Alnico & Ceramic speaker magnet tone: myth or reality ??.

[Gold star]

Where is the proof , or maybe it's just psychological, , that amp speakers with Alnico magnets give a warmer sound,& produce chime in some amps, and Ceramic ones are harsher and brittle? I would think the real difference is in the design of the speaker; the depth, shape of the cone, the coil etc. If there are differences in tone they would only show if a speaker was pushed to it's absolute limit-very rare

[trevorus]

Might be a job for Glen Fricker! Actually, the frequency response graphs, if the testing protocol is the same, should show any differences.

[ICTGoober]

One of my pals is a speaker freak, and he can drone on and on about all the testing he's done switching out speakers in a number of cabs and then noting the differences in sound. He knows all the impedances, cone materials, magnet material blends - all that. I'm having supper with him tonight if you'd like me to ask him for his favorite trusted sources of info...

[Rex_Rocker]

It's hardly ever apples to apples.

You'd need to compare a speaker where the only thing that changes is the magnet.

I'm not 100% sure, but I'm under the impression the Alnico Blue is the same speaker as the Greenback and the Anniversary H30, just with a different magnet. THat comparison would be interesting.

In either case, the Alnico Blue is anything but warm.

And it's not hard to push an Alnico Blue to its absolute limit. It's only 15W. Hell, even the Greenback and the Anniversary are both 25 and 30W respectively.

FWIW, I have a Celestion Gold in a Krank 1x12, and it's not really warm either. Most Celestions aren't, TBH.

[GuitarStv]

I've never spent time comparing them, but it wouldn't surprise me if there was some change in sound going from alnico to ceramic in a speaker. My suspicion would be that it would probably add a little bit of certain frequencies to what the speaker spits out. But it's certainly not the only part of speaker design.

Like compare an Eminence Cannabis Rex (50 watt ceramic speaker) to a Celestion V30 (60 watt ceramic speaker). They are both ceramic in similar power handling ranges, but don't sound remotely similar.

[Securb]

I would think the strength of the magnet would have a larger bearing on the tone of the speaker than the type of magnet, but I am just guessing.

[Rex_Rocker]

I would think the strength of the magnet would have a larger bearing on the tone of the speaker than the type of magnet, but I am just guessing.

I'm actually curious about that too.

I know heavy magnet speakers are louder than medium magnet speakers becuase the magnet is stronger. But the Celestion H magnet is 50 oz while the M is 35 oz. A typical Celestion Alnico magnet is 42 oz, yet it's almost always as efficient as a Ceramic H magnet. Like... is Ceramic denser than Alnico? Or how come Alnico have the same output than a heavier mass of Ceramic?

[Gold star]

One of my pals is a speaker freak, and he can drone on and on about all the testing he's done switching out speakers in a number of cabs and then noting the differences in sound. He knows all the impedances, cone materials, magnet material blends - all that. I'm having supper with him tonight if you'd like me to ask him for his favorite trusted sources of info...

yes you do that

[Securb]

Does an A2 speaker sound different than an A5 or A6? I would imagine they sound equally crappy with me playing through them, but I still want to know.

[Gold star]

It's hardly ever apples to apples.

You'd need to compare a speaker where the only thing that changes is the magnet.

I'm not 100% sure, but I'm under the impression the Alnico Blue is the same speaker as the Greenback and the Anniversary H30, just with a different magnet. THat comparison would be interesting.

In either case, the Alnico Blue is anything but warm.

And it's not hard to push an Alnico Blue to its absolute limit. It's only 15W. Hell, even the Greenback and the Anniversary are both 25 and 30W respectively.

FWIW, I have a Celestion Gold in a Krank 1x12, and it's not really warm either. Most Celestions aren't, TBH.

Just on the issue of alnico blue's. These are 'the ones to have' if you have a Vox-especially the AC15 & 30 models . The ones that produce the classic 'chime' and 'bell like' tones, and people pay good money for them! In practice those things I mentioned are more to do with the amp, the guitar and your playing rather than just putting in a Celestion Blue..The magnet on a Greenback is ceramic compared to the alnico on a blue. Not sure about other comparisons.

[Securb]

The VOX I played in the recording studio and fell in love with had greenbacks. I have just ordered a set of Tone Speak Birmingham speakers for my AC30.

• 12 inch (305 mm) steel basket diameter
• 75 watts, 8 ohm, 100 dB SPL
• 1.75 inch copper voice coil, Nomex former
• Kurt Müller speaker cone
• 50 oz. ferrite magnet

[jeremy]

i dont think ive ever heard any other alnico than a5 in a speaker.

a blue and g12m dont sound much a like to me. i think the v30 was an attempt to make a speaker that sounded like a blue that had much higher power handling and we know how that turned out.

weber makes a variety of almost identical speakers and this is what they say about power handling

As with all Weber speakers, the higher the power rating, the warmer and smoother the speaker. The 15 watt is aggressive, bright, with a strong midrange crang. At the other end, the 100 watt is warm, smooth, yet is detailed and clear with very good definition.

[Securb]

i dont think ive ever heard any other alnico than a5 in a speaker.

Thanks. I did not know this. How hard would a magnet swap be in a speaker? I am guessing it is difficult/impossible. If it were easy, we would hear of guitar players doing it all the time.

[jeremy]

its not easy and honestly, i dont know if they make other alnicos for speakers. we are a subset of nerdy guitar players that mess with pups and stuff, maybe theres a tiny subset of nerdy speaker tweakers!

[Rex_Rocker]

Just on the issue of alnico blue's. These are 'the ones to have' if you have a Vox-especially the AC15 & 30 models . The ones that produce the classic 'chime' and 'bell like' tones, and people pay good money for them! In practice those things I mentioned are more to do with the amp, the guitar and your playing rather than just putting in a Celestion Blue..The magnet on a Greenback is ceramic compared to the alnico on a blue. Not sure about other comparisons.

The speaker is one of the most important aspects of tone. I think a Vox through Greenbacks still sounds like a Vox. But at the same time, I think the Vox through a pair of Blues is the Vox sound, IMO.