New speakers for Carvin Belair

ehdwuld

ehdwuld

A Ficus
1st the current speakers sound fine
they are the Carvin 100 watt VL series from 2000

The trouble is they are 8 ohm each and wired in parallel making for a 4 ohm load

The amp has a switch for 4-8-16 so that's cool

My attenuation device wants an 8 ohm load

And I may want to plug in another cab at some point

Carvin doesn't offer these speakerspeakers anymore
and what they have are all 8 ohm speakers
No 16 ohm offerings

I want two 16 ohm speakers that would sound good in this amp

the new Carvin speakers are Vintage 30 style Eminence made speakerspeakers

I'm not sure if the V30 is what this needs
 
ehdwuld said:
1st the current speakers sound fine
they are the Carvin 100 watt VL series from 2000

The trouble is they are 8 ohm each and wired in parallel making for a 4 ohm load

The amp has a switch for 4-8-16 so that's cool

My attenuation device wants an 8 ohm load

And I may want to plug in another cab at some point

Carvin doesn't offer these speakerspeakers anymore
and what they have are all 8 ohm speakers
No 16 ohm offerings

I want two 16 ohm speakers that would sound good in this amp

the new Carvin speakers are Vintage 30 style Eminence made speakerspeakers

I'm not sure if the V30 is what this needs
Click to expand...

I believe we have the same amp (Belair 212). Mine has the spring reverb tank (not digital reverb). I pulled two Carvin VL12-16’s from it (16 ohm). They’re okay for cleans, but it just depends what you’re playing. What style of music do you typically play?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
ehdwuld said:
Mostly cleans

Yours came with 16s?
Click to expand...

Yes. You can have them if you want them (just pay shipping). I originally swapped them out with G12T-75s, as I needed something that could handle higher gain. Although, I’m now thinking that G12M-65 Creambacks might be the way to go. I have a Creamback in a semi-open H&K cab, and it sounds awesome.

1e404d7ceb56f90631a62d51618bc0af.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Owned several of those amps. They need some thing on the chimey side as are voiced pretty dark If they are wired in parallel would have been rewired as the came in series for a 16 Ohm load. Something like a pair of G12H 30's would be nice in that amp. They used Vintage 30's also in those for a while. Be careful that cab is tight there can be clearance issues with the speaker baskets and magnets and the transformer on some speakers in some of the Carvin amps that use that same cab. Know this from experience. Not a fan of those VL 12's BTW.
Have a buddy that has a LOT of mods for those amps that turn them into real tone machines if your interested. it's amazing what Rick did with those amps and many of us lobbied Carvin to bring him in and help with a redesign.
http://hasserl.com/vt50_mods
 
BenPerkins said:
Yes. You can have them if you want them (just pay shipping). I originally swapped them out with G12T-75s, as I needed something that could handle higher gain. Although, I’m now thinking that G12M-65 Creambacks might be the way to go. I have a Creamback in a semi-open H&K cab, and it sounds awesome.

1e404d7ceb56f90631a62d51618bc0af.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...

oh ok
not to look a gift horse in the mouth
But,

but those are the Chinese VL series that are 70 watt
mine are the American made VL that are 100 watt

they went through a change at
thank you though
 
I don't know know what your budget is but the newish Celestion V series speakers are pretty nice. I have one in a Fender Mustang and a pair came standard in my Blackstar Artist 30...a GREAT sounding amp that's kind of like an AC30 with a pair of 6L6 tubes rather than 4 EL84's. The V speakers sell for around $99 each but I'll bet if you shop around this time of the year you might be able to score them on a black friday sale for a lot less.

I've seen them used for $60! That's the reason I mentioned them. Excellent speaker and if you shop around you you might find a used pair for $120.

Here's a Pete Thorn demo. Of course he makes everything sound good because he can really play!

 
Last edited:
ehdwuld said:
1st the current speakers sound fine
they are the Carvin 100 watt VL series from 2000

The trouble is they are 8 ohm each and wired in parallel making for a 4 ohm load

The amp has a switch for 4-8-16 so that's cool

My attenuation device wants an 8 ohm load

And I may want to plug in another cab at some point

Carvin doesn't offer these speakerspeakers anymore
and what they have are all 8 ohm speakers
No 16 ohm offerings

I want two 16 ohm speakers that would sound good in this amp

the new Carvin speakers are Vintage 30 style Eminence made speakerspeakers

I'm not sure if the V30 is what this needs
Click to expand...
I would send an email to Eminence. They have been very helpful when I have asked them about what OEM speakers match their current catalog.
 
I am in the process of pairing speakers with a Carvin Vintage 33, your Belair's little brother.

So far, I have settled on the Eminence Governor (I'm still breaking it in) for the combo and I have a matching extension cab on the way. I'm planning on putting an Eminence Wizard in that.

The Governor and Wizard seem to be a well liked pair for EL84 amps and should help to open up the tone of Channel 2.

It's only been a few days but the Governor is leagues better than the stock Carvin speaker. Mine had the same 100-watt 8-ohm speaker as yours. The Governor retains the excellent clean tone of Channel 1 and has a lot more sensitivity and character when really pushed.

I'm interested to hear what Eminence recommends for you.
 
I just got a WGS Veteran 30. Their take on a Vintage 30. The tone is smoother and warmer than a Vintage 30, but still has alot of the sound and personality of a Celestion Vintage 30. I like it.
 
Lewguitar said:
I just got a WGS Veteran 30. Their take on a Vintage 30. The tone is smoother and warmer than a Vintage 30, but still has alot of the sound and personality of a Celestion Vintage 30. I like it.
Click to expand...

yeah I got one of those as well

I feel there are a lot of the V30 style speakers for good reason

Warehouse Veteran 30 is great sounding speaker
 
The Eminence Governor is also supposed to be their take on the Vintage 30. Sounds similar to a V30 to me but the Governor is more articulate and doesn't have that harsh peak in the upper midrange.

IMO, the Governor and the Veteran 30 are good matches for this amp's tonal characteristics.
 
Had a chance to play my Carvin Vintage 33 with the Governor along with the extension cab loaded with a Wizard today. Those two speakers pair very well with each other.

Whether clean (which the Vintage series Carvins do very well) or with various levels of OD, distortion and fuzz, I was unable to get a sound I didn't like out of the amp.

The Wizard really fattens up the Governor and the Governor fills in the mids that are lacking a little from the Wizard on its own. Kind of a "none of the bad, more of the good" situation.

I'm really looking forward to hear how they sound together once they are broken in properly. So far, highly recommend for these amps.

(Sorry for the double post.)
 
Last edited:
well I have three extension cabinets and with
Eminence designed Jet City Speaker in an open back cab 16 ohm
WGS Veteran 30 in an open back cab 16 ohm
EHX 12 VR 75 in a closed back cab 8 ohm

they all sound good
the closed back cab does make the EHX a bit middy
 
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