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Deluxe Reverb Speaker Options


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OK, we're beating the DR to death, sorry! It's been interesting to see the vastly different opinions on the "right" answers to DR configurations. Frankly, I'm not sure there IS a "right" answer, as tone is so subjective, as has been mentioned.

 

Still, I'd like to hear opinions on what speakers those of you with DRs use, and why. My stock DRRI has the Jensen Special Design Made in Italy speaker. I've always felt it was a bit mushy. I've heard the Weber 12F150 spoken highly of, and Rob just reported that he is getting the Eminence Tonker, a Celestion-type speaker. What else do you guys have, and what do you like about them?

 

This is an interesting article on the Weber Speaker.

 

http://www.legendarytones.com/fenderdeluxereverb.html

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I've used Weber 10F-150's in my (now Lyle's) Vibrolux, and in my Princeton. Great speakers, but a bit on the dark side.... The Eminence Tonker dishes all the frequency response you expect from a Deluxe, with a pretty healthy punch, as well. Gets it done for me, in a Big Way! Thinking about schlepping the Deluxe to Paw Paw, and would love to A/B it with John's definitive vintage Deluxe....

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Mine has an original Jensen K120 that is heavy as hell and full of ALL tone!

 

All Alnico goodness in a Blackface amp!

 

Weber makes it's version, I think Daniel has one in his DR.

 

I am definitely bringing my '67 DR to PSP if you want to wait and here the K120 Speaker.

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WHOOT! A Blackface Backline at PSPVI !! I'll bring my Fender Mustang III with the DR setting tweaked to the max....Just kidding. But I WILL be interested in hearing both of your examples of DRs, and both of you playing both amps. C'mon, Daniel, are you SURE you can't join us in August?!

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Brian, when I bought my KBP DR clone from DB he'd swapped out the Celestian 30 he'd originally put in it for a Frankenspeaker. The Frankenspeaker turned out to be a 1960 vintage Carbonneau (a Michigan company ultimately got purchased by Rockford/Fosgate) AlNiCo that had been rebuilt with a Jensen P12 kit.

 

I hadn't had a chance to A/B against some of the highly rated speakers others raved about so I didn't feel able to appreciate how good the it really was. So, I bought a Weber 12A150 and a Bigtone speaker a friend of mine bought over. The Weber had a very similar tone to Frandenspeaker, and both sounded livelier than the ceramic Bigtone. The Frankenspeaker just seemed to have a little more sweetness than the Weber. In the end, I kept Frankenspeaker and sold the Weber.

 

Personally, I prefer AlNiCo speakers in blackface and silverface Fenders. They're airier -I like that.

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Guest HRB853370

OK, we're beating the DR to death, sorry! It's been interesting to see the vastly different opinions on the "right" answers to DR configurations. Frankly, I'm not sure there IS a "right" answer, as tone is so subjective, as has been mentioned.

 

Still, I'd like to hear opinions on what speakers those of you with DRs use, and why. My stock DRRI has the Jensen Special Design Made in Italy speaker. I've always felt it was a bit mushy. I've heard the Weber 12F150 spoken highly of, and Rob just reported that he is getting the Eminence Tonker, a Celestion-type speaker. What else do you guys have, and what do you like about them?

 

This is an interesting article on the Weber Speaker.

 

http://www.legendarytones.com/fenderdeluxereverb.html

Stock speaker. Have no issues with it whatsoever. If I ever blew it out, I would most likely go with Eminence.

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Go with the Eminence but make it the Texas Heat.

 

I have one of those in my highly modded Fender Blues Junior, but it is a very different, EL84 amp. Still, it may be interesting to pull it and put it in the DRRI. Thanks!

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Mine has an original Jensen K120 that is heavy as hell and full of ALL tone!

 

All Alnico goodness in a Blackface amp!

 

Weber makes it's version, I think Daniel has one in his DR.

 

I am definitely bringing my '67 DR to PSP if you want to wait and here the K120 Speaker.

John, mine is the 12A150 Weber. I thought you had a JBL K120 in yours??? I hated it when I first put the 12A150 in, but my Fender amp guru buddy told me to stick it out and get a few gigs on it, well he was right. It went from spikey to alnico smooth after about a month of hard gigging. Wouldn't trade it for anything now. Another thing about my amp is that it has a paper wound transformer that you don't see in the 65 and 66's. It was transitional from the brownface era. Another tidbit about mine is that I got it from my friend who used it with his band "Three Aces And A Joker". They are listed in the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame for my buddys song "Booze Party". Most all of the tubes were shot, and the original Gibbs reverb tank was toast, so I had to buy a few Gibbs tanks to canibalize them for parts. I build a new tank from the parts, but I still replaced it with a modern accutronics tank that I like better. I just put the Gibbs tank away with the crappy old Oxford speaker!

 

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John, mine is the 12A150 Weber. I thought you had a JBL K120 in yours??? I hated it when I first put the 12A150 in, but my Fender amp guru buddy told me to stick it out and get a few gigs on it, well he was right. It went from spikey to alnico smooth after about a month of hard gigging. Wouldn't trade it for anything now. Another thing about my amp is that it has a paper wound transformer that you don't see in the 65 and 66's. It was transitional from the brownface era. Another tidbit about mine is that I got it from my friend who used it with his band "Three Aces And A Joker". They are listed in the Rockabilly Hall Of Fame for my buddys song "Booze Party". Most all of the tubes were shot, and the original Gibbs reverb tank was toast, so I had to buy a few Gibbs tanks to canibalize them for parts. I build a new tank from the parts, but I still replaced it with a modern accutronics tank that I like better. I just put the Gibbs tank away with the crappy old Oxford speaker!

 

%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/rockabilly69/MoreTubes.jpg

%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/rockabilly69/BigBlue.jpg

%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/rockabilly69/papertranny.jpg

%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/rockabilly69/Tubeness.jpg

%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/rockabilly69/SexyFender.jpg

 

Whoops, I mis-typed.... it should read "I have a JBL K120 in my '67 DR".

 

Yep, I have a JBL K120 in mine, everything else I have type is correct about the Alnico goodness in a Blackface Fender and the speaker being VERY efficient and heavy as hell but worth every pound!!!!!

 

WebSpeaker_zpsf69c6cec.jpg

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I like Kuz' suggestion best, but I know something that he as well as you would also be pleasantly surprised to hear...the old Altecs... I don't have any K's, but do have more than a dozed 12's with JBL pedigrees, including alnicos.

 

Here's why I like the Altec 600b and their successors, the early 417's. Have a half dozen so sample size is big enough to speak of tendencies. The sound is what the amp produces, you hear everything. They are lower wattage rated, it takes very little to get them making sound, and that especially is true with the most delicate of harmonics, with the Altecs you can hear things you don't with other guitar speakers. And when you turn them up from a comfortable practice volume to gig volume they track the tone settings well, very linear as the hifi weenies like to say. They use a bigger voice coil diameter than most, 3 inches, the wire is different, flattened to put more of it in the magnet gap, the magnets are huge, 13 pounds for the assembly, the surround is soft and flexible, the cones are stiff and parabolic shape, both eliminated cone cry way before Tone Tubby made use of that term, there is no venting, the aluminum dust cap is the voice coil's heat radiator, and since they are sealed, no dust can get inside. And that air sealed inside may be also helping the suspension do its thang to damp unwanted cone movements. They were designed for tube amps and built to very tight tolerances out of the best materials that could be had at the time. The difference between these and most current guitar speakers, is shocking, to me in favor of the Altecs, but...frankly also they are not every one's cup of tea for the very same reasons I rave about them, but in a DR or similar pair o' 6v's amp design to me they RULE, especially dimed out filthy. Clean they are famous for...

 

...and talk about airy sounding...

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My Brownface Princeton used to have one of the old 600Bs, and yes, it did sound great filthy dimed:) I would like to try one in

my Deluxe Reverb, but the 12A150 sounds so good I don't want to tinker with it.

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