Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: dave_mc on November 18, 2006, 06:36:07 PM
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Hey, guys!
As you may know I bought my Epi Valve Junior Head a little while ago. It's a bit loud through my 4x12, and the vintage 30's in it aren't really getting pushed enough anyway to get great tone. I have a little vox pathfinder practice amp that I'm thinking of converting into a 1x12 speaker cab.
Which speakers, then? I'd prefer a little speaker breakup in my tone, I'm after pretty much a classic rock kind of tone. so I'm thinking the lower the wattage, the better. I'd prefer a nice warm, vintagey british rock tone to the speaker.
Here's what I've come up with so far:
Celestion Greenback G12M (£47): would seem to be a decent choice for all around rock. Pretty decent value too. 25 Watts.
Celestion G12H (£50): again, would seem decent, I'm assuming it's a bit similar to the greenback. According to Celestion, this is a bit like a cross between a greenback and a V30, so maybe I'd just prefer the greenback, for a bit of a change as I already have v30's. 30 watts.
The Heritage versions of these two- only problem is, they're like £90. Seems a bit steep for running a £105 amp through...
Eminence Alnico Red Fang (£110 or so): alnico magnet, which would be cool, but then I'd be in the unenviable position of using a speaker that costs more than my amp. 30 watts. (eminence don't seem to do any other speakers that would seem to be a low enough wattage for what I want)
Celestion Alnico Blue (£150 or so): ditto red fang. 15 watts.
Jensen P12R Alnico Vintage (£58 + postage): This looks like it might be a nice choice. Problem is, I'm afraid it's a little too Fendery (I'm after more of a British Rock crunch), and also, it's almost too cheap to be true, for an alnico speaker- I'm guessing maybe it's not all that great quality. I could be wrong though. 25 watts.
I'm guessing there may be other speakers I've missed- Weber, guys like that.
If you have any ideas/suggestions/comments, that' d be cool. Thanks for any input!
:drink:
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H30! It's one of my favorite, it can do both vintage rock tone and the heavy low tuned modern thing. I can't say much, I just love it :lol:
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I'm currently considering doing the same and going for the alnico blue, i've loved them ever since playing my mate's blue-loaded AC30. One of the nicest amps ever, just so smoooooooth! :D
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^ ^ do you mean the heritage h30 (the price would kind of put me off), or the normal (chinese) h30?
^ again, the price is the problem. It's not that I can't afford it, it's just it seems a little extreme putting a £100 amp through a £150 speaker!
thanks for the replies!
:drink:
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H30!
+1
And get the Hellatone one from avatar
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^ hellatone?
(just to point out, buying from avatar would presumably involve crippling shipping and customs)
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They are Celestions that get broken in by Avatar and they put their Hellatone sticker on them, they are cheaper than Celestions, but indeed Customs/shipping comes on top (could still pay off if you order some).
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I love Jensens but they are too 'American' for what you want. Maybe a Celestion Bulldog for a classy Vox vibe.
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I meant chinese H30, they're good enough I think. Or try to get a UK one second hand on eBay or something...
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They are Celestions that get broken in by Avatar and they put their Hellatone sticker on them, they are cheaper than Celestions, but indeed Customs/shipping comes on top (could still pay off if you order some).
what would be the difference to me just breaking them in myself (other than bother)? Just out of interest. I also only need one, so yeah, shipping and customs is the major problem...
I appreciate the suggestion, though. :drink:
I love Jensens but they are too 'American' for what you want. Maybe a Celestion Bulldog for a classy Vox vibe.
:drink: (i assume you mean a blue by bulldog)
I meant chinese H30, they're good enough I think. Or try to get a UK one second hand on eBay or something...
:drink:
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I love Jensens but they are too 'American' for what you want. Maybe a Celestion Bulldog for a classy Vox vibe.
+ 1 on everything you said above Ratrod :D
I have a penchant for the clean Fender amp type sounds, and Jensens have added a lovely clarity and headroom to a couple of very 'middy' combos for me. As you say though, on this occasion the opposite voicing may be required.
I do love my Jensens though 8)
FF.
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^ thanks for the input, feline. It's nice when several people kind of confirm your suspicions- as long as they aren't just humouring you!
:drink:
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Fear not Dave, I would not "just humour" you. Tone (at the right price) is of serious concern to all genuine musos.
I had in fact responded to Ratrod's comment, without remembering you had even considered a Jensen - so my input was very spontanious. I have the ceramic types, and of course the Alnico would be slightly softer sounding - but the sound of a Jensen comes from the very stiff cone they have. This makes them sound as brisk as a handslap and as clean as Grandma's kitchen table. In a word "Chillin" 8)
The price does not reflect poor quality, but rather that they are built in Italy where the materials and labour rates are still affordable. Jensens get used in Car Hi-Fi applications too...
You will usually find accurate tonal descriptions at watfordvalves.com
Happy hunting !,
FF.
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^ Cheers, feline.
:drink:
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For what it is worth Dave, I have Jensons in my Laney VC30 and I think they are pretty sweet.I can't measure them against anything else tbh so my comments are pretty much worthless but I gather that, when looking for VC30's, the Jenson loaded ones are sought after. They have a nice warmish sound if that makes sense.
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cheers, 38th- any idea what jensens they are?
:drink:
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Hi Dave, they are C10Q16. I am not sure of their power rating without looking it up.
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Cheers!
:D
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Just another thought Dave,
As much as I (like 38thBeatle) love my Jensens, I remembered that Thin Lizzy used Celestion Greenbacks in the 70's and that comparitive reviews seemed to speak of them as being very midrangey.
From the description of your tonal needs I would be therefore very tempted by the 'Greenbacks' in your situation.
Please let us know what you eventually decide on, as I currently have a 4x12 cab loaded with the more general purpose Celestion GT 12-75 speakers, and may in future years wish to re-voice it along similar lines to yourself. This does not negate my love of the Jensens, but I have already enough gear with them in and prefer to have at least one 'outboard' contrast.
All the best Dave,
FF.
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I'll let you know what I'll go for, don't worry! I'm veering towards the greenbacks myself, from what I hear, I think they're what I want. I may even consider the eminence versions, as I hear they're rated in a different way to celestions, so may not be too highly rated after all.
It might be easier to get a hold of celestions, though.
I'll let you know!
:drink:
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I'm thinking about putting a celestion Vintage Thirty in the Hot Rod combo. I think it will combine nicely with the two Jensens in the cab.
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so you're going to wire it to let the combo's speaker work as well as the cab's speaker?
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The Fender Hot Rod has an extra speaker output. So I use the speaker of the combo and the cab together. A total of 3 12" speakers.
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ah, ok, cool. I know on some combos that have speaker outs, they disconnect the internal one.
Update on what I'm going for- I'm half entertaining the idea of going for Weber's version of the greenback (ceramic silver bell, I think that's the one).
Pros:
- handmade and customisable (amount of doping etc.)
- available in 15 watts (should suit the 5W epi output better)
- 10% off at the moment
- good exchange rate with US dollar at the moment, will probably work out (even with customs and shipping) cheaper than a heritage Celestion.
- like BKP I can email them for a personal response.
Cons:
- shipping and customs may make it unfeasible.
anyway, I'll probably email weber to see what they say. I know the guys who've tried them say that they're excellent.