Conference napalm::guitar

>    Now the questions begin. Does anyone know if low wattage 10" Celestions
>    are available (25-50 watt)? 
    
    Yes they are available.  The Celestion 10s you normally find around are
    35wt rated.  
                 
>     Would using 4X10" in an open back
>    configuration give me more volume but preserve the tone? 
    
    I don't know, can't help ya there.
    
>    Are the
>    dimensions critical (I would like to build it as small as possible) 
    
    I've read that the dimensions on open back cabinets are not very
    critical.
    
    An old friend of mine used to have one of those old 2x10 Vox cabs many
    years ago.  He bought it cheap, unloaded.  Don't know if he ever ended
    up getting any speakers for it or not.  
    
    Greg

    About the only advice I can give you as a Bassman (head) owner is that
    whatever cab you end up with, make sure it's 4 ohm impedance.  Unlike
    some other tube amps, the Bassman has no impedance switch, so while it
    can drive 8 or 16 ohm cabs, the power falls off.  If you want all 50
    watts you want a 4 ohm cab.
    
    Open back 2-10 cabs aren't common (for that matter 4-10s aren't either,
    the Peavey Classic 410 cab is the only one I can think of) so you'll be
    better off building your own. Dimensions aren't critical for open back
    cabs, what is critical is making it rigid enough that it won't rattle
    at high volumes.
    
    A potential cheap solution is to find a used 2-10" combo with the amp
    blown (even the speakers if you're planning on swapping them anyway). 
    I picked up an Ampeg combo of this type needing some TLC for a whopping
    $20 a few years ago.
    
    							Brian

    Thanks for the replies so far..
    
    Does anyone have a distributer list for Celestion, or the actual address
    for Celestion? I live in Canada, and the music stores here have never
    heard of a 10" 35w Celestion (only 10" 50w). I think I want the 35
    watters.
    
    Thanks again...
    
    -Bruce
    

	I'm running my Bassman head thru a Marshall 4x10 cab. It's a
	closed back cab with 35 wt Celestions. The rig doesn't have
	a lot of great tones but the few good ones that it has are
	really sweet.

	The Marshall 4x10 cabs all seem to be loaded with the 35 watters.
	It's an 8ohm cab and plenty loud.

    In my never ending quest to stir up as much controversy as possible,
    I'd like, respectfully, to take issue with the ubiquitous TECRUS::ROST
    (Brian) et al on this one. My (religious) belief is that even though
    the dimensions of an open back enclosure aren't *that* critical, you'd
    do well to copy those of the original as closely as possible. The
    dynamite tone you're looking for may me lurking in the fine details
    because if you can tell the difference between a 50W & 35W Celestion,
    or even a 2x10 vs a 2x12 cab, chances are you're already pretty
    critical, psychoacoustically speaking. You *definitely* want the thing
    to be stiff & rattle free, but check out what they did for insulation
    or coatings inside (& out if you're an audiophile) & try to do the same
    thing.
    	Something else to consider is that speakers change their sound as
    they age & this may or may not be a factor in the equation. You may
    also want to devote some attention to improving the overall performance
    of the amp vis a vis noise & hum, but that's another topic.
    	Anyway, I once owned a beat up old 2x15 cab that sounded just great
    & there was no reason on earth why (so so speakers, shabby covering,
    cheap material & construction throughout), so you may find that that
    borrowed 2x10 cab is the only one in the free world that sounds like
    that !
    Paul
    

    I don't know how critical actual Celestion speakers are to the sound,
    but both Peavey and Carvin market "anglophile" ("British sound")
    speakers, and I suspect there are others out there as well.
    
    FWIW,
    \Gary

    My perennial faves are the JBL E series, but that would ruin
    everything. You may want to play some games with car audio type woofers
    if you have the patience. They're usually readily available & cheap,
    but the differences in tone from one brand to another are all over the
    map, & there's no good way to tell which one you'll like 'cuz they
    don't rate "subjective" things like "How's these gonna sound on my
    Bassman ?" If you're into specs (& they're available), you'll probably
    care a lot about the free air resonance & the sensitivity. Anything
    that's real close to the Celestions on those 2 parameters (for the same
    power rating) should sound similar (ceteris parabus), *but* the only
    way to know for sure is to listen to them in the same situation. Did I
    mention relative humidity when you do the test ? 
    Paul