Hey guys,

First post so forgive me if I'm in the wrong section. I've got an idea for a guitar speaker cabinet for my little basement studio rig. I've heard of people throwing 4 different speakers into a 4x12 cabinet before and that all makes sense to me. But for added fun, I wanted to rig up a switch to the cabinet that would individually power on/off the individual speakers. So basically, I could screw around with the tone even further by selecting which speakers I wanted to hear. Really this would only serve to alter the tone my room mic is picking up since any of the individual speaker mics would only, in theory, pic up the individual speakers. Big question: are there electrical issues I'm not considering here which may harm the head or the speakers? Or melt any of my switches? The operation of it all seems pretty straight forward but I'm no electrical engineer. Any insight would be huge! Thanks!

And to answer the question, "why, what's the point?" -I just like screwing with things.

What amplifier are you using with this switching cab? You may already know why this is important, but just in case...
It would be smart to use only 16 ohm speakers. I think you have to wire them in parallel to insure that any speaker can play individually and any combination or number of speakers can play together. That requires your amp to work well at any impedance from 4 to 16 ohms. Many tube guitar amps will not work well into that wide impedance range. Some solid state amps will, but check the manufacturer’s specs.
It’s an interesting idea.

I'm using a hughes and kettner tubemiester 18. It's good for 8-16. So I think I'm going to run into problems the more I read into it. Now I'm going down the rabbit hole trying to figure out if I can rig it so that the toggle switches can switch in some sort of equipment to keep everything happy as I jump around between options. Appreciate the response. You've pointed me in the right direction to keep reading.

Edit*
Perhaps build a box like in the link below but with 4 outputs. Then mod the cab so each speaker has its own jack. Mostly just spending too much on guitar cables now but it's a thought I guess.

Speaker Patch Box | General Guitar Gadgets

I built this 4x10 cab (Weber: 10A125, 10F150, Blue Pup, Silver 10) about three years ago. Each 16 ohm speaker has its own jack and can be played individually. I made a "Y' parallel cable so I can also play any two speakers together at 8 ohms. That gives me ten different options.

I have three amps, and I also have a Weber Z-Matcher (a must have for me), so pairing the speaker options to the different amps is not an issue.

Nice setup!
A question...
When I have given myself more choices of a “thing” (in my case preamps, mics, compressors, studio monitors) I usually end up liking one of those choices on almost everything. The other “things” get used less and less and get sold.

How are you with the speaker choices? Do you really like each speaker for certain things, or do you have a general favorite?

I still think it was worthwhile to set up the choices, because without the quick switching, I might not have realized that I didn’t need some of the options at all.

Nice setup. I've been doing some reading on speaker selector switches for home stereos. They have 4 zone switches that are essentially what I'm looking for. But they all allow the ohms to drop too low for my amp which is 8-16 ohms. So now I'm looking into what is going on inside these things and how I may be able to modify one to work for this application

First, I'm a novice and no tone guru. I do lots of research and have contacted Weber a few times for advice. You will have much more experience with speakers and amps than I. So take my personal comments for what they are worth.

These speakers are all close in both watts and efficiency.

10A125: Recommended by Weber for 5e3 and a favorite among players for Tweed amps. "Replacement for Chicago Jensen P10Q. Bright, punchy, later/smooth breakup, aggressive, articulate, compressed/fattened at high volume. The favorite for late 50's tweed amps such as Super, Bandmaster, Bassman, etc."

10F150: Often recommended for BF/SF amps. "For mid 60's amps using ceramic 10's where very strong punch and tight low end is needed. Replaces Chicago Jensen C10N and Oxford 10's. Bold, big bottom, later/smooth breakup, aggressive."

Blue Pup: British flavor. "Replacement for Vox and Marshall AlNiCo 10's. Chimey with emphasis on high end clarity. Bright, chimey, later/smooth breakup, aggressive, articulate, compressed at high volume."

Silver 10: British flavor. "Replacement for Vox and Marshall AlNiCo 10's.
Warm, smooth, great compressed overdrive tone with smooth distortion edges. Later/smooth breakup, compressed at high volume."

I feel these descriptions by Weber are accurate. I base this on lots of internet research, YouTube videos and reviews, and my limited experience (LOL).

Important to note that I bought these four speakers specifically for my three amps: Lil Dawg D-Lux (5e3 Deluxe clone), Vox AC4HW1, Vintage Sound Amps V-15 (BF Princeton Reverb clone). I also bought them with the intention of playing them in pairs

I usually play Vintage/American 10A150/10F150 pair together. This is a very popular combo as they compliment each other well. I purchased these for the 5e3 and also the Princeton Reverb. The Vox goes through the British AlNiCo Blue Pup/Silver 10 pair. This is another popular combo that complements each other well.

I haven't experimented much with the various other possible combos mainly because of long work hours and because I've just been trying to gain experience (and a sonic baseline) with the two parings above played with my three amps two electrics (Tele + ES335).

I hope this helps.

Good luck, and have fun!

I’m a studio and mastering engineer, so my experience of being in bands and discussing speakers for guitars and PAs is mostly from the late 60s to late 70s. Even then, I was a singer and drummer, not a guitarist.
The classic era Fender amps, to me, did not sound their best through the stock Jensens. They used to get replaced by JBL D series speakers, which were louder, brighter, and had significantly less mud and distortion. The EV guitar speakers were equally loud, but didn’t play as brightly as the JBLs, and they weighed a ton. Now, NOBODY (it seems) uses JBLs or EVs for guitar, and the “mud and distortion” of the Jensens is the color that a lot of players like. Go figure.
That Alnico/Vox sound is very distinctive and has always had a following since the 60s. I never worked closely with anyone who favored the Celestion ceramic magnet speakers, so that’s a niche I only know at a distance.

Yes, that is beyond my electrical knowledge. The Weber Z-Matcher may be something that will help. I did find this thread when I was researching my setup:

Michael Wagener - Guitar Speaker Patchbay

Oh man, that weber z matcher is like the missing link. I could wire all speakers in parallel with individual toggle on/off switches. Just sit that puppy between the amp and cab. Done.

Excellent! It's a great tool that I use all the time. Have fun!