BaronGreenback wrote:i always thought 18 awg was the wire to go with? ive just bought a load of it
so is 16 going to be better than 18 or is there no significant difference?
18 gauge is the absolute minimum, and I would only use that for combo cabs, 2 speakers at most.
IME 16 gauge delivers more signal, 14 just a tiny bit more, but it's a very small difference.
The bigger the wire, obviously the bigger the signal, more heat it can typically handle. I use 14 gauge for those who want it all. I found no tone difference between 14 going up to 12 or 10.
But after having a few old cabs (over 70 at this point) go through my hands, it seems that wire was not standardized at Marshall in the cabs, either. I've found what is the same thickness as current 16 gauge in 60's Marshall cabs, and I've found the thinner 18 guage, too.
What I based my wire specs on was my old 1969 1982B G12H30 loaded straight cab, which had the thicker wire from the factory. Perhaps Marshall used thinner wire on G12M's, thicker wire on G12H30's, but I had a 70 slant with G12M T1511's that had the thicker wire, not the thinner wire.
The problem with Marshall was they had supply issues like any other business, and spec changes/substitutions were made to fill orders. What I've arrived at is only based on what sounded the best, so that's why I use 16 gauge stranded copper wire, 14 gauge if the client wants it.
Past 14 gauge, it's like driving the dragster to the corner store 1/8 mile away...overkill.