Power tube+Preamp tube distortion with no speaker distortion

[Quencho092]

I know everybody digs the marshall sound a whole lot with speaker distortion, but the fact that hendrix used jbl d120f's in his 2-4 4x12 cabs live intrigues me.

Could it be that the hendrix sound was devoid of the loads of speaker distortion that we associate with marshall so often, rather the JBL's would compress a bit, and perhaps distort a little with the way that he would crank his amp?

What do you guys think? Is the power and preamp tube distortion mix through an efficient speaker that doesn't distort much at all a viable tone idea? Of course, the sound of the speaker would fatten up once it starts to push more air, but i was just wondering.

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Power tube+Preamp tube distortion with no speaker distortion

You think too much
Play more
And 4 G12H are not going to give you much speaker breakup, unless you play at scare your audience away levels.
Even VH had some of those alu domed POS speakers.
But the sound is not very nice by far.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Power tube+Preamp tube distortion with no speaker distortion

so you're saying that JBL's suck? I've owned them before, but i've never heard them in my Deluxe reverb. I'm probably going to get a weber california or a michigan....

 

[Armotron]

Re: Power tube+Preamp tube distortion with no speaker distortion

I've wondered the same thing since you told me about Hendrix using JBL's.
Maybe the only way to know for sure is just being able to try them out yourself, which I myself dont have the means to do, but It might be the only sure way?
Weren't those speakers used in the early Fenders? That would be a reasonable choice for a DRRI?

 

[Quencho092]

Re: Power tube+Preamp tube distortion with no speaker distortion

In the 60's fender sold two models of amp-a cheaper model that came with jensens or CTS or Oxford or Utah...luck of the draw....or a premium model that came with an awesome JBL aluminum domed speaker.

I'm like a schizo when it comes to picking out stuff for my sound. One week i'll be jonesing for low power speakers like a celestion blue, then after a gig, i'll be a bit dissatisfied by my volume efficiency and definition or too much speaker breakup. To get the volume i wanted at the last gig, i had to turn my volume up to 8. I liked the sound of the amp, but the speaker sounded like it was dying when i played chords.

A JBL style speaker would hold out more for certain compared to the lower efficiency jensen i have in the DRRI. Perhaps that's what i want- i used to love my sound with my bandmaster through a 15 inch JBL, perhaps it's time to revisit it with my DRRI and a Weber California.