What speaker should I use?

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I just got a tube amp head (PRS Archon) and now I need a cabinet. I'm planning on building my own, which means I get to pick which speaker(s) to use.

Because the Archon is kinda big and I want it to sit on top of the cabinet, I think the cabinet might as well be a 2x12 since it needs to be pretty wide anyway.

I like all sorts of tones; I don't stick to anything in particular. I love single coil neck pickup clean tones. I also really like the sound of a tube screamer on a gain channel. Whatever speakers I get should be able to handle both.

So, with that in mind, what 2 speakers should I put in it? (Roughly $100-$125 per speaker is preferred, but not a hard limit)

I know I can't go wrong with whatever I get, but on the flip side I might as well get some opinions and put some thought into it for that extra little bit of nice tone.

All opinions greatly appreciated!
 
I've always been a big fan of the eminence GB12.  In your price range as well...
 
Mayfly said:
I've always been a big fan of the eminence GB12.  In your price range as well...


What do you like about that loudspeaker, Trevor?  I have a cheap-@ss Vox 1x12 cab I'm using with my Carvin V3M and it sounds...okay, I guess.  I'm contemplating swapping out the loudspeaker and I'd welcome your input, since I like the way your stuff sounds when I hear it, and I know you're very capable of discussing characteristics in clear, concrete terms.
 
What I like best is that it is a very natural sounding speaker.  That is, no one frequency is exaggerated over any other.  It also sounds good overdriven.  Not a lot of overdrive harshness that you'd get out of, say, a Jensen or something like that.  Works great to my ears.

It's an older design (like over 20 years old), and from what I gather it is Eminence's take on a older Celestion greenback.
 
I have a 2x12 vertical cabinet that was equipped with Celestions.
Celestion Vintage 30's.

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Wasn't quite happy with the sound, so I got a Jensen P12R. That's a 25 watt with an alnico magnet.

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I swapped one of the Celestions for this Jensen and the difference was mindboggling.
Not only did the Jensen sound good, but it also showed that the Celestion sounded really bad. As in the sound didn't "come out" of the cabinet. I have no other way to describe it. The Jensen sounded good as one would expect but when I moved my head in front of the cabinet's grillcloth between the two there was an almost psychoacoustic effect of the sound from the Celestion that to me sounded like it couldn't quite travel out of the cabinet, but sounded more like it was "stuck" in it.

The effect was so dramatic that I decided immediately that I wanted to replace the last Celsetion still left in the cabinet.
So I got another Jensen.
But this time I thought I wanted to try another model and got the Jensen N12K, a more modern speaker with a neodymium magnet.

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And this one - to me - sounded even better. :icon_thumright:

Of course - speakers alter sound of a guitar/guitaramp dramatically, as I found out here.
And the sound that I like might not be the sound that you like.
So the best option in my mind is if you have the chance to try some speakers before you decide.
And as you might find, it's not always the more expensive one that sound the best.



 
I don't know if they still make them, but I like the Eminence 12" Swamp Thing.  It doesn't overly color the sound like some speakers.
 
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