new speakers

[TWANG]

as some of you may have noticed, I've had the Lady Luck 12" epi spkr but not much else.

Some unbranded Eminence 12" were my final choice and I've been using them for all final decisions on the way the amps sound.

Today I traded a guy some guitar stuff for two Eminence Legend 12" 16ohm speakers.

I put them both in my epi cabs.

 

I tried a stack with the new one on top.. mine are 8ohms.

and I found the new ones pretty much covered up any sound from my old ones, at least they dominated.

And anyway, I like the new ones perfectly well alone.

They have more mids, as my p90s gleefully discovered. And the highs, while brighter, weren't too harsh unless the tone was up on guitar or amp.

 

Tried 'em with all three currently working heads.

one amp loaded inside and out, and two amps just loaded insided.

 

Off the floor, they were too bright, I think. These speakers seem to thrive on being closer to the floor.

You could tell this sitting down, too, so head level wasn't the whole deal.

 

They have much larger magnets than my no name speakers.

Just all around nicer materials really.

I don' t know the magnets of either yet, I'll have to look that and other specs up.

Mine, all I know are 12" and 50watts.

 

All in all a good trade. I need to spend more money on speakers.

 

Don't say I said that, though.

 

TWANG

[m-theory]

The single most dramatic thing you can do for tone is a speaker swap. It's the final element in the signal chain, and arguably the most important. It's a shame more people aren't aware of this. Most people will buy an amp and run it as is forever, without even considering a speaker upgrade.

 

The reason the floor is taming the highs is because the floor acts almost as a bass bin, as the cabinet couples with the room. This is another area where a lot of players miss out on truly great tone, because they've got their amp up on a chair or a stand, to blast their ears. They'd get MUCH better tone if they kept the amp flat on the floor. If you need better highs dispersement, which is the reason why players plop their amp on a stand or chair, get a Weber Beam Blocker. You lose SO much by taking the amp off the floor, or even just leaning it back, that it's far better to either put something in the monitors or install beam blockers, to get the highs you're looking for, rather than losing that bass coupling through the floor.

[Old_Ampeg_Guy]

The single most dramatic thing you can do for tone is a speaker swap. It's the final element in the signal chain' date=' and arguably the most important. It's a shame more people aren't aware of this. Most people will buy an amp and run it as is forever, without even considering a speaker upgrade. . . ..[/quote']

 

I've certainly found that to be true, even with a "modest" (solid state) amp, m-theory. Long ago I swapped out the stock Fender 12" speaker in my now-bedroom amp, a Studio 85, for a 1960s JBL D-120F. I was seeking a good clean tone, and the improvement in tonality across the frequency spectrum was dramatic. I happen to love JBLs, but the Altecs and ElectroVoice speakers from that period were pretty good as well.

 

Unfortunately, JBL does not appear to sell raw frame speakers for musical instrument use any longer. I got one of their 15" guitar/bass speakers on closeout from their pro website when they stopped offering them. $75 for a wonderful speaker.

 

Old Ampeg Guy

[TWANG]

I can't stand the spkr off the floor in my music room.

the highs are too in my face and the lows just disappear.

 

I was still surprised at how bright and harsh these new ones sounded elevated, compared to on the floor.

My first impression was uh oh.. how come my cheapy is that much better.

When I reversed cabinets, even with fewer highs in my old ones, the new spkrs were better.

 

One of the worst things about selling a vj head is not knowing what the guy will be using for a speaker.. and of course, I can only really guess, not owning them all.

 

These are louder, too. And I didn't think there'd be noticeable difference there.

 

I'm thinking of pulling them out of the epi cabs and putting them in the delta blues I modded just to see.. I'm not crazy aboout those blue marvels.

Does anyone know those speakers? They seem very deep in the lows.