Sunday, September 22, 2024

WHARFEDALE: W12 / EG - Vintage English Guitar Speaker

This speaker had been sitting on Gumtree for months, so I thought I may as well give it a try.  I know that Wharfedale doesn't have the best reputation among some speaker aficionados, but a lot of people seem to do just fine with them, and it did tick a few boxes for me: It was cheap, made in England in the sixties and it was pulled from a Vase Split Sound, which is a very rare amplifier from my hometown (so rare that I've never seen one).

The Split Sound would have been pretty fancy back in the day, so I'm guessing that this must have been considered a better than average speaker - at least by the folks at Vase, or the person that bought it.

Anways, I'll find out soon enough myself, once I load up into an amp and give it a run.

12" speaker
Ceramic magnet
15 watt RMS, 30 peak
10 - 15 ohms
Maybe from 1966
40hz to 17khz which is very hi-fi for a guitar speaker

Wharfdale vintage 12" speaker guitar amplifier

I think it is inscribed   I/W12 EG  and what looks like  5/66  with chinagraph pencil.

Wharfdale vintage 12" speaker guitar amplifier

It has a strange green felt surround that is starting to deteriorate a little, but it's holding on OK.  As you can see, there were a few cracks / tears / small punctures in the cone.  The damage is small and localised, so not a concern.  The rest looks and feels very solid.

Yes it has a 'whizzer' cone, which is something a few speakers used to have to try and extend the upper frequency range.

Wharfdale vintage 12" speaker guitar amplifier

I really like the big speaker wire connections, although I do prefer good solder joins myself for reliability.

Wharfdale vintage 12" speaker guitar amplifier


The speaker cab instructions are interesting - who has speaker cabs rocking sand filled walls these days?  That's some serious deadening / mass going on there.

Wharfdale guitar speakers w12 EG specs


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