You won't go far wrong with a Celestion G12M Greenback 25 watt 12" speaker. They are about £90 for a new one.
I've got one that produces 101 db/1m/1W from 8 ohms. I listen to it in my music room at a base level of 1v or <1/4 W. Sound is excellent from 54 hz (low note of a piano) to 14.5 khz, the top of my hearing.
However it costs about $600 new. They are used in bars a lot though, so you can find the singleton orphan on the internet resale market for about 1/3 the new price. Mine was from a C&W band leaving the road and had tobacco ash all over it. I spent an hour in the yard whacking the wool cover with a broom. Such is the life of a bargain hunter.
It is a Peavey SP-2XT from 1998. The 2001 and later SP2 is slightly less sensitive, but lighter and easier to put up on the pole over your head. Audition with your ear below the tweeter, at least 10' away. They are designed to project sound down from poles.
They are capable of producing 124 db from 300 w of sound, but you don't have to use them that way. Best sounding speaker I've heard in this flyover state. I used piano source material for test; it should sound like a real one. Also ZZ Top Afterburner to test time alignment of the bass drum. The SP5 is cheaper but has less accurate low bass with a 12" woofer.
I saw these in the reception tent in Four Weddings and a Funeral movie so they are sold on the isles.
However it costs about $600 new. They are used in bars a lot though, so you can find the singleton orphan on the internet resale market for about 1/3 the new price. Mine was from a C&W band leaving the road and had tobacco ash all over it. I spent an hour in the yard whacking the wool cover with a broom. Such is the life of a bargain hunter.
It is a Peavey SP-2XT from 1998. The 2001 and later SP2 is slightly less sensitive, but lighter and easier to put up on the pole over your head. Audition with your ear below the tweeter, at least 10' away. They are designed to project sound down from poles.
They are capable of producing 124 db from 300 w of sound, but you don't have to use them that way. Best sounding speaker I've heard in this flyover state. I used piano source material for test; it should sound like a real one. Also ZZ Top Afterburner to test time alignment of the bass drum. The SP5 is cheaper but has less accurate low bass with a 12" woofer.
I saw these in the reception tent in Four Weddings and a Funeral movie so they are sold on the isles.
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Um, Indianajo, he wants a speaker for a 15w guitar amp. You really think this would be a good candidate for that?
+1 on the Greenback, as a good value, nice sounding guitar speaker. The Celestion G12-65 has a similar vibe, but with a smoother, mellower top end. Both good in their own right. Also take a look at Eminence speakers, if they're reasonably affordable in Ireland. All of these speakers will need some playing hours to break in. Buying second hand will avoid the need to break them in.
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Guitar speakers generally do, some more than others. The come and surround of a new speaker tend to be quite stiff and need to soften up some.
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I spent days on YouTube listening to guitar speaker shootouts and came to the conclusion of the Warehouse Guitar Speakers Reaper (normal version).
The Celestion Vintage 30 is extremely popular- but many have stated the top end of the frequency response is too hot. The Celestion Greenback is also popular, but I believe it's high frequency response is even a little hotter.
WGS came out with Vintage 30 inspired speakers- the Retro 30 and the Veteran 30. Both sound better (clearer) than the Vintage 30 to me IMHO, but a direct comparison I found online of these to the WGS Reaper, the Reaper was better.
The Reaper is also extremely close sounding to a Greenback, with slightly attenuated High's. Best of all worlds to me imho.
The Celestion Vintage 30 is extremely popular- but many have stated the top end of the frequency response is too hot. The Celestion Greenback is also popular, but I believe it's high frequency response is even a little hotter.
WGS came out with Vintage 30 inspired speakers- the Retro 30 and the Veteran 30. Both sound better (clearer) than the Vintage 30 to me IMHO, but a direct comparison I found online of these to the WGS Reaper, the Reaper was better.
The Reaper is also extremely close sounding to a Greenback, with slightly attenuated High's. Best of all worlds to me imho.
Totally agree about WGS, but I'm not sure how readily available they are and whether the economics work out so well in Ireland. I would also recommend against the Celestion V30 (at least the current production) as they have a high end spike, which tends to sound brittle and Ice-picky with EL84s.
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These guys ended up making their own "ideal" guitar speaker driver. They are a manufacturer in the EU I believe, so it might be a little easier for someone in the EU to get than the WGS'.
HESU Demon 12″ Speaker | HESU - official webpage
Hesu Demon vs Vintage 30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIGoIRs-cj4
HESU Demon 12″ Speaker | HESU - official webpage
Hesu Demon vs Vintage 30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIGoIRs-cj4
After looking and listening a lot, I settled on WGS's ET10 for my 15 watter. Very happy with it. Great low end for a 10" and smooth highs, 100db. It did take a few weeks to fully open up. At $69 USD, it may be affordable enough to be worth the shipping.
https://wgs4.com/10-et10-65-watts
If you're going with 12", their ET65 is the same price. Both sound more like a creamback than a greenback.
https://wgs4.com/10-et10-65-watts
If you're going with 12", their ET65 is the same price. Both sound more like a creamback than a greenback.
FYI the WGS ET65 is based on the Celestion G12-65 "Creamback", which is a speaker I recommended in a previous post. Just not sure how easy it is for the OP to get WGS speakers in Ireland, or I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.
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My guess is that the shipping would add $25-30 to the cost, putting it at about $100. Still a pretty good value, I'd think, depending on what else is available in Ireland.
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