FAL (Futuristic Aids Limited) Upright 2x12 Cab

Passive 2 x 12 loudspeaker cab made by Futuristic Aids Ltd (FAL). Going by the date on the speakers this was made some time after July 1979. Its pretty much typical of the sort of product the company made, kinda cheap but dressed-up. The company specialised in disco equipment, so if you think about roadshow discos from the 1970s you will get the idea. Other products they made were twin record decks in a shallow case with an amp, and the ubiquitous perspex-fronted light boxes that you hook-up to a chaser. I don't know if this speaker is part of a system or if this is all you got. If you kitted yourself out with two of these and nothing else it would be the bare minimum you could get by with. These days you would at least need a set of horns and sub with a crossover, to fill-out the sound.

The cab contains two Fane 12 inch speakers and nothing else. Its a closed-back cab and the baffle-board is not ported. So its a very basic design. Chipboard construction throughout means it is very heavy. It has one strap handle on the side and the case is protected with plastic corners (Vox/orange/Carlsbro type). On mine all the corners were completely bust-up. The cab is covered in black basket-weave Tolex and the front has a plastic mesh grille. There is an aluminum trim which has been set into the baffle. The whole lot has been put together in one shot and glued-down, nothing can be removed without destroying the cab. It takes a bit of effort to get the speakers out as some of the bolts spin in their housing, making removal of the retaining nut difficult.

FAL ceased trading mid 1980s. Their legacy lives on, in the UK at least. A frequent visitor to car boot sales. I will give cab a rating of 5 as we are talking about 1970s gear, and there was not much choice in them days.

2x12 speakers made by Fane, dated the 26th week of 1979. Square magnets, two 16 ohm in parallel for an 8 ohm load. One jack socket at the rear. Approx 30 watts per speaker making this a 50-60 watt cab. The sound is quite middy, the lows are not too well defined and the speakers lack bright highs. Average projection, would probably be OK in a small function room in a pub, but no good for larger venues. again think 1970s mobile disco and you get the idea.

Dimensions of the cab are 32 inch high, 17 wide by 10.5 inch deep. It is made of chipboard and weighs a ton. There are four plastic feet on the bottom, but no top-hat for pole mounting.

Pretty dire sound quality by todays standards. The speakers would be better suited in a guitar cab. You might be able to get by with a bright box or set of horns wired in parallel with the cab. The lack of low-end means that a drum n bass disco nite is out of the question.
Average projection for small venues.

Poor build quality means that after 30 years the thing was coming apart at the seams. Chipboard and butt joints + damp is not a good combination.

I got this for 10 pounds UK, but only after I had determined that the speaker cones were working. After having it around for a short while, I took the speakers out, removed the handle and stripped off the tolex. The rest was firewood.