This British voiced driver is designed to deliver low end punch with thick rich mids and mellow but well defined high end. Based on our original British Ceramic/Dark British Ceramic with a modified upper mid profile for a modern British voicing perfect for blues rock and metal.

So here is a sound sample with an H-S-H Tom Anderson, the Panama Loco head @ 15W with flat EQ and some reverb and delay pedals. That's it. At no time do I use ANY distortion pedals. Here are the clips

- Neck (volume 10)
- Bridge: When I hit the bridge, all that breakup is at the same settings as the neck. I then vary the volume to show how it cleans up. This was not played loud.
- Middle - same settings, clear as a bell
- Bridge with a boost in the FX loop and more volume by throttling doen the volume pedal. I did this just to show how easily and how much this breaks up. Again, it was not played very loud (my wife is home!)

Panama Cab BB


Thoughts on the tone? Do you like it? Do need to get used to them, or would you pull them?

Thanks for listening and any comments
 
It seems "thin" but could just be a combination of lower volume and the recording method?
 
very odd-- if anything my Panama 1x12 is "dark" and bass heavy -- the total opposite of thin----this may sound stupid but---are the cones able to move in that rig? it looks almost like they are right against the metal screen
 
Sounds Hollow and Tinny...and yes Thin...sorry, but nothing I heard was good in that clip. Just MHO
 
I would crank it way up and see if you can vibrate them loose...
I cranked it earlier for a while. I do not think it is a break-in issue. I should mention that Tom Anderson pickups have a "jangly" tone, but I hear something thin beyond that as well.
 
plug in som e serious HUMBUCKEROOS and crank that thang.......tomorrow-- after you send the misses to the store with a shiny new credit card--- should buy you a few hours at least ;)
I mean before she realizes its only got 100.00 on it and drives back from the mall to tan your hide .......not that I have EVER DONE THAT --- ever......nope.....(my first marriage was a hoot--- like playing Russian roulette with Hitler in Hell--- but a HOOT!)
 
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Sounds like much more than a pickup problem. It sounds very hollow to me. It almost sounds like the amp is not powering the speakers right? Sounds correct through your old cab?

Hard to explain...are you sure you solved your impedance issue?
 
Sounds like much more than a pickup problem. It sounds very hollow to me. It almost sounds like the amp is not powering the speakers right? Sounds correct through your old cab?

Hard to explain...are you sure you solved your impedance issue?
It is pushing through an 8 ohm output on the amp. The cab is defiinitely wired at 16 ohm ( 2 x 8 ohm in series). I guess that could be it.
 
From the webs...

" When you run the amp with a 16 ohm load on the 8 ohm tap, the amp is 'lightly loaded' as Roger Modjesky likes to say. The problem is that the transformer will 'ring' (harmonic distortion due to overshooting for those more technically minded) unless it is loaded correctly."
 
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A higher load (higher impedance speaker) offers less stress to the power tubes (less current flow) but it's harder on the output transformer with increased flyback voltage.

Any mismatch (high or low) will cut efficiency and reduce power output.
 
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From the webs...

" When you run the amp with a 16 ohm load on the 8 ohm tap, the amp is 'lightly loaded' as Roger Modjesky likes to say. The problem is that the transformer will 'ring' (harmonic distortion due to overshooting for those more technically minded) unless it is loaded correctly."
That sounds right! Thanks!
 
A higher load (higher impedance speaker) offers less stress to the power tubes (less current flow) but it's harder on the output transformer with increased flyback voltage.

Any mismatch (high or low) will cut efficiency and reduce power output.
I definitely hear the difference with the 16ohms, apart from the 2 amp's tonal differences. WHat do you think?
 
Case 1: running a 16 ohm speaker with an 8 ohm amp output

With this combination, the voltage at the speaker output will rise, while the current will almost halve. The power will drop, although you probably won’t notice it too much, as this combination will likely increase the mids in your tone. So long as you don’t overdo it – make it a rule of thumb not to connect a speaker with more than double the output impedance of that of the amp – this method can be quite useful, as you can effectively boost the mids in a cab that might otherwise be lacking in this department.
 
Side by side that first one sounds even worse than when I first listened...

Where did Adrian go??? We need another set of ears or two...
 
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