Speakers for a Hiwatt head

LukeGilmour

LukeGilmour

New member
Im building an amp, based on the layout of the hiwatt DR series.

Planning on having a 1x12 first, then 2x12

As far as im concerned (based on the net) the best choice is a celestion greenback (G12h30) and a vintage30.

however, celestions are very pricey around here, so im looking for alternatives.
A friend suggested Eminence GB12 & V128, which are similar to the first two in design, but i dont know how those sound (they re almost half the price of the celestions) is it worth it?

any other suggestions are welcome.
 
Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

I was looking at the specs recently of the new generation of Fane speakers and they are really impressive. Also Fane's are historically accurate.
 
Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

just as another suggestion from Fane, i've read many a time that the Tonker speaker from Eminence has some sonic qualities similar to a Fane
 
Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

thing is fane is close to impossible to get here, this is the first time i hear from them.

anyways, how are they priced compared to the other 2 brands? (also, which models would be equivalent to the first two i mentioned?)

i live in south america btw...
 
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Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

There are several dealers that sell fanes and ship world...they are not cheap speakers but all vintage Hiwatt amps came with Fanes...I am NOT talking about the new alnico magnet Fanes but the older ceramic, 50 watt 12's from the 60's and 70's.

There is cuirrently a reissue of it but I have not ttried it...I have a set of original Fanes out of a 1971 HiWatt cab and they are not only amazing speakers but are key to the Hiwatt tone IMO...

Like flank said the Eminence Tonker is supposed to be based on this very same Fane, Weber VST also have a copy of this speaker but again, I have tried neither...

FWIW, Fanes are NOTHING like ANY Celestion and for sure not anything liek Greenbacks or H30's...
 
Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

You want Pre '84 Fanes or an Eminence Tonker. The new Fanes are nothing like the '70's and early 80's fanes. Celestions should be out of the question. They will not get you where you want to be.

Weber will not get you there either.

Christian is dead on the money in regards to Celestions.......don't bother.

They really need to be HIWATT Fanes, David Reeves work with Fane for quite some time before achieving the "purple sticker" HIWATT Fanes.

-Clayton
 
Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

I recently tried both the new 50 Hiwatt high gain head and the reissue 100 watt head with both Vintage 30s and fanes.

I was distinctly unimpressed by the vintage 30s, which can sound great with some amps. But there was none of the openness and shimmering high end you want from a Hiwatt rig.

The fanes sounded amazing. Clear, with nice open highs and lots of balls.

I suggest getting the eminence fane copy if you can't afford real fanes.

One possible workable Celestion would be the G12H30, as that has nice balanced highs with a less pronounced, more open midrange. So maybe give that a try.

But really, you want Fanes.
 
Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

claytonc said:
You want Pre '84 Fanes or an Eminence Tonker. The new Fanes are nothing like the '70's and early 80's fanes. Celestions should be out of the question. They will not get you where you want to be.
Weber will not get you there either.
Christian is dead on the money in regards to Celestions.......don't bother.
They really need to be HIWATT Fanes, David Reeves work with Fane for quite some time before achieving the "purple sticker" HIWATT Fanes.
-Clayton
Click to expand...

Clayton, are the Tonkers close at all to the real deal Fanes???
 
Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

The Tonkers are pretty close. The Reeves Vintage Purple speakers are right on, but due to a proprietary deal with Eminence they can't sell them seperate.

Emi also makes the Lynch super v12:

http://www.eminence.com/guitar_speaker_detail.asp?model=LYNCHSUPERV12&speaker_size=12&SUB_CAT_ID=4

Looks to be very similar to the Reeves VP except only in 8 ohm.

At the HIWATT convention coming up in June we will be doing a blind taste test of different popular Fane alternatives. We have early 70's cast frame Fanes, mid-late 70's stamped frame Fanes, Tonkers, Emi Delta Pro's, New production Fanes, Reeves VP's, Weber's best attempt at a Fane. These I know of for certain. Who know what other options may show up though.

I will post some pics and a summary after the convention.

The real HIWATT Fanes are a big part of the classic HIWATT sound, but any evenly voiced high power speaker will still sound pretty good.


-Clayton
 
Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

Another +1 for Fanes

OR Eminence Tonkers

OR Weber Thames

Someone once told me the EV 12 Pro (:dunno:) is a good one...

There's another called the Scholz Sugarcone or something like that that is supposed to be very good, but they're as pricey as the Fane....

I'd go Tonker or Thames :bigok:

Hey Clayton, what about a Celestion G12-65 ?
 
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Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

Ah, Weber Thames..........the name was on the tip of my tongue but I couldn't remember it.
 
Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

well, getting a new fane would be hard (even without taking costs into account), getting a pre 84 fane is out of the question.


i guess im in for an eminence tonker. anyways, do i get 2 of the same, or should i combine it with anything else?
 
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Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

I thought that the new alnico Fane sounded interesting. It has a huge magnet which is kind of rare for alnico speakers and it has a good power rating as well as good db sensitivity.
 
Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

i'll add Fanes as well..... I'm in contact with quite a few Hiwatt owners as well as Who Tribute acts and Fanes are the Hiwatt speaker.... A lot of early Hiwatt cab owners with Fanes tell me that their Marshall Plexi heads sound better thru the Fanes as well...

I saw a mid 70's Cab for sale and was going to grab it... $1000 Canadian... cab was in great shape... saddly the speakers had been changed to Greenbacks....
 
Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

awaken thread of yore. Hear tell of some usinig JBLk120, or EV12L' and or a mix of EV and Alnico AXA Fane . Also heard the G12H 30 does sound good with the Hiwatts. I do want something much better suited than a stock Marshall greenback cab. for my old Hiwatt. I've heard a "Medusa" Fane( new Fane) sounds good paired with an EV, or an ALnico Fane AXA, which the Reed Fang Eminence might approximate. Also heard the Lynch V12 is a fine Fane sounding speaker, but out of production, but may be able to be special ordered from Eminence. Then of course the Weber Thames, or a JBL- like Weber Cali.
 
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Re: Speakers for a Hiwatt head

Hot _Grits said:
But there was none of the openness and shimmering high endyou want from a Hiwatt rig.

One possible workable Celestion would be the G12H30, as that has nice balanced highs with a less pronounced, more open midrange. So maybe give that a try.

But really, you want Fanes.
Click to expand...

yes that's what i think of when i think of the hiwatt sound. bright and open.

i do find the celestion/marshall 'vintage' speakers (G12H) aka the original 'vintage 30' speakers to be very transparent and a good possible alternate candidate to the fanes. they can only be found in marshall cabs (1960V, 1936V or 2536V). the other vintage 30 speakers have different voicings. mesa has their own v30. the marshall vintage speaker has more upper mids and the others don't.
 
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