AC30 speakers?

[G._Hoffman]

I'm making an AC30, and I'm ready to buy some speakers (well, as soon as my tax refund clears the bank), and I'm trying to decide which Weber speakers I want.  It's an AC30, so ALNICO for sure, and at least one of them will be a Blue Dog, but I'm trying to decide if I want a Silver Bell for the second one, and also, paper cones or hemp cones? 

I'm after an AC30, so bright and punchy is the order of the day, but I'm also a Strat player, so at some point enough is enough! 

I'm leaning towards a couple of Blue Dogs with paper cones, 15W, and light dope; but if anyone has any other opinions, please let me know!


Gabriel

[jojokeo]

I'm making an AC30, and I'm ready to buy some speakers (well, as soon as my tax refund clears the bank), and I'm trying to decide which Weber speakers I want.  It's an AC30, so ALNICO for sure, and at least one of them will be a Blue Dog, but I'm trying to decide if I want a Silver Bell for the second one, and also, paper cones or hemp cones? 

I'm after an AC30, so bright and punchy is the order of the day, but I'm also a Strat player, so at some point enough is enough! 

I'm leaning towards a couple of Blue Dogs with paper cones, 15W, and light dope; but if anyone has any other opinions, please let me know!


Gabriel

With an AC30 you would want something very close to the original Celestion Blues in order to get the chime and aggressiveness that amp provides. Those speakers and that amp just plain "pair" together well. If using Weber then you are right to stay at the lower power range of 15W which they will be brighter and more sensitive and most similar to the Blues over say buying 30w or 50w Webers. The higher the wattage with Webers, the more dark they get. And you will lose a bit of their sensitivity also. I've not had a 15w Blue Dog but I've got a 30w one in both alnico and ceramic along with many others 8" & 10" too. The 30w alnico Blue Dog is a lot darker/less bright than my Celestion Blues. As the speaker is darker, you lose also in not just chime but the harmonic content of the speaker provided by your guitar & amp nuances. You want to keep all of this signal information as much as possible right? I would shy away from hemp cones for this very reason also.


*My personal suggestion "if using two different speakers" would be rather than the much darker & bassier Silver alnico, you would be better served having both 15w but one being alnico and the other ceramic. I don't mind and actually like one speaker being punchier, having a bit more bass, one having a bit more chime, etc...as all of their nuances compliment each other very well in various power ranges too. I currently have a 25w ceramic PVC -H75 voice coil Scumback paired with an alnico PVC S75 65w and they match great together.


This can get a little tricky and Ed C is a good resource also for this due to his experiences. Since some alnicos are less bright and break-up sooner than ceramics do in general, he will adjust the power rating and or coil sizes to match better with each other also. I "think" he also likes to have higher powered alnico with a lower powered ceramic in general too? Maybe he'll weigh in on this?

[Willabe]

I would shy away from hemp cones for this very reason also.

The 'sales pitch' I've read is that because hemp paper is stronger than wood pulp paper that hemp cones can be/are made thinner and therefore are more sensitive and have more harmonics than wood pulp paper cones.

[jojokeo]

In real world use I haven't experienced this. The speakers I have are 12" red & purple alnico, and green ceramic. 10" red alnico & green ceramic, and 8" alnico. If what you mean as sensitive = efficiency? Yes no differences there but having more harmonics? No, not from what I hear at low to moderate room wattage pushing them.

But when they are being driven more loudly then this becomes less apparent and they begin to really perform. It's at this point that I think they are at their best. Hemp cones are what I think is best described as "players speakers" in that they be used for stage performances or recording at the higher volume levels.

[G._Hoffman]

Apparently, Ted Weber felt the 30 watt Blue Dogs sounded more like the vintage Blues from the sixties, and the 15W are more like the modern Blues.  Something about a stiffer spider and a shorter voice coil on the modern reissues.  At any rate, the 30 Watt are supposed to be a bit less bright, and to have a slightly less aggressive upper mid-range.  At any rate, it sounded good to me, and so I got a couple of the 30 Watt Blue Dogs, with no dope on paper cones. 

Now I just have to finish the amp!!  I also got some proper brown diamond Vox Grill cloth to go with the Green Tolex.  Gonna be a cool amp!


Gabriel

[sluckey]

I'd really like to see that amp when it's finished.

[G._Hoffman]

Ooops!  I was just looking thorough my Tolex stash, and I guess I bought Navy instead of green (I was having a hard time choosing). 


It's gonna be a while before I can get it finished, but here's a teaser-





I got the gold fascia strip too, but I'm not sure I'm going to use that, as it's kinda cheap and plastic.  I might just polish up a piece of brass T-stock.  Oh, or I could polish some brass T-stock, and get it nickel or chrome plated!


Gabriel

[G._Hoffman]

Man, node checking an AC30 is oppressive.  Too many damn nodes!


Gabriel