Which speaker for a 5w head?

jimijames

jimijames

New member
Ok, so I'm sure all of you guys are tired of the constant threads in which I ask your advice about a particular speaker or brand of speaker, but this is the last one, I swear ;)

So I found a speakerless cabinet for a great price, and I think I'm gonna go for it so I can choose the speaker that goes in it. The only speakers that won't fit are the celestion alnico blues and golds, which doesn't matter because I don't plan on using those.

What speakers would you guys recommend for a single-ended 5w head with an el84 and a 5751 (preamp)? I've done some small modifications to get a more fender-y clean sound, and when it's cranked, it's somewhere between a fender and a vox in terms of character of distortion.

Right now, I'm particular to the celestion g12h30, greenback, and most of the eminence speakers that are below 50w. What I'm curious about is whether or not there are any smaller brands that I should look at? i.e. scumback, weber, tone tubby, etc.
 
Re: Which speaker for a 5w head?

I have a Weber Blue Dog in my 1x12 with a 5 watt EL84 single-ended Class A head driving it all, and judging the speaker itself and not the amp, I like it.

It's the 50 watt ceramic version
 
Re: Which speaker for a 5w head?

How's the bass response on it? It's the speaker that's recommended by bitmo bruce (who makes all the kits for the valve junior), so I was curious about it. Is it balanced? How are the cleans/distortion? Is there any speaker that it reminds you of?
 
Re: Which speaker for a 5w head?

jimijames said:
How's the bass response on it? It's the speaker that's recommended by bitmo bruce (who makes all the kits for the valve junior), so I was curious about it. Is it balanced? How are the cleans/distortion? Is there any speaker that it reminds you of?
Click to expand...

It's made to capture a VOXy sound.

https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/

They say:

Weber said:
Classic Vox Tone with ceramic punch
12", 40oz Ceramic magnet, 15, 30, 50, 75, or 100 watts, 1-3/4" voice coil, ribbed cone.
Detailed high end that doesn't get hard or harsh at high volumes, aggressive, big low end, more headroom than the AlNiCo version. As with all Weber speakers, the higher the power rating, the warmer and smoother the speaker. The 15 watt is aggressive, bright, with a strong midrange crang. At the other end, the 100 watt is warm, smooth, yet is detailed and clear with very good definition. The 75 and 100 watt models use very high temperature voice coils that are the same weight and mass as the lower power voice coils. That assures good attack and a broad frequency response due to the low weight and mass of the voice coil assembly.
Click to expand...

Mine stays super clean with the 5w head. Mine has thunderous bass response, really tight, at high volumes, but at low volumes it leaves something to be desired (for lows). I cannot blame all that on the speaker, however; it's in a smallish "cube" style 1x12.
 
Re: Which speaker for a 5w head?

1. tone tubby alnico hempcone... awesomeness, but pricey
2. weber alnico... these may be too deep for your application, but are great sounding.
3. warehouse speakers veteran 30 (vintage 30 clone) or the Green Beret (greenback clone) celestion clones and they are well priced. (less than $100)
 
Re: Which speaker for a 5w head?

I do rather like the descriptions of the speakers on their site - does anybody have any experience with them? I'm particularly interested in the veteran 30, the green beret, and both of the reaper 30w models, does anybody have any experience with warehouse speakers?
 
Re: Which speaker for a 5w head?

Hey, just got done with a search, and while there's boatloads of info on eminence, there doesnt seem to be as much info about warehouse speakers with the exception of the veteran 30 - in fact i couldn't find a single post about the reaper, which is the speaker I'm most interested in.

I did, however, find a post by TGWIF saying that warehouse speakers suffered from QC issues - some of them end up great, while others were just mediocre (if I'm understanding this correctly)

So, if anybody has any experience with the reaper model, in particular the 55hz one (that's supposed to sound like a heritage g12h30), I would like to hear about your experiences with it.

edit: I've also heard some great things about webers in the 10" size, are there any 12" webers that are worth mentioning?
 
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Re: Which speaker for a 5w head?

I have a 2x12 with the Eminence Governor and Wizard in it. I know the specs of each speaker say both have strong midrange respones, and the cab overall makes a great lead tone, with just a hint of rumble on distorted rhythms. The thing is that I haven't tried the speakers alone, so I'm not sure which is responsibe for the exact characteristics. I was mainly using this cab with an Epiphone Valve Jr. Head, and the overall sound was cool. The single volume knob of the head with massive headroom gave way for all kinds of fun with pedals.
 
Re: Which speaker for a 5w head?

Is it the alnico or the ceramic version? I am looking for something that's close to the g12h30, preferably something that compresses in a similar manner to the greenback. Is there a speaker that the blue dog resembles (I've heard that the alnico one is similar to a celestion alnico blue)?

I also need a speaker that's shallow enough to fit in a fairly small cab.

edit: yeah, I really dig the valve junior head, especially with a few modifications - I've installed the bitmo kit that lowers the gain of the amp, and in addition, the amp came modified for less gain, so the headroom is uncanny for a 5w amp (especially considering that amp had great headroom to begin with) It's good to hear that both the governor and wizard work well with the amp, as those were two speakers I was interested in (along with the warehouse speaker imitations of the g12h30 and the vintage 30).
 
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Re: Which speaker for a 5w head?

So, if anybody has any experience with the reaper model, in particular the 55hz one (that's supposed to sound like a heritage g12h30), I would like to hear about your experiences with it.
Click to expand...
Got the 75Hz version I think they sound good with my cab and amp it has a lot of bass compared to other theings I've played but it is definately not dark. I have it paired with a Green Beret. I haven't tried any other speakers however but I like the sound coming out of the WGS.
 
Re: Which speaker for a 5w head?

James Rock said:
Got the 75Hz version I think they sound good with my cab and amp it has a lot of bass compared to other theings I've played but it is definately not dark. I have it paired with a Green Beret. I haven't tried any other speakers however but I like the sound coming out of the WGS.
Click to expand...

That's good to know - and excess bass shouldn't be a problem as this is going into a 1x12 with an open back, so extra bass will help fill out the sound in the absence of a closed back.

What's the frequency response like? I'm curious as to how hard the midrange compress under high volumes - that and the treble content (or lack thereof) of the speaker.

How do you like it compared to the Green Beret? If you could have only one, which one would you go with? How early does the cone "break up" on the 25w Beret compared with the 30w 75hz reaper?
 
Re: Which speaker for a 5w head?

I wouldn't say it lacked treble. It has an extended high end compared to the Green Beret which seems to cut off at a certain point (which in turn gets rid of harsh notes). I only use a 15 w amp which distorts a bit before the speakers do and its hard to compare the two in that situation. Overall while I like sitting closer to the Green Beret (less harsh more woody sounding) The G12H is what I mic as it is clearer and records better.
 
Re: Which speaker for a 5w head?

Ok, well I guess in that case I'd be more likely to go with the reaper - Although I have been looking at a ton of the eminence models recently as those used are even cheaper than warehouse speakers are new. Thanks for all of the advice, I guess what I have to do now is listen to a bunch of sound samples and hopefully make the right choice.
 
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