Best speaker for a 5e3?

[Chickenwings]

The ones on my list are:
Celestion Blue -the standard and very efficient
Cannabis Rex - for more solidity in the low end and high efficiency.
Canis Major - for the solid low end plus alnico sweetness (hardly any user experiences to read out there tho). This one really interests me.
Tone Tubby - for the same reasons as the canis
Weber 12A125A (the 30 watt version)- pretty much everyone who tries this rates it higher than any other speaker.

I have been playing in a 50s jump/rhythm and blues band with 3 horns, organ and electric bass etc. My 22 watt princeton reverb II has been fine (on 4 or 5) in terms of volume and ive been using an overdrive for leads. The last couple gigs my reverb has died, so ive been going without it and thats all ok too. I'm looking at a 5e3 so i can crank it up and get rid of the overdrive pedal and thereby get a really hip organic 50s style tone. I guess the trick is to get a speaker thats efficient enough so im not left getting swamped but also keep that tubey sponginess that 5e3s are so cool at.

Just throw in your 2c worth cos im open to any suggestions.
Im gonna build the 5e3 with mallorys. Give me any advice you have on the tubes you like too - especially the rectifier.

Cheers all.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

I like the silver frame alnico Celestions better than the blues but they run a lot of green so the blues will do...great in a tweed Deluxe. Old cone P12Q is great too, 12A125A if you don't want to spring for an old Jensen...that said I like the 20 watter slightly better.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

is the 20 watt more cutting? I know the 5e3 circuit is by nature pretty loose in the bass so im hoping whatever speaker i choose it wont flab futher.
The weber option looks to be the front runner for me atm.

 

[LReese]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

Not sure if it helps but I have a '62 6G3. Really did not care for the Weber 12A125A in that amp, but I found a 55hz G12H30 Weber clone that really sounds good. Model name escapes me now.

 

[LReese]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

1230-55

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

i had not really considered a g12h30 (or similar) yet. I was leaning towards alnico offerings so far. what do you like about it?

 

[LReese]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

Weber offers it in Alnico -

For that amp, just fits in with the amp a little better. IIRC TGWIF also has a '62 6G3 with the same model speaker. its more of a mini-Marshall thing going. Not sure if that direction is what you are going for in the Tweed.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

is the 20 watt more cutting? I know the 5e3 circuit is by nature pretty loose in the bass so im hoping whatever speaker i choose it wont flab futher.
The weber option looks to be the front runner for me atm.

The 20 watter is ever so slightly more aggressive but it also seems more lively to me but frankly I am more than likely splitting hairs!

The G12 Celestions will help clean up the lows w/o having to change parts in the amp...the 12A125A is cleaner in the lows than most old Jensens but not as controlled as an alnico Celestion.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

Not sure if it helps but I have a '62 6G3. Really did not care for the Weber 12A125A in that amp, but I found a 55hz G12H30 Weber clone that really sounds good. Model name escapes me now.

Too funny!!!

I started to get VC rub in my 68 silver frame G12 alnico Celestion that I had in my 62 Deluxe...popped in a Weber 1230-55 and was KNOCKED OUT by it!

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

Weber offers it in Alnico -

For that amp, just fits in with the amp a little better. IIRC TGWIF also has a '62 6G3 with the same model speaker. its more of a mini-Marshall thing going. Not sure if that direction is what you are going for in the Tweed.

Should have read a little further...

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

i had not really considered a g12h30 (or similar) yet. I was leaning towards alnico offerings so far. what do you like about it?

If you go with the alnico version you'll get less headroom and more compression...

I dunno, i'd likely just go for the ceramic version if I was going H30 style...

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

Throw an Eminence Swamp Thang in there. It's big and solid in the bass, natural in the mids, and the highs don't spike out, which means you can raise your treble.......heck, just dime the amp! The Swamp Thang is for the Fender guy who wants all the volume/gain out of the amp without the speaker farting out.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

I'm pretty much a purist. Whatever was supposed to be in there; get the Weber, Jensen or Eminence reissue. I'd seriously consider Eminence, and while it might not actually sound as authentic as the Weber, it will come close enuf, and I would get Eminence cause of the best warranty in the business.
Then again, others have brought up good points, like swamp thing being the modern way to maximize the sound of theamp, and Celestion being a way to get a more British vibe on it. I tried my '66 Blackface Bassman with Celestions (greenbacks), and it sounded great, so I don't see why a tweed wouldn't also.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

How have you guys found a 5e3 for gigging? Enough horsepower for leads? We
generally mic the sax and horns but not the guitar.

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

How have you guys found a 5e3 for gigging? Enough horsepower for leads? We
generally mic the sax and horns but not the guitar.

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

Sure if you don't want truly clean cleans...

I do a lot of gigging with my 6G3 and it has more power then a 5E3 and even then I don't have a dead clean, clean sound unless I'm at LOW volumes and playing a Tele or Strat.

Just nature of the beast.

 

[Laughing Kookaburra]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

How have you guys found a 5e3 for gigging? Enough horsepower for leads? We
generally mic the sax and horns but not the guitar.

Sent from my LT26i using Tapatalk

Not a direct answer, but I do use a 15 watt 1x10 Laney unmiced for at times a similar situation (horns and such) , with the stock Celestion G10N-40, which has the same efficiency as the Greenback 10, which is 95db. That's less than some of what you're considering. Of course, the Laney is not a tweed...also, not a completely clean sound. I use a modded SD-1 or an EH LPB-1 for solos, no problem at all, other than the fact the other soloists blow me off the stage in terms of talent! hehe...

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

Im hoping I can dispense with any help from pedals at all so I guess this will be a balancing act between being too loud and getting enough dirt. I can always mic up I guess. Its ok if the amp is a one trick pony cos I have other amps for other uses. Perhaps a long tailed pair in the phase inverter or a plug in ss rectifier might do the job. I guess ill have to try it in the real world and see. A friend has a 5e3 and i have a gig tomorrow night, maybe ill take my normal setup along as backup, and see if he will lend me his 5e3 for the night. I think his has got a greenback clone in it.

 

[eggman]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

Howdy,

This Keith Richards disciple noticed that Keef himself is employing Celestion V30s-of all things-in his tweed touring amps (40 watt twins, I believe). Interesting, as I'd have also had a knee-jerk assumption that AlNico is the only way to go for vintage type tone!

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

Im gonna build the 5e3 with mallorys.

Don't use all the same type throughout the amp .... mix 'em up for more complexity and less of a 'one voice' kinda thing. I looked at the schematic ... not many caps ... I'd use paper in oil. Use polystyrene for the tone control for 'smooth', or ceramic for a little grit ... or try one of each.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Best speaker for a 5e3?

If you have the chance to check out the 12A125A, I would totally recommend doing so. I have mine in an open back Epi 1x12 and I love it! As my two main amplifiers are 5W and 2W respectively, I cannot answer the gigging volume question w the Weber; when I use my amps for gigs, I tend to use Eminence Swamp Thangs or Wizards, which maximize my limited wattage and headroom.

Funny you should mention the 5E3, as I have been thinking about getting an amp with this circuit, but if I do pull the trigger, it will be a couple of months before that happens. However, using the two amps I have together, I am able to get a decent gigging volume with the Emi speakers no problem -- HOWEVER, as you probably know, I do not need anything close to pristine cleans, and when I do need to clean up, I use the Heavy Electronics Descend pedal ...

I guess I could try to describe what each speaker brings to the party, but but a picture is worth a thousand words.

EMINENCE WIZARD, EAST Studio 2, Les Paul/Strat/Tele Thinline





WEBER 12A125A, Lil Dawg Champster, Fender Strat/WexV lap steel





EMINENCE SWAMP THANG, EAST Studio 2 (rhythm), Lil Dawg Champster (lead), Agile AL2800