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What, in your opinion is the best 'all rounder' speaker


Mr Songwriter

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Greenback?

 

 

I recently bought a 10" Greenback (I've not tried the 12" ones) and it does do nice cleans and even better overdrive (though I wouldn't mind a little bit more bite/treble)...the only downside being the 25W power rating.

 

 

 

G12H-30's, although I'm not sure I'd put them in a Blackface style amp.

 

 

That's another speaker I'm planning to check out.

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I have the same experience. I find usually a speaker excels at clean or overdrive. My favorite "all around" speaker is a "12-65" style speaker. They are similar to a high power green back. There are many manufacturers that have their take on the original Celestion G12-65. I find these style speakers sound good at low and high volumes which adds to their appeal. That being said, my favorite speaker is made by Scholz. I run a 2x12 with a pair and they sound phenomenal, but they really like being played loud.

 

I have never used one, but people rave about the EVM 12L. Supposedly very neutral and let the sound of the amp come through with little coloration. Basically, what you put in is what you get out.

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Yeah, if you don't mind the weight, my answer would be a 12L or SRO. Sounds very Fendery in a Blackface amp... sounds great with gain in a Mark V... Maybe it doesn't do the Vox chime thing to full effect, but even then, it doesn't sound bad.

 

Capable of plenty of brightness similar to a JBL but rarely will be harsh. You DEFINITELY won't need more bottom end.

 

It can handle 200 to 300 watts, will pretty much never blow if hooked to any reasonable guitar amp... solid materials throughout...

 

Drawback is the weight and the price. They weight about 18 lbs which I think is more than a complete 5E3 Tweed Deluxe minus the speaker. Speaking of which, many amps might not have strong enough of a baffle to support a 12L long term.

 

They cost about $200 and used ones almost always pull $150. For the same price, you could get two quality Warehouse Speakers.

 

Just to throw out there, the Weber Michigan is in the same tonal ballpark as the 12L but much lighter and cheaper. Less power handling though.

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Yeah, if you don't mind the weight, my answer would be a 12L or SRO. Sounds very Fendery in a Blackface amp... sounds great with gain in a Mark V... Maybe it doesn't do the Vox chime thing to full effect, but even then, it doesn't sound bad.


Capable of plenty of brightness similar to a JBL but rarely will be harsh. You DEFINITELY won't need more bottom end.


It can handle 200 to 300 watts, will pretty much never blow if hooked to any reasonable guitar amp... solid materials throughout...


Drawback is the weight and the price. They weight about 18 lbs which I think is more than a complete 5E3 Tweed Deluxe minus the speaker. Speaking of which, many amps might not have strong enough of a baffle to support a 12L long term.


They cost about $200 and used ones almost always pull $150. For the same price, you could get two quality Warehouse Speakers.


Just to throw out there, the Weber Michigan is in the same tonal ballpark as the 12L but much lighter and cheaper. Less power handling though.

 

I'll put them on the list. I gues it's cool if they retain their value well, but $200 ain't cheap for a speaker :D

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Cheers for the recommendations, I had a look on soundcloud/Youtube etc for the Eminence Legends, the cleans sounded good, but I found them a bit ringy overall.

 

Funny someone should mention the G12-65's, because I bought a (very) used one on Ebay the other day but it wasn't up to much...guess I should have gone for a new one instead.

 

The 12L does sound interesting, but 18 lbs!...even my heaviest Alnico (a Jensen Blackbird) is only about 7 lb, plus they're about

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I only have limited experience with a 1265. I borrowed a 1x12 JCM800 that had a 1265. It always sounded pretty good to me, but it definitely sounded better as the volume got louder. Not sure how much of that was attributable to the amp or the speaker.

 

:lol:

 

It is worth noting that a lot of folks seem to like the 12L and when they look for something lighter weight, they go with the 1265.

 

:idk:

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I recently bought a 10" Greenback (I've not tried the 12" ones) and it does do nice cleans and even better overdrive (though I wouldn't mind a little bit more bite/treble)...the only downside being the 25W power rating.

 

 

WGS makes a 50w Greenback style speaker.

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I love the g12h30 and the Greenback. For the money, Weber Blue Dogs are fantastic - the ceramic ones are especially cool.

 

 

Absolutely love the Weber Blue Dog and Silver Bell. I have three of them and I'll likely order another Silver Bell later this year when my amp situation changes a bit.

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The Celestion Blue, in my opinion, compresses better than any speaker I've ever heard. It is an example of a speaker that literally changes its entire character when pushed to a certain level. I'd use the word 'transforms' to describe how much it changes.

 

The good thing is it REALLY sounds fantastic. The bad thing is it sounds pretty lack luster at below that volume point and that volume point is pretty high. About the same as a Twin on about 3.5.

 

I think the G12H30 and the Blue should make a great combo... possibly the best combo for an amp that is half Marshall, half Vox in character. I tried out a Dr Z Rx Jr through a Z cab with the G12H30/Blue combo and it was quite possibly the most I've ever been impressed with an amp. It wasn't for sale so he wasn't talking it up (I went to check out a guitar he had listed for sale) but I fiddled with it for maybe 30 seconds and said something along the lines of, 'It's incredible. I can't imagine how much better it would sound once I dialed it in' and the guy said, 'it won't sound much better... because it ALWAYS sounds good. Keep all the knobs between 9:00 and 3:00 and it sounds killer no matter what else you do.

 

:lol:

 

My open 2x12 has a G12H30 and a Blue Dog which is similar, but more creamy and less sparkly than the Celestion Blue.

 

I've also had an AC15 with a Celestion Blue and another AC15 with a Blue Dog... I liked all four combinations, but I think overall, I'd be tempted to lean towards the G12H30/Celestion Blue as a lead player or the G12H30/Blue Dog as a rhythm player. They are similar, but the Blue Dog definitely has more presence or more weight in the bottom end without sounding bass heavy at all. Or maybe a G12H55 and the Alnico Blue. Having said that, I don't know how you could go wrong with any of those combinations.

 

:thu:

 

The only thing I see potentially lacking with the Blue is how it would sound with serious gain. And by 'serious gain' I mean boosted 800 and higher levels of gain. It really lacks that bottom weight that, I feel, that type of tone really needs.

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Absolutely love the Weber Blue Dog and Silver Bell. I have three of them and I'll likely order another Silver Bell later this year when my amp situation changes a bit.

 

 

Yeah. In a lower wattage amp any Celestion blue type speaker can do both a great clean and dirty sound. I wouldn't recommend them for metal, but then I also wouldn't recommend playing metal.

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I see people say negative things about Vintage 30 speakers on a fairly regular basis but I think they are excellent for nice cleans and up to harder edged classic rock as well. Jazz, blues and country? It seems to fit well with those three.

 

 

Well, the way a speaker sounds is definitely subjective. I find the Vintage 30 ear piercingly shrill for any music except for playing lead in the rock genre. Definitely not an all-rounder for me.

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