I'm sure with the right speaker choice a "closed back" 2x12 cab would sound great. I want to say Lopo Cabs makes a convertable cab you may want to consider? I believe they're about $260 unloaded. I say this because I've seen times when a closed back cab is a bit too directional.

Flexibility is good and if you don't like the cab, this option might help with resale?

METEOR IV on reverbnation

Last edited: Nov 01, 2011 11:11:29

+1 on the EV's, been using them for the last few years in my '62 Bandmaster and I love them. Also ++++1 on the weight issue. If you can't lift heavy objects don't get these speakers. You don't have to get vintage EV's either, mine aren't that old. The model is EVM-12L. You can't make those speakers break up, so it's up to your amp. I find the overdrive from pushing the power amp section of the amp is more musical than speaker overdrive for surf.

Danny Snyder

"With great reverb comes great responsibility" - Uncle Leo

I am now playing trumpet with Prince Buster tribute band 'Balzac'

Playing keys and guitar with Combo Tezeta

Formerly a guitarist in The TomorrowMen and Meshugga Beach Party

Latest surf project - Now That's What I Call SURF

Just wanted to follow up on this post. After a lot of ho'ing & hum'ing for a good while now, I decided to give the ElectroVoice speakers a shot based the reputation of the folks writing above (plus Mr. Eddie K who has expressed profuse love for EV's elsewhere out here.)

Disclaimer - I've personally owned less than 5 amps and/or speaker/speaker sets for guitar. Ever. Exhaustive experience and years of history, I don't have. That said, I like to think I do have a fairly discerning ear given a long history with music. Professional audiophile, no. Attentive to detail and nuance, yes. So, after a few hours over a few days, here are my initial thoughts.

Short Answer...

I got the EVM12L Classics (currently available "new" 200 watt model, and not the Zak Wylde 300 watt model.) They are very impressive and sound fantastic. Pricey, yet I have zero buyers remorse nor second guessing as to having made a "good, sensible purchase."

Longer Answer...

The sound I get from these speakers is incredibly balanced; very nicely rendered lows, mids and highs. I've found that people often say these speakers don't color your amplifiers tone - you get amp distortion, but not speaker distortion (fatigue?). Wasn't sure what to make of that recurring comment, but I reckon this is it - all frequencies are fairly represented in a full, even spectrum at all volumes.

It has been my experience with anything else (and presumably Amps too), there are almost always notable trade-offs between models and brands. For speakers, I suspect that is usually slices of the audible spectrum that sound really good, and other slices, not so good for any given model. With the EVM12L's, the trade-off isn't a compromise in any part of the sound spectrum as far as I can tell. It seems to me, the trade off is in added weight (and perhaps you can argue price.) More on weight in a moment.

I don't believe the sensitivity of these is materially different from what I had. I didn't have a perceivable increase in volume, but suspect some may based on current your speaker sensitivity ratings. Well, I did find myself turning the amp up louder than I normally do, but that's a different story called "S t O k E d !!!" EVM12L Classics are rated at 100db sensitivity.

While I did expect to get a very different tone and sound from these speakers, I must say, I am blown away by the extreme difference of interaction with the amp. Specifically, the range of viable EQ (bass, treble, presence) is night and day from what I am used to. The granularity, or shades of sound that each nob has is far improved. Meaning, the "good sounding" spots now easily comprise of 70% or 80%+ of the nob range. Before that was considerably less. Besides being more granular, more finely adjustable, the "sounds good" range seems recognizably wider too. The EVM12L's didn't just put the "sweet spot" range under a magnifying glass... these speakers expanded the sweet spot range. I can see why searches outside of SG101 for commentary suggest these speakers are favorites for players of may styles of music.

Back to what seems to be the only trade-off, their weight. My cabinet is no doubt heavier than what I had pre-EVM12L's, but it is not as insanely heavy as I was expecting based on the comments above. I think the added weight is definitely managible in the piggyback configuration and very much worth it given the significant audible improvement.

Anywho... I very much appreciate each of the comments above, fellas. I am sure there are other speakers out there, probably for a lot fewer clams, that would sound really nice. I am also pretty sure I could have spend half the money 3, 4, maybe 5 times over and with and eventually ended up here with EVM12L's.

Thanks gang for answering the call and sharing your experiences so I could be delighted with my straight line, shortest path to EV joy. You R A W K!

Fady

El Mirage @ ReverbNation

I wish they would reissue the EVM 10L

Ryan
The Secret Samurai Website
The Secret Samurai on Facebook

Last edited: Dec 02, 2011 10:51:36

I am stretching the topic a bit to include open back combo enclosures. My current rig is a Gretsch 6159 35w 2x12 combo loaded with OEM Jensen C12Ps.

The guitarist I play with is using a Brownface Bandmaster clone 45w through a (Quilter) Eminence Neodymium 15" in a closed back cab. I'm totally envious of his tone, which is spot-on period-correct 1st wave and incredibly musical, and loud as you could want.

My combo is not affording me enough clean headroom to keep up with that big yet soft sound he's getting. I don't want to bring out my Big Gun, BF'd Twin head with 2x15" JBL D130s, because that would be overkill and a pain in this context of hauling to and from practice (can't leave stuff there).

I am contemplating retrofitting my Gretsch 6159 with other speakers to afford more efficiency and clean headroom. The 12", 8ohm speakers I have in my possession are:

the 2 extant Jensen C12Ps in the Gretsch
a Celestion G12T-75
a Jensen Blackbird AlNiCo 100w
an Altec 417(B I think)

If swapping out speakers would improve the performance of my amp, what combinations might yield optimal results, in terms of volume and clarity. Of course, I am using a reverb tank (Surfy Bear).

Thoughts? Thanks!

What combination of the above speakers might best suit the fairly low-output Gretsch amp and provide the loudest, cleanest full range sound in the combo?

Squink Out!

I stumbled over this interesting speaker comparison from Rivera's site. A lot of these speakers sounded very similar on my computer's speakers but that wasn't the case when I piped it through my near field monitors down in the studio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWK0sa7tlfI

As I have said for ages, I am a big fan of EV musical instrument speakers. We started replacing the JBL's in our PA with them way back based on a recommendation from Bill Bicknell who owned Metro Music in Atlanta where we spent all our band money. We kept blowing D-130's and after a few re-cones, we jumped ship and well........

The EV's turned out to be practically indestructible and as a bonus have a very transparent sound. They, like most other premium speakers of the time are porky. On the plus side, factory parts are still available. (probably because the seldom fail).

I currently have three small 2-12 Fender cabs. One is loaded with modern Twin Reverb replacement speakers, one with EV's and recently I swapped out the K-120's I had in my '65 Bassman's cab with a pair of V-30 Celestions I had lying around. At present, I like the V-30's in that cab with that particular Bassman head. I was not a fan of them with the back open but closed up they sound pretty good. Will report back on this after giving them a band room work out.

I agree with Wes, you might like the Altec in that small wattage amp. On the plus side they would be a bit louder and brighter than the stock speaker was. On the down side they too are a bit heavy, no factory replacement parts are available, and they aren't very rugged. I blew two pair of them in my first Twin Reverb amp in the late '60s. Still have them in the speaker pile.

There are at least two other "sleeper" speakers that you might also consider. One is the Peavey Black Widow 12 guitar speaker and the other is Kendrick's 12" bell cone speaker. I have one of those and it is loud as hell. The BW is heavy, the Kendrick is about the same as a Twin Reverb or high wattage pressed steel frame speaker. I have had the PV's in a cabinet or two on and off. With the aluminum caps they sound a lot like JBL's and like the D's and K's I sometimes think they both have a raspy bite.

Being retired is pretty cool. I can swap speakers in and out of amps and cabs ad-nauseum. I can't afford to buy new ones but I can play with the ones I have kollected.

Ah, speaker dilemmas, ain't it fun?

ed

Traditional........speak softly and play through a big blonde amp. Did I mention that I still like big blonde amps?

If you put two different speakers in your amp make sure you check the phasing so that both cones move in the same direction. You may have to experiment with them both ways to determine how to get the best sound. After wiring both of them so they jump in the same direction, flip the feeder wire back and forth to determine if there is an audible difference between the phasing of both speakers together.

Let me go do some research on that Grestch amp.

ed

Traditional........speak softly and play through a big blonde amp. Did I mention that I still like big blonde amps?

I will try milk crates. Also, the Music Man may sound better wth an auxiliary speaker, either the Altec 12 or the 15 I have in funky slant closed back cabs. That amp has an external speaker jack that the Gretsch does not. If that rig leaves me wanting more headroom and bass, then I will bust out the screwdrivers and start swapping speakers.

Squink Out!

eddiekatcher wrote:

There are at least two other "sleeper" speakers that you might also consider. One is the Peavey Black Widow 12 guitar speaker...

A friend & I once tried one of those (along with the Fender-optional EVM-12L) in my Princeton Reverb-II wayyyyy back. That Black Widow was killer.

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

Unfortunately for we "Surf Heads" PV no longer offers the guitar 12" BW with the aluminum dome for sale or a replacement rebuild kit. One can be rebuilt (and you can do this yourself at home) with modern current parts and retain the cap from the earlier speaker.

Nothing lightweight about those bad boys either. I had two of the 8 ohm (and 4 ohm was an option) ones in my blonde 2-12 cab for a good while but put in two EV's when I stumbled over two of those for a steal recently.

ed

Traditional........speak softly and play through a big blonde amp. Did I mention that I still like big blonde amps?