celestion tube 10 speakers
Hi Skip.
Do you have any experience with these speakers?
I'm having an amp made for me, 40watt, Bassman circuit, and was originally going for 2 x 10" speakers, one Jensen C10R and one Jensen P10R. My amp guy has suggested 3 x 10" Celestion tube 10 speakers instead. He tells me these speakers have more bass emphasis and, in theory, will offer more feedback resistance . The Tube 10 speakers are significantly cheaper than the Jensens, which is making me wonder about their quality. Unfortunately I have very little knowledge in this area, having only played through a Fender Pro Junior with a Fender Special Design speaker (which, incidentally, sounds great to my ear, just not loud enough!). I've read a lot of positive comments about Jensen speakers on various online forums but that's all I have to go by.
My amp guy is more of a guitar amp specialist but is communicating with a fellow amp tech who plays harp for specific advice and this is where the speaker suggestion came from.
Could you offer any opinion here?
Hi Skip. I am starting to gig more regularly at higher volume and the drummer is particularly loud (think Cream's Ginger Baker..!). I use a Harp Commander through the PA and my Pro Junior as onstage monitor but have blown a PA speaker in rehearsal and the band member who owns it is reluctant for me to go through it now so I need an amp with more juice. I think I'll test the tube 10's as I can always have them changed if I don't like them.
Thanks for the comments!
Hi Skip
Thought I would update you regarding the amp I had built. For a 40 watt amp I was surprised that although it has more projection via the 3 x 10 speakers and certainly has a "fuller" sound, it's not actually any louder than my Fender Pro Junior! I know that the PJ is touted as loud for its 15 watts but I expected to hear a significant difference in volume.
I think the circuit has been tinkered with to try and limit feedback, emphasise a lot more bass and provide a more driven, saturated sound at any volume. This sounds like a good idea for harp but appears to have robbed the amp af any decent headroom and, to my ear, has made the amp too mushy sounding altogether. Given that one of my main objectives was to achieve greater volume I think the amp will have to go back. The choice of speakers hasn't really been something to comment on given my overall disappointment.
I did take it to my local guitar shop to compare with other similar watt amps and it was found to be severely lacking in the volume department. The amp builder has offered to re-tweak it to get a sound I'm happy with but the cost of carriage back and forth for me to test any changes could prove prohibitive.
I guess this is a good lesson to show that you should always try before you buy. Fortunately for me, my purchase is on a month's trial.
The main question I have for you Skip in light of this experience is am I right in assuming that the changes to the circuit to voice the amp for harp are the likely cause of the volume loss? As helpful as my amp guy has tried to be, I've been left a bit mystified by our conversations, partly because he's not a harp guy and partly because I'm no techy!
Hello Rob- Ouch! That is a tough story. Well, a "clone" of a 40 watt amp should be very loud. The only suggestion I would make is to be sure the amp is using 12AX7s........ a lot of people use lower-gain tubes (12AU7, 12AY7) to reduce the gain, and therefore the feedback, for harp use. Honestly, I think your best bet would be to return the amp and go for a new or used re-issue 4-10 Fender Bassman. Then you will know that you are getting an amp that LOTS of people have used successfully for harp.
Skip Simmons
Hello Robfraser- Wow! There are really quite a few questions there...... The bottom line is that it is tough to predict what a certain speaker will sound like in an amp with YOU playing it. However, I would want to mention a few things like:
How often will you be using the amp at high-volume gigs with a loud drummer?
Feedback will be a real problem no matter what speaker you use. Practice is what it really takes to deal with feedback.
Sound-wise, speakers are just one part of the amp, and of course you won't really know anything about the tone of the amp until you have played it awhile.
I'd say that if you trust the ears of the guy who is building the amp, go for the cheaper speakers he suggests. This is just one step on the way to having more fun and being a better player. There WlLL be further steps!
Skip Simmons
Skip Simmons Amp Repair