Speakers in Fender Twins

[LarryM2]

I'm looking at a couple of different Fender Twin Combo amps and one has 2 Alnicos and the other has 2 Weber Blue Dogs.... any opinions out there about the difference between the two? Is one better than the other? Or is there a difference?

[Enzo]

Is one better than the other? Or is there a difference?

What does better mean? Is steak better than lobster? Depends who you ask.

Every speaker is different, two ceramic magnet speakers can be different as night and day. Two different alnico speakers can sound worlds apart. The bottom line is what YOUR ears prefer. it may not be what I prefer.

[g1]

The blue dogs are also alnico.
So as Enzo suggested, see which is more in tune with your particular taste.

[Chuck H]

"Alnico" is a rather ambiguous description of a speaker. If that's all the seller will say I would be suspect. The Blue Dog OTOH is a much respected speaker as ceramics go. I haven't tried them.

EDIT: g1 is correct. The standard "Blue Dog" is an alnico speaker. Weber does make a ceramic Blue Dog that is also highly respected.

[olddawg]

A lot of amps are referred to as a "Twin". Do you mean one of the various versions of Twin Reverb, old tweed Twin, or some modern/reissue amp they call a Twin, a "red knobbed" Twin, an "Evil" Twin, etc. They all different. Also your application is a factor. If you want CLEAN with lots of overhead your selection will be different. If it's a pedal platform amp your selection will be different. Various genres will complicate your selection. Like was said earlier.. your ears are your guide and be sure that you are not getting more amp than you need. Many "Twins" are Lear Jet loud and ice pick to the head bright and clean.

[Chuck H]

The Dawg has it. Don't drink the KoolAid! Any repro/clone/reissue/etc. of a coveted amp is still going to be made from parts that are subject to tolerance and variation in build ideology. All of this will change the way it sounds. There are plenty of really expensive mediocre amps on the market that don't sound as good as some production amps where the details have been worked out by a specialized team with cost averaged per unit. DON'T DRINK THE KOOLAID!!! Play through some amps and buy what you like. If you can't play through it, hear it and decide, don't buy it. Spending money won't make your playing sound better. Finding an amp that inspires you will. Regardless of the cost.

I gave a little Boogie amp to a friend. A little Subway Blues, heavily modified by me. I was proud of how good I got it to sound. This guy is a gear hound. He had an opportunity to buy a refurbed original 65 Deluxe Reverb for a decent price. He plugged in and played for a bit and then told the guy "I've already got this tone beat at home." What could be more "holy grail" than a 65 Deluxe Reverb? But the reality set in for my friend when he realized he didn't have to spend $$$ when he already had a FREE amp that would give him the same thing.

Parts is parts. Shop wise. Buy what sounds good to YOU and not whats hip or trendy. Play your guitar.

[J M Fahey]

FWIW all of these are "Twin speakers", all have been Factory supplied one time or another .
And the list is NOT complete, itīs missing the Alnico jensens (P12N), the JBL D120 and a few more. Even some EV made ones, but not the modern cast frame huge magnet heavyweights, but "another Jensen C12N clone" , only made by EV:
But here you find Jensen/CTS/Eminence/Rola (America)/Oxford/University/Utah and maybe some Pyle (not in order).

[Leo_Gnardo]

But here you find Jensen/CTS/Eminence/Rola (America)/Oxford/University/Utah and maybe some Pyle (not in order).

While you're listing, add some "Fender Special Design" Cerwin Vega 12's I found in a Twin one fine day. Probably the label was the specially designed part, also the orange paint like JBL D120-F's.

[J M Fahey]

While you're listing, add some "Fender Special Design" Cerwin Vega 12's I found in a Twin one fine day. Probably the label was the specially designed part, also the orange paint like JBL D120-F's.

You are right and these must have been *heavy*



This amp must have been impossible to lift:



and thanks to your idea, by chance I found these Cetec-Gauss

(2) 12" Cetec Gauss speakers. 8 ohms and rated 400 watts each. These speakers are HEAVY! I got them to use in my '72 Fender Twin Reverb since they were an available upgrade back then.

[Enzo]

Wow, don't drop the amp, or bounce it in the back of a truck over train tracks. All that weight in the speaker could rip the mounting screws right out of the baffle.

[LarryM2]

Speakers

I'll try to give a little more info... I'm wanting to make a bid on one of 2 amps. Both are Fender 57 Tweed Custom Twin 212 40Watts. I'm also curious as to whether after I purchase one of them if I would be able to "tweak" it and give it a little boost in power for gigging. Unfortunately I'm having trouble posting images on here or I would post pics of what I'm looking at.

[Leo_Gnardo]

I'll try to give a little more info... I'm wanting to make a bid on one of 2 amps. Both are Fender 57 Tweed Custom Twin 212 40Watts. I'm also curious as to whether after I purchase one of them if I would be able to "tweak" it and give it a little boost in power for gigging. Unfortunately I'm having trouble posting images on here or I would post pics of what I'm looking at.

The unfortunate truth is . . . nobody here has an answer to your question. The only way to decide "which speakers" is to personally audition both amps simultaneously and figure out which one makes YOU happy. You can scan the fanboy websites and get plenty of second and third hand opinions, but only YOU can know for sure.

A little more power for gigging? AFAIK these are tube-rectified amps. You could substitute solid state rectifiers, maybe gain 20% more power that way, but the sound quality will definitely change and maybe not in the direction you like.

Even if you could double the power, it's only a couple dB louder, just enough to notice. An awful lot of guitarists these days are hitting the stage with amps in the 12 to 30 watt range and sounding perfectly good. If you need more, mic up the speaker and dial your guitar into your monitor mix. Also, the biggest changes you can easily make are by changing speakers. The speakers you have mentioned have excellent reputations, but again the only way YOU can know for sure whether another is better somehow is to personally audition other speakers.

[g1]

If loudness is a big concern, pay close attention to the sensitivity spec. on the speaker choices. You can make big gains there without altering the amplifier part.

[olddawg]

I'll try to give a little more info... I'm wanting to make a bid on one of 2 amps. Both are Fender 57 Tweed Custom Twin 212 40Watts. I'm also curious as to whether after I purchase one of them if I would be able to "tweak" it and give it a little boost in power for gigging. Unfortunately I'm having trouble posting images on here or I would post pics of what I'm looking at.

Is this a reissue, a boutique clone, or a real vintage '57? If it's the real deal vintage amp l would be trying to find some period correct frames and have them reckoned/reguassed by Weber. The only reason to spent the money to own that amp is to have it sound like that amp imho. Unless you just want pictures and bragging rights, lol!

[J M Fahey]

Twin and 40W in the same phrase make me think of "Low Power Twins", as rare as henīs teeth and so incredibly expensive, not because they are that good but because they are unobtanium.

Now you talking about *TWO* of them, subject to bidding and at the same time, and not mentioning the horrible price tag makes me think those are some of the reissues , allegedly reintroduced to please Eric Clapton and not really the same as the old stuff anyway.

Original ones always were scarce because they quickly evolved into the 80W 4 tube Tweed Twin.
Thatīs why real ones are almost impossible to find while there are hundreds modern clones.

In any case "Alnicos" might mean modern Italian Jensens and in the other case, modern Weber speakers (also Alnicos).

You can simply copy the site address and paste it here inside your message, we click and open it outside the Forum itself, so it works all the time.

As of power, 40W is way more than needed, as mentioned above live shows are played everyday with 20/30/40/40W amps with no issue.

And both the Italian Jensens and the Webers are loud punchy efficient speakers, thatīs way more important than getting, say, 10 extra Watts by dubious means..