Re: Does the Twin Reverb take fuzz pedals well ?
Stock speakers take many forms in twin depending on the era, but if you are asking about the current reissue twins, then the speakers are jensen c12K's. Honest, hardworking and efficient speakers. Pretty defined scoop and a very present and cutting treble. They have a kind of metallic "kerrang" to their tone which can be hard on the ears.
To get the sweetest tone from a twin, its good to have speakers that are less efficient (i.e. less loud per watt) which allow you to have your amp turned up a little louder for the same apparent volume in the room, which will give a fatter, warmer tone. Perhaps more importantly, its good to have speakers that are a bit thicker in the mids and more rounded on the top. Bright, cutting treble is the sound that hurts the ears and makes people run for cover because things are too loud. Speakers that attenuate the treble somewhat are great for adressing this. Also, in stock form, the tone stack of a twin reverb is pretty heavily scooped (which is what gives that lush clean sound) according to Leo Fender's dislike of distortion. The Jensen speakers accentuate this. If you go for something thicker in the mids, you still get that greta fender clean sound, but with a little more muscle.
Which brings us to replacement speakers. Everyone has their own personal prefs, but in my experience the Eminence Texas heats are the best tool for the job in a twin.They have a very high (150w) wattage rating so they can easily handle all the massive lows of the 85 watt twin without breaking a sweat. Coupled to the hefty voice coil, they have what is a comparatively small magnet (generally used for lower wattage speakers) which reduces the efficency quite a lot and slows down the response. What this does is warm up your tone and add a little "squish" and a softer feel under your fingertips. Add to this, the ability to turn you amp up one extra knotch for the same volume and life is sweet. They also have a pretty subdued treble response so there is no icepick effect. You can of course get as much treble as you need, but its not anywhere near as strident as the jensens. Throw in a fat midrange and i reckon you have the perfect speaker for a twin.
I've had a lot of cats say to me that twins generally sound sound and hard but that mine is fat and warm and that they are really surprised - this goes double cos i have a fuzz face pretty mcuh "always on" for my non-jazz gigs. When i installed the texas heats (replacing a pair of weber californias - sexy boutique speakers) even the drummer said "wow you amp sounds heaps better"!
