Speaker in Gibson Skylark

[GlideOn1]

This is hopefully gonna be a simple question, but I gotta know:

I have (still) a 64' Gibson Skylark (single channel master volume amp), all original except for the speaker, which is the reason for discussion...

...It came with a jenson speaker that sounded pretty mediocre, so i put in a speaker that i had left in my fender solid state amp - a replacement eminence rajin cajun, but the improvement was only minimal IHMO.

It is definitely louder for sure, but it is noticeably brighter in character, even with my les paul, and the treble became a little piercing, but then again, the tone is a little more transparent than before and the breakup is very nice and even; i can get good clean tones at low volumes and great overdriven rock at louder volumes.

But the problem is that it still too bright, and it doesn't quite sound vintage complementary.

Nice speaker and nice amp indeed, but they probably don't belong together.



Anyways, I am hoping to get rid of the brightness and shrill treble, maybe an alnico based speaker will be the solution, and i hope to find one that is just as loud as my current speaker, but i have no idea what it will sound like in an opened-back vintage amp like mine.

Do you guys know of any good 10 in alnico speaker that might be good in my kind of amp?

Budget is under $150

[Rob Mercure]

GO1,


Have you checked out the Weber VST folks? They seem to get great reveiws for their products - liked the two I've bougth - and are a virtual wealth of information concerning efficiency and frequency response. Don't know where you are (dang' wish folks would provide there locations) but if you're near Louisville, KY (or so) Emminence, KY isn't far and I've heard that if you show up at the factory with big puppy eyes they'll give you a tour and tell you everything about everything they've ever made - but if you're on the Upper Hebrides then forget it.

Lastly you might want to tack onto the current thread about Zoebel networks since, as best I read, you've had the same issue with two different speakers so an amp correction may be in order (and most folks seem to like the Jensen that came in that amp - try it against a Quam or some such that were occasionally used.).

Rob

[GlideOn1]

I live in south florida, probably far from any sort of musical factory besides a guitar center or two to demo any sort of equipment...

Yes, I am a big fan of eminence, i have had several of their speakers before i settled with the Rajin Cajun which is my favorite flavor so far; i like the tight bass response and sensitivity...

...but it obviously will not sound awesome with every 10" amp there is.

I've heard that eminence however just came out with a 10" Red Fang, but i cannot find one, and it is the one of the very few alnico speakers they offer besides the Legend 1028K, which i cannot find much info on, even from eminence's own website.

I'll check out Weber cause I've heard they make some fine speakers, but I have never tried one before and I do not know what to expect...




I'm not trying to be complicated at all here, I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with replacing the speaker in a low watt vintage amp?

[Rob Mercure]

GO1,

To respond to your very last question/note: I've swapped a few but every time I've attempted to find the most effecient speaker for the money 'cuz I know that I can "correct" the response to what I want in the amp's circuitry - but I can't make it significantly louder w/o another speaker.

My strategy,

Rob

[Tremolux55]

My 2 Bob's worth...

Speakers and sound are so subjective but here's my 2 bobs worth...

If you're on a limited budget consider one of the Jensen MOD Speakers. I put one in my 57 Fender Champ which is a similar circuit and was happy with the result, not too shrill with good body and detail and very reasonably priced (even better in the States).

The only reason I swapped the original out was to protect it - I believe amps are to be played not dusted!

Anyway enjoy the journey for tone, don't stress, ask plenty of questions and take your time - you'll be amazed how much you learn along the way.

[asdf]

Theres a new Tone Tubby out for a hundred bucks. I would definitely check that out.

[Tubenit]

Weber 10A100

I used a Weber 10A100 for a number of years in a Princeton Reverb. It's a fairly loud 10" speaker and is more mid and bass oriented. It's an alnico speaker and under a $100.

There are some reviews of that speaker on WeberVST by customers.

With respect, Tubenit

[capnjuan]

... but it is noticeably brighter in character, even with my les paul, and the treble became a little piercing ... But the problem is that it still too bright, and it doesn't quite sound vintage complementary ... I am hoping to get rid of the brightness and shrill treble

Hi GD1: I had a GA5 6EU7 / 6C4 / 2X6AQ5 with an original Gibson Ultrasonic speaker; very bright and very buzzy. I replaced the 6AQ5s with NOS 6005s and the speaker w/ a comparable Jensen RI - result was even brighter but without the buzz. Agree with your interest in an alnico speaker and Tubenit's recommendation of the Weber.

If you still don't get it tamed down - and you might not - but want to stay with the amp, you might consider bumping either the 6EU7 cathode bypass cap, or the 6AQ5s' cathode bypass cap, from 20uf to 30uf. This will make the amp bassier but at the expense of the high frequencies. I liked the amp well enough but the bright thing wore me out on it. As ever, YMMV. John