Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

[Quencho092]

i'm looking to replace speakers in my peavey classic soon, im looking at either jensens or eminence. whats the difference between the JENSEN - 12" P12N Vintage Series AlNiCo Speaker and the P12R?? One goes for 140 a pop, and the other goes for 60. Someone fill me in on alnico speaker madness.

 

[Curly]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

the main difference is power handling ... I think the P12N is rated around 50 watts, the P12R is rated around 25 watts, and the P12Q is rated somewhere around 35-40 watts

also, the P12N comes with or without a bell cover for the magnet

you can find specs for Jensens at Vintage Speaker.com or tubesandmore.com

 

[Hot _Grits]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

I have eminence copies of fender alnico blueframes in my CVR. They are cool, but not especially powerful. New versions of my amp now comes with Jensen p10Rs, which is apparently a better variation on my speaker and pretty much the current standard fender 10 inch speaker. I've heard them in vibro kings and the new concert reverb, and they sound great in those amps.

I've been looking at various 10 inch speaker options, and many people recommend the Celestion vintage 10 for more overall power and bottom. I've yet to try them, as the local distributor doesn't have any, darnit. Weber and reverend also make some cool speakers apparently.

The only speakers I have access to down here are eminince beta 10s. Anyone know what these are like?

 

[Lewguitar]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

The P12R has a small 1" voice coil and small alnico horseshoe magnet...it's sort of a 12" version of the P10R.

The P12N has a large 1 3/4" voice coil and huge alnico magnet.

The P12Q is between the two but alot nicer than the P12R which I think gets kind of farty sounding when pushed hard.

Larger voice coil and larger magnet = better tone, more output, more efficiency, tighter/deeper bass and 2 watts through a large voice coil and large magnet will be louder than 2 watts through a speaker with a smaller voice coil and smaller magnet.

As far as 10" speakers go, my favorites are made by Ted Weber. I'm not as taken by Ted's 12's as I am his 10's, but his 10's are great. The three I like best are the P10RT (very similar to the original '59 Jensen P10R), the C10Q (very similar to the original '66 Jensen C10N) and the 30 watt version of the P10Q (great in blackface Fenders like the Super Reverb)

Ted's version of the C10N sounds less like a real '66 Jensen C10N than the Weber C10Q does! The Weber C10Q uses a big C10N style magnet...not the smaller magnet the original Jensen C10Q used.

He has new numbers for all of those speakers but if you ask Ted or TA what the new numbers for the P10RT, P10Q 30 watt and C10Q are they'll set you straight.

Compared to the Weber 10's I mentioned, the Celestion Vintage 10 is nothing special...I didn't like it much at all.

Lew

 

[hacker]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

Alnico magnets are just more expensive than ceramic ones, hence the price difference.

For clean playing and blues, I like alnico speakers. They break up nicely and have a real sweet tone. Think vintage fender.

Ceramic magnets have more bass, do not break up as much, and are better for rock, IMO. Think Marshall.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

would it be a good idea to get an alnico speaker and a ceramic speaker for my 2x12 combo, so i get both spectrums of tone?

 

[jcarlos]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

The choice between these two types of magnets should start with the tone your looking to get and at what volume. Alnico magnets are very efficient and from what I read get muddy when overpowered. They are for the tone not necessarily for the volume. One of each sounds like a good idea. That's where I am going with my Peavey XXX combo. The WeberSVT websight has an article that does a shoot out on the 12s, it's pretty good I guess.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

thanks jcarlos, anyone else have any opinions on the one of each idea? I figure alnico speakers with a higher wattage rating get less muddy and have more head room.

 

[texasguitarslinger]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

I think ceramic is the way to go if you're going to be pushing a lot of dBs. They seem to maintain definition at higher volumes better than the alnicos. :22:

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

would the P12N's get muddy in a 50 watt peavey classic combo? They're higher wattage and larger magnet i guess they'd hold their own better.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

hmm....my hunt for high powered alnico speakers will begin soon....anyone know of an alternative to the P12N that has the same size voice coil and magnet?

 

[Curly]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

some choices would be a Weber, or one of the newer Eminences

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

hmmm...what speaker would match my bandmaster best-I think fender put c12n's in the piggybacks for those, but the new jensens are known to be a bit mid-trebly....

 

[Fresh_Start]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

When I was looking for a replacement for my Blues Jr. Ted Weber pretty much told me that the alnico Blue Dog just plain cost more because some people want it. Don't know if that applies in all situations though.

There's a really good, if somewhat compulsive, forum for speaker stuff you can access through Weber's web page, plus Ted or his son T.A. can fix you up if you just tell him what you got and what you want. Just my humble opinion based on a couple of speaker purchases.

Chip

Chip

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

lew, what 12's do you use? I'm really curious...which amp of yours is most similar to a fender 50 watt blackface and what 12's you got in it? I've only been in this forum for 6 months and there's no question that your advice is gold...

I just want something that would allow the amp to breathe, but sounds smooth at high volumes...my luck right now is on the P12N and some other ceramic speaker to contrast its tone and provide some flexibility in sound.

 

[NT02]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

I read that for an open back combo a favorite speaker is the Celestion G12h30. I've read a lot of great things about this, and am considering this speaker or the new Eminence Private Jack, which replaced the GB12 and is their version of Celestion Greenback, for my Peavey Classic 30 112. Both are ceramic magnet speakers. Based on what I've read, without being able to sample the difference between the two, I choose ceramic for my combo. There is a site somewhere that has shootouts of the alnico speakers. Here it is, hope it helps.

http://www.webervst.com/bt9908.htm

 

[kevlar3000]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

I have used the Eminence 122 for quite a while ( I currently have a 1965 pair of Eminence in one of my cabs which are very close tonally to the 122). I really like them, if you hit my link
the tunes Invasion from Planet K and Sparkle Motion were recorded with the Eminence 122 Alnico through a cranked 60 watt 72 Carlsbro Head. Different more lush bottom end on them, but they don't flub out on me. I used the 35 watt version on these tunes. You get earlier break up and some extremely cool fat cleans when you roll back on the volume. I dig em.

 

[rspst14]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

I have a set of Weber 10's in my Classic 50...two Blue Pup's on top, two Silver 10's on bottom. I don't have a ton of experience with speakers, but I can say for sure that they are quite an improvement over the stock speakers. They make those in a 12 inch version too, the Blue Dog and Silver Bell. All four of mine are alnico, I generally prefer it to ceramic in both speakers and pickups. If it's a Classic 50 212, I bet one Blue Dog and one Silver Bell would be a good choice. Like I said, I'm not familiar with the other speakers Weber makes, but I've had great results with those two.

Ryan

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Alnico speakers vs regular speakers

hmm pricey....anyone got a jensen p12n in use right now...how's that sucker sound??