From: NoEmail@ever.com

On 6/26/20 8:27 PM, torchlord@gmail.com wrote:

On Tuesday, November 20, 2012 at 9:11:12 AM UTC-5, Squier wrote:

I have tried a lot of speakers in my short time playing elec guitar.
I am not really a gear whore when it comes to guitars (I am happy
with my Fender Strats and Teles - don't need or want anything else)
But I am a complete whore when it comes to amps and speakers (especially speakers).

Anyways - Since I rehearse and play out/gig regularly with several bands
I got tired of hauling my rig(s) around all the time and wanted to cut out >> some weight. yeah, I am not an old timer but it still doesn't make the
10 - 11 lb. (4.5 - 5 kg) usual 12" ceramic speakers any lighter - especially >> in multiple speaker cabs. And so I decided to try out a number of 12" Neo speakers.
They weigh in at only 4 lbs or so (less than 2 kg) and this weight savings >> can add up - and even in a heavier 1x12 tube combo getting rid of the extra >> weight can't hurt.

And so I tried out a bunch of the Neo's from several speaker makers -- Weber, Celestion, Eminence, Jensen.
In some cases, the speakers were installed in a 1x12 tube combo (6L6 powered, basic Fender blackface
bassman circuit type amps with some tweaks) and in others the speakers were installed into cabs which
are used with a variety of amp heads (still mostly powered by 6L6's and T-M-B tone stacks) no tweedy things
with only a single tone knob.

The Webers were absolutely horrible ( ok - I know it is not 'cool' to put down Weber speakers -
the tone snobs get upset - but hey - Weber can't seem to build a decent neo speaker - at least
from what my ears tell me). They were screechy at the top end (and no amount of breaking in is
going to metamorphize this top end into something even close to manageable -

and this screech

is coming from a -bassman- type circuit - hey - if you can't get something warm from these amps
then it would be fearful to play any of the Weber Neo's with most any other circuit such as a
Deluxe Reverb AB763 or whatever... ouch! my ears!) They also tended to have these overtones
when overdriven that were atonal - and they did not drop into nice harmonic feedback. Anyways,
it was like a bag of wild cats being kicked. That's about what they sounded

like. They had

a round bottom end but didn't have much bottom to speak of - kinda blah. The only thing that
could be said in a positive light was that they did have some nice mids and upper mids that
allowed for some nice lead tones on the cleaner/mild drive side of things --

but that's about it.

I am not sure why Weber even offers these things since many of their other speakers (alnico and ceramic)
are decent speakers for the money. The other thing is that these Weber 'neo' speakers are
nearly as heavy as a regular ceramic speaker. So what's the point there Weber ?
I dunno... maybe Weber's son is just cranking out what his dad did without any thoughts
of improving on their current Neo designs. Suffice to say - it was all a let down for me.
But as they say - there is a sucker born every minute - and the Weber name on the speaker
got them sold for me in a few days to the next rube (who no doubt will say they sound great
because it's not cool to diss Webers)

The Celestion Century Vintage was a mixed bag. it is supposed to be a Neo version of
the Vintage 30 but let's not kid around. This might remotely resemble a Vintage 30 tonally
but to say it is somewhat reminiscent of a Vintage 30 would be a more accurate way of stating what
it sounds like... sort of... The speaker compresses nicely with as little as maybe 20 watts
going into it (you can start to hear and 'feel' the compression - very smooth and nice actually).
It doesn't have quite that ' up front' sound a Vintage 30 has or the peaked mids - it is a little
smoother in the mids (although they are there). The bottom end holds tight until you really
push it with some watts/volume and then it starts to 'soften up' as speaker compression starts
to kick in. (rather than flubbing out). The top end is not as 'broken glass' as a Vintage 30 and
is smoother. I wouldn't call it a 'warm' speaker but it is like a slightly softer and less edgy
speaker than a Vintage 30. This was my 2nd favorite of the Neo Speakers. The nice part about
this speaker is you get a nice 'feel' when you play and it has a sort of alnico feel to it as
you put some watts into it. So I like it. Sounds good and is a less mid nasal honk version
of a Vintage 30 that lets your sound 'breathe' a bit rather than always being a sound cannon.

And speaking of sound cannons - the next up was the Eminence Texas Heat Neo.

There is absolutely

no 'feel' to this speaker. You pick lightly and the sound cannons out from the speaker.
You dig in - and the sound cannons out even more. it really is like a sound

cannon. BOOM!

The regular ceramic Texas Heat is an all around great speaker for many applications and a
variety of rigs (it is one of those... "nothing seems to work right in my rig so I put in
some Texas Heat(s) and I can work with it now and get some good tones ")
Anyways the Neo version of the Texas Heat is no where near the all around good stuff
of the ceramic Tex. heat. The neo has these upper mid artifacts that are absolutely
annoying and will tire out your ear in less than an hour of playing. I thought there was
something wrong with the speaker so my Eminence dealer let me return it for another one.
Same thing!! It is almost like 'ghost notes' except they are predomiant and

it's like

some atonal tone comes out in the upper mids when you play anything on the unwound strings.
And it is consistent. Bashing the speakers at high band volumes for 30 hours or so of use
did nothing at all to alleviate the problem. And they have this 'metallic' clang to them.
The only positive is that you can play heavy overdriven power chords on them

all day long

and they sound great. Nice beefy and tight bottom that doesn't break up. Nice 'chug'.
But don't try and go for a lead on the unwound strings - you'll be sorry you

ventured out there.

The unwound G string on my Teles and Strats makes this speaker howl like a wounded wolf
that has its balls cut off. Just these weird upper mid sounds as if there was someone
else in the room playing with me because I'm sure it wasn't me hitting those

notes over

weird overtones. The speaker will fall smoothly into feedback and then... there it is...
those weird upper register overtones along with harmonic feedback... bleh... >> Now you might say in a live band setting these things would not be heard - well I have
news for you - oh yeah - they are heard - and when we mic up - they are definitely heard.
In fact my bandmates asked me 'what's wrong with your rig. Where are those weird artifacts
coming from?" Well my friends... it was the Texas Heat Neos. yep. next....

Now to my favorite Neo and perhaps now one of my new all time favorite speakers
no matter whether they be Alnico, Ceramic or Neo. And that's the Jensen Jet

Tornado 12"

It sounded great right outta da box and just keeps getting better and better

as it

gets played in/broken in. Amazingly great speaker! After my previous experiences
with the Neos mentioned above I really didn't have much hope for the Jensen Tornado.
But in this case -- the 4th time was the charm.
It weighs a little more than 4 lbs. Very light. But the frame feels sturdy

(unlike

the Celestion Century Vintage which feels like you could easily bend it or warp it)
and it's a no nonsense black metal crinkle finish. The magnet seems to be a

pot type

(much like the Celestion) rather than a ring and the speaker cone itself is the only one
that is made without any doping on the folded surround/suspension.
This speaker has really nice articulation on all the strings/notes - from low to high.
Even when overdriven it doesn't 'mush out' and there is a string to string balance
to the sound. I wouldn't call it a bland neutral speaker - and in fact it reminds
me of a Jensen MOD speaker type of sound except more refined although not really 'hi-fi' sounding.
It 'feels' more like an Alnico than a ceramic as you push it a bit and even though
it is rated for 100 watts - it sounds great at lower wattage volumes and sounds great
at higher wattage and volumes. It has a nice tight and slightly rounded bottom end
that doesn't quit on you. Not boomy at all. Has a nice smooth sparkle at the top
end with a broad sweep on the mids. No peaky nasaly mids - just broad and powerful.
It really lets your guitar and the rest of the rig all blend in until you forget
about the speaker and just play.. and play.. and play. No ear fatigue even after
several hours of sets. Amazing. All my bandmates said it mic'd up perfectly into the mix
and they all really liked my rig(s) using this speaker. You can sit back and do rhythms
or kick on a tube screamer and let the mids roar. it's like a responsive sports car
that is just as happy to do a slow cruise down the boulevard as it is taking >> hair pin turns full throttle. It lets you get those sounds you want to without
fighting you at all. And in a 2x12 cab a pair of these lets you pare down an easy 12 - 14 lbs
over using the usual ceramic 12" speakers. Not too shabby there.
I can't say enough good things about this speaker as it plays so nice clean to mild overdrive
to all out ubder distorted tones - and it handles them all without any compromises.
It does have some compression to it as you crank it up but it doesn't cave in on itself.
It's like it knows when to stop compressing when you crank up a lot of distortion
and knows how to still sound tight when palm muting.. etc. I could go on and on
about this speaker - but it has to be the best all around speaker I have ever played.
And that's saying a lot. You can say what you want about the current Jensen

speakers -

but they absolutely nailed it with this Jet Tornado speaker. It's about as perfect
a 12" speaker as what is out there today that will let you cover a lot of ground - from cleans to means
and beyond without any ear fatigue. it might not 'wow' you out of the box >> but it is like this comfortable pair of worn in jeans that you just want
to wear every day.... and play for hours. really.

ok. rants over. take from it what you will.
But if you have a hankering for trying out a Neo - then I would
strongly suggest first giving the Jensen Jet Tornado a try.
For most of you out there- you won't want to or need to try anything else. >> it's that good.

I've been using 100 watt Tornado with a WGS ET90 in my Port City Wave OS, I

think they compliment each other well in my H&K Coreblade. It is a very versatile speaker combination, and I can turn my tone knobs all over the place and get all sorts of
different combinations that work well.




This posting is 8 years old ..

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