2x12 Speaker Combination Suggestions?

[HotBluePlates]

I'm getting an empty 2x12 cabinet and would like suggestions on speaker pairings. I've got some ideas I think might work, but I haven't head every speaker out there is person. After building a number of combo amps, I'm wanting to build heads instead with a single cabinet for universal use.

The cabinet will be like the one below. Cosmetics will be different, and at some time in the future I could make a panel to close it up entirely, but assume the cab will be open-backed.

Power rating of the speakers is a non-issue. The first things I'll probably build would be along the line of the PRR 1/3w Amp, or a Firefly (for low-watt apartment use, and because I have a metric sh!t-ton of 6AU6's and 12AU7's). I can't see myself going above 30w any time soon for amp power output. I am also assuming I will be using a parallel pair of 16Ω speakers.

I am especially interested in pairings of dissimilar speakers. I don't need one speaker to do all things perfectly, so much as I'd like a pairing where one makes up the shortcomings of the other (or enhances frequencies the other scoops out).

Assume cost-no-object and no limitation to new-production speakers. I'm not in any rush and have time to wait for a perfect vintage speaker to be available for sale (like an Altec 417, for instance), though a new production speaker is easier to get ahold of and arguably will have a longer life.

So what do you guys think?

[SILVERGUN]

My 10 cents..
The best sounding cabinet that I have ever plugged into was a new production Bogner 2x12 open back, consisting of one Celestion G12H-30 Anniversary and a Greenback 25. (this seems to be his new standard cabinet pairing)
But, I honestly haven't plugged into that many cabs in my life, so 'what do I know'? 

I was mostly playing dirty Zeppelin-esque' riffs at a low-moderate volume in an isolation room in GC, but even the cleans sounded sweet to me, and I had a hard time trying to get it to sound bad.
It just had everything that I would want in a 2x12 and the speakers seemed to fill each other out very well.
If I get back on stage, that's what I'll be carrying,,,,but I do mostly hard/classic rock.

I bought one extra of the G12H-30 (used), and it's just sitting here if you'd like to try it....of the 5 or 6 different Celestions that I have tried in the last year, it is my favorite.
It has a nice sizzle on top and real full, punchy low mids, without coloring my amp too much. It gets me a nice Page'y breakup that I really like.
It doesn't need to be pushed hard to sound good either, which I like.

Good luck, and let me know if you'd like to try this speaker...it would be NO HASSLE at all for me to drop it in UPS because they pick up here everyday anyway.

If I was trying to "fit you" to a cab, I'd have to know you better and know your playing style, and tone preference. 
I can't justify expensive speakers to my wife, so I'm also speaking from a low-budget standpoint.

[jjasilli]

I love the idea of dissimilar speakers.  I have taken the "Zen approach".  Scan ebay, suppliers, friends, other sources.  Let a worthwhile speaker manifest itself to you.  Then think of suitable complimentary mates, and search for one of those. 



Mojotone & Avatar often have great speakers on sale at closeout prices.


For Gretsch tone: here's a thread, but very predictable:  http://gretschpages.com/forum/other-amps/opinions-on-aftermarket-speakers/5831/page1/


Are you looking for something unique in concept / tone? Maybe go out on a limb for something you don't already have.  Do you want something totally "traditional"  for a "standard" tone signature?

[HotBluePlates]

I bought one extra of the G12H-30 (used), and it's just sitting here if you'd like to try it....of the 5 or 6 different Celestions that I have tried in the last year, it is my favorite.
It has a nice sizzle on top and real full, punchy low mids, without coloring my amp too much. It gets me a nice Page'y breakup that I really like.
It doesn't need to be pushed hard to sound good either, which I like.

I may take you up on that, but I'm far from a decision now. I'm familiar with G12H-30's, as I once had an early 70's 100w Marshall 4x12 loaded with 4 of them. The sounds clips of the modern speaker on Celestion's website sound similar-enough to the old ones that I think I'll know what I'll get.


One of the pairings I considered was the G12H-30 and a G12M-25. The brighter treble of the G12H would balance the prominent mids of the G12M.

For Gretsch tone: ...

Are you looking for something unique in concept / tone? Maybe go out on a limb for something you don't already have.  Do you want something totally "traditional"  for a "standard" tone signature?

So I'm actually not looking for Gretsch-like with this cabinet (I guess I did leave out a desired direction, but that was more to avoid coloring the suggestions). The 25L15 and D130 do that sound as good as it's gonna get. So super-clean is covered.


What else do I play? Typically a Strat or a Tele (I might get a Les Paul in the not-too-distant future). I often play blues or country stuff, with occasional jazzy things or a pop song or two. So styles can be all over the map. I generally don't play metal, though I do have various distortion pedals and a '69 Fuzz I like using on occasion.


I already have a 5F4 Super copy (have used reissue Jensen C10Q and original 50's alnico Jensen 10's) and a 5E3 Deluxe copy (has a Weber 12A125A). So 2 flavors of the tweedy sound are covered.


So that made me want to lean towards a Brit tone, or something geared for a probably-60's flavor of distortion. I'm interested in a pair that has one speaker that breaks up very fast and a second that stays cleaner, longer (though I don't expect overall power handling to need to be over 20w anytime soon, probably closer to 5w and under in the near-term).


I thought about some past recommendations for a Weber Blue Dog & Silver Bell as a pairing, but might want speaker that are even more dissimilar. I suspect a Celestion Blue or a Weber Blue Dog will be one of the pair regardless (but I'd turn away from that if someone had already found a magic pairing).


Final thought: speakers and pickups probably color your electric sound more than anything. I can build an amp and voice it to suit the speakers, but it's also hard to overcome a speaker's basic character. So I'm not looking for the perfect speaker for a particular amp or guitar, but I'm interested in the "perfect pair" of speakers, and I'll build the amp to suit. I would like something that does well both clean and distorted, but as I said, one could be the ultimate clean speaker while the other is the ultimate distorted speaker; they just have to be able to work well together.

[SILVERGUN]

I may take you up on that

Seriously,,, tomorrow or 2 months from now....say the word.

For all you do for all of us, I'd be honored to try to be of some help.
 

[Ed_Chambley]

My favorite cab is a 2 12 bassman cab with Altec 417's.  I use these with around 50 watts.  Down low I am not a fan.


Next is a blue paired with a greenback.  Very old Bassman Pine Cab with very old speakers and sound good with anything 15 watts or more.


I got with CJ at Weber and had him make me 2 true 15 watt paper cone 12's.  one has the Blue Dog and the other is a 12A125A cone and both are alnicos.  This is in a bluesbreaker extension and I use a 5C1 head on it.  No dope, and did a breakin on them with a variac for a day.  This is the best cab I have for small watt amps.



All of these work very well for fingerstyle. I do find the lower wattage the speaker the better I like them.


For my rock cab I only have one and it is a Bluesbreaker cab, Birch with a Birch Baffle.  It has Light Dope Blue Dog and Silver Bell Alnicos, 50 watts each.  It sounds great cranking El34's but is the worst sounding cabinet I have for low watt heads.  They are very broken in, but sound very stiff unless they are pushed.


I have a lot more, but not in 2, 12 cabs.  I have a 2 12 cab with 2 10's in it.  Vintage 30 and Celestion Gold.  Best sounding 2 10 I have ever had and work well.  I got some of those spacer rings.  Seems the extra size really helps 10's and work nicely with a Princeton head I have.


I hope this helps some.

[HotBluePlates]

I hope this helps some.

Very much so! It tells me I absolutely want the lowest wattage speakers out there, as the power pushing them will be low.

That, and no-dope.

[rzenc]

I'm getting an empty 2x12 cabinet and would like suggestions on speaker pairings. I've got some ideas I think might work, but I haven't head every speaker out there is person. After building a number of combo amps, I'm wanting to build heads instead with a single cabinet for universal use.[/size]


My 0.02 cents:


I would search for 50W speakers to accomodate a wide range of heads - from 3W to 100W (although a 100W AMP may blow 2x50W - It happened ).


That said, I have paired some speakers, i.e. WGS REAPER HP + WGS INVADER 50, WGS REAPER HP + WGS RETRO 30's, EMINENCE CANNABIS HEX + WGS REAPER HP, EMINENCE CANNABIS HEX + WGS INVADER, EMINENCE CANNABIS HEX + WGS RETRO 30'S, WGS REAPER 55Hz + all the mentioned speakers.


Some worked better then other combinations. I believe it may be the difference in dB(SPL @1W) - one seemed to be more pronounced then the other....


I could never pair EV's with something else...they are way louder the others.


Once, I paired a CELESTION AlNiCo GOLD 12" + WGS REAPER 55Hz - very nice!!!


I have little experience with real vintage speakers and can't offer an opinion on these.


For the record: Something that has blown us away was the combination of 2x12" + 1x15" - in this specific case, 2x12" WGS REAPER 55Hz and 1x15" WGS AlNiCo (best sounding speaker for country/blues I have ever heard, IMHO). The owner plays classic r'n'r (Hendrix, Zep, Sabbath, Purple....)


Sounds like an advertsement on WGS speakers, but truth be told, IMHO, they are the best sounding speakers in production and their price is right on.


Hope this helps.


Best Regards,


With Respect,


R.

[jjasilli]

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/showthread.php?t=802103


I can corroborate that the EVM is ungodly heavy. It sounds great; makes my Fender 30 sound like a Mesa Boogie.  Is that a good thing???

[HotBluePlates]

Anyone have experience with Scumback speakers?

I'm thinking about a mix of their S75-PVC Alnico (kind of like a Vox Blue) and M75-PVC (like a 20w G12M 75Hz cone).

Then again, maybe it's best to just jump in, and swap speakers later after I've heard them in person. I do like that Scumback will do the break-in for you, since I'm in an apartment and and worried about trying to kill the sound of a speaker breaking in on a variac.

[jojokeo]

Anyone have experience with Scumback speakers?

I'm thinking about a mix of their S75-PVC Alnico (kind of like a Vox Blue) and M75-PVC (like a 20w G12M 75Hz cone).

Then again, maybe it's best to just jump in, and swap speakers later after I've heard them in person. I do like that Scumback will do the break-in for you, since I'm in an apartment and and worried about trying to kill the sound of a speaker breaking in on a variac.

Raising my hand... Hi HBP-

I seem to be always fiddle farting around with speakers & cabs. I too was building too many combo amps and decided to make mostly heads several years ago for more versatility. I have a number of Celestions and Scumbacks and love them all very much. I have a 2x12 slant cab (half of a half stack) with two Scumback Black Black 65W BH75-LHDC's in it and it sounds awesome w/ my 2xEl84 "DumbleWatt" amp. But it sounds great w/ my other heads too. I have another open back cab that I haven't made that extra piece of wood yet to make it have the closed back option like you're wanting too. Seems like we have similar tastes and ideas    BUT, in this I have the Scummy Paper Voice Coils... one is a 25W H75 PVC and the other a 20W M75 PVC and they go together like peas and carrots as Forrest Gump would say. Jim Seaval suggests if you want the SPL to match more closely then use a J series with the H magnet. But these two together are just plain awesome. The other suggestion which peaked my interest is a PVC H magnet 55Hz model to pair the with PVC H75 one but I'm plenty happy with what I have right now.
Lastly, I've also paired a Scumback 30W 75HP LHDC and a Celestion Heritage greenback 30W 55Hz together which sound fantastic as well especially with clean tones where they really shine together.

Here's a demo by Pete Thorn to hear all these I've just described in one vid.
http://youtu.be/u6U30BV2kFM

[HotBluePlates]

Thanks for the input!

I went over the videos and sound samples with a fine-toothed comb, then e-mailed Jim to get his recommendation. Funny enough, he e-mailed back and said, "You already know which speakers are right for you," being the S75-PVC Alnico and M75-PVC combination. I think the site shows they're both 98dB speakers.

The blackbacks, and to a lesser extent the H-series models, sounded more aggressive than I'd like. I also knew I wanted a Celestion Blue or the S75-PVC, and thought a 2nd speaker with somewhat scooped mids probably wouldn't be the best complement. I'm thinking I'll want something that sounds good with a Tele as well as with a Les Paul.

I figure the only way to know for sure is just do it, so I did it. Now I'll need to build a tiny amp to drive them! 

[jojokeo]

That's good to hear HBP and he's got a sale going to boot. The alnico is something I haven't got/tried as I've got blues, a blue dog, and even red fang already BUT I can almost bet that thing would shine nicely with the PVC voice coil which the others don't have. I've been keeping an eye out but they don't go up for sale very often. The ones I've seen are too high of wattage. I might have to bite the bullet but it's going to have to wait for now and the ceramic PVC H75 still sounds fantastic as it is. The black backs are for my higher gain amps mostly but still really sound good playing cleans and pushed a bit too or when using my pedals. I like sensitive and fairly aggressive speakers anyway. Give a report back when you get them going.

[G._Hoffman]

I recently put a Weber Grey Wolf into the (closed back, so very different) cabinet for the Dumbleish amp I made for the shop.  I quite pleased - much better than the G-12-75 I had been using.  Noticeably more harmonic content, and very nice solid low end.  That could in part be the cabinet, though, as it is a new cab - both closed back, so the size is less important than an open or ported cab, but still, they are different sizes. 


Gabriel

[Ed_Chambley]

Thanks for the input!

I went over the videos and sound samples with a fine-toothed comb, then e-mailed Jim to get his recommendation. Funny enough, he e-mailed back and said, "You already know which speakers are right for you," being the S75-PVC Alnico and M75-PVC combination. I think the site shows they're both 98dB speakers.

The blackbacks, and to a lesser extent the H-series models, sounded more aggressive than I'd like. I also knew I wanted a Celestion Blue or the S75-PVC, and thought a 2nd speaker with somewhat scooped mids probably wouldn't be the best complement. I'm thinking I'll want something that sounds good with a Tele as well as with a Les Paul.

I figure the only way to know for sure is just do it, so I did it. Now I'll need to build a tiny amp to drive them! 

So basically you have decided on a Greenback and a Blue, ala Scumback.


Are you getting paper Voice Coils and 25 watt versions?  


I have these and had them loaded in a Birch Cab, but changed to pine because I wanted to get a better growl with a telecaster and shave off a tad of harshness.  I really like the center board as well.  A little pillow stuffing will shave off some of the highs from the Greenback style, the Celestion Blue is the best speaker all around IMO, but EV's, JBL and Altec 417H are very balanced and very piano like.  I love them, but they lose in the Classic Rock area.  Great for blues, Bad Company, not so much.


I hope these scumbacks perform well at 1.5 watts or less.  It is just so hard to get a 12 to do it at apartment levels, but what you have selected should get close as any.  My pair are from the 60's and are original.  I guess you could say they are broken in well.  I love old speakers and old wood in cabinets, but I don't like them to look old.  I am just not that cool.


I am interested in your feedback on the Scumbacks.  I have not bought any because I always think if I want a Celestion Blue tone a Celestion Blue will probably work well.


They sound good in the video, but you still do not know.  At least you can build and tweak it to sound like you are wanting.  Doing low volume stuff and getting the lows tight and the highs smooth is hard.  Selecting speakers is hard, but well worth the work as they have deliver the sound and can make a ok amp sound great.  The old Rivera era Fender concert with the EV will prove it if you have every played one with and one without.

[HotBluePlates]

So basically you have decided on a Greenback and a Blue, ala Scumback. Are you getting paper Voice Coils and 25 watt versions?  

Paper voice coil for each. The alnico speaker is 25w (lowest wattage available for this type), and the Greenback-style speaker is 20w.

Jojo's post earlier may give the wrong impression: Scumback's abbreviation for paper voice coil is "PVC". When I first saw it, it took a while before I could get "plastic" out of my head.

I have these and had them loaded in a Birch Cab, but changed to pine because I wanted to get a better growl with a telecaster and shave off a tad of harshness.  ...  A little pillow stuffing will shave off some of the highs from the Greenback style ...

The cab I've got coming is birch ply. It will have some of the authentic Bluesbeaker grill cloth, and I'm thinking that's gonna shave highs a bit. I won't know for sure until it shows up and I listen. Of course, as long as it's the right general foundation, an amp can be voiced to suit, so I imagine it won't matter unless the sound is very-wrong.

I hope these scumbacks perform well at 1.5 watts or less.  It is just so hard to get a 12 to do it at apartment levels, but what you have selected should get close as any.  ...

Well, that's the million-dollar question. Possibly nothing at couple-watt levels will truly sound/feel like playing at 30-100w levels. Hopefully it sounds good-enough to be workable. I just don't foresee needing 30w or above anytime in the next 5 years or more.

[SILVERGUN]

Scumback's abbreviation for paper voice coil is "PVC". When I first saw it, it took a while before I could get "plastic" out of my head.

Me too....I kept picturing a WHITE "schedule 40" cone,,,with a little blue printing on it!
 

[Willabe]

I'd like to split jojo's last reply (#17) off into another thread. I think there's good info in it and I have a couple questions to ask. Maybe others will have some more questions too?

(I'll leave for today and split it tomorrow?)


            Brad     

[echuta13]

I"m not sure how well the Greenback will work with the Blue.  I'm looking @ Celestion's page and the Greenie runs around 96db sensitivity while the Blue is 100.  That's quite a big difference!

I've seen the Blue paired with the G12H quite a bit and the sensitivities are the same, so one shouldn't overwhelm the other quite so much. 

[HotBluePlates]

I"m not sure how well the Greenback will work with the Blue.  I'm looking @ Celestion's page and the Greenie runs around 96db sensitivity while the Blue is 100.  That's quite a big difference!

I'm really using Scumback Speakers. If I say "S75-PVC" and "M75-PVC" most will not know what I'm talking about. That would have included me a few days ago.

"Celestion Blue" and "Greenback" (G12M - 75Hz cone) are only being used to give a reference so that the Scumback model numbers become meaningful. Same as if I said "Jensen P12Q" in place of "Weber 12A125A".

So if you find those 2 speakers on Scumback's website, you'll see they claim 97dB for one and 98dB for the other. So I think they should work out fine as far as relative volume level. But good job looking for that, as some wouldn't catch that very-different efficiencies for a pair of speakers won't work because one will be much louder.

[echuta13]

Ah!  Well post your $.02 on what you think of the combo!  I've haven't tried Scumbacks yet.   

[g-man]

Deleted

[Ed_Chambley]

I got some of those spacer rings.

Ed, where did you find the 10" to 12" spacers? When I look I mostly find small ones for car audio. I have made some from 1/2" plywood but would buy a set if the price is reasonable. Mine work but don't look great.

Jeff at JD Design.  He designs and builds cabinets, but uses the rings.

[Willabe]

Mojo had them. don't know if they still do?


            Brad   

[g-man]

Deleted

[HotBluePlates]

I just cut circles traced from 12" speakers then cut the opening for a 10", but I only have a jig saw so the holes aren't perfectly round.

The speaker doesn't know that. Nor does anyone standing in front of your amp looking at the grill cloth. I say "Nice Job!!"

[Willabe]

The speaker doesn't know that. Nor does anyone standing in front of your amp looking at the grill cloth. I say "Nice Job!!"

Yep.


           Brad     

[g-man]

Deleted

[zendragon63]

HBP call me late to the party (and I can't tell whether you actually went with the Scumbacks) but you will likely not be disappointed with the Scumback S75-PVC. I decided on two 16 ohm 25 watters in a 2x12 pine cab and driving it with a ~10 watts of ECL82 'wreck simile. Complete tonal nirvana (for me anyway) but then that just gets subjective. I tried the Blue and Greenback mix and it didn't sound as balanced. I have found that I have become bit partial to sound of alnicos though. Let us know how they sound to you. Regards.

dennis

[HotBluePlates]

I did get the Scumback S75-PVC and M75-PVC. I've had them for a while now, but the cabinet is just showing up (may be delivered tomorrow).

[HotBluePlates]

So I've got my cabinet. It arrived a few days ago, then I wound up re-grilling it because I wanted the authentic old-old-Marshall look. I think I pulled several-hundred staples on the way to getting the old grill cloth off. Putting the new cloth on went surprisingly fast I thought.

Anyway, speakers are mounted, but of all things I'm waiting on a single jack to arrive in the mail to put on the jack plate before wiring them up. But I'm getting anxious to hear the Scumback speakers! They've been hanging out about 3 weeks waiting on the cab to show up.

Sorry for blurriness or color-balance issues; it's a crappy camera phone, and I didn't bother trying to clean the lens well before taking pics.

[Willabe]

Looks real nice!


         Brad   

[jojokeo]

HBP the cab looks great. I'd like to see updated photos w/ the speakers inside    and also hear your report on the Scumbacks too? Did you get them broken-in or doing that yourself? Maybe even a sound file some day?
 
Joe

[Ed_Chambley]

Ah yes, I like the red.  So how are those scumback?  Hit them with about 30 watts and play a little Spoonful and let us know.

[Jim Coash]

Greetings:  The only way I could ever recommend using two different speakers in the same cabinet would be if you include a switch that would select either one separately.  No two speakers ever have the same efficiency so you will mainly hear the one that that is more efficient if you drive both at the same time.  I would always choose a pair of E/Vs first, JBL or Altecs second and Celestions third.  That is, of course, based on what I prefer; accuracy, efficiency and reliability.  I really like the Celestion 10 in my Princeton Reverb and it makes for a great sounding and very light package to carry.  I take either a separate cabinet with an E/V-12L or E/V-15G when I need more "punch" but I do not play both speakers.  Either E/V is substantially louder than the Celestion.  Using both the 12" and 15" E/V speakers does work well and it really fills a room even with the Princeton Reverb power behind it.  Of course, my PR has more than most with its solid state rectifier and added filter capacity.  I have had many players look at that rig in sheer disbelief!  Especially when I play bass through it.  Jim

[alerich]

I may take you up on that, but I'm far from a decision now. I'm familiar with G12H-30's, as I once had an early 70's 100w Marshall 4x12 loaded with 4 of them. The sounds clips of the modern speaker on Celestion's website sound similar-enough to the old ones that I think I'll know what I'll get.

The G12H30 70th is my favorite speaker. I had an old 70's Marshall 4x12 with black back gold label Rola 30 watts. Incredible cabinet. Every amp I played through it sounded great. I foolishly traded it away some years ago. Now I have a Soldano 4x12 with a quad of the new G12H30 70th speakers (made in China, no less). I can confidently say that these are so close to my old speakers that I can't tell the difference from what I recall. The Soldano cab is a better cab so that may be adding to the equation.

As an aside I also recommend the WGS Reaper 30 which is their take on the G12H30. It is surprisingly close and retails for a lot less that the Celestion. I bought an SLM/Crate 4x12 with a brand new quad of Reaper 30's from a WGS dealer here locally. Basically got the cab and installation for free. Once they were broken in they sound very close. They seem to have a touch more top end sizzle maybe. I also have a 1x12 with a WGS Retro 30 (a modified Celestion Vintage 30 style speaker) that I am very impressed with. Take a look at their speakers before you pull the trigger.

For reference I generally play classic rock / hard rock / some heavy metal at fairly high sound pressure levels. The joys of living in a hundred year old secluded farmhouse. I use a Soldano Hot Rot 50, a hot rodded Sovtek MIG60 (very close to the HR50 tone) and my mini JCM800 2204 clone.

[alerich]

Of course, my PR has more than most with its solid state rectifier and added filter capacity.  I have had many players look at that rig in sheer disbelief!

I still run a tube rectifier but I added another cap across the first filter cap in my PRRI. It's surprising the difference a $5 capacitor makes in that amp, isn't it?

[Jim Coash]

The very first change I made to the PR was to bypass the can cap with separate higher value and voltage replacements.  The difference was shocking!  I'm expecting another big increment of improvement with the solid state rectifier.  Going to the Celestion 10 was big too.  Jim

[jojokeo]

Greetings:  The only way I could ever recommend using two different speakers in the same cabinet would be if you include a switch that would select either one separately.  No two speakers ever have the same efficiency so you will mainly hear the one...

Hmmm, I kindly disagree for many reasons and I absolutely LOVE this cab/configuration...there's only a single dB difference between the two and touch more bass & treb on bottom w/ a touch less highs but with slightly more mid on top pointing straight at my head - which is exactly what I need playing live. It just produces everything I want & is a terrific combo with the sensitive paper coils too. Jim clearly makes terrific "vintage" modern speakers. These are absolutely stellar clean or with slight grit and do the dirty too. But, I have another 2x12 for that both being 20w paper coil M's that excel in the high gain department. That little bit extra high-end taken off is killer for that and makes a difference. A/B'ing them on the fly (or recording them) is the best way to hear the subtle difference.

[Jim Coash]

That is the key; the two "different" speakers must be within a db or two of each other for it to work.  A 3db difference means that you need to use a separate amp for each speaker to compensate for the difference in relative volume if you wish to blend them successfully.  In the A/V world I had plenty of people who tried using two different pairs of hi-fi speakers together.  If they are in different rooms, OK but in the same room whichever pair is more efficient than the other will dominate and the result is loss of image and clarity.  On stage, there can be different and pleasing outcomes.  For example, I have placed two cabinets with different efficiency well apart with reasonable success.   My personal choice is to use the pre-out on my guitar amp to send a signal to the main PA.  This works best if you are not depending on speaker breakup from your PR or TR Fender as part of your sound.  I use E/V or Celestion speakers in those cabinets and derive whatever "distortion" I wish to use a from over driving at pre-amp level or from a stomp box.  That way the PA receives essentially the same sound as my main amp.  Jim

[HotBluePlates]

That is the key; the two "different" speakers must be within a db or two of each other for it to work.  A 3db difference means that you need to use a separate amp for each speaker to compensate for the difference in relative volume if you wish to blend them successfully.

This is a valid point. I did consider it when selecting the speakers for this cabinet.

[Jim Coash]

I have a custom built cabinet from 10 years ago that I built using four Boston Acoustic 10" speakers.  They sound good and I have them wired  series/parallel for a net 8 ohm load.  Each is 8 ohms and they were designed primarily for auto use.  At one time I owned a Fender Super Reverb and I considered replacing the original Jensen speakers with Bostons.  Instead I traded that amp for a guitar.  Now I plan to remove the 4-10"s and re-build that cabinet for an E/V-15B.  I am interested in possible trades for those four speakers.  I also have the original Jensen speaker from my Princeton Reverb and the two Oxfords from my Twin Reverb.  I also have the original baffle from the TR and a baffle and dolly from an Ampeg B-15N if someone is interested.  Jim

[Ritchie200]

Jim


You may want to list this in the Buy-Sell-Trade section for more visibility. 


Jim