I looked for a 10" Speaker in a small DIY combo, 12V-battery powered.
At first I checked Jensen MOD10 - not too bad, but a lack of treble and power for my taste (I am playing the strat). Jamming with a real drummer it quickly was driven into the limit. So I swapped to Eminence 10" Ramrod that gives more treble and more power as well.
Anyway, these were powered with 10watts only , so there will be some headroom for both speakers using a more powerful amp of 50watts for instance.
Alternatively I could double the power with a 4Ohm driver instead of 8Ohm - the problem is find an adequate guitar speaker with 4Ohms...
At first I checked Jensen MOD10 - not too bad, but a lack of treble and power for my taste (I am playing the strat). Jamming with a real drummer it quickly was driven into the limit. So I swapped to Eminence 10" Ramrod that gives more treble and more power as well.
Anyway, these were powered with 10watts only , so there will be some headroom for both speakers using a more powerful amp of 50watts for instance.
Alternatively I could double the power with a 4Ohm driver instead of 8Ohm - the problem is find an adequate guitar speaker with 4Ohms...
Before buying any expensive speaker, consider the performance of your amp first, IMHO.
I mean : a difference in feedback loop level would neatly modify the sound result. A lack of feedback can give a more "peaky" sound and "muddy" bass when driven. I do not say that it is bad, but increasing the feedback loop level will dampen that and give a more even response, which can result in a very different tone.
I speak about guitar tube amplifiers here.
A+!
But, I like my 2 way more than the g12h. I know most people don't use crossovers in a guitar speaker, which is why I'm here asking for advice on a regular guitar speaker.. (and maybe designers should try 2 way speakers! It worked out surprisingly well.) It's not pointless to talk about because it is my current frame of reference, and probably gives people familiar w/ speakers an idea of what I'm currently hearing. (and yes I know it's not ideal, and that 500hz was chosen only because of the inductors I had, etc.. I used spare parts for this entire amp&speaker.. it's just a hobby)
There is a clarity with the 2way speaker that is missing w/ the g12h. Unless I turn the g12h up to 11.. then it sounds good and clear (full frequency). But played at low practice volumes, the g12h is just muddy.. The treble is missing, and the mids are not well defined. (It actually doesn't sound much different than using a random pro audio woofer)
The answer may be to keep using my 2way speaker, which was supposed to be temporary.. But I want to try at least one more regular guitar speaker first.
The amp is basically a vox ac30, but w/ 6v6 outputs. So, ~15 watts I guess. I've tried no feedback, various levels of global feedback, as well as 'schade' style local feedback. The changes are subtle compared to the differences in speakers! I can cut the bass on my tone controls, and it's less 'muddy' in the mids but that doesn't bring back any clarity on the high end.. which is I guess high frequencies that are missing w/ the g12h.
I might pick a random guitar speaker people say is treble heavy or 'thin' sounding, as a good comparison to this g12h(55) which is more bass heavy. Then I'll at least have a better idea of the differences between guitar speakers.
I agree with tubelectron. I know of quite a few guys who have a dozen speakers hanging on nails just sitting there in their quest for tone. In my experience, the voicing and performance of the amp is a more powerful tool in finding "that" sound rather than the speaker quest. I have a couple of old Hammond AO-43 amps and some old PA amps that I have rebuilt that sound very good with any speaker I play them through. I have a Marshall 2-12 closed back with G12T 75s, an open back 2-12 with a Celestion Alnico Gold and a Celestion G12H30 70th Aniversary and a 1-12 open back with a Celestion Vintage 30. The speaker quest is over for me. I just re-voice the amps I build to get the sound I want. I know this is a thread about speakers, but sometimes it is futile to keep looking when your amp doesn't perform.
As tubelectron said, it can be done in the feedback loop if there is one or add one, changing coupling cap(s), cathode bypass cap(s), re-biasing a preamp tube hotter or colder with one resistor change, etc.
As tubelectron said, it can be done in the feedback loop if there is one or add one, changing coupling cap(s), cathode bypass cap(s), re-biasing a preamp tube hotter or colder with one resistor change, etc.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFcuN8y5ReY
look for them Eminence lady lucks they sound awesome haha
look for them Eminence lady lucks they sound awesome haha
One guitar amp I played with had lots of bass cut and treble boost - turn the bass up to 10 and the treble to 2 and it was approximately neutral (as far as a guitar speaker can be).
Level the controls again, and it became a guitar amp.
Run your Celestion full-range, taper off <200Hz and boost above 2kHz. See what you think.
Chris
Level the controls again, and it became a guitar amp.
Run your Celestion full-range, taper off <200Hz and boost above 2kHz. See what you think.
Chris
Electric guitars don't sound very good when the amp has a flat FR. All guitar amps that I know of necessarily have a substantial increase in gain above about 1kHZ (just beyond the highest note on a strat). A guitar amp needs to be "voiced" properly to be great, in addition to the tone controls. Guitar speakers do some of the voicing for you. Hi-Fi spkrs are a very bad choice. I've had very good sound from the Celestion Greenbacks and the Jensen P10r and P10Q drivers. Higher power guitar speakers have less extension of high frequencies, and can sound painfully "honky" (due to heavier coils). If you need higher power speakers, use multiples of low wattage drivers for the best sound.
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Fane speakers used to be popular with guitar amplifier makers in their cabinets.
In the 1980's I built; 2 off 2 by 12 inch Fane 50WRMS cabinets for my guitar and they sounded good. I also used them for a disco and they were very loud.
Fane now do a range of guitar speakers with high SPL but they do tend to be quite expensive.
You can get much cheaper Fane full range speakers like Fane sovereign 200 and 250.
In the 1980's I built; 2 off 2 by 12 inch Fane 50WRMS cabinets for my guitar and they sounded good. I also used them for a disco and they were very loud.
Fane now do a range of guitar speakers with high SPL but they do tend to be quite expensive.
You can get much cheaper Fane full range speakers like Fane sovereign 200 and 250.
Alright, thanks again everyone.
I understand the advice about modifying the amp and not worrying about the speaker... But... I do want to try one more guitar speaker.. The G12H-55 is a particularly dark speaker.. I'm going to go for the opposite, and get a bright speaker. From there, I can choose which I like and then modify the amp to fine tune the sound.
So, rather than an expensive dark UK speaker, I'm going to a cheap bright US speaker.
I was already looking at the weber 12a125 series, which are relatively low powered, and in line w/ Bob's advice. I can't decide which cone.. and my lack of experience makes it difficult to choose simply based on webers description of tone.. (I don't really know what tone I'm gong for, other than brighter than the g12h-55).
But anyway... I'll probably randomly choose the cone, and try one.
I understand the advice about modifying the amp and not worrying about the speaker... But... I do want to try one more guitar speaker.. The G12H-55 is a particularly dark speaker.. I'm going to go for the opposite, and get a bright speaker. From there, I can choose which I like and then modify the amp to fine tune the sound.
So, rather than an expensive dark UK speaker, I'm going to a cheap bright US speaker.
I was already looking at the weber 12a125 series, which are relatively low powered, and in line w/ Bob's advice. I can't decide which cone.. and my lack of experience makes it difficult to choose simply based on webers description of tone.. (I don't really know what tone I'm gong for, other than brighter than the g12h-55).
But anyway... I'll probably randomly choose the cone, and try one.
If the impedance works out, you could combine your G12H-55 with a Vintage 30. Many people think that one has somewhat overly pronounced upper mids. These could compliment each other well. This a is a cool strategy, mixing speakers of different responses together to compliment each other to create an overall balanced, full sound. Or obviously mix the Weber with your G12H-55. Try to match the sensitivity rating as well. Some people forget about this spec and one speaker can grab a lot more of the signal if it is much more sensitive.
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I got a Weber 12a125, and am super super happy!!
Sounds perfect! I thought it might be light on bass, but it's not.
Compared to the g12h-55, it's clear and correct sounding, where the celestion was dark and muddy sounding, even w/ the bass turned down at the amp. (I guess the g12h-55 has a peak in the lower mids in comparison to the 12a125).
So, if anyone is looking for guitar speakers, I'd recommend trying Weber.. They're relatively inexpensive, and for the DIYer, there are tons of options about cone, magent, basket, watts, surround dope, etc, etc.
Sounds perfect! I thought it might be light on bass, but it's not.
Compared to the g12h-55, it's clear and correct sounding, where the celestion was dark and muddy sounding, even w/ the bass turned down at the amp. (I guess the g12h-55 has a peak in the lower mids in comparison to the 12a125).
So, if anyone is looking for guitar speakers, I'd recommend trying Weber.. They're relatively inexpensive, and for the DIYer, there are tons of options about cone, magent, basket, watts, surround dope, etc, etc.
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