Did some speaker swapping = Findings
Dec 11, 2021 12:21:46 GMT -7
Chilly Gibbons (Todd T.), bigboki, and 1 more like this
Post by telejas on Dec 11, 2021 12:21:46 GMT -7
Messed around with 3 different speakers last night.
Celestion Alnico Blue
Celestion Creamback (ceramic)
Stock Greenback
Alnico Blue:
Contrary to any previous comments I made about it being boxy, I LOVED the clean tone and slightly pushed tones with this speaker. It has a nice "pop" and compression the ceramic speakers don't have....Even a nicer low end than the stock Greenback. But, when I kicked in some overdrive or heavy distortion, it was a little fizzy on the top end and was lacking in the low-mids, so OD pedals didn't sound that great with the Blue. Now, with my Maz 18 Mk.II, this is not the case and the Blue is a great match for everything. If I were playing mostly country, clean or slightly pushed tones (with the occasional drive pedal), I'd use the Blue in a heartbeat. But, with my current band playing about 75% 80s-2000s rock the Blue doesn't fit my needs.
Creamback:
This is out of my little Friedman JJ jr combo and fairly broken in. It had a more solid low-end and low mids, but was lacking that magic sparkle. I could get it there by turning up the treble and cut, but it affected the mid frequency a little and I just didn't like it. If I were playing strictly hard rock or metal, this may not be a bad speaker to use all the time.
Greenback:
It's been covered and I'm sure you've read, and experienced for yourself....The Greenback is a great blend of all these speakers. It has a little more low-mids, which helps with OD pedals and it's a little smoother with OD pedals on the top end. Be it clean or dirty, it still provides that nice top-end sparkle, or chime, that we all love without having to crank the treble and cut.
Conclusion (with just these 3 speakers): Winner = Greenback
While I typically always prefer Alnico speakers (like Blue, or Gold), the Greenback is probably the best suited and most well balanced speaker I've tried so far. The Dr does plenty of research on what speaker works best, that's why the Greenback is the stock speaker of choice.... why would I doubt him .
I'd like to try: An Alnico Cream, Weber Blue Dog, V30, and G1230H.....But probably not something I'll get to do for a while, at least not the real thing. I have a Reactive Load Box and IR pedal that I plan on playing with over the next few weeks to get some sorta idea of what these would sound like. I know it won't be exactly like the real thing, but I feel I could probably get a close approximation of what it would sound like.
Celestion Alnico Blue
Celestion Creamback (ceramic)
Stock Greenback
Alnico Blue:
Contrary to any previous comments I made about it being boxy, I LOVED the clean tone and slightly pushed tones with this speaker. It has a nice "pop" and compression the ceramic speakers don't have....Even a nicer low end than the stock Greenback. But, when I kicked in some overdrive or heavy distortion, it was a little fizzy on the top end and was lacking in the low-mids, so OD pedals didn't sound that great with the Blue. Now, with my Maz 18 Mk.II, this is not the case and the Blue is a great match for everything. If I were playing mostly country, clean or slightly pushed tones (with the occasional drive pedal), I'd use the Blue in a heartbeat. But, with my current band playing about 75% 80s-2000s rock the Blue doesn't fit my needs.
Creamback:
This is out of my little Friedman JJ jr combo and fairly broken in. It had a more solid low-end and low mids, but was lacking that magic sparkle. I could get it there by turning up the treble and cut, but it affected the mid frequency a little and I just didn't like it. If I were playing strictly hard rock or metal, this may not be a bad speaker to use all the time.
Greenback:
It's been covered and I'm sure you've read, and experienced for yourself....The Greenback is a great blend of all these speakers. It has a little more low-mids, which helps with OD pedals and it's a little smoother with OD pedals on the top end. Be it clean or dirty, it still provides that nice top-end sparkle, or chime, that we all love without having to crank the treble and cut.
Conclusion (with just these 3 speakers): Winner = Greenback
While I typically always prefer Alnico speakers (like Blue, or Gold), the Greenback is probably the best suited and most well balanced speaker I've tried so far. The Dr does plenty of research on what speaker works best, that's why the Greenback is the stock speaker of choice.... why would I doubt him .
I'd like to try: An Alnico Cream, Weber Blue Dog, V30, and G1230H.....But probably not something I'll get to do for a while, at least not the real thing. I have a Reactive Load Box and IR pedal that I plan on playing with over the next few weeks to get some sorta idea of what these would sound like. I know it won't be exactly like the real thing, but I feel I could probably get a close approximation of what it would sound like.