Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

[Aceman]

You know, all the talk of mag swaps got me thinking about what the amp analogy would be. Tubes immediately leapt to mind. But to my knowledge, they aren't always that changeable.

But speakers on the other hand. We have numerous, but low-key, posts about the impact of the right speaker. Let's discuss this this a bit...

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

Changing your speakers will have a much larger impact than changing your pickup. Period.

 

[Surgeon]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

They have such a big impact on an amp's sound, it can almost be night and day and yet very few think of that when trying to hone their tone...

 

[dominus]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

They're about 30% of your total sound, so I'd say they're underestimated by about 25% (out of the total 100% of your tone).

 

[BrianS.]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

My eyes were opened just a few years ago when I did my first speaker swap. I replaced a Celestion 70/80 with a C-Rex...whoa, what difference! I was really surprised how much "overdrive" was coming from the speaker even at lower volumes. Up to that point, I had given speakers hardly any thought. I knew there were differences, but never really thought there would be that much of a change in tone & volume.

It was the comments I read here on this website that made me start to think more about various speakers and ultimately lead to me purchasing the C-Rex.

I'll never take speakers for granted again.

 

[SlyFoxx]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

Speakers make the air move and thus make the sound. Yeah, they're EXTREMELY important. I'd say as important as the wood and construction techniques used to make a guitar.

 

[mantis]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

They are everything , they can make or break your tone. For those who's tone is very important , they are extreme , for those who are less picky , not so much.
They are a way to fine tune your sound. Wish there was a good way to try out many different speakers without breaking the bank.

 

[JeffB]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

Completely understimated.

Most people who are selling off amps left and right because they are not happy are probably better off swapping speakers first.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

No diff whatsoever.




I do not believe this, but feel the opposing viewpoint should be voiced! =p

 

[vinta9e]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

The speakers' influence on tone is underestimated. But the cabinet's is way more.

 

[IM4Tone]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

IMO the speaker can (but does not necessarily) make a huge difference. I think the differences between the higher quality speakers (brand to brand, model to model) is not so great, but the difference from the lower quality, budget-priced speaker to the higher end ones can be huge. As one example, the Celestion Rocket 50 sounds horrible to my ears, but the medium grade (i.e. Seventy/80) and especially their higher grade ones (V30, G12H, etc.) I like. JMHO

Also, Celestions tend to be bright, WGS tend to be warmer, and Eminence louder.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

Personally I am lucky enough.

Ca. 1986 the Berlin Sound And Drumland shop had a huge cabinet with 6 or 8 different guitar speakers mounted and you could switch between them. No risk of underestimating the effect after that experience.

A different matter is whether you actually need a vintage G12-65, or a new one, or whether some WGS thing does. I have an involuntary blind test going since my 4x12 is half filled with Celestion and half with WGS and I forgot which is which

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

Changing your speakers will have a much larger impact than changing your pickup. Period.

Ill agree with this.

 

[hydro]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

I gave one of the guys in my band a spare 4x12 marshall cab. He had some kind of no name, or a Crate, I can't remember. Huge, huge improvement in his sound. My point being that a good quality cab will make a big difference; I am not sure about differences between different cabs/speakers of similar quality. But I am about to find out, because I have a Mesa traditional 4x12 slant on order which will replace my mid-80s Marshall slant. Celestion V30s vs. GH12-100s....we shall see!

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

i'd take g12H100's any day over v30s, but everything is personal preference and the context of the sounds being used must come into consideration.

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

I would say they are very underestimated but what is even more underestimated is Cabinet build quality and style of cab. From the type of wood and how it's put together and the measurements make a HUGE difference.

But a speaker swap will change your sound more then any pup can unless your going from buckers to singles or vice versa.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

But a speaker swap will change your sound more then any pup can unless your going from buckers to singles or vice versa.

You also need to think about whether you want to change the sound of every guitar you play through that amp, or if you want to change the sound of every amp you play that guitar through.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

Speakers are the Ying to the Amps Yang. Not that you wont have a good sound with less than the ideal pairing, but that extra 10% - 20% with the right speaks in the right cabinet can be the difference between"just" a good sound and a great tone. For instance, people using greenbacks with JCM 800's. I dont think thats an actual combination that was ever used by Father Marshall, and also the pairing of G12H-30/greenback is absiolutely wrong, and the G12h mutes the Greenback, casues all kinds of bad crosstalk, and it sounds bad and it diminsishes the strengths of the Marshall JCM .
The amp was made for G12H-30's, and G12-65's, even G12-t 75's( try a cross of G12T-75's and V30's , is pretty good also), but i cringe when I hear a greenback , or a Greenback G12-h combo. Now, the g12h/V30 is good, it works real well.
Ideally, you want the G12h-30's, or the G12-65's for the JCM. That was Father Marshalls wisdom of the ages, and I'm not about to go against that.See?

 

[Jack_TriPpEr]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

Personally I am lucky enough.

Ca. 1986 the Berlin Sound And Drumland shop had a huge cabinet with 6 or 8 different guitar speakers mounted and you could switch between them. No risk of underestimating the effect after that experience.

A different matter is whether you actually need a vintage G12-65, or a new one, or whether some WGS thing does. I have an involuntary blind test going since my 4x12 is half filled with Celestion and half with WGS and I forgot which is which

I bought some WGS speakers about a year ago and they have a very prominent decal covering the backside of each speaker. So, how "can't" you discern which is which?

 

[uOpt]

Re: Speakers; How under-estimated are they in an amps sound?

I bought some WGS speakers about a year ago and they have a very prominent decal covering the backside of each speaker. So, how "can't" you discern which is which?

The cabinet is closed.