fender TWIN and speaker help please

[mcboyle]

i just baught a fender Twin RI a couple days ago for 450 bucks from some kid in my town...which i think was a major come up right? it looks completely new besides just a few little dings on the side and is in great working order.

the questions i have about the amp is it didnt come with the jensens it normally comes stock with so who thinks i should just buy those? or should i venture off to look for something else? maybe better tone. ive never played out of the jensens it comes with so i really have no idea.

right now it has some celestion g12t-75 speakers which sound pretty good at low volumes but when i turn it up louder theres a bit of a rattle. besides tightening the around the speakers a little bit what else could this be? blown speaker?

thanks...anton

[Chuck H]

Try the amp through another cabinet to determine if it's a mechanical vibration. If you still get the noise with different speakers then it's a problem with the amp. It's surprising how well one can mimmic the other. If it is a mechanical vibration you need to isolate the speakers to determine if it's only one of the speakers or perhaps the cabinet that is at fault. If it's just one of the speakers, and you like the tone, you may just want to replace that speaker.

As to speaker choice, it's a very subjective matter. As anyone here can tell you there have been many speakers bought that didn't end up as the final choice. Perhaps play through a stock unit if you can to determine if you like the Jensens. The more research you do the better informed your choice will be. Speaker reviews are OK but any chance to actually hear potential choices is better.

[Gibsonman63]

It is all personal taste. Personally, I don't like celestions in Fender amps. The Jensen goldbacks have more chime and sound more Fendery to me. If you want super clean with no breakup from the speakers, then JBL is the way to go, but they are super heavy and pricey.

Go play a re-issue with the stock speakers and see what you think.

[mcboyle]

thanks for the info guys i appreciate it

[Mark Black]

Just a thought -

Does your reissue have the "squared off" speaker holes, with speakers mounted from the rear? If so you might need an extra gasket on each speaker for spacing so the cone doesn't hit the wood (easily overlooked when changing speakers).

[riz]

I don't much care for the g12t-75, but I've had good luck with Vintage 30s in my amps, including a Fender Deluxe. Good gigging speaker, efficient and "cuts through the mix". Some guys don't like the high-mid spike, but it sounds like rock to me. They can hold up to a lot of power and still sound good, too. Used a pair with my 100w Soldano Lucky 13, has a very Fender-y, even cleaner, clean channel. No problems. As mentioned by others, it's a really subjective subject, so try as many as you can before buying. Just make sure that a pair of whatever you buy can stand up to what the Twin can dish out, wattage-wise.

[Chuck H]

I'll second the V30. I'm a fan. IMHO they have enough mojo in the frequency response balance to do "Fender" cleans, enough bottom to carry big distortion tones and the mids pronounce gritty hard rock just dandy. They do require patience though. It takes about a year to break 'em in good. After that the mid spike and any harsh treble mellows but all the good attributes remain. Good speaker out of the box, and this is how they're usually reviewed and percieved, but true classics after a good break in. +10 on the V30.

[riz]

+10!! Nice! I own half-a-dozen of the things at least.

[GregS]

I also used V30's in one of the cabinets I built and I like them although I certainly haven't tried them all. I've just built another cabinet with a Weber Blue Dog and a Weber Silver Bell in it and I like it a lot as well and should get even better when broken in.