I need new speakers!

[Telewanger]

Since my last posted thread, I have decided to go ahead and buy new speakers.

I have ordered a new Bugera V55HD tube amp head and I am trying to decide what speakers to buy. I just want a 2 X 12" setup for the new amp. I will run my amp in stereo with another 50 watt amp. Some people run speakers that are around 30 watts, in series or parallel, which will make the 2 speakers around 60 watts total, I guess. Some guys buy two 60 or 70 watt speakers.

The amp has 4, 8, and 16 ohm selector switch.

I can buy two 16 ohm speakers run them parallel and have total of 8 ohms. I can get two 8 ohm speakers and run them series to get 16 ohms, or run them parallel to get 4 ohms. So, I have to decide whether to run 4, 8, or 16. Now, I am totally confused!

I will be playing just as many clean sounds out of the speakers as distorted sounds. I would like a nice sparkle clean. I don't play super distorted, but more like Eric Johnson, Steve Morse, to Rush and AC/DC type tones, but not Death Metal type distortion. There are dozens of speaker companies online and each one makes a lot of speakers. I would like to stay below $150.00 per speaker if possible.

Do you have any suggestions on which ohm and combination ( series or parallel ) to go with and what would be the ideal speaker and brand?

[duhvoodooman]

Take a serious look at the Warehouse Guitar Speakers (http://warehousespeakers.com/) 12" offerings. These guys produce "clones" of the most popular Celestion speakers at about half the price. And the performance and reliability is excellent. They've made a lot of converts, me included. And they've just introduced some new "American-voiced" models.

The Eminence Patriot and Red Coat product lines also have a lot of excellent speakers. In between WGS and Celestion, price-wise. I recently bought a couple of lightly used Eminence 12" speakers--a Patriot Cannabis Rex and a Red Coat Wizard--and both are fine sounding speakers!

For a 2x12 setup, I prefer hooking up two 16 ohm speakers in parallel for 8 ohms overall impedance.

[Telewanger]

Thanks a lot!

I guess a lot of people do like series wiring.

Here is what Ted Weber of Weber Speakers wrote:

For speakers connected in series, there appears to be less control, and more of what is called 'back EMF' from the speakers fed back into the output circuit. While that seems rather chaotic, many players prefer the series connection, as it gives them a more textured tone, enhanced breakup, and overall a more desireable tone for guitar work. It's totally subjective, of course, and many factors affect the end result, such as voice coil size, gap energy, closed back/open back, output circuit damping, etc. The best thing to do, in my opinion, is try both arrangements since you have the luxury of impedance tap selection, and go with the configuration you like the best.

[Plank_Spanker]

Just to add confusion........................

You can mix different speakers, especially since you're running stereo.

Add a little signature spice.........................:dude

[duhvoodooman]

Just to add confusion........................

You can mix different speakers, especially since you're running stereo.

Add a little signature spice.........................:dude
I just did that with a WGS Green Beret (Celestion Greenback clone) and an Eminence Wizard in a 2x12 cab I own, and it sounds freakin' amazing..... :rockon:

[Ch0jin]

This isn't electronic voodoo, there really IS an difference in the way an AC circuit behaves depending on whether it's series or parallel and Ted Weber's description is accurate, even if he mix's technical terms (back EMF) with qualitative descriptions (textured tone).

As I mentioned in the last related thread though, the only way to discover what you like best is to try both, and don't be too surprised if there isn't a massive difference. Almost everything else, speaker brand/type/age and cabinet shape, and even it's position in a room will likely have a bigger effect on tone than the choice of series/parallel.

As I mentioned before though, parallel is the safest option for your amp. If you find yourself undecided on what tone you like best out of the two, go parallel.

FYI, the reason speakers come in 4/8/16 Ohm ratings is pretty much only to offer the consumer the flexibility in cabinet choice and speaker configuration.

To experiment with both series and parallel in a dual cabinet you're going to need two 8 ohm speakers. Series them for 16 Ohms and Parallel them for 4 Ohms. Luckily your amp has both settings so you'r golden.

Be aware though that if you chose parallel at 4 Ohms you limit your ability to use an extension cab in parallel. Given that your shopping for a dual cab and not a quad, I'm assuming moving masses of air isn't a requirement for ya so thats probably not going to worry you.

[Telewanger]

Thanks Guys, I really appreciate your help!

I have learned a lot about speakers this week, and have been reading for days. I was digging around in my parents storage building and found two small 12" speaker cabs with 2 X 12" Fane Speakers 8 ohms each and 70 watts. I bought the two little cabinets years ago while I was in the Air Force in Germany. I would be willing to bet that they don't have 100 hours on them. I connected them to my Laney amp and they sounded fine to me.

Since the new Bugera amp will be here in a few days, I wanted to get them ready to go. I wired them in parallel, so they will be 4 ohms. I have never ran any of my amps at 4 ohms before. They have always been 8 ohm, except for the twin reverb, but it came that way. I am really looking forward to hearing the new amp at 4 ohms in parallel. If these speakers don't work out very well, I will buy some in a few months. After reading about Fane Speakers, it seems that they are a pretty good brand. I will give them a chance before spending more money right now.

The first thing that I will do to my new amp is bias the tubes. I hear that these amps arrive and sometimes the bias is all out of whack. I bought a bias tool plug pin kit from ebay several years ago, and I set the bias on the Twin and Laney myself a couple of times. It works great with my digital multimeter. I believe the bias tool was only like $30.00. They were still selling them on ebay the last time that I looked. It is a great thing to have if you are always going to use tube amps.

[Kazz]

Take a serious look at the Warehouse Guitar Speakers (http://warehousespeakers.com/) 12" offerings. These guys produce "clones" of the most popular Celestion speakers at about half the price. And the performance and reliability is excellent. They've made a lot of converts, me included. And they've just introduced some new "American-voiced" models.

The Eminence Patriot and Red Coat product lines also have a lot of excellent speakers. In between WGS and Celestion, price-wise. I recently bought a couple of lightly used Eminence 12" speakers--a Patriot Cannabis Rex and a Red Coat Wizard--and both are fine sounding speakers!

For a 2x12 setup, I prefer hooking up two 16 ohm speakers in parallel for 8 ohms overall impedance.


I did not see the Green Beret in a 10" version....too bad would have loved to put one in the Vox. :-) I am thinking about doing a clone of the Shiner Cab V1.0 and may load it with either 1 or 2 of these Green Back Celestion clones. Very sweet at $69 each.

[Telewanger]

I bought the Marshall Valvestate amp and footswitch at a pawn shop last week for $75.00. I brought it home and repaired it. There was a loose cap and the amp was cutting in and out. After repairing it, I thought it sounded like a solid state piece of junk, and made a strange hissing sound at high volume. I tore the head out of the amp and put it in the trash where it belonged all along. So basically, I got 2 150 watt speakers, nice metal foot switch, and Marshall cab for $75.00, not bad.

I made a sheet metal face plate to cover up the holes of the old faceplate and painted it black. It has 2 Eminence speakers in it. I called the company and they said that these are old "Legend" speakers 150 watts at 4 ohm. The Laney amp has an 8 ohm Pyle Driver Speaker. I am running the Marshall cab in series, so two 4 ohm speakers series is 8 ohms. The Laney Pyle Driver and the Marshall cab in parallel = 4 ohms. I was told that these Eminence speakers were trash by several people online, but they seem really decent so far.

In the 2 small cabs that say Vintage Amp, are Fane Classic 12/70 = 8 ohm speakers. After researching, I finally found info and photos of them on a German Website. I bought them in Germany years ago. I will use these with the Bugera V55 HD head that is on it's way from Musician's Friend. The reason that I bought the Bugera is because my Fender Twin is a 1965. It is 45 years old now, and it will not leave the house, period! I can run the Laney and the Bugera stereo when I go out and play gigs. I use the Twin for recording only.

Here is a video clip of the Eminence 12 inch 4 ohm speakers and Twin Reverb working together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YhBtJjKBWU