Members Oldskool Texas Posted May 11, 2007 Members Share Posted May 11, 2007 I received and installed my Weber ceramic 6" today. I've swapped speakers before and always noticed an improvement, but I think that because the Champ's stock speaker was so {censored}ty, it now sounds like a whole new rig. For one thing, it's much louder. The proverbial "like someone took the blanket off" effect. Secondly, it no longer farts out, unless it's dimed to 12, I'm playing on the neck pickup, on the open low-E, and really digging in. And even then, I think it's partly the tube breakup. Under normal use, it's just ... well ... lovely, really. I play mostly clean, a littel reverb, and when this is in the 6 - 9 range, it's just got a vibe that I can't describe. Clear, thick, smooth ... words fail me. Mind you, I already liked the amp, so I expected to like it even more. But this is pretty damned amazing. On the Tele's bridge singlecoil or neck P-90, I am seriously in love with my tone. The kids are asleep or else I'd record a clip. I'll try to do so later this weekend. Bottom line: Fender should be ashamed of the stock speaker they spec'd. For $24 retail, they could have made this amp a real champion. With JJs tubes and the Weber, I've now got $250 into this - not bad, now that it sounds so great - but this is the tone Fender should have put into the thing in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chiro972 Posted May 11, 2007 Members Share Posted May 11, 2007 Got a link to that weber speaker? I keep hearing it referred to but I don't know where to find it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oldskool Texas Posted May 11, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 11, 2007 Here you go - http://www.tedweber.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bloolight Posted May 11, 2007 Members Share Posted May 11, 2007 Oldskool, I'm glad you got the same experience from your new speaker that I did. It really makes that amp shine. The increase in volume was certainly unexpected, and the farting problem disappears. Makes a good amp into a great little amp. I think Weber is going to be seeing a big run on those 6" speakers during the next few months. They're really sweet. I'm defintely going to be getting a Weber replacement for my Blues Jr in the near future. As for a link, you just need to go to www.tedweber.com and look up the 6" ceramic signature series. They are supposedly going to be offering an AlNiCo variety once they get their supply issues sorted out. Its worth every penny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chiro972 Posted May 11, 2007 Members Share Posted May 11, 2007 So would it be worth it to wait for the AlNiCo or is the ceramic a better choice for that amp anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sodacose Posted May 11, 2007 Members Share Posted May 11, 2007 I love the 8" ceramic I dropped in my Vj by Weber. Very similar experience. HNSD! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bloolight Posted May 11, 2007 Members Share Posted May 11, 2007 So would it be worth it to wait for the AlNiCo or is the ceramic a better choice for that amp anyway? It sounds like the AlNiCo magnets are supposed to have a smoother clipping at high volumes. Personally, considering the relatively low volume that this thing puts out, I'm not sure how much of a difference it would make. The Champion 600 has a tendency to sound dark as-is, so putting a "smoother" responding speaker into it may exacerbate this. I like the way the ceramic Weber brightened things up. Still, I'm not expert on these speakers. They certainly seem to have a following among vintage amp people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sodacose Posted May 11, 2007 Members Share Posted May 11, 2007 It sounds like the AlNiCo magnets are supposed to have a smoother clipping at high volumes. That's what my research into my VJ speaker indicated. AlNiCo speakers have a tendency towards natural compression when they are driven very hard (I believe there is some scientific explanation on the Weber site). My reasoning for a ceramic in my VJ was that I didn't believe 5 watts to be sufficient enough power to drive the speaker to that point. I also wanted to keep the small amp as dynamic as possible as I would be using it for recording at (more than likely) moderate volumes. Whether the cone is ribbed or not affects how early your speaker breakup will appear. The stock straight cone was too farty for me in the VJ and I thought it tended to cover up the natural tube breakup sound of the amp. A straight cone breaks up earlier than a ribbed one (IIRC because of standing waves created by speaker vibration). For maximum clarity and dynamics I ultimately went with a ribbed ceramic speaker in my VJ. My VJ is the 'Hornette' in my sig if you are interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted May 11, 2007 Share Posted May 11, 2007 Well, I'm not one to do this usually, but clips? vids? something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oldskool Texas Posted May 11, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 11, 2007 Well, I'm not one to do this usually, but clips? vids? something? I'll do my best to get something up on Sunday night. I'm out of town this weekend, or I'd do it tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oldskool Texas Posted May 11, 2007 Author Members Share Posted May 11, 2007 Oldskool, I'm glad you got the same experience from your new speaker that I did. It really makes that amp shine. The increase in volume was certainly unexpected, and the farting problem disappears. Makes a good amp into a great little amp. I think Weber is going to be seeing a big run on those 6" speakers during the next few months. They're really sweet. I'm defintely going to be getting a Weber replacement for my Blues Jr in the near future. As for a link, you just need to go to www.tedweber.com and look up the 6" ceramic signature series. They are supposedly going to be offering an AlNiCo variety once they get their supply issues sorted out. Its worth every penny. Y'know, as I plugged it in after installing the speaker, I thought to myself, "I hope this does the same thing to mine that Bloolight's did for his!" And then, bingo - we have a winner! The tube replacements made nowhere near this profound of an improvement. I'm curious about those Alnico speakers, but I'm pretty ignorant about these things, so I don't even know what the advantages are supposed to be. So once again, I'll let you be the guinea pig! I'm so happy with the ceramic one right now, I can't think of a reason to ever change it. It's a thirty-dollar miracle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bloolight Posted May 11, 2007 Members Share Posted May 11, 2007 Y'know, as I plugged it in after installing the speaker, I thought to myself, "I hope this does the same thing to mine that Bloolight's did for his!" And then, bingo - we have a winner! The tube replacements made nowhere near this profound of an improvement. I'm curious about those Alnico speakers, but I'm pretty ignorant about these things, so I don't even know what the advantages are supposed to be. So once again, I'll let you be the guinea pig! I'm so happy with the ceramic one right now, I can't think of a reason to ever change it. It's a thirty-dollar miracle. I'll probably be looking into an AlNiCo replacement on the Blues Jr. Right now that thing is way, way too hissy for my taste. I haven't played it much since I bought it because of that. Of course, the larger speaker will cost more...I'll post a report once I get it replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bluesidae Posted May 11, 2007 Members Share Posted May 11, 2007 Oldskool, I'm glad you got the same experience from your new speaker that I did. It really makes that amp shine. The increase in volume was certainly unexpected, and the farting problem disappears. Makes a good amp into a great little amp. I think Weber is going to be seeing a big run on those 6" speakers during the next few months. They're really sweet. I'm defintely going to be getting a Weber replacement for my Blues Jr in the near future. As for a link, you just need to go to www.tedweber.com and look up the 6" ceramic signature series. They are supposedly going to be offering an AlNiCo variety once they get their supply issues sorted out. Its worth every penny. Hey Bloolight... you can answer my question: How does the Champion compare with the Blues Jr? I see some Champion owners are getting up to the $250-300 range once tubes and speakers are replaced. I can get a new Blues Jr for $350. The Epi Jr. guys are really into spending after the fact $$$. Are the 600's worth it when you can get so much more for just a bit more? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dwerlin Posted May 11, 2007 Members Share Posted May 11, 2007 I'd like to know more about a comparison between the Blues Jr. and the 600 as well (I'm a Blues Jr. owner). How loud do you have to get the 600 w/ the upgraded speaker to go into overdrive? Is there a rough estimate on where the knobs would be on a Blues Jr. at a comparable volume to that of the overdriven 600? Basically, I can't turn my master volume up past 2.5 on the Blues Jr. without it being too loud when everyone's home (gotta get that damn basement finished!), so I'm wondering if an overdriven 600 would be louder than a Blues Jr. on 2 to 2.5 (with the preamp volume around 9 or 10). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jerry_picker Posted May 11, 2007 Members Share Posted May 11, 2007 It sounds like the AlNiCo magnets are supposed to have a smoother clipping at high volumes. Personally, considering the relatively low volume that this thing puts out, I'm not sure how much of a difference it would make. The Champion 600 has a tendency to sound dark as-is, so putting a "smoother" responding speaker into it may exacerbate this. I like the way the ceramic Weber brightened things up. Still, I'm not expert on these speakers. They certainly seem to have a following among vintage amp people. The 8" Weber Sig8 ceramic speakers are superb in SF Champs. They are more efficient than alnico: more decibels. Good tone, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seblo_15 Posted May 12, 2007 Members Share Posted May 12, 2007 I am waiting on my new tubes and Weber 6 speaker! Can't wait and hope to get the same results! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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