Hi All
I bought a 12” Tone Tubby Alnico Red (hemp cone) a while back and it seems to make any amp I put it in sound “better” - barring the odd very trebly amp.
Having been through multiple amps and several speaker changes, I’m thinking I’ve possibly found the speaker that suits my ear best. I have a preference for a darker tone and a woody articulate sound. There also seems to be a warmth in there I like. I’m not knowledgeable enough to know what the Alnico provides, but seem to like what I hear from them also.
Having found this gem, I’d like to know what other peoples thoughts are and whether there are other speakers that tick the warm, articulate sound I prefer, and then possibly add some. The Celestion Cream Alnico, Taydens, Jensen Blackbird, WGS Blackhawk, all spring to mind.’ Although the aforementioned aren’t hempcone, I’m still interested to hear people thoughts…
Cheers!
Comments
In the ceramic world, the G12-65 is woody and darker sounding.
Alnicos - Weber alnicos (blue dog and silver bell) are smoother, thicker and quieter sounding than the equivalent speakers they're based on. I had two Tayden Ace 25s, and they were a little smoother than the modern celestions, but both developed coil rub within a year.
The Celestion Alnico Cream is smoother and thicker overall, but it has some harsh high end resonances that a lot of the higher wattage celestions do, so depending on the amp's voicing it's either thick or spikey sounding. Not as chronically so as the Gold, which I've found to be either sublime or utterly horrible depending on the amp.
I've never tried the Ruby, but it sounds very smooth in comparison demos. Might be worth looking at if the wattage rating would suffice.
Beyond that... Old speakers. They sound smoother. Both through years of use, the accumulation of dust and grime, and if you go back far enough to Pulsonic era Celestions, the cones were just plain smoother sounding.
Bandcamp
Spotify, Apple et al
The above were speakers I already had at home. But finally I decided to try one more speaker before giving up on the Milkman as a gigging amp. I was after a Fenderish sort of sound, so I took a fairly random punt on a Jensen C12N. And that was it. What a difference! The amp just came to life and I now officially love it. Amazing what a difference the right (for you) speaker can make.
@Dave_mc @sigeon, I think it just goes to show it’s an amp/speaker synergy which as often as not, means it’s worth sticking with the stock speaker… unless you find that perfect match!
My only complaint with the TT is that It has a very faint lower register distortion, barely distinguishable and quite possibly what actually makes it so warm. If I could cancel that out, there wouldn’t be any discussion for me.
There's also Scumback - there's a 65 watt alnico on eBay just now, I wasn't going to mention it in case I decided to bid on it but that seems mean spirited! They're apparently smoother than the celestions that inspired them (while at the same time claiming to be the best recreation of said speakers, in an incredible feat of marketing having-your-cake-and-eat it double think)
Bandcamp
Spotify, Apple et al
Cleans and overdrive sounded fabulous through it without being harsh and it was a big sound. However, it's the red one that comes up on forums as the ultimate speaker.
That combo might be one to try
I found the TT a little less sensitive than other speakers in my collection which made pairing it difficult, but in a 1x12 is sounded good. I described it at the time as one of the best 'lead' tone speakers I'd ever owned, it wa punchy but not harsh and had a big bottom in an open backed cab.
I generally live at the edge of breakup rather than saturated leads, and for me I gravitated towards other speakers that gave me a touch more detail (i love bright amps like Vox Top Boosts and BF Fenders) so I moved it on. But for a classic rock solo sound the TT is a great speaker.
@kebadkid - happy steer clear of speaker pairings, sounds like an even bigger rabbit hole, I struggle with just getting 1 right!
Thanks for your thoughts @dodge, I mostly play jazz funk so am looking for detail and warmth which I’d say the TT produces very well.
I can't say I did, but it was a few years ago now. I just remember it being a creamy sounding speaker that loved both gain (classic rock levels) and it liked to be worked hard.
I just wanted to resurrect this thread as new NOS Brimar valves have presented a slightly warmer tonal change compared to the TAD’s
Since the last post I bought the Scumback SC65 watt alnico which you suggested @Cirrus. It sounded amazing and possibly an improvement on the TT Red. Problem was it made an incredibly loud buzzing noise, I don’t know if it was the speaker or the paring of amp/speaker, but sadly it couldn’t stay. I’m now flipping between a Scumback M75 and the TT Red Alnico. The M75 accentuates the mids whilst retaining most of what I like about the TT, but possibly sounds a touch too smooth. As such my preference just about remains with the TT.
Reason for the bump is that I’m thinking of selling on the M75 and throwing the money at another Alnico. I was considering a Celestion Cream but note your comments @Cirrus. So asking for suggestions, again (would prefer to avoid vintage)….
Well, worth trying the cream. I had to go back and read what I said a year ago (I always have a moment of panic like "oh christ, what did I say? Do I even agree with myself?")
I think everyone's ears work differently, but how it sounds to me is that a 15w celestion alnico has a kind of bright top end with some crunch/ chime/ crushed glass but the brightness is over a wide frequency range, like white noise but,I guess musical? When it gets loud the top end stops getting louder before the mids, so it doesn't seem so bright any more. But you do need to get them loud.
Whereas the Gold and Cream... they have a more peaky top end, and it's less fizzy and more like a kind of ringy resonance up at like 3-4k or something. But there's less of the crushed glass fizz so if that peaky resonance works for your rig/ ears they'll sound smoother. So the Cream might work great, it's definitely got nice low mids.
I read the newer Fane A30/ A60 are more midrangey/ vowely than the celestion equivalents, but I've never heard one outside a youtube demo...
Bandcamp
Spotify, Apple et al
I had an Alnico WGS Blackhawk in a Rift I used to own, that seemed punchy and extremely well balanced. Just wondering if these are top of their class, or if there’s an absolute gem I’m missing
Apparently I said above that the Red Fang is pretty dark-sounding. I'm not sure it's that dark... I've tried it with a bunch more amps now and it may have been the amp which was the problem!
Its tricky because the amp (Tone King Sky King) does have quite pronounced highs, however I guess that’s what the treble knob is for. The Cream could be a good shout. Do you think it would accentuate the mids more than the TT?
The Blackhawk HP is an awesome speaker and indeed a little bit softer in the top end. Great to tame bright Fenders. Also full bass.
I had the Jensen BB100 many years ago, but I sold it after a while as I didn't think it sounded particularly good. Currently I use the BB40s in a 2x12 and these I like a lot. Should get a BB100 again some day to compare, who knows how I would like it today...