Can't help with your question, but there are some interesting videos on YouTube if you search for "15" guitar speaker shootout"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFHDSwBQr5U
Greetings! I am seeking information on the various Altec 418 drivers that were made in the 1970's, since I want to try one out for use with guitar, and am trying to figure out which version to look for. I think I am trying to steer clear of the "H" version. In particular, I am looking at what seem to be some unusual examples that are currently for sale - they seem to be a 'hybrid' design in that they have the old 418B magnet cover with the long 'Ling/Altec' labels, but they have the heavy cast frames that look like the newere style 418-8H series II type speakers. The cone numbers are stamped "21353-4" - I have seen -3 numbers on 418B's but have not seen another case with the -4 version. Here is a link to the image:
http://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/iosAAO.../s-l1600/r.jpg
If anyone has any information on these, or has definitive cone number charts for the various 418's, I would be most appreciative!
regards, Dave
Can't help with your question, but there are some interesting videos on YouTube if you search for "15" guitar speaker shootout"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFHDSwBQr5U
"James, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!" World's scariest Volvo: [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKn-LTNa4rc[/url]
if the vikings were driving Nor-Tech boats and playing the jensens, we would all be speaking norse.Originally Posted by VolvoHeretic
i'm a little curious about the 418s myself. in this comparison the 418 didn't have the crunch and HF the celeston or the jensen had. but it might have just been my laptop speakers.
Last edited by Phil-G; March 13th, 2015 at 08:09 PM.
Sonic Barbarian
Thanks for the video - perhaps I should contact the video poster to see if he could redo the video with a Fendery-clean tone since that is what I am looking for. My sonic journey began with an old JBL D-120 that I bought a long time ago and then sold because the cone was damaged. In hindsight I should have kept it. I then got a K-130 15" and that thing sounds amazing. Next I got into Altecs, and the 417-8C which is even better than the D/K 120 in my opinion because the highs are extended but not as brittle as in the JBL's. Since I still have and love my K-130, I was thinking an Altec 418B might be really nice as well. They don't seem to come up a lot for sale and when they do they are not original cones. One lesson I learned in my vintage speaker quest is that the exact cone is everything - makes all the difference. And I believe there is a clear sonic difference between the C and H version Altecs, with the H being not as lively and articulate as I would like. I had a 417 that I thinnk had been reconed by GPA with newer parts, I think H parts, and it just didn't have the magic. The 417B sounds nice when you can find one that works with original cone, but I think the frame design on those was not as rigid and may have led to some long-term issues with cone alignment over the years. So I am still on the quest for a 418B with original cone... the ones up for sale that I linked the photo of seem to be some sort of hybrid design with 'H' style frames - I could not find any information backing this up that such a thing was made by Altec...
thanks again all!
Dave
The 418 doesn't go as low as the K-130, but goes higher with cleaner highs. We modded Kustom II combo bass amps for pedal steel players back in the 70's, replacing the CTS 15 in the amp with a 418. My favorite is the "stepped alnico" version.
Your neighbors called. They like your music.
Thanks Old Guy for weighing in - when you say 'stepped alnico' version, do you know exactly which model this would have been?
I have been looking at the scanned Altec catalogs available online, and there was at one point a 418-8C that had the heavier cast 'H' frame and 'stepped' Alnico magnet (no plastic cover). This is in the 1975 M.I. catalog:
http://www.lansingheritage.org/image...-mi/page04.jpg
I *think* one of the key differences between the B/C version and the H version was the voice coil former, having been paper on the B/C, and Aluminum + Kapton on the H. I think the paper former does wonders for the sound (possibly a mass issue?), at the risk of lower power dissipation. The 1972 catalog does mention the coil former materials:
http://www.lansingheritage.org/image...-mi/page04.jpg
Thanks!
Dave
Not to mention the aluminum voice coil in the 418B and the copper coil in the 418-8H?
"James, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!" World's scariest Volvo: [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKn-LTNa4rc[/url]
Good point! The 'Aluminum-edgewound-coil-on-paper-former-with-aluminum-dustcap' approach - sounds like the JBL magic formula also? Maybe a key JBL/Altec difference is the smaller 3" voice coil/dust cap on the Altec makes for a less 'ice-pick-in-the ears' combination. I know on the JBL D/K 120 I can hear highs that almost seem to not be harmonically related, like maybe high resonances of the dustcap itself - very metallic, which is OK for surfy/Fendery cleans but on distorted guitar can get very raspy, whereas on the Altec 417-8C I didn't get quite the same impression. The 15" JBL K-130, however, seems a lot smoother to me, and it also has the 4" VC, so who knows? Still the quest for the 418B w/ original cone continues...
Dave
To perhaps further add to the confusion - I am now seeing there was also a 422-8Z driver that appears to have (at least cosmetic) similarities to the 418B. Does anyone know what the difference was between the 422 and the 418?
thanks,
Dave
The 418 and the 422 were pretty much the same driver..Check through these catalogs especially the MI catalogs..
ALTEC CATALOGS
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