Speaker suggestions for 2x12

[Aaron]

Hey all,

for a while now i've been using my 18W head through a peavey sheffield 1x12 cab. it's good, but its not meeting the full potential of the amp. What i'm thinking of doing is building a 2x12 cab for the amp. I think 2x12 will give me enough bass response and volume yet be small enough to transport easily.

Can you guys ive me some recomendations as to what speakers i should use? I dont know much about speaker selection, but i know the tone I want. Heh, essentially something which emphasises the good points of this amp - rich midrange that breaks up very smoothly with a satisfying crunch. good touch-sensitivity. Also, would it be appropriate to combine two different speakers in the same cab to get these results? ideas?

also, price is an issue. I cant spend more than around $100 per speaker.

thanks!

-Aaron

[Aaron]

oh yeah, closed back/open back?

[Wayne_Alexander]

I agree with Paul. I'd go with G12H30's, or Celestion Blues, or Weber Alnico Blue Dogs, in an open back 2x12 cabinet. All of those sound incredible with 18-watts. There are sonic differences betwen them but I wouldn't say I have a preference for one over the other.

[Aaron]

wayne - why do you recommend an open back instead of closed back?

[Wayne_Alexander]

I've got a Mohjave open back cabinet with two G12H's and a Vox AC30 HW 2x12 cabinet, and both sound superb with this amp. A closed back cabinet has more projection and punch but less spread of the sound, and less subtle harmonics and such. I've heard these things through closed back cabs and find that, at least with Vox Blues or g12H's, the open back cabs sound better to me.

[Graydon]

I agree on the open back opinions. Also, an open back cab with an 18W has plenty of bass so you're not really giving up anything.

I have a couple Fender 2-12 closed back cabs. I have compared them to my open back 2-12 with the same speakers and I prefer the open back. In this case, it has Celestion Blues (which I bought in used condition before the big price increase.)

I am about to put a pair of Greenbacks into a 2-12 semi-open back cab so next week I'll have some opinions about this combination. More later...

[Wayne_Alexander]

Graydon, though I have found that G12H's sound great in open back cabs, but standard Greenbacks may not. Greenbacks sound great in closed backcabs, but get kinda trashy sounding at higher volumes in open back cabs, something that's cured by the heavier magnet in the H version. I'm pretty sure that the only difference between the G12M greenback and the G12H is the weight of the magnet. If the open back doesn't work with the Greenbacks, try them in a closed back cab and swap the blues into the semi-open back. That'd be my taste, anyway.

[Graydon]

Wayne,

I have built a number of 1-12 combos with greenbacks that sounded great. I didn't notice them getting trashy sounding at high volumes, but maybe when I finally get a G12H into one of my amps, I may agree with you.

My 2-12 open back cab has the Blues in it and it sounds great.

They all sound great. They just all sound different. The Marshall 4-10 cab sounds great too with G10L-35s in a closed back design. That is a fantastic classic rock tone too, but quite different from any of my 12" based cabs.