DRRI Speaker recommendations

FuseG4

FuseG4

Our Neighbor Totoro
I'm startin to rethink my position on "a DRRI trying to push a 150W speaker is just fine". it's an eminence texas heat.
It sounds a little lifeless because it's never breaking up, and while it's a speaker with big bass, it never gets worked out enough to start taming the highs. I often set the amp to 3 or 4 and then give it some drive and boost from a pedal, and I'd like to get some more fatness and compression here.

It's been broken in, I'm pretty sure. I got it used and after that I've put around 20 hrs of stage-level volume on it, and over a hundred hours of bedoom jamming on it over a few months.

I'm leaning towards either
something in the area of what they put in old tweed deluxes (smaller alnico mag, bright highs, woody and sometimes nasally mids, wooly bass, lower volume w/ somebreakup). No Jensen reissues, put possibly a Weber version of a P12Q? Something tells me that many of these types of speakers might still be pretty dang bright, but that doesn't always mean ice-pick.

or something 25W greenback-y. I'm worried a bit about coloring the clean tone a lot with a GB. Anyways, I got good and used to the GB back when I had the night train, and it is fat and has some real grind when it gets going. I rather like that.
I used to use it in an open back cab and it got a little farty but not in the worst, unmusical way.
 
Re: DRRI Speaker recommendations

people really seem to like the c rex and g12h30 in these, the g12h'll be less farty and work better in an open-back cab than a greenback

if you're totally set on alnico Weber makes a g12h30 clone with an alnico mag. They also offer the hemp cone on them
 
Re: DRRI Speaker recommendations

drew_half_empty said:
if you're totally set on alnico Weber makes a g12h30 clone with an alnico mag. They also offer the hemp cone on them
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, what model is that? Sounds really interesting. It would probably pair with one of my hemp cone V30s amazingly well.
 
Re: DRRI Speaker recommendations

drew_half_empty said:
people really seem to like the c rex and g12h30 in these, the g12h'll be less farty and work better in an open-back cab than a greenback

if you're totally set on alnico Weber makes a g12h30 clone with an alnico mag. They also offer the hemp cone on them
Click to expand...

yeah and they're $200 or a lil more. I was hoping to stay in the <$150 range but I won't rule it out.

Also, I guess I'm not set on alnico but it does seem to have some of the characteristics i'd like.
 
Re: DRRI Speaker recommendations

Agileguy_101 said:
Out of curiosity, what model is that? Sounds really interesting. It would probably pair with one of my hemp cone V30s amazingly well.
Click to expand...

british series 1230


to the OP any alnico 12 is gonna run you quite a bit, but having any speaker you're pushing hard will get you closer to that tone

i think you'd be happy with either the crex or g12h30, you just gotta decide if you want smokey or slightly scooped rocky
 
Re: DRRI Speaker recommendations

I absolutely love the Cannabis Rex in a blackface fender.
 
Re: DRRI Speaker recommendations

drew_half_empty said:
british series 1230


to the OP any alnico 12 is gonna run you quite a bit, but having any speaker you're pushing hard will get you closer to that tone

i think you'd be happy with either the crex or g12h30, you just gotta decide if you want smokey or slightly scooped rocky
Click to expand...

the weber P12n and p12q variants stay in the $115-130 range for most of em I think.

Slightly scooped rocky does sound like it might really work, especially with my crunchbox. but the crex is probably the #1 recommendation besides the weber 12F150, which I think might be not far enough away from what I have.
 
Re: DRRI Speaker recommendations

i have a greenback clone in my 22w princeton reverb II, but its a 75 watter with some hemp in the cone. i did not want an exact replica cos i wanted the darker fatter tone of a 75.The guy who makes them makes 30w,50w and 75w. But they are probably not cheap to get posted to the states. The 30 watter is mapped exactly like a greenback.
http://www.melbournemusiccentre.com.au/shop/index.php?productID=10138
Greenbacks are cool. But there's other options too.
Cannabis rex is one obvious one.
alnico speakers are a cool idea, and do sound vintage but actually an alnico in a deluxe and you might end up wishing you had some more bottom end and volume standing next to a drummer.
Think grant green for the kinds of tones you are likely to get with an alnico. YOu are right in thinking tweed tones. its kinda like having your les lius on all the time...but seeing as you have one of those, it would be nice to have a bigger more luxurious clean tone as well - also if you want to run hard edged rock tones using your crunch box, an alnico may sound a little undergunned.
Just cos they are more expensive does not necessarily mean they are the best speaker for the job tho. i dont think they are really very versatile and there are otehr ways to get a great sound. Ive even replaced nice alnicos with lorantz' in another amp for that very reason. I guess i prefer to hear the tubes overdriving rather than the speakers.
You are right about jensen reissues. ive used c12ns in 2 amps and they are okay but kinda hard on the ears - spiky even.
YOu are also right about 150w maybe being overkill for your amp. Speakers equate a little to pickups...the more powerful, the less treble and more fat mids. I even find a 75 watter to be just on the edge of too dark...but i kinda like dark and smoky cos im a jazz player.
Now i know this is not one of the two avenues you are considering but heres my 2c worth:
i reckon in a perfect world to get the best out of a DRRI, a paper coned weber california will do the job. It can easily handle the bottom end of the 6v6s, but also has plenty of liveness and clarity. In short...it gives you what the amp does best. The tops are clear and articulate , but smooth - not like a jensen. They have a tremendous 3d kind of feel to them. I think they are 65 watts? So it wont flab out, but it will be much more responsive than the sleeping giant you have in there now.
 
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Re: DRRI Speaker recommendations

The Emi legend GB128 is supposed to be a 50W GB variant with a little tighter bass... reckon that might work? Price is great for a brand-new one.
 
Re: DRRI Speaker recommendations

I have a used 2010 DRRI as my project amp and have 'clipped' the bright cap. Similar boat in looking for a speaker. Stock it has the C12K. At home or studio for low volume it has great cleans. Very relaxed and a pretty sweet tone.

But I use this amp for high marshall like rock and roll for clubs. After my research I took the plunge and bought a V30 and installed with a beam blocker. At room volume and clean tones... it sounds kind of brash and not that nice... I means it okay but not what you would expect or possibly want. But at rock levels, volume 5 to 6 and a tube screamer maxed... I can get incredible marshall/splawn like tone. Thats because the DRRI is mid shy and the V30 is mid focused. It also gives you some mid meat for your dirt pedals. I've only had it for a week and have not gigged it yet but have maxed the volume quite a bit.

At first I was apprehensive and swapped the original (C12K) back-in. Listened, and then put the V30 in a second time and I can really tell its what the doctor ordered (V30). The tone is pretty smokin for high gain stuff. I am sure there are other choices for different 'flavors' but I have heard (online) other people using the V30 in a deluxe.

So if you are trying to do traditional deluxe or pretty cleans... maybe not the V30. I do both jazz and hard rock. For hard rock, so far it seems a great match. Plus I can really hear myself and the amp cuts through so much better. I mean killer bad. Van Halen, ZZ Top, Jimmy Eat World... no problem (all with just one tube screamer and a tele modded). Even for jazz, the tonality may not be as pretty, but the clarity in hearing is better. I got mine for $125 (GC had a one day $25 off and free shipping sale).
 
Re: DRRI Speaker recommendations

FuseG4 said:
The Emi legend GB128 is supposed to be a 50W GB variant with a little tighter bass... reckon that might work? Price is great for a brand-new one.
Click to expand...

actually it's got more bass than a green back, wouldn call it tighter... but it's got killer definition, even the eminence site calls a cleaner private jack with a fatter low end. I have two of them, they are the sh!t as far as I'm concerned
 
Re: DRRI Speaker recommendations

I've been thinking about the v30 secretly in the back of my head because I know it would probably rule if I wanted to really focus on my gain sounds sounding huge and aggressive (which is fun but maybe not the best for what I usually play, light-to-medium gain Stones-y blues rock). Sure would rock for the punk and indie rock stuff though.

Are there any V30 variants out there that have a little sweeter cleans?
 
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