Speakers in 65 original Super Reverb?

[fenderpaint07]

Hello everybody! I recently picked up a Fender original 65 super reverb. The amp is in excellent shape.. and sounds great! However when the amp is cranked the speakers seem muddy and quite frankly sound terrible. Currently there are ruby speakers in the amp.. and they appear quite old. I am considering putting in some sort of !eber speaker but I'm not sure of which would be the best fit. Any ideas? Also what wattage speaker would be best for the Super reverb? 20 or 30 watts? I am not sure quite how this works. From my limited knowledge it seems like 20 watt speakers would sound better because they would peak earlier? Sorry if these questions seem amateur but I am not much of a gearhead and am trying to learn as much as I can before I empty my wallet.

[riz]

I would tend to agree with you on the lower wattage speakers. Also, something a little dark and inefficient--of course this gets into personal preference. I don't know what kind of music you play. I love Super Reverbs, but they often are so bright and clean, and in fact I am still doing battle with my '64, and the original CTS ceramics are about to go back in it. The original CTS alnicos were supposedly inefficient and that really added to the sound of the SR, but i dunno cuz everytime I've had them they've been blown already. The best SR I ever played was a loaner, drip-edge '68 silverface model that had older black-frame (25w paper former??) Eminence alnicos, all JJ tubes, and a 12ax7 for the phase splitter. Man, that thing sounded so good right around 3--3-1/2 on the volume dial (vibrato channel) it was stoopid. I have liked Celestion Vintage 10s, but they're quite heavy once you add 4. Also the new Greenback 10, which I like but mine are paired with some alnicos at the moment so hard to hear by themselves--I really should throw a mic on just those--they are supposed to be darker and less efficient than the Vintage 10s. Also tried the above-mentioned Emi alnicos, but mine are newer, maybe with the Kapton former, and don't sound as good as I remember the other ones. I mean, they're great, and do that alnico sound really well, but bright in this amp. I'm very tempted to try some Tone Tubby 10s when I can afford them, after the experience I've had with their 8" Champ speaker. Hope that helps!

[riz]

I just re-read your original post. When the amp is HOW cranked? It is my experience that old Fenders of the blackface variety do not do "10" as a strong suite, without some considerations such as circuit modding, and turning the bass way down. And, of course, the right speakers...

[mikeboone]

Make sure to verify the sensitivity of the speaker, not just the power rating. I have heard Eminence Ragin' Cajuns in a Super Reverb. They are dark and will kill some of that harshness of the highs... They are also easy on the wallet. There is a blues player named Tab Benoit whose Super Reverb was used to model the tone of the Ragin' Cajun

To Riz's point - Turn the bass way down. Blackface Fenders are notoriously bass heavy and will sound crappy with too much bass (anything above 2).

[fenderpaint07]

I can't seem to find any information about the speakers I currently have in the amp. They are Ruby speakers. They have a blue label and have "Europe" Printed under the brand name. Also.. california is listed as well. Does anyone know anything about Ruby Speakers? The amp really starts to break up around the 8-9 range. Maybe you're right.. that could just be too loud. I feel like the speakers are a little lazy though and could do with a replacement. I'm going to research those rajun cajuns. I also was thinking about putting in a pair of vintage fender cts alnicos along with a pair of celstion green backs. What do you guys think? I already picked up the cts alnicos.. It was a deal I couldn't resist. If anyone can think of anther good pair to match with these let me know!

[modusmongo]

The amp really starts to break up around the 8-9 range.

Just curious, and this may have nothing to do with what you're trying to do: have you checked the bias? I don't know supers, but my '65 pro reverb (biased pretty hot) starts to break up very nicely at 3. Maybe your bias is too low for the style you play...

[fenderpaint07]

Maybe it is biased low.. I'm having it looked at next week so I should be able to find out then. Does anyone have any opinions on the cts alnicos mixed with greenbacks? Or maybe cts alnico with jensen p10? Thanks!

[mikeboone]

I dont know about the mixing with GB's but I can tell you that the P10Q has less of the flub factor than the P10R. I changed out a set of R's to Q's in a friends Reissue Bassman and it tightened it up a good bit and now he can get a little more classic rock crunch than before... Not what I would want from a Bassman, but he likes it.

I know a guy with a Marshall 1965 (4x10) cab who put 2 Red Fangs and 2 RamRods and it absolutely smokes!!! If you use the Red Fangs, be careful about mounting depth. The magnets are really tall.

[riz]

Well, I have two greenbacks paired with two Eminence alnicos in mine. They sound good... You can crank that amp and get awesome breakup. I just wish it wasn't so bright at lower volumes. I have the treble turned all the way off, and the bright switch in the dark position. It's the amp, not the speakers... Played a brown Concert through the cab, and sounded really good. Will you like the tone? You'll have to decide. I can tell you that they will handle the power, and deliver the advertised crunch. (EDIT: Eminence was born of CTS back in the day, the speakers might be reasonably similar)