Speaker suggestion??

[TS808]

I've been playing my 18-watt Bluesbreaker clone alot, and lately, I've been a little dissatisfied with the tone...it's a little too dark, woody sounding, and dark. It doesn't have the clarity of the Vibrolux. I'd like a little bit more high end, brilliance, and definition. The amp now has Celestion Greenbacks, and although good speakers, I'm looking for a little more "color" in my tone.

Any suggestions?? I've been checking out some Eminence speakers lately, but am not sure which speaker would be good.

[M29]

Hello TS808,

I have an 18 watt clone as well and If I buy another speaker I am going to try http://warehousespeakers.com/proddetail.php?prod=black_blue
Spudman suggested this and I forgot they offered an alnico speaker. The alnico speakers seem to have a nice clean smooth rich tone. I just bought a Celestion Blue and I love it but they are expensive. I don't know if I can buy another but I might go for the Warehouse alnico 12.
I hear the Eminence Red Fang alnico is good too so that might be something to look into, this speaker will handle a little more watts but I wouldn't think you would need it with an 18 watt.

M29

[R.B. Huckleberry]

Are you looking for the speaker to have very little influence on the amp's sound? get something with a higher wattage rating. At 25 watts, the greenbacks may be "feeling" the amp's 18 watts a bit much. I have a Dr. Z Maz 18 head that I put through a 60 watt Celestion 30 because I don't want the speaker to "bark".

[TS808]

Are you looking for the speaker to have very little influence on the amp's sound? get something with a higher wattage rating. At 25 watts, the greenbacks may be "feeling" the amp's 18 watts a bit much. I have a Dr. Z Maz 18 head that I put through a 60 watt Celestion 30 because I don't want the speaker to "bark".

I went with a pair of Vintage 30's in my Bluesbreaker clone...what a difference. The amp is less bass-heavy, more top end brilliance, and it is more responsive to picking dynamics..you can really hear the difference.

I've seen alot of threads on other forums with people trashing Vintage 30's for the "mid-range spike", but they seem to be a very good match for the Bluesbreaker combo. The amp still retains some of that "woody" sound, but with much more harmonics...the speakers seem to have brought the amp alive even more.

[Plank_Spanker]

I have V30's in two rigs, and I don't think they're spiked out in the mids. To my ears, they're a really well balanced speaker - and I play a wide variety of music through them.

To each his own.............

[duhvoodooman]

I'd suggest a close look at the 12" speaker line from Warehouse Guitar Speakers (http://warehousespeakers.com/products.php?cat=9). They've added new models and now have a total of seven 12" offerings. All are based on Celestion models, are very well made (assembled in the US, though I suspect the parts probably come out of China), and are much cheaper than their Celestion counterparts, ranging from $45 to $160 for the Alnico Blue clone. I have one of the origional models, the Veteran 30 (a Vintage 30 clone) in my 1x12 cabinet, and it sounds fantastic. For $45, the value is just ridiculous.

From what you describe, it sounds to me like the Veteran 30, ET65 or Retro 30 ($65 each for the latter two) might be what you're seeking. The site has sound clips for several of the models, so check it out....

[indianjjy]

Take this for what it is worth, but IMHO Eminence wins on sound hands down. I built a custom 15 watt tube combo and put in a swamp thang and ran a cd walkman thru it for 4-6 hours to break in the speaker. From muddy lows to earth shattering hi's, it has it all. Very,very clean at all volumes and if you want gain it will take all you can give it. Also have a cab with Texas heats and one with Governors. Have a 4-10's cab with 2 ragun cajuns and 2 Lil' Buddys in it. You just can't go wrong. I have tried Celestions and it just seems that the dynamic range is just two limited. People swear by them but they are running 2-4 speaker cabs, I imagine if you put enough of them together they sound ok, but even Zakk Wylde won't use them. He prefers EV's which are expensive but good. Eminence is the way,Bro...

P.S. 8th street Music on Amazon.com has the best deal on Eminence also...

[duhvoodooman]

If you wish to state your preference for Eminence speakers and the reasons for it, I think that's great. However, I'd be a bit careful about running down Celestions, being that they're probably the most popular guitar speakers in the world and have been for the last 40 years. Stating that "People swear by them but they are running 2-4 speaker cabs, I imagine if you put enough of them together they sound ok" strikes me as a sweeping generalization, unsupported by data. There are plenty of Celestions running in single speaker amps & cabs, and I've never read any assertions that they sound inferior, compared to their performance in a multi-speaker set-up.

I'd also be very careful about trotting out Zakk Wylde's endorsement of the EV Black Labels as any sort of quality barometer. They're $250 a pop, and you can bet your bottom dollar ol' Zakk gets 'em for free, in exchange for the use of his name. I'm sure they're great speakers, but--pul-eeze!--let's not confuse a celebrity endorsement deal for any kind of objective judgment of quality!

Eminence has a great line-up of speakers, certainly the broadest offering I've come across. And the Eminence website has a great Tone Guide page and many sound clips to help you select the one that's best for you. I'd suggest just leaving it at that and avoid belittling anyone else's products, particularly those of a company that many knowledgeable players still consider the leader in the market.

BTW, I own only a single Celestion speaker, a 10" G10 Vintage in my Vox AD30VT. I also own 3 Eminence speakers. So I have no personal axe to grind here....

[TS808]

I'm running Celestions in two of my amps now..G12 Centuries in my Valvetronix and Vintage 30's in my Bluesbreaker clone and I have no complaints..they sound great. There's no question that Eminence makes a great speaker as well, as the "special design" speakers made for Fender for many years (and perhaps still) were manufactured by Eminence.

Tone is subjective, and I often go with what works for me...Endorsements don't mean a whole lot to me, nor does price=quality, etc.

In other words, if it sounds good...that's the whole purpose, right?

[duhvoodooman]

In other words, if it sounds good...that's the whole purpose, right?
Yep. To quote Rick Nelson, "You got to please yourself!" :AOK:

[tot_Ou_tard]

Take this for what it is worth, but IMHO Eminence wins on sound hands down. From muddy lows to earth shattering hi's, it has it all.

:confused: From muddy lows to earth shattering hi's. :confused:

:rotflmao: You forgot to praise the flabby mids. :rotflmao:

I've heard good things about Eminence, but I don't have any experience with them.

[R.B. Huckleberry]

I went with a pair of Vintage 30's in my Bluesbreaker clone...what a difference. The amp is less bass-heavy, more top end brilliance, and it is more responsive to picking dynamics..you can really hear the difference.

I've seen alot of threads on other forums with people trashing Vintage 30's for the "mid-range spike", but they seem to be a very good match for the Bluesbreaker combo. The amp still retains some of that "woody" sound, but with much more harmonics...the speakers seem to have brought the amp alive even more.

Celestions are a good Marshall/Marshall-type circuit speaker. I know the Greenbacks get put in certain amps to become part of the distortion character of that amp. Marshalls have midrange, no getting around it. It's all a part of there character, and with a 60 watt speaker driven by an 18 watt amp, you aren't hearing as much of the speaker's character in your drive/distortion.

I'm glad you're happy with the Vintage 30. Don't keep the neigbors awake with it, now!

[TS808]

Celestions are a good Marshall/Marshall-type circuit speaker. I know the Greenbacks get put in certain amps to become part of the distortion character of that amp. Marshalls have midrange, no getting around it. It's all a part of there character, and with a 60 watt speaker driven by an 18 watt amp, you aren't hearing as much of the speaker's character in your drive/distortion.

I'm glad you're happy with the Vintage 30. Don't keep the neigbors awake with it, now!
Thanks! The speakers aren't distorting as much as with the Greenbacks...that's what I was looking for, and yes the amp does seem louder now :D

[Plank_Spanker]

I have Greenbacks in my Germino, and they're the perfect match for that amp..................but, sweet as it is, the amp is a one trick pony.

I have V30's in my Johnsons, and I use those amps to cover lots of sonic ground with the band....................and they deliver sweetly.

I think "the purists" pidgeon hole V30's into the metal sound, and never give the speaker credit for anything else. I find them to be very well behaved and very good sounding speakers over the spectrum of sound I need.

[mechanic]

I'd suggest a close look at the 12" speaker line from Warehouse Guitar Speakers (http://warehousespeakers.com/products.php?cat=9). it sounds fantastic. For $45, the value is just ridiculous.

....
They seem to be $65 now?
Did they hike the price recently? and are they worth $65 or can you get something better for similar cash?

[duhvoodooman]

They seem to be $65 now?
Did they hike the price recently? and are they worth $65 or can you get something better for similar cash?
Yep, prices on what were formerly the cheaper models (Veteran 30 and also the British Lead, as I recall) were raised and now match most of the other models. Can't say I'm surprised at all. Still well worth the price compared to competitive speakers and esp. to the Celestion models that they correspond to.

[Tone2TheBone]

That Veteran 30 speaker I got at the former price of $45 for my Blues Jr. is unbelievable. $65 for that model is still cheap for the sound quality it provides.

[Bloozcat]

The combo I most often hear about for the 18 watt Marshall clones, is a mixed pair of a Vintage 30, and a G12H30. Although the power rating appears to be a mismatch, they blend well together. Everybody from Dave at Avatar Speakers, to Dr Z, to many of the 18watt.com builders, have paired these two speakers together.

I have two of the G12H30's in a 2X12 cabinet. They're great speakers, but I can see where they might be a tad dark for an 18 watt...although I've heard of builders of 18 watters using them paired together.

[sunvalleylaw]

Of course the one I liked when I listened to some clips some time back (I think DVM posted the link to the clips) I liked the most expensive Black and Blue Alnicos the best. But I don't know anything about replacing speakers and how versatile they would be for what purpose or any of that. I just liked the pretty sounding clip. :-)

[TS808]

Of course the one I liked when I listened to some clips some time back (I think DVM posted the link to the clips) I liked the most expensive Black and Blue Alnicos the best. But I don't know anything about replacing speakers and how versatile they would be for what purpose or any of that. I just liked the pretty sounding clip. :-)

I'm seeing more and more amp builders are using the blue alnico's in 18-watt amps too. I've never heard them, but they do have a great reputation. People swear by them in the Vox AC-30.

[Bloozcat]

Ooohh, I'll bet that Retro 30/ Reaper combo sounds nice....:drool: