Tube Amp Archive

Anybody try the Jensen blackbird or really any of their high end speakers.my favorite celestion combo was the Alnico blue and a greenback.it was pricey and I'm just wandering if Jensen makes a anything close to those two.i can get great deals on Jensens.About half the cost of the celestions.anybody have a favorite Jensen?mikey

I haven't heard a new Jensen that does anything but sound 'okay' clean. Then you compare it to something else and tend to find that the Jensen is quite thin. Before I was in the know, I was buying reissue blackface and tweed stuff and am sure much of the issue with those, aside from what's going on internally, were the speakers. I'm pretty sure Jensens are at the bottom of the food chain and won't best too many other speakers of the same price range.

Bought a new Jensen from Antique Electronics a few years ago.
Sounded like a freaking kazoo.
Pulled the speaker, reseated it, same thing.
Sent it back to AE, they charged me restocking fee. Said they couldn't find anything wrong with it.
Put a Weber F150 something in same amp without changing anything else and it sounded wonderful.
I can only assume that the new Jensen's are supposed to sound like a kazoo.

Don't know much about the new Jensens, but I have really been happy with Weber's speakers. They claim to be the closest thing to the old Jensens available today. I've used a number of Weber speakers (all AlNiCo) in my builds, and they all sound great. And the price is much better than Celestion.

I don't know first-hand, but my research indicates that the new Jensens suck compared to the old ones. FWIW.

Kind of a mixed bag, IME. I like the C12N, but don't care for the P12N; like the C10R, but not the C10Q. I put a P10R in a Vibrolux that sounded almost exactly like the original, but only ordered one so can't say if another one would, too. I did get a 12" Blackbird that sounded pretty good, but had a little buzzy thing going on like a misaligned cone. It's hard to generalize; different amps like different speakers.

I installed 4 new P10Rs in a 65 Super Reverb about 6 years ago. They sound great in that amp. Nice highs...smooth cleans. They bark like a rabid junk yard dog, that's a good thing, when driven. Don't know if they changed production since then.

I have a good friend who has a 65 SR with Webers. The cleans are comparable between the two, but his dog don't bark.

I like the Jensens. I prefer the c12n and c12K, I like the C10Q better than the R but most of all I like the Jet Tornadoes both the 10 and 12 " . No they are not as sweet n rich as the ASW or Scumbacks, or even some Webers. I have had more kazoo and cone cry from the webers than any other speaker , but it varies, they are inconsistent. Eminence legends are a lot of bang for the buck. But I heard a few not hold together for a big bass note.

If I could only have one speaker for the rest of my life it might be the ASW Elegante.

Z

billyz wrote:I like the Jensens. I prefer the c12n and c12K, I like the C10Q better than the R but most of all I like the Jet Tornadoes both the 10 and 12 " . No they are not as sweet n rich as the ASW or Scumbacks, or even some Webers. I have had more kazoo and cone cry from the webers than any other speaker , but it varies, they are inconsistent. Eminence legends are a lot of bang for the buck. But I heard a few not hold together for a big bass note.

If I could only have one speaker for the rest of my life it might be the ASW Elegante.

Z

The only speaker I'm currently using now...

Blackburn wrote:

billyz wrote:I like the Jensens. I prefer the c12n and c12K, I like the C10Q better than the R but most of all I like the Jet Tornadoes both the 10 and 12 " . No they are not as sweet n rich as the ASW or Scumbacks, or even some Webers. I have had more kazoo and cone cry from the webers than any other speaker , but it varies, they are inconsistent. Eminence legends are a lot of bang for the buck. But I heard a few not hold together for a big bass note.

If I could only have one speaker for the rest of my life it might be the ASW Elegante.

Z

The only speaker I'm currently using now...

Great ears hear alike
The thing about the jensens I find is they need to be played hard for at least 20hr before they sound full.

[digression]
Billyz and David,

What amps, cab(s), and styles are you using the Elegante with?

Thanks.

[/digression]

Yo Dave, with the Elegante, I find it's literally a PERFECT marriage with EL84s, like ASW says on their site. My AC30 build is my absolute favorite amp I've built, with that speaker... Eargasm! I played it today. It's in a 1x12 cab I built. I don't really care for American style amps with it. If you can spare the dough, I'd recommend you obtain one. Ask about ASW's B stock and if they have one, you'll get it a good bit cheaper than new. They look sooooo good.

Blackburn wrote:Yo Dave, with the Elegante, I find it's literally a PERFECT marriage with EL84s, like ASW says on their site. My AC30 build is my absolute favorite amp I've built, with that speaker... Eargasm! I played it today. It's in a 1x12 cab I built. I don't really care for American style amps with it. If you can spare the dough, I'd recommend you obtain one. Ask about ASW's B stock and if they have one, you'll get it a good bit cheaper than new. They look sooooo good.

Sweet. Thanks for the comments. I've spoke with Billy about ASW before and I know he loves'em. The Elegante wasn't out yet the last time we chatted though, IIRC. I like that they are making [alnico] with higher power handling capability. Great looking too, as you said.

Colossal wrote:[digression]
Billyz and David,

What amps, cab(s), and styles are you using the Elegante with?

Thanks.

[/digression]

I have used the Elegante with open back small fender tweeds to closed backed and even ported cabs. It has always been a revelation . I have used everything but el84's. 6v6, 6l6,and el34's it loves them all. I am certain it does wonders in a Vox circuit, I heard a couple of Ron's AC30's , one of which I worked on for him. They sounded Sweet.

I recently built OZ at Austin Guitar House a 2 x 12 thiel cab , he put 2 elegante's in it and it is the best sounding cab we have ever heard , bar none. Tried it with one of my el34 amps and his Carol Ann Texas 50 . these are very different beast. It brought the best out of both.
I took more than a few orders based on those speakers in that thiel cab.

I have never tried one in a Blackface Fender, but have no reason to believe I would not like.

The bottom is a little smoother and softer than a ceramic the mid are detailed and rich the highs sweet and silky. No ice pick or standout frequencies, excellant top to bottom.

Ron, or Everett ( ASW) have a trial period if you dont like it you can return.
the only downside is the cost. I also remove the magnet cover as it can ring and rattle.
Z

Hey Billy, very interesting to hear that you only use octal style tubes with it. I don't quite know what my issue is, because my Bassman build just does NOT mate well. Maybe a 2x12 will change things up? Or maybe it's my cab...

Blackburn wrote:Hey Billy, very interesting to hear that you only use octal style tubes with it. I don't quite know what my issue is, because my Bassman build just does NOT mate well. Maybe a 2x12 will change things up? Or maybe it's my cab...

What style bassman , circuit ? Transformers? Everything matters . What tubes ? Everything. Resistors and Caps ? It all matters.

If you built a 5f6 , 2 8ohm 12's are going to sounds anemic. unless you have a 4 ohm or 16ohm tap.

Every Classic tone/triode OT I have ever tried sounded harsh and anemic compared to an original or Heyboer or MM.