Your favorite Guitar Loudspeakers!

[yureal]

There is a lot said about mic placements and such regarding guitar speakers, but I read less about which speakers people prefer for particular sounds or different amps or what have you.

 

So I'm interested in the many experiences (both recording and general) you've all had. Lets talk about guitar speakers!

[Phil O'Keefe]

I've got a few favorites, and I like them for different reasons and with different amps.

 

For high power handling capability, I love the EV 12F in my Fender Princeton Reverb II. It weighs a ton, but it will take 200W RMS all day long and never complain. It's very efficient too, with a rating of ~103dB @ 1W / 1M.

 

Weber makes a bunch of really good speakers. I have a Blue Dog AlNico in my Vox AC15, and it really nails that Celestion Blue vibe - "the sound of Vox" - but at a much more reasonable price point. Plus, you can specify all sorts of optional preferences - no dope, light doping, wattage / power handling capability, etc.

 

I was going to put a Weber into my '71 Princeton Amp when I was restoring it, but since the stock Oxford was torn, I wanted to get something into it right away to test other aspects of the amp as I was working on it, so I put in a reissue Jensen C10R as a "temp measure"... and I wound up liking it a lot more than I thought I would - enough so that it's still in there.

 

Of course, lots of other speakers come through here.. Celestion usually seem to deliver the goods... I've always liked Greenbacks for some things. I have a Marshall Class 5 amp incoming, which has a new Celestion G10 F-15 speaker in it. The amp should be arriving on Tuesday and I'm looking forward to hearing how it sounds after giving the speaker a suitable break in period...

 

Speakers have a HUGE influence on not only how an amp SOUNDS, but also how LOUD it will be... which reminds me, I need to do a write up about wattage and SPL and efficiency and loudness for the guys over in the Effects forum... we were just talking about all of that the other day, and I think a lot of that stuff is a bit confusing for some of them.

[onelife]

 

I was going to put a Weber into my '71 Princeton Amp when I was restoring it, but since the stock Oxford was torn, I wanted to get something into it right away to test other aspects of the amp as I was working on it, so I put in a reissue Jensen C10R as a "temp measure"... and I wound up liking it a lot more than I thought I would - enough so that it's still in there.

 

 

I've got the Jensen P10R in my '73 Princeton. When I put it in, I was planning to take the amp to the rehearsal space and just leave it there to save lugging my main amp around. The Princeton really came to life and became my main amp for most situations - unless I really need more power.

 

I like the warmth and early breakup of the Alnico speaker but it suffers a bit when trying to reproduce heavy low end. It also works really well with a 57 for recording.

 

btw Phil, I can only imagine what installing an EVM speaker would do to the weight of any kind of Princeton - sort of defeats the purpose of having a nice little amp to carry around.

[onelife]

I hate to admit this, especially after my previous post, but for years I carried around a Fender Twin with two EVM12Ls that came in just under 100lbs. I used to say it was for that 'heavy' sound.

 

I was using the amp for a Rhodes as well as a Les Paul or 335 at the time and, once we got it moved into a place, it handled them all very well.

[Phil O'Keefe]

The EV 12F in my Princeton II is a rebranded EVM. It's a great speaker, but like I said, it weights a ton. I can only imagine how heavy a pair would be in a Twin. Actually, I remember guys in the 80s who were running four of those in 4X12 cabinets - IMO, they were NUTS! Or they must have had several very strong roadies.

 

My little Princeton Amp does great for me in a lot of situations - especially for recording. I've always said that Princetons are some of the best recording amps ever made, and I still stick by that. But in the rare cases where I need a bit more for a live gig, I use the Princeton Reverb II (20W whith that highly efficient EV speaker) and pair it in stereo with my AC15. If I need more juice than that, well, it's going to probably be a large enough venue where they will have a large enough PA so they can mic me up. My days of carting around huge amps like Super Sixes and Twins and stuff are over.

[WRGKMC]

The best set of sounding speakers I own are a pair of Altec 417 guitar speakers. They date back to the late 60s when I got a pair in my Blackface bassman cab. I've long since lost the cab being cut down to two smaller 4X12 cabs, but I still have the head and speakers.

 

Guess the second best are either my 4X10" Jenson Alnicos or the Celetion 75s in my Marshall 1960 cab.

 

I do have one opened back cab with 4 different 10" speakers in it. Its got a Peavey, Jenson, Ovation, and JBL in it. I find it useful for recording, If I dont like the tone of one speaker I can just mic another. I have several other cabs with Eminance, Sunn and other speakers. Since they're old and roadworn I dont consider them serious contenders. They're just basic duty stuff that sounds decent but nothing unique.

[yureal]

I've enjoyed the v30's in my B-52 cab and my buddy's GT 75's in a marshall cab. FWIW, I think the B-52 cabs are a steal - mine is a 2x12 v30 cab and I love it. When I don't like it for something, I usually prefer the marshall cab instead.

 

 

Thanks for the replies, fellas:thu:

[nerol1st]

Vintage 30s fallowed by GT-75s.

[Lee Knight]

I love the old old old 8" Jensens.

 

Cel V30's are fine once broken in.

[nerol1st]

Oh yeah, good point. New v30s are kind of meh.

[CME]

G12H30's They do clean and classic rock well. In fact they do clean way better than I anticipated. Not that I didn't expect them to. Just I don't use a true clean very often. I like overdrive and bringing down the volume knob for clean. However if you do dial up a true clean sound they sound incredible. Not sure how well they do metal though, as I don't do metal lol.

 

Oh and they are IMO best at classic rock tones. Thick, woody, and smooth. They are similar to a V30 but better. Someone once described them as chewy. I tend to like that desciption.

[Cirrus]

G12H30's They do clean and classic rock well. In fact they do clean way better than I anticipated. Not that I didn't expect them to. Just I don't use a true clean very often. I like overdrive and bringing down the volume knob for clean. However if you do dial up a true clean sound they sound incredible. Not sure how well they do metal though, as I don't do metal lol. Oh and they are IMO best at classic rock tones. Thick, woody, and smooth. They are similar to a V30 but better. Someone once described them as chewy. I tend to like that desciption.

 

I replaced one of the Celestion blues in my ac30 with a g12h30 and I've got to agree, they're amazing speakers. I much prefer them to greenbacks, though of course greenies have their place for tradtional rock sounds.

 

The g12h30 doesn't have loads of mids, but good treble and strong bass response. Works great paired with a more mid heavy speaker. And it gives cleans a great deep but glassy quality.

 

As for celestion blues, I've found I actually prefer weber blue dogs - I replaced the remaining celestion blue with a 30w version and I've found it to be smoother and richer than the celestion, whcih has this treble/upper mid spike which sounds great with some amps but not others - apparently modern blues are a little brighter than their 60s counterparts.

[uab9253]

The Eminence speakers in my Line 6 !! Just kidding, although they are not as bad as you think.

 

Celestion greens. They are like the PAF of speakers. Other speakers do other things and do them well, but you can't go wrong with a set of greens. Classic!

[Phil O'Keefe]

btw Phil, I can only imagine what installing an EVM speaker would do to the weight of any kind of Princeton - sort of defeats the purpose of having a nice little amp to carry around.

 

In the early 80s, Fender offered the EV as a factory option on the Princeton Reverb II. Mine came from the factory with that speaker in it. And while a PRII with a stock Eminence is a heavier amp than a Princeton Amp or Princeton Reverb anyway, one with the EV in it is a beast - it's almost as heavy as a MkI / MkII era Mesa Boogie. Actually, the way the volume controls work on the PRII, it has more in common with those Boogies in some ways than it does with my Princeton Amp. It's somewhat like a cross between the two.

 

Here's a pic of my Princetons hanging out with my Super Champ: