Ceriatone Forum

Ive read through many of the speaker threads but I'm looking for some advice. I have an OTS which I have been playing through a 2x12 with original Celestion G12-65's. Dont have to tell you how great it sounds.

I recently picked up a used WGS Blackhawk Alnico 100 watt speaker which I installed in a 1x12 cab that I use for smaller gigs with the same OTS. I figured I wanted to hear how an Alnico reacts to the OTS. Well....I have to say that it sounds pretty damn good. When I connected the 1x12 WGS and the 2x12 G12-65 together....I was blown away. To me, the mixture of the Alnico and Ceramic speakers sounded fantastic.

I have read many posts about the differences between the two types of speakers so Im well aware of the tonal variations and how they react to volume. What I'm looking for is some personal experiences from you guys that have possibly tried the Alnico/Ceramic combo on an OTS. Pros and cons...general opinions would be great. Thanks guys!

Great post, but when I hear the term 'alnico' speaker, I think about Jensen speakers in Fender Combo's or Celestion Blue in a Vox AC30 or similar low wattage speakers (15-20w) units that will break up easily and add a little speaker distortion to the tone a la vintage fender tweed amps.  8)

Your alnico speaker is not a low wattage unit , but according to the WGS home page a 'Drop in replacement for EV™ SRO™ speaker', no wonder it sounds good because it a speaker which is along the lines of the Altec 417 B/C alnico, that Dumble used in the 70's.  ;D so I'm not so surprised it sounds great.

I've cabinets with 2x10 alnico weber (10A125) and a 1x12 alnico Tone Tubby and IMO neither sound great together with ODS amps - unless you engage the 'Deep' (not mid, but deep) switch.

You are absolutely correct. The high power handling of this speaker must be why it sounds so nice with the OTS. Its interesting...this spkr combination seems to fill a void in the G12-65's frequency response that I never realized existed. Its like the WGS fills some gap that I never realized was there....or at least that's how I'm perceiving it.

Im going to have to go a head and put the WGS in the same cabinet with the G12-65 and re-examine this properly.

This is a great topic. I've actually been considering swapping out one of my weber 1265 alnico speakers ( i have a 2x12 combo) in my OTS BM for a brighter ceramic type speaker like an eminence texas heat or similar to bring a little brightness out of my setup. The weber alnico version of the 1265 is not a dark speaker by any means, it is more in the warm category, with the highs smoothed out a bit, I just think that it would be interesting to see how it sounds with a bright speaker in the mix as well

I'd thought about doing this too. Of course, I'd planned on pairing up a 1 x 12" and a 1 x 15". 

Cool concept.

i was actually originally going to do something very similar, kevster. My original plan was to either put the amp in a head cab and have a 2 speaker enclosure built, either 2x15 with removeable reducer rings. or a cab desiged for a 12 inch driver and a 15 inch driver, or a combo with one of those two options. I still might, i don't *think* too many guys here have run a 15" driver yet, at least not that i have heard. it would be a cool experiment

Ummm, I've run my 50W HRM through my semi closed back 2/15 filled with JBL g135's.   :chairdance:

So how'd you like the 15's?  Was 2 x 15" too much?

Yeah how does it sound? I worry mainly about it being too boomy with the bluesmaster at high volume since the BM is a lil more bass heavy like BF fenders than the standard HRM, but then again BF vibroverbs pull it off very well...

I have two 1x12" cabinets... one loaded with G12-65 and one with Celestion Gold.
The combination sounds just outstanding with my Bluesmaster.

...but if I'm using only one cabinet, it's always Gold for my Bluesmaster.

@PVB and Kevster,

That model of JBL 15 inch speaker was designed for both bass and lead guitar use.  It was especially designed to do a beautiful clean tone and a smooth dirty tone, it does both very well.  The cab is a semi closed back wired in series for 16 ohms with a full width open slot about 4 inches wide centered over the speaker magnets.  I widened the slot bit by bit to tune excess bass out of the 14 inch deep cab for guitar.  The bottom is big but not overly so, the mids are huge, the top end has enough detail.    I typically run my unmodded HRM with VOS pre's and el34's with the bass knob less than 9:00.  With modern production tubes,, particulrly Svetty el34's  that bass knob setting would be a bit higher.  I prefer to use speakers, tubes, and amp designs that produce a lot of low end, when I turn the bass knob down the harmonics open up nicely.  In all my amp experiences, high bass tone knob settings are a harmonic killer.   The bad thing is that these speakers have a magnet assembly that weighs on the order of 12 pounds, but that is less than an EV 12L or 15L by a few pounds.   Nice to have a furniture dolly around...

I like mcinku's setup idea of two separate cabs very much, detail and versatility can be had, and when those two cabs are separated by a few feet one can get a very fat tone that way.  Much coolness there!

Got the speaker in there today. It really sounds amazing in a different way than before. The WGS and G1265 spkr combo complement each other nicely. It does feel different to my fingers the way the amp reacts now. One thing I noticed immediately was the high end. Now it seems I can use the bright switch more effectively where before with just the G1265's, they could sound harsh or brittle. Now it just sounds clearer and yes...sweeter. I still like the G1265's but it is nice to have the option.

Heres my girl!

(http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb475/archelo17/Stuff/20110625_2688.jpg)
(http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb475/archelo17/Stuff/20110625_2689.jpg)
(http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb475/archelo17/Stuff/20110625_2690.jpg)
(http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb475/archelo17/Stuff/20110625_2691.jpg)

I need to get my recording stuff together to upload some audio.

archelo,

Beautiful rig!!! If it sounds as good as she looks it's gotta be dynamite! Those 15's have to be nice and full!

212Mavguy,

I'm going to be running mine through a PA and I'll probably only have one mic on it.  The idea of a cab (or multiple) belnding two or more speakers is good, but utilmately I'll probably have to find the best single speaker to do the job.  Whatever that is....

I'll be test driving for a while before I pull the trigger.

Thanks Kevster...these are actually 12" speakers. Im not going the 15" route...Im a creature of habit.... ;D

Very nice looking rig !!!

+1

Does she have a name yet?

Very nice!! Love the Vox Grill

Thanks guys! That was my second time installing grill cloth and my first trying to install Vox cloth. Its turns out that it has its own difficulties because of the shapes. I had a hell of a time trying to keep all the diamonds straight and messed up on a couple of corners but...its the best I could do at the time.

I went with the diagonal speaker configuration to get some height out of the cabinet. I have a 64' Fender Blackface Bandmaster piggy back and you have to either tip the whole thing on its legs or step way in front of the amp to get the full effect of the cab. The diagonal config really makes a difference.

I love diagonal cabs. I think my next build will be a champ ultra combo modded like mckinu's, but with 2x10 mounted diagonal

2x10 Like this?
(http://www.guitarampcab.com/2X10B.JPG)

That is one sick diagonal double mic'ed cab!

Way cool!!!

Cheers guys,

That one was built for good friend who used it with two heads connected separately to each  speaker.
I preferred it with nice stereo VHT 50-50 power amp and the stereo FXs.

Pickmaster, you are one sick, sick, dude!   Kudos!

that is an awesome cab!! i was thinking a lil smaller like a combo, but that is even better!  :chairdance:

archelo is that a tweaker in the background?