Twin reverb new speakers

[popoahi]

I want to change my speakers on my twin. it currently has; I just want to put in new speakers and remove and save the original speakers.
don't ask me why? I just feel like experimenting..

speaker description; it has these bright blue ring fender instruments special design speakers
numbers on them are 005379 and C1098038 ,,, the second number is blurred so it might not be correct?
anyway I don't think it matters for what I want to do..


I'd like some suggestions as to what kind of speakers I should put in???
please tell me why you like the speakers you recommend.. and if you know the cost and the best place to buy them..

thanks guys..

popoahi

[soundguruman]

Good speakers cost a lot of money, and make the amp sound better.

JBL 12 inch guitar speakers sound good in an open back twin reverb. And will cost $$$. We are talking lots of cash.

There are speakers, like eminence, that really don't sound too different from the stock speakers.
Not much of an improvement...cost less than $100 each....but do not produce much of a change in sound.
Might as well leave the stock speakers.

So yeah, to get a major difference or improvement, you gotta spend a pretty sizable amount....
OR find some good used ones.
Here and there, you will find some JBLs etc...at a garage sale.

There is all kinds of hype about speakers. The cheap ones promise a lot but really don't produce much.

[pdf64]

Hmmm, on the other hand, my experience is that different speakers can provide a very different 'voice' for an amp, almost as much so as using a different guitar.
Fender seem to have fitted fairly poor speakers to Twin Reverbs from 70s onwards and so replacing them can be very beneficial.
What era is the amp from, ideally the model number from the tube chart?
As you've got this amp, I assume 'loud and clean' is your goal?
Pete

[potatofarmer]

Asking for advice on new speakers is like asking for advice on a new shirt. There are a million possibilities, and it all depends on personal preference.

1098 = these speakers were made by Utah/Pyle.

If this is still the 135W Twin that narrows your options slightly. A useful rule of thumb for speaker longevity is to have double the speaker power handling than the amp is rated for. So you want roughly 270W of speaker- two speakers each capable of at least 135W.

Eminence makes a few speakers with 120W - 150W power handling. I have a pair of Peavey Scorpions in my 135W Twin, just because I had them in another amp and they sound better than the rotting cones of my stock speakers - pretty sure my speakers are the same as yours, but I'd have to check the codes. Or at least they were until mold started infecting them... Anyway, the Scorpions will handle the output but the tone isn't great.

You can also go with the JBL like soundguruman suggested or the Electro-voice EVM12L (or its older brother the SRO12) but those are all seriously heavy speakers.

Even with the increased power handling of these speakers, you can't crank the bass very much without causing overexcursion of the cones.

You can even run the Twin with an extension cab, with or without the speakers already in the Twin.

All that said...

"Why" is really important here. Randomly trying new speakers can get expensive fast, so it'd be a good idea to narrow down what the current speakers are doing that you don't want them to (too middy, too bright, whatever) or what they're NOT doing that you DO want them to (not enough mids, not enough treble).

[jamesmafyew]

Having tried about 60% of the guitar speakers in the Eminence line, and all of the major Celestions, I think Eminence has far more to offer than the price point would suggest. A great high-powered option for a Twin (even a 135W one) would be the Texas Heats, or a combo of one Texas Heat and one Swamp Thang. I also really like the combo of the Swamp Thang and Tonker for the "piano tone" in clean amps. All of these will definitely be somewhat darker than the stock speakers.

As a lower-cost alternative to the EVM12L, I think the cast-frame Emi Delta Pro 12A is fantastic. It's a little congested in closed-back cabs, but in an open-back or detuned configuration where the cones can really move, it's amazing. Every bit as good as the EV, IMO. In situations where most guitar speakers would have overexcursion problems, they do great, and handle lots and lots of power.

[popoahi]

hey thanks guys,

my clean sound is OK ...
just want a more solid sound when say volume is at 5 and the master volume is 9 or 10 is when I feel that the speaker cones sound to soft for that kind of volume...
when I plugged in my bass on the clean side at low volume the speakers sounded like they were going to turn inside out... but I won't be playing my bass on it.
I just want new speakers for when playing the vibrato side real loud and dirty... I just want the security that they won't blow during the session....

30 yrs old would make anything tired right?

popoahi

[Tone Meister]

Exactly which Twin do you have popoahi? Since you mention a master volume, that means you must have a post-1972 silverface, which is at least 100 watts and could be the 135 watt UL referred to in a previous post. Also, you didn't say whether you have a budget or not.

Here are my recommendations:

100 watt Twin
Weber Chicago ceramic (80W) - if you plan to use pedals for overdrive
WGS G12C/S (75W)
Eminence Red, White, and Blues (120W)
Eminence Delta Pro 12A (400W)
Eminence Legend V12A (120)
Jensen Tornado (100W) ultra-light NEO speaker
Eminence Commonwealth 12 (225W)

135 watt Twin
Eminence Red, White, and Blues (120W)
Eminence Delta Pro 12A (400W)
Eminence Legend V12A (120W)
Eminence Commonwealth 12 (225W)

[potatofarmer]

Look around for a cheap 4x12 closed back, or even any bass cab, 4 or 8 ohm that can handle 300w or so. Then you can plug anything you want to into it. The open-backed 2x12 really can't handle much bass at all.

[popoahi]

well folks,,
I just read that amp speakers are designed to roll off certain frequencies from a low E 82Hz to a high of 5Khz so I'm hoping that any amp speaker I would buy would have these figures/frequencies protection built in or compensated for??? or I'm hoping the sales guy will know???lol...
I was reading that the center of the speaker has a lot to do with not letting the main cone get to much movement??? I'm still trying to figure out how it would do this???

I don't know what JBL's cost but I'm assuming once I find out I'll look to another brand to buy??? since I'm not a expert/lead guitarist it's not that critical to me..
I notice on my amps back panel it says 350 watts so would that be 175 watts per speaker??? would that figure also be peak wattage?? and in this instance peak wattage would matter because being a guitar amp one would occasionally see peak or spikes that are high right??? so that being said I would need a speaker rated at least 150 watts or more???
I don't see any ohm ratings on my speakers but on the back panel it says 4 ohms so that is what I would need too??? so min.150 watts @ 4 ohms is what I would need???
I just checked my AC-15 celestion speaker and seems like it states a 75Hz bass limit...... but it's impedance is 16 Ohms which surprised me...the speakers are rated for 25 watts,, so maybe I need speakers for my twin rated at 175 watts or a little higher??? I'm not trying to just get a clean sound,, I do like it dirty or lots of gain most times so would the wattage rating of the speaker make a big difference in that respect??? but no matter what it has to be 4 ohms if I wire it back the same way right??? I know james suggested texas heat or swamp thang and tone meister thanx for the list...

I need to know when I unscrew the nuts holding the speaker will the threaded screw part hold for re-tightening or must I remove the grill if the threaded part starts to spin and put a driver on it???

I compared the firmness of the paper cone to a green fender 12" speaker ( no brand just a green sticker on the speaker back that says fender) from another newer fender 65 the twins paper cone feels a little bit softer but I guess thats to be expected after all these years... but is there a way mechanically to test or gauge the firmness of the paper to the point where one could say "this is way to soft"??? it just left to ones ear i guess??? like when I played my bass on the twin even at fairly low volumes it was just to much for the speaker to handle it would POP and sound like the speaker was going to turn inside out...
I play my bass on my fender 65 and up to 3/4 volume it's fine,,, louder than that I would run it thru my mixer/PA...

so I'm going to look for maybe celestion, eminence, etc. 175 watts, "4 ohm" spkrs if there is such a rating,,,, and I'll look inside one of the stores new fenders with similar power and see what they have and go by that??? I was just using a friends pro-reverb but I never looked at what speaker it uses?? I really like those pro-reverbs!!!

I'll post what kind of speakers I find at the store before buying any..
thanks guys,,, popoahi

[Enzo]

The "350 watts" near the power cord is how much power the amp USES to make full output. it is NOT the power the amp produces.

[popoahi]

which one would you use from the 135 watt list?

would a higher wattage be better or would that take away from the "dirty? sound?

I'm not sure how much power my amp makes there's one sticker that says 200 watts next to the AX in and outlet,, then there's a screened on rating on the panel that says 350 watts..

I thought a speaker rated at 150 watts would be safe and still not take away from achieving the "dirty" meaning like on other amps where you turn up the gain...?

you seem to like eminence so after the JBL's thats what you would go with? just how much is a JBL anyway?

aloha, popoahi

[Tone Meister]

You really need to nail down exactly which amp you have - maybe you could post a picture or two and let someone ID it. If you want both clean and dirty sounds that are excellent, these are great, but you must consider power handling:

Weber Chicago ceramic (80W) - if you plan to use pedals for overdrive
Jensen Tornado (100W) ultra-light NEO speaker
Eminence Legend V12A (120W)


The Commonwealth 12 is a BEAST of a speaker and will be very similar to an EV and very heavy. These are being discontinued and you may be able to find a pair cheap. The Delta Pro 12A is another BEAST, but I don't know how it sounds dirty. The above list would be my choices if I wanted a Twin to do dirty and clean very well.

[Diablo]

Weber also has a JBL clone speaker, they call it the Neo.
It uses a lightweight neodymium magnet, so a pair of them will reduce the amp weight significantly.
The voice coil is designed to mimic the old JBL, big diameter edge-wound aluminum coil to handle high power.
I haven't tried one out myself, but it looks like a clever design.

[popoahi]

ok thanks for the updated list..as for me I don't plan on running overdrive pedals, just chorus or a flanger and maybe a compressor..
I don't think our biggest music store would stock a lot of choices especially some of the more exotics you mention..
I need one that the screw holes would line up so I won't have to do any modifications..
so besides that I would look for as many as the ones on your list but last time I glanced at the speaker section in the store I didn't see a whole lot of selections..I may just have to buy one that can easily handle the wattage and I think it has to be 4 Ohms right??
I want to make sure of the correct ohm rating twins are all 4 ohm right??? no matter what year correct???


I let you know whats available before I buy and hopefully you can guide me to a good choice....


talk to you soon thanks.


popoahi

PS; diablo just posted me about the NEO so I will look for those too as they sound interesting being a JBL clone...

[Leo_Gnardo]

Popo, the guy at the store couldn't even tell you what your amp was, what salesman in Hawaii is going to know from frequency response & be able to really help. Most salesmen anywhere, the boss tells 'em "we're overstock in XYZ, sell it!" so XYZ is what gets the sales push whether appropriate or not.

jamesmafyew mentioned Eminence Texas Heat. They're one of my favorites for hi power amps - rated 150 watts so not much chance they're going to burn out. Very reasonable price too. But - playing bass thru an open back cab IS one of the things that will stress the bejeezus out of any speakers. I'd strongly recommend 1) closed back cab for bass 2) 15" or 18" speaker for bass.

Keep in mind - open back cab - the back wave cancels out the front in bass frequencies. So no matter how much power you put to em, not much bass response. Kind of like driving around with your foot on the gas and other foot on the brakes at the same time. Why do that?

It may be you don't need any different speakers at all - for guitar.