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Hey Koop. Love the looks of that cab. Did you pick the speakers or did they recommend them for the Triwatt? I checked their website and it seems pretty reasonable $ for a "customized" cab. I've got to get something for my Triwatt because the old Marshall 412 is too big and the 1X12 doesn't do the amp justice.

Thanks, I picked the speakers based on reviews. I haven't played through too many different speakers, mostly Celestions. I'm real happy with the Avatar 212, they ship fast too. In both cases I had my speaker cabinets delivered within 4 days of ordering (I'm in Michigan).

If you really want to hear the Triwatt in all its glory, as with any Hiwatt you will need to use more Fane-like speakers, rather than Celestions. A pair of BBQ FC12s or Eminence Tonker Lites (not the regular Tonkers) will get you pretty much there.

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Great tones come in small glass jars!

Can you elaborate on this?

Years ago, I put a Tonker and Swamp Thang in a Fender Cyber-Twin. The amp had its own pros and cons, but in my mind, that speaker pair really brought the thing alive compared to the Celestion G12T-100 pair that came stock. A year or two later, in hopes of reducing weight, I replaced the Tonker with a Tonker Lite and I replaced the Swamp Thang with a Lil' Texas (I think...). I wasn't nearly as happy with the change. I also did a little swapping around and A-B'ing to get a feel for the individual speakers. I was sort of disappointed that the Tonker Lite "failed" in one respect in that it wasn't really that close to the Tonker's tone.

As I understood it, the Tonker itself was the only speaker in the Red Coat line that was sort of a Fane clone. Are you saying the Tonker Lite, while it's different, is in some way a better Fane clone? Or is it a better clone of a different Fane speaker?

Hope I explained that right. Basically:
Tonker = (supposedly) Fane clone.
Tonker Lite = not sounding all that close to Tonker
Why does the Tonker Lite "get you there" better?

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I've done a fair bit of investigation into this, making use of information provided by dedicated Hiwatt buffs. While the Tonker was *never* actually intended to be a Fane clone, it does have some Fane-like quality, but still isn't much liked by the Hiwatt fanatics. One of them puts it as "It's not in the same ball park, but it's across the street from the ball park". However, they're now stating the Tonker Lite which has a slightly different tone, is the closest you will get on the open market to the sound of a Fane "Purple" used in vintage Hiwatt cabs. Eminence's Lynch Super V12, which was designed as a Fane Purple clone, appears to be no longer in production.


The Lynch Super V12 was actually the closest Fane clone in Eminence's Red Coat line, and are almost identical to the Reeves Purple. Unfortunately, Eminence appear to have stopped making them. Some people also found them a little too dark. So now it's either the Tonker Lite or BBQ FC12s. The latter are a clone of the Fane Crescendos, as used by Dave Gilmore. According to the very experienced Hiwatt gurus, the Tonker Lite is much more like a Fane Purple than the regular Tonker.


Clearly that "F" amp wasn't suited to the tone of Fane Purple style speakers. Here's the thing. Hiwatt amplifiers and Fane's "Purples" were specifically designed to complement each other. You need that smooth upper end of the Purples to balance the extremely hi-fi top end response of a Hiwatt (or Triwatt).

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Great tones come in small glass jars!

I don't know if I've mentioned this in this thread, but I talked to Ted about this and he told me the BBQ Thames is based on the Fane Purples. That's what I have in my Triwatt cab and I think they sound great. I also read a published review (can't remember where it was from - got the link from one of the Hiwatt fan sites I think) of one of those used as a replacement in a 4x12 with 3 original purples. The reviewer claimed it was VERY close.

YMMV

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SG + Brit tube head = Nirvana

"Some people also found them a little too dark. So now it's either the Tonker Lite or BBQ FC12s. The latter are a clone of the Fane Crescendos, as used by Dave Gilmore. According to the very experienced Hiwatt gurus, the Tonker Lite is much more like a Fane Purple than the regular Tonker."

"I don't know if I've mentioned this in this thread, but I talked to Ted about this and he told me the BBQ Thames is based on the Fane Purples."


Loads of interesting stuff in the last two posts. I am far from an expert on anything Fane or Hiwatt, so I have a few questions.

Can anyone explain the difference between the Fane Crescendo and the Fane Purple? Were both used/intended over the years for use with Hiwatts? Or, does Gilmour break from tradition by using Crescendos (in WEM cabs, I believe)?

Besides the two Fanes mentioned, I see two different BBQ speakers listed FC12 and Thames. Are they actually different. Is it fair to say this:
BBQ FC12 = Fane Crescendo
BBQ Thames = Fane Purple

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Go Buckeyes!

Based on what Ted and I discussed, that is my understanding.

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SG + Brit tube head = Nirvana

Yes, Dave Gilmour broke from the Hiwatt tradition by using Fane Crescendos in WEM cabs. Apparently they sound very smooth.

The BBQ Thames speakers are nice, but despite Ted's best intentions aren't considered in the vintage Hiwatt community to be very authentic reproductions of Fane Purples. Here's what one of the single most respected Hiwatt gurus states:
The whole discussion is on http://vintageamps.com/plexiboard/viewt ... =3&t=79511

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Great tones come in small glass jars!

Thanks. If nothing else, having such a mental cross-reference is nice.

Of course, at this point, since I don't know what's different between a Crescendo and a Purple, I also have no idea how an FC12 differs from a Thames.

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Freaky! Earlier in this thread, you said this
'... While the Tonker was *never* actually intended to be a Fane clone, it does have some Fane-like quality, but still isn't much liked by the Hiwatt fanatics. One of them puts it as "It's not in the same ball park, but it's across the street from the ball park". ...' However

So both the Thames from BBQ and the Tonker were described almost the exact same way. Thames not in the same ballpark as a purple. Tonker not in the same ballpark as a (seemingly genericized) Fane.


Still trying to figure out all of this Fane/Hiwatt stuff. What I do seem to understand at this point is that David Gilmour wasn't a Fane Purple guy, but rather a Fane Crescendo guy (whatever that means). And the BBQ FC12 is a Crescendo clone. And the Tonker-lite may indeed be a decent Fane Purple clone, but not a Crescendo clone.

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Go Buckeyes!

Correct!

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Great tones come in small glass jars!

Can anyone comment on how the Thames compares to the Tonkerlite? Which one is brighter, etc.

Also, can anyone comment on whether the FC12 does a better job of replicating the Crescendo tone than the Thames does at replicating the Purple tone?

look at soldersniffer's posts. I think his 212 cab had Thames in it. havent seen a post on the tonker lite

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Stephen
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