Speakers for a Tweed Bassman

[59Pro]

I need some help to choose the right speakers for my Tweed Bassman. I have a '59 Bassman which is in great condition, but the previous owner installed (he called it upgraded) some late '70s speakers in it. I would like to install either the new Jensen P10R's or the Webers P10R(whatever their speaker code is). I heard good things about both, so which ones are the best for a Tweed Bassman. From what I gathered is that the Jensens are tight when new, but after they broke-in they sound great. The Webers are great out of the box, but will loose some highs after being played a while.
I hope you amp/speaker experts here can help me.
Thanks

[Sven]

Greetings,

I tried last summer Jensen 12 inch Neodymium, and also 2x 10¨ Webers (do not remember the model of Weber, but perhaps ¨Blue pups¨, as I recall) in a VOX closed enclosure (Jensen) and open enclosure (Weber 2x10¨).

There are MANY models of Weber speakers, so this does not really mean much at all, particularly since one can use any one of those speakers and end up with different sounds. Same with Jensens. However, for whatever it is worth (not a fair judgement), I thought (as a guitar player and sound engineer/producer with a lot of experience in studios and stages) that Webers were ¨breaking up¨ a bit ¨too early¨ for my taste, while Jensen 12¨ was ineed stiff and much cleaner sounding that those two Webers. I do not know about Jensen 10¨, but perhaps they could be similar.

Who knows, perhaps some other Webers would be completely different?

Anyway, it really depends what kind of sound you wish to achieve, but if you wish to be close to what most people expect from ¨Bassman¨ amplifiers, perhaps you should not use speakers that break up way too early. Speakers should be relatively ¨clean¨ sounding, with a touch of edge and than break up a the ¨full throttle¨, sort of ...

It is all a personal choice and only YOUR OWN EARS will tell you what is better. Written advice like this one is almost useless ... actually.

When I think ¨Bassman¨, I think Brian Setzer, Danny Gatton, Hellecasters ... perhaps something on those lines ...

All the best,

Sven

[WaltC]

When I build a 4x10 I like to put in two Alnico speakers (P10R type) and two ceramic speakers (C10Q type). I think this give me a good balance of highs while making the amps more resistant to low end farting out and flubs.

[David Root]

Ted Weber's website is advertizing their own shop-modded '59 Bassman RI "LTD" with Jensen P10Rs as stock speaker, but for an extra $190 they offer either the weber 10A125 or the 10F150 speaker.

The 10A125 is their "vintage Jensen" version of the Blue Pup, and no doubt cleaner, as Sven recommends. The blue pup is "vintage British" tone. The 10A125 and Blue Pup both have the small 11 oz. weight Alnico plug magnet. The 10F150 is the ceramic magnet version of the same speaker.

I have heard good things about the Tone Tubby 10" speakers. I have used the 12" Tone Tubbies in my amps, the Alnico in a brown Vibrolux type build of my own, and the ceramic in my '62 Deluxe. Both are superb speakers in these applications, which are admittedly not close to a 4-10 configuration. However, my experience has been that if you find a good sounding single speaker, four of them is even better!

Since you have a 4-10 amp, you might want to try the so-called "bomb" configuration: a pair of alnico and a pair of ceramic. Lots of folks like that combination. I put together a 4x12 half stack with a pair of Eminence Private Jacks (bottom) and a pair of Celestion Blue G-12s (top) and it sounds awesome with high gain amps. (But then I had it built in red tolex, and as we all know red tolex sounds better!).

[David Root]

Ted Weber's website is advertizing their own shop-modded '59 Bassman RI "LTD" with Jensen P10Rs as stock speaker, but for an extra $190 they offer either the weber 10A125 or the 10F150 speaker.

The 10A125 is their "vintage Jensen" version of the Blue Pup, and no doubt cleaner, as Sven recommends. The blue pup is "vintage British" tone. The 10A125 and Blue Pup both have the small 11 oz. weight Alnico plug magnet. The 10F150 is the ceramic magnet version of the same speaker.

I have heard good things about the Tone Tubby 10" speakers. I have used the 12" Tone Tubbies in my amps, the Alnico in a brown Vibrolux type build of my own, and the ceramic in my '62 Deluxe. Both are superb speakers in these applications, which are admittedly not close to a 4-10 configuration. However, my experience has been that if you find a good sounding single speaker, four of them is even better!

Since you have a 4-10 amp, you might want to try the so-called "bomb" configuration: a pair of alnico and a pair of ceramic. Lots of folks like that combination. I put together a 4x12 half stack with a pair of Eminence Private Jacks (bottom) and a pair of Celestion Blue G-12s (top) and it sounds awesome with high gain amps. (But then I had it built in red tolex, and as we all know red tolex sounds better!).

[David Root]

Sorry about the double posting. The site had problems while I was doing it and went down briefly, or else Walt and I tried to post at the same time and I lost out! And now I can't delete one. At least we agree about mixing Alnico & Ceramic speakers!

[59Pro]

Thanks for the inputs. Would you put the Ceramic speakers on top or on the bottom? I still not sure if I should buy the Jensens or the Webers.
What speaks for the Jensens is, that I can get 'em at cost.
Is there nobody here who tried both in a Bassman?

[David Root]

There was an interview with Todd Sharp in the Tonequest magazine issue that reviewed the Eminence Patriot and British speakers, about Fall '04 I think, in which he said mixing a pair of P10R and a pair of C10R in a Bassman worked very well. I think he said to put the ceramics on the bottom, but I'd have to try to dig out that issue to be certain.

[Funkalicousgroove]

Have you considered the Emminence Alnico 10's?

I have the most absolutely fantastic sounding 5F6A I built a couple months ago, and I faced your same dillema. How I ended up with the emminence was actually blind faith and dumb luck:

I was bidding on a cabinet on EBAY that was Buddy Guy's PRototype for the new Chicago Blues Box Buddy Guy amp, and it had these Alnico Emminence 10's, I lost the auction, but I decided to look into these speakers since I've had such great luck with Emminence Speakers in my other cabinets.

I found some on EBAY new in boxes for $35 each, and I figured I had nothing to loose, I put them in the amp and was BLOWN AWAY!! They are smooth and "breathy" sounding with plenty of "Give" and they break up wonderfully without getting harsh or "Coney" sounding.

I'm not trying to change your mind, but I thought I'd offer this reccommendation just because I like these speakers so much.

Oh, and remember whatever you get, wire them backward because the old Jensens were marked "Backward" from today's standard polarity, and to get the true sound of a 5F6-A I think it's a must.

[59Pro]

I did some research and yes the ceramics should go on the bottom of the cabinet.

Thanks for the "third" choice with Eminence. The sound you describe is what I'm looking for. I had some '98 Jensen P10R's, which I got from a friend. They sounded to harsh, thin and weak. Someone told me that the early Italian made Jensens where not that good, they made some changes in 2003 and now they should sound much better.
I know about this "backward" installation in the Bassman, I will watch that as soon as I decide on the speakers. My other amps are a '59 Pro and a '56 Tremolux with original speakers and they sound so beautiful and the Bassman just doesn't sound right. The amp is ok, I plugged it into an old Bassman cabinet with old Jensens and it sounded great as an old Bassman should. I would love to check them all out, but that would be an expensive experiment.
Thanks again for all the inputs.

[David Root]

Funk, which Eminence 10 model are you talking about? I have a 3x10 harp amp in my future, and I will be looking for suitable speakers eventually. I realize what's good for guitar ain't necessarily good for blues harp, but you never know.

[Clyde]

Have you heard the the Weber signature alnicos? I've used the ones with
25W coils in a few builds, very nice, maybe nicer than the vintage ones.

[Funkalicousgroove]

They are 1028K alnico legend with seamed cones. You can find them all over ebay for like $30-$40 each new in boxes.

[59Pro]

Thanks for your inputs. I spoke to an amp repair guy here in town and we discussed the different speakers brands and what to get. Finally he said "I will order them all (Eminence,Jensens and Weber) and you can try 'em and keep what you like best. I can always sell the other ones." It will take a while but I will let you know which I keep. He let me try them for two weeks each brand.

[hipbluescat]

Hello

Would love to know your opinion on the differences between these brands.

Regards