4x6 guitar speakers

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Hi, I'm building a small ~18 watt, EL84 pp amp. I want to use it for guitar practice at times, but I only have space for an oval speaker, 4x6 or 5x7. 6x9 is a bit too big.

Is there any speakers made for guitar or pro sound with those dimensions? I've googled and all I come up with is car audio.

Is there any car audio speakers that can be used for guitar?

Thanks...

Daniel
 
It is generally only Car speakers that are oval , I have seen a few organ speakers that were oval but that is about it .....

If you want your amp to sound good don"t use any speaker that is NOT designed for guitar .... a Hi-Fi speaker or a car audio speaker is going to sound awefull .....

I would suggest you rethink your plans and incorporate an actual speaker that is designed for guitar .....

Even the most awesome sounding guitar amp will sound bad through a non-guitar speaker ......


Cheers
 
Some time ago I caught some discussion somewhere about some 6x9's being in demand for a good sounding bass guitar practice amp. A lot depends on what kind of sound you're after. For clean / acoustic you might even be interested in the lately more common poly cone ovals. In the power range you're dealing with you could use a very cheap one and not have to worry about burning it. For overdrive sound / cone breakup I think you'd want to stick with paper. If you're concerned about good bottom end I'd suggest doing anything you can to make a 6x9 fit, even if it means milling into the sides of the cabinet, or nibbling a bit of the basket off (although the typical oval basket doesn't have a lot of overhang that isn't needed for surround gluing). For a one-off, it's all about how much massaging you want to get into, and you might wanna be prepared for a major disappointment or two. Start cheap:

BOSS BRS69 6"x9" Dual Cone Replacement Speaker
 
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Andrew: How do you know that the Boss is okay for guitar? I didn't see any specs for it. I could fit a 6x9, but the grill opening is 4 1/2 x 8. It is an old metal radio I'm putting an amp and speaker in to use for my iPod and since it is tube I could play my guitar through it. I'm not going for speaker breakup as much as tube breakup so that part works. Thanks...
 
Oh, I don't really know anything about those Boss speakers, just that poly cones with rubber surrounds are actually being designed into current market acoustic guitar speakers.

Speaker Detail | Eminence Speaker

Either this Eminence (you can look at the response curves on site) or the Boss is going to have a very flat, character-less sound compared to something with a light paper cone (like the usual 12 or 10" guitar speaker). If you're going to usually play with some kind of distortion you may as well keep looking for something else.
 
What are you intending to use this for, guitar or HiFi? Trying to use the same amp/speaker for both will result in disappointment for both. You really should descide on one or the other because the sound of an electric guitar through an amp/speaker with flat frequency response will sound "flat" and boring, and HiFi through a guitar amp sounds plain bad.

Mike
 
Back in the late 60's and early 70's there were some guitar and MI PA amps that were made with 6X9 speakers. The brand name Acoustic comes to mind. These guitar specific 6X9's had a unique sound that was popular then.

I have used some car speakers in guitar amps with mixed results. I ripped the JBL 5X7's out of my car when I traded it in and stuck them both in the same cabinet which was fed by a SE KT88 cranked to nearly 20 watts in a "Champ" like circuit. It sounded awesome and I sold it 20 years ago.

Experiments with 6X9 car speakers have met with mixed results. Some are just too clean, others start to sound good at the point they blow up. Many have very loose suspensions to improve the bass response in a car. They may work with a tube amp, but a solid state amp with good low frequncy response can rip the cone out if you slap the strings hard.

I did get some really cheap 6X9's when the local Kmart closed its doors. They sounded pretty good but after nearly 10 years I have blown them all up!
 
Thanks all...

Michael: Since it is only a small table top unit I'm not expecting extreme hi-fi results. It will be mono also. The circuit I'm going to use is from a Motorola console tube amp that I've played my electric through and it sounded great. I'm not expecting great guitar amp results either. I will have ext. speaker jacks.

Peter: Those are nice but a bit too big. And I'd be worried about the moderate breakup.

Tube: thanks for the experience with these... JBL's may be worth a look.

This is mainly for the iPod, but would like to plug the guitar in it once in awhile just because I can...
 
thanks for the experience with these... JBL's may be worth a look.

The car I took them out of was a 1992 model purchased used in about 1994 and it was traded in on a 1997 model so the speakers were from that range of years. I doubt the same speakers are available today. They were 5 X 7's with a small coaxial mounted tweeter. I am guessing I got them at Circuit City in about 1994. I remember replacing the stereo shortly after getting the car.
 
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