Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

[Jack_TriPpEr]

The stock speaker is way too bright for my tastes.

I already gave a WGS Reaper a try but it also was a little too bright (but not as much as the stock one).

The type of music I play on this amp is classic rock, modern rock, and thrash. So the replacement has to be versatile.

Any recommendations?

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

eminence texas heat comes to mind
still has enough brightness to be versatile but its mostly warm and big sounding. it's a huge improvement over stock

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

+1 on the Texas Heat recommendation.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

I'm going to throw one in the mix here. I just picked up a WGS ET-90 which is a brand new speaker for them to go in my little Zinky 25 watt Blue velvet.
http://wgs4.com/12-et90-100-watts
I think the ET-90 might hit the spot for the tones you are looking for in your Blues Deluxe. I know those amps pretty well as I ran one of the original tweed covered BD's back in the 90's for a while. The WGS ET-90 is a big warm and open sounding speaker that really helps knock down some of that 1/12 open back combo amp boxieness well.
Here is a quick low volume demo recorded with a Sony SX-750 with my Zinky Velvet loaded with the ET-90 and playing my Swamp Ash Washburn USA MG 102 with a JB plugged straight into the amp.
https://app.box.com/s/og4s4w5yvaij0l70o3mz

 

[ken361]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

I use a Eminence GB 128 (greenback) works great! I can now use the bright channel now and even the stock OD channel. I usually run my Bogner pedals through it.

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

eminence texas heat comes to mind
still has enough brightness to be versatile but its mostly warm and big sounding. it's a huge improvement over stock

The Texas Heat is rated at 150W. The amp is only 40W. Is that an issue?

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

Nope.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

The Texas Heat is rated at 150W. The amp is only 40W. Is that an issue?

May or may not be depends on how efficient the speaker is.
In my case on the WGS ET-90 I used the 100 watt 90 instead of the 65 in my 25 watt combo because the 90 was more efficient than the 65.
In other words while the 90 handled more power it also had a thicker fuller tone and put out more db in volume at the same power level than the 65. That increased my clean headroom with the little 25 watt amp + made the open back 1/12 combo sound bigger and fuller when running just the internal 12. It's all about matching things up and getting the right combination of tone and efficiency for your particular amp and what you are trying to get out of it tone wise.
I will say this I am REALLY digging the ET in this amp and have had a Tonker lite, Celestian H30 and Vin 30, the factory Eminence and both a WGS Vet and Retro 30 in this one so far. The WGS Retro was a solid #2 tone wise but the ET looks like the clear winner here and what will stay in the amp from now on.
The Retro/ Vet 30 combo that was in my Blackstar cab (Vet 30) and Velvet ( Retro 30) has now gone as a pair into my Fender 2/12 to run under the Peavy Ultra + head. I was just going to order another Retro for the Velvet until Vaughn over at WGS made the suggestion I try the ET-90, glad he did as this speaker was a real home run in this amp!

 

[post toastie]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

others may chime in. i would suggest a Celestion Seventy/80. it's not as expensive as the average speaker but many consider it a mid-level speaker that can yield surprisingly good results.

 

[Ascension]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

others may chime in. i would suggest a Celestion Seventy/80. it's not as expensive as the average speaker but many consider it a mid-level speaker that can yield surprisingly good results.

Seventy/80 is what I'm running right now under the Velvet combo in my Blackstar 1/12 and you are right it's not a bad speaker IMO at all. However trust me here that ET-90 I just got from WGS or the slightly cheaper Retro 30 I also have are a whole other tonal world and they are priced new at just about the same $ ( ET )or a little less (Retro)!!!
Unless you find a deal used on a 70/Eighty I would go with one of the 2 WGS's in that price range or go with the new Celestian V series speaker. The V is fantastic in the new 68 Deluxe RI!!!

 

[mwalluk]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

I'll throw celestion classic lead 80 (cl80) in this discussion. Fantastic speaker. Works well with Marshall's and mesas. Should work well with your fender. It allows your amps natural tone to shine through and not color it. Should really bring out the sound of your guitars and stomp boxes

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

The Texas Heat is rated at 150W. The amp is only 40W. Is that an issue?

nope. the wattage rating on a speaker is just a way of signifying how much heat it can safely dissipate.
The ohms are what you need to match, so make sure you order an 8 ohm speaker for the blues deluxe.
+1 on the texas heat BTW.

 

[zzmoore]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

I always liked the sound of an Emi GB12 in that amp.
I think the Emi Texas Heat and Red White & Blues sound good for just about all Blues/Rock applications.
good luck

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

Thanks everyone for the recommendations. The number of Texas Heat votes prompted me to find a YouTube sample. Found two videos that gave examples of the same riff being played through a Texas Heat and a Swamp Thang. I'm liking the Swamp Thank more actually - seems more transparent than the Heat but w/o being shrill like my stock speaker. Still checking out the other recommendations as well, but wanted to share where I'm at on this currently.

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

swamp thing is more efficient so your amp will be substantially louder if that is something you want. It is also more scooped, more present and geared towards more modern metal tones. The lower efficiency of the Texas heat allows you to crank your tubes a little harder and is geared more towards vintage warm sounds.
Both excellent speakers.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

I was going to suggest the Swamp Thang. It's a great speaker, and often suggested as a way to beef up a Fender amp.

I wish I could hear a set of Swamp Thangs in a Marshall halfstack. I have a feeling they'd sound just as good in that application. I know it sounds good when I run my gainy Vox modeling head into my Swamp Thang loaded Fender Pro Reverb.

 

[ken361]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

might loose that fendery clean with a swamp, I do use one in a 6505+ combo and it worked well

 

[gordon_39422]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

A 150-watt speaker in a 25-watt amp does matter.... Is he looking for more headroom or does he want a combination of speaker/amp breakup... I concur with the recommendation of the Texas Heat as I like LOTS of headroom and let the pedals do the gain--based work for me... He may want some of his gain to come through the speaker which will be hard pressed since the speaker is WELL over the heat dissipation levels the amp is capable of producing... Another recommendation is a Jensen for that classic sound or a Weber... Something at 30-50 watts will give you plenty of headroom and allow you to get tube saturation along with stomp-box distortion and make the amp sing...

Just my $.002.... I had to adjust for inflation!

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

After listening to speaker shootout videos on YouTube, I am really liking the Celestion Vintage 30. But all the samples use a closed back cab vs. an open backed combo like my amp. And I need a speaker that's at least as many watts as my app's output (40 amps). Is there a speaker that's 50 or more watts and when in an open back sounds a lot like a Celestion Vintage 30 in a closed back? I could see the Swamp Thang being a plausible answer to that, what do you think?

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: Good replacement speaker for Fender Blues Deluxe Reissue?

Update: i decided to instead get an Engl - not sure which one yet- but it will replace the Fender BDRI.

Thanks to everyone who pitched in with some good recommendations - there were many.