10" Speaker (G10 Vintage) vs. 12" Speaker (Alnico Blue)

[honeyiscool]

First thread in a while but anyway. I got an AC15HW1X a couple months ago and enjoyed the amp very much, but honestly, I enjoy the speaker more than the amp (sounds weird but), so I got a store demo of a 15 ohm Celestion Blue at a bit of a discount and put it in one of my Night Train 1x12" cabs. The flipside of all this is I have a 2nd Alnico Blue cabinet I can use as an extension for my AC15 when I need it!

 

I made this little clip with my AC4C1 & Thinline Tele comparing how a nice 10" speaker compares with a nice 12" speaker. The knobs are 1 o'clock on gain and volume, 12 for EQ. Pretty loud but still OK in a practice environment.

 

https://soundcloud.com/paulhryu/g10-vintage-vs-g12-alnico-blue

 

I obviously prefer the Alnico Blue, it is the more complex sound and accepts cleans and dirt just as well. Also louder, by far. In fact, it's loud enough that it was on the verge of uncomfortable, whereas the Vintage 10 was actually a great practice volume. That said, the Vintage 10 is no slouch either. It has a very balanced sound, unlike the Vintage 30 that gets associated with icepick (but I like that speaker, too). Both speakers carry a lot of punch, and neither speaker delivers a lot of bass either, but that's probably due to the Vox powering it, and plus they're both in very small cabinets.

 

Anyway, thought I'd share.

[akapuli]

All this description is nice, but the recorded quality could be improved. Focus on that first IMHO. 

[honeyiscool]

Download the WAV then. Soundcloud adds a lot of compression artifacts.

[Ancient Mariner]

Hi HIC - I've had a V10 and found it unbalanced, peaking in certain frequencies like a V30. A blue is toppier, but needs different EQ to sound it's best.

 

If you like the alnico tone but would prefer something a little warmer then try an Eminence Red Fang. It does that wonderful organic and open tone of the blue, but with a bit less harshness and sting.

[honeyiscool]

I think back when the Red Fang was half the price of a Blue, I would have loved to get one, but at current prices, I just can't really justify trying one when I have two Alnico Blues (one in a cab, one in my AC15) and I do like them a lot. I think I just don't particularly like "warm speakers," but I like warm amps with bright speakers. I'd love to try a Weber, though, but not at current prices. I did order a 10" Weber Alnico Blue Pup, I'm excited to hear how that will sound.

I see that you're looking for an Eminence Ramrod, though. I like that speaker a lot in my Peavey Envoy. It's very loud and present, robust enough to play bass through.