Best speaker for use with VVR-equipped 18 watter?

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Re: Best speaker for use with VVR-equipped 18 watter?

Post by CurtissRobin »

Animal wrote:do you guys realize that I am working with about 1-3 watts total and building a 2x12 cab. So.... 20 watt or 25 green backs ? if so, which company. I did like the sound of the tone tubby 40/40 ceramic because of not only their tone but the low sensitivity, 97? or 96. But, these are 2 40 watt speakers being driven at 3 watts max, due to playing in the basement of my house and not wanting to blow the family out from the first floor.
I apologize for being late answering this but here it is anyway:
The power rating on a speaker is like the speed rating on a car tire. A tire rated for 140 MPH will serve just fine on a Mini Cooper. Its capabilities won't be fully utilized but it'll do the job just fine. Likewise, you can plug a speaker (or combination of speakers) of nearly any power rating into a low power amp and it'll serve. As with the tires, you won't get the full benefit of the speaker's capabilities but you'll play and be heard.

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Re: Best speaker for use with VVR-equipped 18 watter?

Post by Animal »

Thank you very much. Now I just have to pick a good set of speakers. I have read so much about the greenbacks and the incredible celestial blue or similar after marketed versions. So so many speakers uhhhh. I don't want want an over driven tone of modern metal but a nice organic gritty spongy tone. Hard to explain but I can say I do NOT desire a lot of hi-end frequencies at all..

I am geared towards the greenbacks, only because of the historical imprint the ceramic greenbacks have placed on the traditional versions of the early days. Who knows what will sound awesome. I just don't want to go with a crappy company and be disappointed. I have heard good and bad about GWS and the same for modern celestial re-issue. So, anyone have any suggestions before I take the plunge.

I will say, I plan on buying an avatar empty 2x12 cab.

Next build will be for a total clean tone only, and will prob go for the celestial blue. Any thoughts are more than appreciated.

Happy Holidays :)
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Re: Best speaker for use with VVR-equipped 18 watter?

Post by JMPGuitars »

CurtissRobin wrote:OK, "trivial" wasn't a good word choice. Perhaps "obvious" instead. When a speaker rating is two orders of magnitude greater than the amp output (i.e. 100 times the rating) that speaker certainly will be working nowhere near the edge of its capability. Speaker breakup happens at the edge of performance. Closer to home, given a 3 watt output feeding a 15-watt-rated speaker I wouldn't expect any noticeable breakup there either.
Ok, obvious makes more sense. ;)
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Re: Best speaker for use with VVR-equipped 18 watter?

Post by JMPGuitars »

Animal wrote:Hard to explain but I can say I do NOT desire a lot of hi-end frequencies at all..

I am geared towards the greenbacks, only because of the historical imprint the ceramic greenbacks have placed on the traditional versions of the early days. Who knows what will sound awesome. I just don't want to go with a crappy company and be disappointed. I have heard good and bad about GWS and the same for modern celestial re-issue. So, anyone have any suggestions before I take the plunge.

I will say, I plan on buying an avatar empty 2x12 cab.
I'd be careful looking into the celestion stuff, especially ceramics if you're looking to avoid high frequencies. Tone Tubby is a company I would look into, and I think they have a nice low power series of speakers. I'm probably going to pick up some Red alnicos from them. From what I've heard it's the perfect speaker with nice mids and lows, and tame highs.

If you're buying an Avatar cab, and you're really set on celestion stuff, I would consider their hellatone speakers. It's broken in celestions. Personally, I like Tone Tubby and Eminence stuff a lot better than anything I've heard from Celestion. That's the thing tho, it's all personal taste after a certain point.
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Re: Best speaker for use with VVR-equipped 18 watter?

Post by Animal »

honestly I really love the eminence wizard. Such awesome modish honky woody tone. But they are like 100db WAY too loud.
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Re: Best speaker for use with VVR-equipped 18 watter?

Post by Animal »

i am shocked you aren't a supported of the green beret or the other greenback re-issues since you are a ceramic kinda guy. 20 Watts would be perfect in the 2x12 set up for this 18 watt trinity plexi. Im honest at a total loss and am just gonna pull the trigger soon and get what ever I get. I do enjoy the tone tubby ceramic 40/40. But the eminence wizard has really got some killer tone but toooo loud.

What about the creambacks?
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Re: Best speaker for use with VVR-equipped 18 watter?

Post by JMPGuitars »

I love the ceramic 40/40 also. I think you should check out the Alnico Red. It's warmer and less highs than the 40/40. There's probably some youtube video comparisons out there. A lot of people put the two of them together in a 2x12.

As much as I love ceramics, I'm definitely getting some alnicos to try out next. Eminence's "The Governor" is another great ceramic speaker with tame highs if you want to stay with ceramics. It's a loud speaker, but not bad.

Like CurtissRobin said, it always comes down to tradeoffs. You're going to have a battle between speaker tone and speaker efficiency to make your final decision. I would lean towards the tone, as you can always adjust the volume.
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Re: Best speaker for use with VVR-equipped 18 watter?

Post by rock_mumbles »

Played my 10" Greenback today in my Mom's basement ... with the thick low end that it has it's a great low volume speaker!
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