deeaa
May 19th, 2010, 10:20 PM
I spent an hour or so last night at the training place testing my various speakers in my new 1x12" cab and comparing with the 4x12" and a 2x12" in which I also tested some speakers...haven't done that in ages.
Speakers are interesting...I like to mix and match and again I ended up doing some.
Here's what I have speakerwise:
2 Celestion Greenbacks from early 70's, 25W
2 Celestion 30W's from an older Ampeg, dunno the model really
2 Jensen 70W's from a Behri cab
2 Line 6 Celestions, 70W
1 Celestion V30
1 nameless 100W speaker
And then a few 10" speakers as well.
I already reported how much better the vox ad30vt is with a celestion 35 rather than the original. This time I ended up putting one Jensen in a Line 6 spider something amp out lead guitarist uses.
MAN it's infinitely better. You know how these Line 6 modelers tend to 'wash' away sometimes in a band setting, the sound is simply too scooped and 'ready' and full of FX so it doesn't quite cut thru and fills too much?
Well the Jensen is kinda more midrangey and has this sort of dullness to it BUT more upper mids as well. When I put it on, the amp sounded a little brighter overall, but also much punchier somehow. And then when we played practice...AMAZING difference, for the first time I could hear both guitars well and also all others noted how much better it was to play now.
It's funny how sometimes mixing and matching even cheap gear and such can provide great results! The Line 6 amp just got some extra life, as I was all bent on getting the guy to swap as I was so bored with his all-enclosing crappy tone he was getting - but now it's entirely different and way better!
With my own main amp (the Ceriatone 36W head) I tested a few combinations and even with it the Jensen fared surprisingly well. You may know how the Behringer 4x12" it came from is quite dull and lifeless sounding cab, but in an open cab the speaker sounded pretty good! A bit too midrangey but still nice rock tones.
Them old greenies are also quite nice, but they are curiously somehow 'EQ'd in their sound as if they lack something when alone. The Celestion 30W speakers are the same, but those two make for a formidable pair together, each complimenting each other and fulfilling the sound. Sounds great but a ***** to mic up when recording :-(
I didn't really get to testing the V30 in various combinations yet - I always felt a V30 is too bright and for that reason feels piercing when the sound is right otherwise - may be great for cleans and scooped tones, but a beefy rock drive IMO requires a more midrangey speaker, so you can up the presence properly without the highest frequencies getting too piercingly glassy. BUt next I'm putting it in a single 12" open cab rather than closed cabs and see how it fares.
I just need to get rid of some of these speakers...especially the 100W job which is downright horrible sounding in any system I've tried...AND I need to take my small Vox there too to test even more cabs with it, but as it only accepts 8ohm cabs I may need to solder a bit for those tests...
Anyway, if you never have, I strongly suggest trying different speakers in your amps and expecially mixing and matching...you won't believe how much better the Line 6 now is in band playing...amazing quick improvement to somewhat salvage an amp that normally sounds about as good as a bunch of bees stuck in a matchbox, LOL...
Speakers are interesting...I like to mix and match and again I ended up doing some.
Here's what I have speakerwise:
2 Celestion Greenbacks from early 70's, 25W
2 Celestion 30W's from an older Ampeg, dunno the model really
2 Jensen 70W's from a Behri cab
2 Line 6 Celestions, 70W
1 Celestion V30
1 nameless 100W speaker
And then a few 10" speakers as well.
I already reported how much better the vox ad30vt is with a celestion 35 rather than the original. This time I ended up putting one Jensen in a Line 6 spider something amp out lead guitarist uses.
MAN it's infinitely better. You know how these Line 6 modelers tend to 'wash' away sometimes in a band setting, the sound is simply too scooped and 'ready' and full of FX so it doesn't quite cut thru and fills too much?
Well the Jensen is kinda more midrangey and has this sort of dullness to it BUT more upper mids as well. When I put it on, the amp sounded a little brighter overall, but also much punchier somehow. And then when we played practice...AMAZING difference, for the first time I could hear both guitars well and also all others noted how much better it was to play now.
It's funny how sometimes mixing and matching even cheap gear and such can provide great results! The Line 6 amp just got some extra life, as I was all bent on getting the guy to swap as I was so bored with his all-enclosing crappy tone he was getting - but now it's entirely different and way better!
With my own main amp (the Ceriatone 36W head) I tested a few combinations and even with it the Jensen fared surprisingly well. You may know how the Behringer 4x12" it came from is quite dull and lifeless sounding cab, but in an open cab the speaker sounded pretty good! A bit too midrangey but still nice rock tones.
Them old greenies are also quite nice, but they are curiously somehow 'EQ'd in their sound as if they lack something when alone. The Celestion 30W speakers are the same, but those two make for a formidable pair together, each complimenting each other and fulfilling the sound. Sounds great but a ***** to mic up when recording :-(
I didn't really get to testing the V30 in various combinations yet - I always felt a V30 is too bright and for that reason feels piercing when the sound is right otherwise - may be great for cleans and scooped tones, but a beefy rock drive IMO requires a more midrangey speaker, so you can up the presence properly without the highest frequencies getting too piercingly glassy. BUt next I'm putting it in a single 12" open cab rather than closed cabs and see how it fares.
I just need to get rid of some of these speakers...especially the 100W job which is downright horrible sounding in any system I've tried...AND I need to take my small Vox there too to test even more cabs with it, but as it only accepts 8ohm cabs I may need to solder a bit for those tests...
Anyway, if you never have, I strongly suggest trying different speakers in your amps and expecially mixing and matching...you won't believe how much better the Line 6 now is in band playing...amazing quick improvement to somewhat salvage an amp that normally sounds about as good as a bunch of bees stuck in a matchbox, LOL...