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Post by rhythmeister on Nov 8, 2006 13:57:19 GMT -7
1) Is anyone using this in a Z-Best? Paired with what? Results? Style of music played? Amp head used?
2) Can anyone take a shot at explaining why most of the past writing here (and the Guitar Player review) on the Tonker is really good; yet, the Harmony Central reviews are far less than stellar? Maybe Zs are particularly good with this speaker (relative to what HC users are running)?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
Cheers, Blair
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Post by Curt on Nov 8, 2006 15:45:30 GMT -7
It is a good sounding speaker but it is a loud B A S T A R D !!!
If you had an amp that was not quite enough for your gig's, like a Ghia, Princeton, etc then this speaker may add the needed volume. If your not pushing your amp on gigs or home/whereever you play then the Tonker is NOT the speaker for you.
A Mini Z with a Tonker would cover most folks vomume needs.
the Tonker is a LOUD B A S T A R D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by mudskipper on Nov 8, 2006 16:40:41 GMT -7
i never know what to think when i'm reading HC reviews to be honest.
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Post by taswegian on Nov 8, 2006 16:47:51 GMT -7
It is a good sounding speaker but it is a loud B A S T A R D !!! If you had an amp that was not quite enough for your gig's, like a Ghia, Princeton, etc then this speaker may add the needed volume. If your not pushing your amp on gigs or home/whereever you play then the Tonker is NOT the speaker for you. A Mini Z with a Tonker would cover most folks vomume needs. the Tonker is a LOUD B A S T A R D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've just been asked to fill in for a band playing all modern rock stuff, Blink 182, Nickleback, Foo Fighters etc etc...Sounds like a tonker in my openback 1-12 with the mini and a mike would probably suffice for that gig! ;D
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Post by rhythmeister on Nov 8, 2006 17:31:08 GMT -7
the Tonker is a LOUD B A S T A R D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well that's what people say about me too! ;D Here's what I'm trying out...I just got a 16ohm Tonker and I'm going to put it into a stock Z-Best in place of the Celestion 70th Anniversary. You may have seen my other thread about the Z-Best "jingling". Well I pinned it down and it is definitely coming from the Anniversary speaker and not the Vintage 30. Frankly, I don't know what is wrong with it, but I'm tired of trying to figure it out. Anyways, I figure that speaker is the weak link in making the cab more powerful. (The Anniversary is rated @ 30 watts, while the Vintage 30 rates 60...I know the Anniversary is supposed to be good for more than 30, but still...notionally, the cab is only a 60 watt cab with that speaker in...2X the lowest rated speaker) I'm running an SRZ-65 and also a 6545 through this cab. Both of these can put out 60-70 watts all night long. In addition to adding wattage, I'm also hoping the Tonker will pick up the low end from the departed Anniversary. I don't need speaker distortion because my amps give me all that I need. The Tonker is rated 102db sensitivity, while the Vintage 30 is 100db. I know this will give me more Tonker in the mix + a louder cab at a given amp volume. We'll see how it goes. I have pretty good volume control from the master on the SRZ-65 and on the 65 side of the 6545. With the stock Z-Best, I got great apartment volume/tone (I play louder in my apartment than most) and also played clubs with 100-150 patrons. I hope the Tonker doesn't change either one! Cheers, Blair
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Post by sonicgator on Nov 8, 2006 17:35:05 GMT -7
i never know what to think when i'm reading HC reviews to be honest. I totally agree. It seems like people are at either extreme between love and hate when they post a review. Also, you have people with a Peavey Transtube and a $199 guitar using the speaker and someone with a high-end boutique amp and guitar writing complimentary reviews. How do you deal with that? I'm completely torn in regards to which speaker setup to use with my SRZ-65. I really don't want a Vintage 30 or G12H30 Celestion, but possibly some Greenbacks. I'm intrigued by Eminence speakers, but also wonder what Celestion Golds would sound like with the SRZ-65. Tomo, a Berklee prof, posted good things about the Tonker's on TGP, as did the Roccaforte amps guy. Just search for the 10,000 page Eminence thread over there to read the reviews.
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Post by rhythmeister on Nov 8, 2006 17:44:42 GMT -7
I'm completely torn in regards to which speaker setup to use with my SRZ-65. I really don't want a Vintage 30 or G12H30 Celestion, but possibly some Greenbacks. I'm intrigued by Eminence speakers, but also wonder what Celestion Golds would sound like with the SRZ-65. Tomo, a Berklee prof, posted good things about the Tonker's on TGP, as did the Roccaforte amps guy. Just search for the 10,000 page Eminence thread over there to read the reviews. Well, I've run my '93 SRZ-65RH through both the stock Z-Best and through my Rivera 212 closed back (which has, I believe, old Eminence Greenback copies made for Rivera). To my ears, no contest - the Z-Best stomps all over the Rivera. Same result when running the 6545. Again YMMV. I find the Rivera sounds too papery and brittle. I like a thicker, bigger, meatier sound. I also like clean headroom...well at least for the 45 side of the 6545. I find with the Rivera, I hit speaker breakup WAY too quick while I'm looking for a nice loud clean tone. Cheers, Blair
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Post by Curt on Nov 8, 2006 19:18:16 GMT -7
the Tonker is a LOUD B A S T A R D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well that's what people say about me too! ;D Here's what I'm trying out...I just got a 16ohm Tonker and I'm going to put it into a stock Z-Best in place of the Celestion 70th Anniversary. You may have seen my other thread about the Z-Best "jingling". Well I pinned it down and it is definitely coming from the Anniversary speaker and not the Vintage 30. Frankly, I don't know what is wrong with it, but I'm tired of trying to figure it out. Anyways, I figure that speaker is the weak link in making the cab more powerful. (The Anniversary is rated @ 30 watts, while the Vintage 30 rates 60...I know the Anniversary is supposed to be good for more than 30, but still...notionally, the cab is only a 60 watt cab with that speaker in...2X the lowest rated speaker) I'm running an SRZ-65 and also a 6545 through this cab. Both of these can put out 60-70 watts all night long. In addition to adding wattage, I'm also hoping the Tonker will pick up the low end from the departed Anniversary. I don't need speaker distortion because my amps give me all that I need. The Tonker is rated 102db sensitivity, while the Vintage 30 is 100db. I know this will give me more Tonker in the mix + a louder cab at a given amp volume. We'll see how it goes. I have pretty good volume control from the master on the SRZ-65 and on the 65 side of the 6545. With the stock Z-Best, I got great apartment volume/tone (I play louder in my apartment than most) and also played clubs with 100-150 patrons. I hope the Tonker doesn't change either one! Cheers, Blair Another note, The Tonker has quite a bit of top end bite, not so much bottom IMO, I replaced a Texas Heat in a 15 watt combo with a Tonker to lessen bass and increase volume, It did so and made the amp giggable in small clubs. If your after a G12H sound with more meat and bottom I think the Texas Heat is that speaker, I like the Tx Heat alot.
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Post by Curt on Nov 8, 2006 19:18:47 GMT -7
It is a good sounding speaker but it is a loud B A S T A R D !!! If you had an amp that was not quite enough for your gig's, like a Ghia, Princeton, etc then this speaker may add the needed volume. If your not pushing your amp on gigs or home/whereever you play then the Tonker is NOT the speaker for you. A Mini Z with a Tonker would cover most folks vomume needs. the Tonker is a LOUD B A S T A R D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've just been asked to fill in for a band playing all modern rock stuff, Blink 182, Nickleback, Foo Fighters etc etc...Sounds like a tonker in my openback 1-12 with the mini and a mike would probably suffice for that gig! ;D Jaye, You'd be amazed
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Post by rhythmeister on Nov 9, 2006 1:45:14 GMT -7
The Tonker is in the Z-Best (paired with the stock V30). Obviously not broken in yet, but a few observations.
First, there is a slight loss of bass. But mainly that loose bass that was in the character of the G12H is gone. I don't really miss it. There's still plenty of bass (it is a closed back, ported cab after all) - and the bass is tighter and better defined. In the 6545, I kept the 45's bass EQ the same, and I actually rolled back the 65's bass a touch (from about 1 O'clock to about 12) to dial in the sweet spot for the bass.
The mids are certainly strong with this speaker. I like mids, but I had to roll off some mid EQ on the 65 side of the 6545 (from almost 3 o'clock to about 12) to account for the speaker.
The highs don't seem pushed with this speaker to me. I'd say about the same. Again, this might have to do with the closed back, etc.
Also, I'm not perceiving additional loudness by doing this speaker swap. Didn't really change any of my amp volume settings. Noticed on another thread that the guy from Scumback Speakers tested the Tonker and said that he thought Eminence's 102db was equal to Celestion's 100db. I don't think he provided any rationale for this.
Where does this speaker shine? So far, absolutely KILLER clean tone out of the 45 side of the 6545. I mean sparkling, perfectly balanced, makes you wanna cry and strum all night clean. Single coils are just dancing with this setup.
Truthfully, there's lots of guts to the distortion/high gain, but I'm not quite loving it yet. Still trying to get it dialled in. And I figure this speaker needs some playing to settle in too.
I think this was a great move for me. I needed to get that malfunctioning G12H out of my rig pronto. I like the Tonker plenty in the Z-Best, but if I ever decide to try something else, I've got myself a heckuva driver for a 112 cab!
Cheers, Blair
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Post by rhythmeister on Nov 10, 2006 10:12:53 GMT -7
Also, I'm not perceiving additional loudness by doing this speaker swap. Didn't really change any of my amp volume settings. Noticed on another thread that the guy from Scumback Speakers tested the Tonker and said that he thought Eminence's 102db was equal to Celestion's 100db. I don't think he provided any rationale for this. Cheers, Blair Here's something else on this point. I was just looking at the spec sheet that was bundled with this Tonker 16ohm in the box and it says (contrary to everything I've read on the internet and from Eminence elsewhere) that the Tonker 16 has a sensitivity level of 99db! So if that is accurate, it actually means the speaker will not seem as loud at a given volume as the Vintage 30. This might explain why the speaker did not seem any louder to me, as it replaced the 100db G12H. So for those looking to swap speakers to increase loudness (I wasn't this time), make sure you are actually getting a sensitivity increase. And it is worthwhile remembering that for many speakers, the sensitivity ratings change between 16 and 8 ohm models of the same speaker. Cheers, Blair
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