Avatar Traditional 2x12 Speaker Swap

JOEBACCA

JOEBACCA

New member
Currently my Avatar Partial open back 2x12 has a Vintage 30 and a G12H30. This pairing really does sound good but honestly just for sh!ts and giggles I want to try something from Eminence or WGS. Speaker swapping really gets overlooked, instead of going the pickup swapping route, I figured lets go closer to the tone source instead. I want a speaker that isn't a one trick pony. EQ wise I want Tight, Punchy, Fast Attack Bass. Moderate Mids, not scooped but not AM Radio either, I'd rather add or subtract Mids from my amp. Somewhere between Moderate to Aggressive Treble, plenty of cut when needed without getting harsh or thin, nice and articulate. Needs to be able to handle Drop Tuned High Gain Carnage to Full bodied Ambient Cleans.

I'm gravitating towards the WGS Retro 30, Eminence Swamp Thang, Eminence Governor, or Eminence Wizard. I don't know which speaker would closely fit my description above. Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks fellers!
 
Re: Avatar Traditional 2x12 Speaker Swap

I have a Swamp Thing in an Avatar 1x12 and am very happy with it. It's a pretty "true" speaker and to my ears, has many of the qualities you describe above (highs are clear but not too harsh or buzzy, mids somewhat scooped but not excessively, clean bottom end with punch but not boomy, not too much break up).
 
Re: Avatar Traditional 2x12 Speaker Swap

You want a WGS Retro 30. Thats what i've had my eye on for some time now but haven't had the cash or when I did other things had to be taken care of first.
 
Re: Avatar Traditional 2x12 Speaker Swap

Uh go with the vintage 30 mixed with a WGS ET65. Trust
 
Re: Avatar Traditional 2x12 Speaker Swap

hydro said:
I have a Swamp Thing in an Avatar 1x12 and am very happy with it. It's a pretty "true" speaker and to my ears, has many of the qualities you describe above (highs are clear but not too harsh or buzzy, mids somewhat scooped but not excessively, clean bottom end with punch but not boomy, not too much break up).
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Nice. The Swamp Thang always sounded good in speaker shootout videos, I know its hard to judge from utube vids but you get the idea of the EQ curve when comparing to other speakers from Eminence in the same cab. Definitely a contender!


Rockstar216 said:
You want a WGS Retro 30. Thats what i've had my eye on for some time now but haven't had the cash or when I did other things had to be taken care of first.
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Honestly the Retro30 has been on my Radar forever. And I like the tonality of the Retro 30 better in comparison to the Veteran 30. I have to ask though... have you played through those speakers? What was your experience?


misterwhizzy said:
I think you want to close that back, buddy.
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.....so you're not a fan of cabs that twerk? But seriously I considered buying the optional piece to close the back of the cab from Avatar. Perhaps that would be in order as well. But what about the speakers Whiz?


CTN said:
Uh go with the vintage 30 mixed with a WGS ET65. Trust
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I never considered the ET65... so its based on the Celestion G12-65. I see in your sig that you have a Retro 30 and the ET 65 mixed in your 2x12. What do you like about the ET65? I thought that speaker would be better for classic rock...how does it handle Drop C and Lower Tunings? I honestly was considering just going with 2 Retro 30's instead of the mix match thing. The Retro's clean and dirty tones sound awesome from what I've heard.
 
Re: Avatar Traditional 2x12 Speaker Swap

Hard for me to recommend since I don't seem to play the same type music that you do; modest gain, no drop tuning chug.
I will give this from my experience base. I like 2X12 cabs with mixed speakers. I have three:
1) Celestion V30 with a G12H55
2) WGS Retro 30 with a Reaper HP
3) Eminance Swamp Thang with a Wizard
The Celestion pairing is the brightest; the WGS pair the warmest/darkest; and the Emi's in between. They are also the most efficient which means they'll allow for more headroom at the same volume. They also suit lower wattage amps by giving more volume. All pairings seem to compliment each other very well and sound good, just different. I'd venture a guess that the WGS pairing may suit your music genres. BTW, the WGS seemed to take significantly longer to break-in than the others...around 80 to 100 hours.
Hope that gives a little help??????
 
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Re: Avatar Traditional 2x12 Speaker Swap

What amp will you be using it with? That makes a big difference. Its all about the combination.
 
Re: Avatar Traditional 2x12 Speaker Swap

gibson175 said:
What amp will you be using it with? That makes a big difference. Its all about the combination.
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I have a Carvin V3 with JJ EL34's & 12ax7's which I switch to 50 watt mode at home, but I also have a Blackstar HT5R Combo as well.
 
Re: Avatar Traditional 2x12 Speaker Swap

Can't beat a Swamp Thang to cover just about everything and sound great doing it. I've got one paired with a G12H in a Vintage Avatar 2x12 cab with the back closed...awesome! I've been thinking of replacing the G12H with a spkr with a bit more high-end sparkle however (the ST has plenty of mids and lows and a decent amount of highs and sounds amazing by itself, but the G12H has too much low and mid and not enough high when paired with the ST).
 
Re: Avatar Traditional 2x12 Speaker Swap

JOEBACCA said:
.....so you're not a fan of cabs that twerk? But seriously I considered buying the optional piece to close the back of the cab from Avatar. Perhaps that would be in order as well. But what about the speakers Whiz?
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Every time someone asks about speakers, I tell them the same thing. I started with two Seventy 80s that came in a Randall combo, which I put in a 2x12, which for the life of me I can't remember the brand. I still have it, but I don't remember the brand. Anyways, I replaced the Seventy 80s with two Governors, which sounded so much better. I despise Seventy 80s, and I believe the only reason they're ever put into a cabinet is so the manufacturer can say their cab has Celestions. The Governors by themselves just didn't have a fullness to the sound. It was on the thin side. So after lots of internet research, I bought a Governor to pair with it. And it fixed everything. It filled out the lows and low mids, and it tamed some of the harsh top end. It's a great, great pair, and when I got there, I stopped looking.
 
Re: Avatar Traditional 2x12 Speaker Swap

gibson175 said:
What amp will you be using it with? That makes a big difference. Its all about the combination.
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So true - yet it makes things harder because there are so many possible combinations. I think amp manufacturers overall do a pretty good job of pairing speakers with their amp platforms, which at least gives you a starting point.
 
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