Help me choose a speaker for my Champ...

[Steve A.]

Uhhh thanks Bruce this is good.
I must admin Jensen was my champion from start but in a way, I want to go with AlNico for this Champ. I don't know if that's a smart decision. Currently my other two amps are running with Ceramic speakers, so I thought AlNico would be something else... I never had AlNico speaker before, so I must try one to see and learn.

In my Champ-i-fied Epi Valve Junior I tried the Jensen 8" alnico and ceramic speakers, and ended up using the ceramic because it worked much better in that amp. Although I usually prefer Alnico in speakers and in guitar pickups, sometimes ceramic works better. So I'd recommend trying both to see which you like better.

HTH

Steve Ahola

P.S. For an 8 inch speaker, the Eminence Beta-8 is a real monster- rated at 200 watts for a bass amp!

[hasserl]

That's a sweet looking 5E3 amp head!

If I was scratch building a Champ I would go with a 12" speaker if at all possible. A 10 would be preferable to an 8, but a 12 would be better still. I like two 10's in an amp, but one 10 is lacking.

[mcinku]

That's a sweet looking 5E3 amp head!

If I was scratch building a Champ I would go with a 12" speaker if at all possible. A 10 would be preferable to an 8, but a 12 would be better still. I like two 10's in an amp, but one 10 is lacking.

Well, my idea was to have one 10" speaker just for portability sake and have an option to connect another external speaker, if bigger sound is required. That is why I will have impedance selector in my Champ.


...but yes, I will test 10" against 12" and if 10" will sound to boxy, I intend to go with 12". I don't need portability if the sound is not there.

[mcinku]

I have a Champ that I built with the Eminence Legend 10" - it sounds great!

Did you build a new cab for it?
Do you have any pics?

[mcinku]

So I'd recommend trying both to see which you like better.

Well the problem I have is, I don't have all the speakers available for testing. I can test a few 12" speakers and a couple of 10". After that I will just have to make a decision and see what happens.

[Steve A.]

Well the problem I have is, I don't have all the speakers available for testing. I can test a few 12" speakers and a couple of 10". After that I will just have to make a decision and see what happens.

Bruce recommended a reissue Jensen C10Q (which is what I'm using in my Princeton Reverb) and it's a great speaker and costs a lot less than the Jensen P10Q or P10R. I think that the C10Q is a good all-around utility speaker, and will work well in many applications, while the P10's can be a bit too bright, which can be a problem in a Champ since the stock design doesn't use a tone control.

Good luck!

Steve Ahola

EDIT: I see that you did say *BF* Champ in your original post. D'oh! I still stand by my recommendations: For Jensens I like the P10's in a 4x10 cabinet but for single drivers I usually prefer the C10Q's. Actually in a 4x10 cab I like a pair of P10's on the top and a pair of C10Q's on the bottom... YMMV

[mcinku]

Bruce recommended a reissue Jensen C10Q (which is what I'm using in my Princeton Reverb) and it's a great speaker and costs a lot less than the Jensen P10Q or P10R. I think that the C10Q is a good all-around utility speaker, and will work well in many applications, while the P10's can be a bit too bright, which can be a problem in a Champ since the stock design doesn't use a tone control.

Good luck!

Steve Ahola

Hmmmm, you say P10's can be bright,... although I'm going for BF Champ (with tone controls), my plan is to have a tone bypass switch as well.

The amp will be in my possession soon, so I will see how it will sound.


Thanks

[mcinku]

BTW
I received the amp...

[Sweetfinger]

I'd add a mid control, there's the hole for it already punched. Quality looks good.

[mcinku]

I'd add a mid control, there's the hole for it already punched. Quality looks good.

Mid control is actually not a bad idea but I'm afraid such a mod is way over my head. I wouldn't know where to strat.
My plan is to add a standby switch, just to fill that hole.
That's easy, even for me.

[Sweetfinger]

A mid control is even easier than a standby switch, and this amp really doesn't need a standby switch because it has a tube rectifier.

see that resistor coming off the bass pot? Replace it with a 10K pot. That's a mid control Use a 25 K or 50K pot for a mid boost which will sort of mimic a tweed sound.

[Konny]

Hi there,

is the choke that one from Nik´s Plexi-kit?
I got my BF Vibrochamp today with exactly the same choke

Do you hear any differences between resistor and choke?

You could add an ECC83 as a gainstage for rock/hard rock style sounds, that would be a very easy and useful mod imho.
The power tranny can handle the extra current.

Also you could try a triode/pentode switch.

I´ll try this stuff all myself during the next days, hopefully I get the sound I want

Regards,
Swen

[mcinku]

A mid control is even easier than a standby switch, and this amp really doesn't need a standby switch because it has a tube rectifier.

see that resistor coming off the bass pot? Replace it with a 10K pot. That's a mid control Use a 25 K or 50K pot for a mid boost which will sort of mimic a tweed sound.

Now you got me thinking...
I know this amp doesn't need the standby switch and the mid control sounds like something useful but on the other hand standby switch is also useful for other things than warming the big tube.

I guess I'll buy the speaker first and see if the mid control would work with it.



This is how my Champ sounds through 12" Greenback
Champ clip
Rhythm track tele neck pup - Bass at 10 o'clock, Treble at 12 o'clock and volume at 1 o'clock,
Lead tone tele bridge pup, controls are the same, Volume all the way up,
at 01:39 Tone Stack OFF - Volume at full blast

With Greenback I don't need the mid control IMHO.

[mcinku]

Hi there,

is the choke that one from Nik´s Plexi-kit?
I got my BF Vibrochamp today with exactly the same choke

Do you hear any differences between resistor and choke?

You could add an ECC83 as a gainstage for rock/hard rock style sounds, that would be a very easy and useful mod imho.
The power tranny can handle the extra current.

Also you could try a triode/pentode switch.

I´ll try this stuff all myself during the next days, hopefully I get the sound I want

Regards,
Swen

I wouldn't know where Nik got that choke from.
...and I also don't know how different a choke sounds. This champ was wired by Nik and I told him to put that choke just 'cause it was a cheap thing to do and 'cause I thought choke is always a better choice.
I also think adding choke is a subtle change, so having a resistor is OK too.

I'm a blues guy and I think this amp has enough gain as is. (Check the clip - link above). Don't actually need the extra gain. If I need more, I use my TS-9.

[petemoore]

..

Some have a disdain for descriptive terminology in electronics, but when choosing a speaker, comparing descriptive texts to what you think your needs are can be helpful in making a '1 good speaker' choice.
Read about alnico's and ceramics [recommended for tubey guitar amp sound], neo's etc.
There is a veritable plethora of available alternatives compared to 20 years ago, when it was mostly celestion, jensen, and a handful of others making 'known as upgrade' guitar speakers, {whether this makes speaker choices more rewarding or confusing is up for debate.
Any one of the 'better' speakers will have the capability to produce excellent tone, the matter is whether the chosen one suits your style preference, for that testing is the best barometer, in lieu of that, descriptive terms may help or mislead. Most of the speaker descriptions, combined with price information, tells a lot about whether the speaker 'will work' is 'good', 'better', 'best', Eminence and other companies have thrown a curve ball into the 'good/better' range, I haven't tried any but reading accounts of those who own them, they actually are supplying 'best' speakers at a good rate.
expensive, yes, I ordered two TT Hemp 12''s last week, they will replace my Goodmans [woofer only of triaxiom speaker], which I got for nothing...and were really cool tonewise...quite different than guitar speakers I ever owned.