NSD: Warehouse G12C

[marnold]

OK, I'm a very naughty boy. I busted out my Carvin amph to play it for a bit because I haven't in a while. It has the same issues I've had with it before--sort of muddy midrange and high end that is either insufficient or shrill. In reading, I've found a lot of people point to the Celestion 12M-70 speaker that comes stock as the source of that "tone". More than a few referred to it as the worst Celestion ever. I really don't want to get rid of the amph itself because I think it can be a nice one. I won't get a 6L6 powered amph for anywhere near the price I paid for it.

So I just ordered the Warehouse G12C to replace it. I want to give it a chance. Even if it doesn't do what I want, it should be easy enough to resell. I did a bunch of online research and it seems to have the high-end chime and more scooped mids I'm looking for from a clean amph. I don't need it to be high gain. My Jet City handles that with aplomb. I know that the Carvin has its own thing which is somewhere between Fender and Marshall. I just want it to lean more toward Fender.

A full report once it's here and once I get it broken in a bit.

My wife may murder me to death if the Fishman ends up an addition to the amph collection instead of a replacement :)

[helliott]

looking forward to that, and hoping for a happy domestic ending to the story!

[marnold]

I ended up emailing them because I hadn't heard anything. They were just finishing up a run of the G12Cs in 16 ohms, so it should ship Monday. I also figured out how to remove the grill cloth because the speaker screws in in the front. Turns out it's held on by four pieces of velcro in the corners.

I've also learned that the bias on these are fixed and not adjustable. They are biased cold from the factory so if I wanted to switch out power tubes I could. Going to try the speaker first, then maybe preamp t00bs. I'll swap out the ones from my Jet City to try it. One thing at a time.

[marnold]

The good news is that the speaker came! It's an ounce or two heavier than the old one, but not a huge deal. Unfortunately I found that the hole in the enclosure is not perfectly round. It's about 1/4" narrower horizontally. I've got a call out to someone I know who is a woodworker to see the best way to deal with this. The old speaker frame is ever so slightly bent. May very well have been rubber malleted into place.

[marnold]

I just got everything hooked back up. My woodworking friend just had to bevel the outside of the mounting hole a bit. Now the speaker fits like a glove.

First impressions are very good, although I'm being careful not to overstate things. One thing I noticed immediately is how much better the reverb sounds now. It doesn't get muddy and it doesn't have that super-shrill high end that I hated so much. I played all three of my electrics through it and they all sounded great. I'm going to have to dial things in a bit. I've got the bass and mids at 3, the highs at 6 and the presence at 4. It still can be a bit much with a bridge pickup, but I'll have to try it with some gain pedals. So far: great investment.

And yes, my wife knows and no murder has occurred.