Alnico Speaker suggestions

[trane34]

About to make some expensive choices to fill some recently ordered 2x12s and a 4x10 and was hoping to get some wisdom from the board. Btw, if you are looking for some pine cabinets with floating baffles that are a great deal check out speakercab.com or lamar warren instruments. Great customer service and fast turn around. Still have yet to get them in but he has a good track record on ebay. He also was really easy to work with on getting them built with some custom specs for me. A stock birch 212 like the one I ordered is only $210 delivered.

So what 12" and 10" alnico speakers have you found work well with the d-style amps? Need something that won't have cone cry under the high gain these amps are capable of. Right now I have a couple of JBL K120s with aftermarket cones where the dustcaps rattle under gain and a Weber Silverbell with a hemp cone that has an upper mid range spike or ring that I don't really get along with. Thanks!

[ER]

Hi Trane-

I would say that for best results, you don't need to go alnico, or even expensive for that matter. I think alnico works well on the clean but that doesn't always translate to good OD tone.

That said, I do like a pair of Heppner's I pulled from a hammond L100 in a pine 2-12 with floating baffle. I tried to order others off e-bay and they sounded terrible, these ones have the smaller magnet without the bolt, and the different cones for each speaker, one ribbed and one smooth.

I've also heard good things about the inexpensive emi legend alnico 10's, similar tonality to EV's (slightly less efficient) and priced right for a 4x10, come in 8 and 16 ohm.

I like EVM's for everything, but I'm getting tired of the weight. I used to have 2 open back 4x10's with EVM's, they were heavy, same with 2x12. Those alnico heppners in the pine cab with 5/8 floating baffle are like a feather and it's a toss up tone wise if I don't need to get too loud.

Do a google search for steve kimock speakers, he's tried everything in the floating baffle style cabs alnico and otherwise for dumble amps.

-ER

[trane34]

ER thanks for the help. Organ speakers huh? No weird eq thing going on with those? Good call about the kimock search. I spent most last night reading and haven't gotten through most of it. He's gotta be one of the few pros who share their knowledge on the internet.

[Dr d]

What amp are you planning to use? I have a 12' Fane alnico that sounds wonderful with a low plate classic, but too bassy/loose with a bluesmaster.

[trane34]

What amp are you planning to use? I have a 12' Fane alnico that sounds wonderful with a low plate classic, but too bassy/loose with a bluesmaster.

I was wondering about those alnico fanes. The clips online all sound really good. I am building a bluesmaster and 183 right now. First one I built was the 124. So I guess I'll be building a 2nd or 3rd generation after those just to see what works best for me. Any problems with cone cry with those fanes under high gain or high volume? Do they sound like a Celestion with the upper mid range spike or are they their own thing? Thanks.

[Reeltarded]

Ebay for old alnicos. You can find vintage recones from week to week shipped from GB that are 1/3rd the price of new even with the shipping. Mostly 8ohm pop up easy and cheapish.

[David Root]

Original cone Altec 417B or C sounds good with a low plate Dumble eg 2nd Gen., 124, but probably a bit too warm for high plate Dumbles like 102 and 183. HAD used the 417C until Altec came out with the series 2 ceramic magnet model.

The 417B is MUCH cheaper than the 417C but has a less rigid frame than the C. The C is better for playing out a lot, it can take some bumps.

Some folks don't like the aluminum dust cover, say it colors the high end in a not nice way. Maybe with single coils but not HBs IMO. YMMV.

[Dr d]

What amp are you planning to use? I have a 12' Fane alnico that sounds wonderful with a low plate classic, but too bassy/loose with a bluesmaster.

I was wondering about those alnico fanes. The clips online all sound really good. I am building a bluesmaster and 183 right now. First one I built was the 124. So I guess I'll be building a 2nd or 3rd generation after those just to see what works best for me. Any problems with cone cry with those fanes under high gain or high volume? Do they sound like a Celestion with the upper mid range spike or are they their own thing? Thanks.

Not sure I can answer these specifics! Just know that they are naturally a "warm" speaker that seem to suit a less full/bassy eq. Hope this helps.

[cbass]

I haven't had any luck with heppener organ speakers.But I had an old rola that sounded fantastic till it blew.I

[Blackburn]

Austin Speaker Works Elegante is an excellent choice for most applications!

[marcos]

I´ve been using a pair of Tone Tubbies for 3 years now
with my personal amp (modded 79 ODS), very satisfied with the results.
I don´t use a lot of gain, though. A friend of mine has a very nice Two Rock, he has replaced the stock speakers (WGS) in his cab
with a pair of Scumback Alnicos, also really nice.
Just my two Euro-cents

Marcos

[trane34]

Thanks all for the help. Wish I had some money to blow to try them all. At least now I have a list of what works. I ended up ordering some Weber DT-10s for my 4x10. I have some stereo blackface builds coming up and thought it'd also be fun to try the clean channels of the bluesmaster/183 with some speaker breakup. I'll probably go for the high wattage speakers in the 2x12 cabs for the high gain stuff.