I own a rehearsal and recording studio just south of Nashville. Our speaker inventory includes three EVM-12Ls, one EVM-15L and one EVM-15B. The EVM-15B came in a 1964 Vibroverb I bought about seven years ago. It sounded so good, it motivated me to go out and buy the other Series II speakers to offer musicians as backline options. As Zac said, it's more practical to install them in more robust standalone speaker cabinets. I'm still looking for a pair of EVM-10L Series II speakers, but they're harder to find than the Holy Grail.
@@AskZac I just bought an L9 with EV15, I´m in Norway though. Would love to see a video comparing 12 and 15 inch speakers. Love your show btw! Love from Oslo, Norway
Not super related, but saw Vince Gil perform at the Writeoff Room in Studio City at a homeless shelter fundraiser (midnight mission LA) two nights ago and he really touched the hearts of the whole place. You introduced him to me in a sort by your interview. His song Bread and Water particularly hit home. Wow, what a gifted musician.
Love the EVM speakers. I made our sound guy real mad by putting one each in my “grab and go” combos (a Hiwatt combo and a Mesa Mk 2B), making them essentially no longer portable. I love the sound and it’s worth it for me, but yes - it makes amps as heavy as neutron stars. Also a sucker for the SRO variant!
About a year ago I picked up an extremely modified Silverface Bandmaster in a Deluxe Reverb cab (Normal channel is unchanged and vibrato channel now has pre and post gain and a 3 band EQ) with an EV SRO / 12L which from all available knowledge appears to be a brother to the EVM12L. It's a true monster in sound and weight at 58 watts bench tested and 55 pounds and the ceramic SRO is a big part of it. Super expressive highs and it has filled a baseball stadium happily with that speaker chugging along. Thanks for covering this topic Zac!
Hey Zac Great topic! I’m a seasoned Live Sound guy. When I installed 2-EVM’s in my little jam room vocal speakers, years ago, I was BLOWN AWAY at how the outboard EQ flattened out. Pure Sound. Beautiful. Thanks for all you do! JJZ…(°¿.°`)
I LOVE this deep dive into speakers!! I have a few old cheap combos that I have always been curious what difference speakers would make in their sounds. AND what a beautiful strat!!!
I have really enjoyed going through comments on this video. I am particularly impressed by the community here.! This is a great video, and I am intrigued to find one of these EVs and put it in a 112 enclosure. So many of the descriptions include language that could be inserted in talking about EV microphones their broadcast microphones from the late 60s and early and mid-70s are very unique performers beyond using EVPA cabinets I know little about use an instrument amplifier configurations. Really enjoyed this video Zach thank you.
Zach you are so knowledgeable and so very on point on speakers. I have a significant collection of speakers and cabinets. They change the sound way more than tubes. I can make the same amp sound ten different ways simply by switching the speaker.
EV has a blurb mistakenly saying they introduced that speaker ("EVM 12L Series II") in "1983", but I was selling them at Manny's in 1980. Still have two I bought then.
I blew the stock speakers out on my mid-late 70s Fender Twin back in the early 80s and replaced them with EVM-12Ls. They screwed right in, handled more power and sounded pretty good. I bought a second Twin Reverb that had JBLs in it about a year later and really liked the punchy lows and clear high end. But what I noticed, is if I ran both amps, they complimented each other very well, with the JBL adding punchy lows and some highs that the EVMs lacked. Sometimes I would split the amps on opposite sides of the stage for stereo effects and sometimes I'd stack them into a sort of half stack, which I coiuld still run in stereo for a nicer chorus sound. I wish I could get some of those JBLs, cuz I'd love to build a 2x12 cab with one EVM-12L and one JBL. I bet that would sound great.
In the 70s I had a Twin with 2 EV's in there. The basket was so big I had to remove the back of the amp. It was so heavy that the casters were bending. I had a Boogie with a JBL in there and that thing could peel the paint of the wall because of the highs so I replaced that with an EV Force in the 80s which was a lot lighter.
Thanks for the video! In the early 90s I replaced the stock speakers in my silverface Twin Reverb with an EVM-12L. It made it a little lopsided to carry, but the improvement in tone was astounding. The muddy low mids and ice-pick highs were a thing of the past. I tried to put one in a Peavey Classic 30, but it wouldn't fit - so I put it in a closed-back extension cab. Ultimately, it didn't do the same magic with the Peavey as it did with the Twin.
Since the mid '80's I've owned a Music Man 212 RH which is a guitar cab I've used for bass. It's loaded with the EVM-12L's which sounds fantastic. The 212 RH is a closed back 2x12 with a very large front port making it ideal for bass.
In the guitar speaker world, the EV12L is the clearest reminder that a speaker is, in fact, a motor. I've always had a certain affection for how it dutifully executes whatever command it's given. I probably preferred the Emi overall here, but the 12L is a perennial favorite.
I have 2 EVM12l's in a Mesa Boogie 2x12 "half back", one in a ported enclosure that a guy was using for bass and one that will be going in a "Thiel" cab. I also have a Mesa Boogie Diesel cab with an EVM15l and that thing makes ANY amp sound great at any volume. I play a Monoprice, Stage Right 5 watt amp through them all and they all sound incredible.
I was lucky enough to get a couple early EV-12L that were reconed at a great price and throw them in my vintage Fender Twin. I play a lot of Trower-esque stuff, Vibe, Fuzz, KOT, Delay, Reverb, etc. The thing I noticed immediately was that everything was available: amp bass on 10, no problem!!! Absolutely game changing! Do you give something up? Yes, but for those who want what they offer, the flexibility and consistency are everything.
Around 1968 when Electro-Voice just came into the musical instrument business, I and my band went to the distributor downtown and bought a whole bunch of SRO-12s and SRO-15s. They had no "sound" to speak of but they were LOUD and pretty much unbreakable. Oh, and they were much cheaper than the JBLs.
Thank you Zac for this high quality information piece and the demos! I recently purchased a Music Man 112 RD Fifty that obviously originally came with an EVM 12L speaker. I do not know whether the German importer (Meyer Music, Marburg) did the upgrades themselves or whether they were delivered by Music Man this way. But I am a little confused now: The amp was built before 1983 (and it's a little sound monster)! So was the Music Man 212HD-130-EVM of our lead guitar player which he then purchased second hand around 1981 and which also contained two EVM 12L. Does the beginning-of-production year 1983 only stand for the current model of the EVM 12L? I can recall there were also EVM 12L (and EVM 15L) speakers used in the bass-reflex systems of the then built PA speakers since the late 1970s and beginning 1980s...
In England they had a similar speaker the Fane Crescendo with a big magnet and cast body supposedly used by David Gilmore. I was after a clean sounding speaker so I tried a Celestion G12P-80 which came out of a Fender Hotrod and it sounds great. Very snappy and lots of clean headroom a rhythm players delight and cheap!! I believe the Celestion Seventy 80 and G12k-100 are similar worth trying and a lot cheaper than the EV but obviously not the real thing. Great Vid Zac keep up the good work!!
I bought my Deluxe Reverb back in the late 80's modded with 5881's , an ss rectifier, treble boost and EV12L and it was great. I bought some bigger amps so I decided to put the amp back stock but realized I loved the sound of the EV. I used a Jensen Neo 100 in its place as thats also neutral sounding speaker and thought it very good too. (Now the amp is stock except for 5881's and old 65 watt Celestion.)
I want to mention that EVMs were introduced before the early 80s. I looked for evidence of this online and kept coming up with what was said in this episode of Ask Zak. Everything points to early 80s. Here's why I say late 70s: I built two 2x 12 Cabinets in 1978. I wanted to load them with SROs but suddenly among my guitar playing crowd EVMs became all the rage. I couldn't find any new SROs in the local shops (there was no internet). I loaded one of the cabs with two EVMs. It could have been as early as late '78 but was no later than mid '79. The cab weighed a ton! I should add that I bought a Lab Series L9 in Early 1980 and it came stock with an EVM 15. I guess you could call that one an "early eighties" EVM. I don't remember the "12L" designation back then. They were simply EVMs. I hope I'm not putting to much energy into this point. If I come up with more evidence (if anyone cares to hear it); I will post it. Thanks for letting me ramble.
I'm an older guy now (63) and clearly remember magazine interviews with Randall Smith talking about his Mesa Boogie amps (Marks 2 & 3) which he preferred to have EVs in. His strategy was to neutralise the colouration any speaker would add and give the player the best chance of controlling any saturation or distortion to only come from the amp itself. The EVMs gave him the best shot at achieving that. Rated at 200W they easily withstood the signal coming from Boogies (60 or 100w).
D-oh! JBL D120s were an option with the Super Beatle cab, I would want all 8 lugs spreading even that load, but they used a real substandard grade of sawdust board for the baffle and it is a risk. Ten Kilos apiece.
I love EV speakers. I have a set of 4x12L’s in a Matamp cab, a pair of Mesa Thiele cabs with them, just got an older Mesa 4x12 with a pair of 12L’s in the bottom sealed while a pair of Celestion c-90’s are up top with an open back. I also have a Mesa bass cab with 2x15B’s, two 15L’s in 1x15 Thiele cabs plus another pair of 15L’s in a Matamp 2x15. They just sound so big but detailed and can handle cranked 100 watt heads with no issues at all. I regret selling my old Mesa Mark iii and its matching 1x12 extension cab that also had 12L’s. Weirdly enough my other favorite speakers are Greenbacks, especially a 4x12 Marshall slant cab from ‘79 with “black” backs which are essentially the exact opposite kind of speaker. It’s a shame they aren’t more common in new amps these days.
The "nowhere to hide" realization that I experienced as a bass player, playing my 1st night with my newly aquired P-bass, is what I associate with the EV. I had given up my guitar in my 1st band to take on bass duties and my Vox teardrop bass or Gibson EBO eventually gave way to the precision of a P-bass, which left me "naked" in the mix. If you're willing to make lemonade from lemons, this is an awakening. Otherwise, you're a victim.
Last I looked you can still get them but only in 8 ohm. I bought the Warehouse 12L and I like it but it doesn't sound the same as EVM12L that I have had for years. Mine go in a pair of Hiwatt SA112 that I have. My Hiwatts are custom 50s but will blow a 100 watt speaker easily which why I made the switch. Now I can dime the amp without fear and oh boy is it goodn' loud.
As a lover of the EVM12L, I’ve found a substitute that I can live with. It is the Eminence Legend EM12N. A neo magnetic speaker. It sounded awful until it become broken in. Then wa-la.
Got two of the back breakers in my ultralinear Twin Reverb. Just incredible clean, clean, clean glorious clean. I'm not sure if it's possible to distort this speaker. You're going to need, at minimum, a 1/2" plywood plywood baffle, and preferably 3/4".
As always outstanding. I have and EV Force 12. There’s a little bit out there on those, but not a ton. How do they compare? It certainly has a flat response compared to other speakers of mine. Years ago it was in a silver Deluxe I had for a while where is seemed to handle the lows and tame the highs a bit, which helped emphasize the mids a bit more than other speakers
I use ev powered 15s in my pa in my live shows and they are amazing. I play loud rock and sing like I’m being assaulted and I am bringing the whole mix through them and they never fail no matter how hard I drive them . For guitar I prefer celestion cream backs
Higher wattage speakers work great on fender blackface amps. Especially the smaller DR, PR, and Champ. It fixed the low end "flubby ess" they can be known for, which is possibly their greatest weakness.
The EVM really sounds fantastic. But the same time it is three times more expensive than the Eminence, not even thinking about potentially necessary modifications to the baffle board, etc. Is the step up in sound quality worth that much? Not an easy decision.
I had replace 2 crappy speakers in my Sunn Solo II in the 1970 with the EVs. The effeciency must have been much better because it was uncontrollably LOUD! Thinking about buying another one now for my current amp. I am afraid of the weight though at my age!
Zac, Thank you for this informative and excellent presentation. I use an EVM-12L in a separate light-weight cab for whatever head I might feel like using. I bought two JBL K-120's new in 1975. They live in my 1968 large 2x12 Fender closed back cab. I never realized that the EVM12L was a 'neutral' or flat-response kind of speaker. Thank you. I am tempted to put my EVM-12L in my 2000 BadCat Tremcat, Watching this presentation has convinced me to go ahead with the swap. Afterall the TremCat is a very very lite-weight combo amp, right?
The 12l is a monster and I put two classics in my 4by12 cabinets... Than build two 1by12 cabs (like laboga had sold them) and added a 12s to each..., put one under my 4by12... The massive bass is kicking...
There's an EVM-10M in my Vibratone. It is very loud compared to other speakers, to the point that I have to run it with a dedicated head for the sake of volume matching.
They're no longer in production, but the Eminence Red Fang RF10C is the best I've found. Ceramic, 50 watt, heavy magnet, sounds great. I've heard that Eminence will do custom orders for the speakers they no longer make.
Had my first EV in my mesa mark iv wide body combo so heavey but worth it for the sound I use a celestion redback now in my deluxe reverb but would like to get another ev in a cab.
I realised the EVM 12L actually 'sings' notes, while other great speakers like say a greenback sort of chants the notes. Perfect for people where the celestion break up sound suits their playing. Like with what zac described the EV is an accurate speaker like a reference level Hi-Fi one really. It demands a lot in commitment and is a wayyyy hefty lump too. It possess sophisticated and accurate control over its voice coil is the point, meaning a player that understands its cold literal sound has got a thing they'll either transform into expression or not. Personally i love greenbacks, use them the most and always will really. When it comes to this topic, knowing the EV is the case of direct comparison to break up speaker Zac suggested - they are never quite ready to sing the next note cleanly. So a player has to feel the greenbacks groove where the EV is simply a clean highly cultivated sound. No wonder the regularly clean players clapton / Knopfler et al had to go there.
Had a 100/50 Mark IIc with a Black Shadow EV…amazing sound when dialed up! So, so LOUD 😮, so so Heavy 🥴 In a perfect world, I would still own it and have a studio where I could turn it up! It was too much for the clubs and parties I was playing in the 90’s. Too heavy to carry around 60+ lbs.
I have 2 Mesa/Boogie EV’s and 1 stock regular EV. Never could get used to them or liked them but I had to experiment with them for a time to see why people liked them and how they compared to my favorite speakers. They’re just too efficient for me. They definitely have their place in recorded music. I like the JBL G125 (made in the late 1980’s) which is 200 watts and has a Celestion type “overdrive characteristic” as JBL calls it. It is one of the best JBL’s made but seems to be long lost and forgotten. My Mesa Boogie Mk lll amp sounds best through G125’s.
As a Bass player, I’ve always sought out old SRO and EVM speakers!😊 Nothing else sounds like one. That said… I’m older now, and have transferred my affections to Neo drivers, cause they’re easier to tote! I still think the EVM 15b is my favorite of all time🥹
other than the Celestion Century Neo any other Neo clones that come close? I have a mid 60s Reverberocket 2 and tried a K120, an Altec 417-8C and the EVM was the best, to my ears. I also use an EVM in a 90s Dual Professional with the other speaker hole blocked off - it's awesome
I have only been trying for about a decade, but I have scored a dozen EVM10Ms. That doesn't sound too much like readily I guess. My favorite little ten is the AlNiCo Jensen Blackbird, those support 100 Watts each, but they are AlNiCo. Lots of folks are into the Raptors, but there again you are only rated at 100 Watts. I like to pretend that hooking up 8 or 16 cones compensates for the other speakers' lack of EVMness, but I have never recorded anything for the comparison, so I may be biased about what I think that I hear
One thing: they throw sound far. It can sound right when you stand near your amp, but it's blowing the head off the front row or the guy on the other side of the rehearsal room.
Hi, Zac! I have a question regarding equipment. What video/audio equipment do you use to record your videos? I really enjoy your show and believe you have one of the best music related channels on UA-cam!
Have an EVM-12L and an Alessandro in combos and love both of them. There really is just some..."extra" about an EVM-12L; at least for me, it's almost like it knows what I want it do and just does it. I get the "sterile" criticism, but I think that comes from folks expecting it to behave like a Celestion or something.
I have the Eminence GA-SC59 Alessandro Signature 12inch in my Speaker Cab and its my favorite speaker. I got rid of all my others and just use this for my Tele stuff. Preferred the 59 over the 64 tone wise.
The black shadow, at least circa 1998, is a very dull sounding speaker compared to a 12L good bass, like the 12L but less mids and less highs, I bought one when I fried a voice coil in my 12L. 2016, I finally recone’d my 12L The black shadow did not measure up, I was thrilled to get my true sound back😀
“Smear! Men smear!” JBL and EV down, do a Peavey Black Widow and/or Scorpion one next, please! Lots of country guys got a lot of miles out of Peavey drivers!
I used to have a Peavey Renown with a 15” Black Widow speaker in it. It was really directional-depending on the stage, I’d set my EQ to where it sounded right, but if it was a small stage I couldn’t always put the anp where I could hear it. I always tried to put the amp behind me, on a tilt stand aimed at my head, but often I’d be off-axis from the speaker, and it would sound ok to me, but I’d be killing people at the back of the room. That thing was like a laser beam! Heavy too. I traded it in on a Randall RG-80 with 1-12”, which was a lot more controllable, and much lighter.
I bought a vintage 65 deluxe that had an old one of these speakers in it. Sounded good but weighed a ton and I had to run the treble on 2 with a tele. I swapped it out and through it in the trash before I realized what these things were selling for. lol.
@@AskZac thx for answering, when you get a chance try one. It is Italian. Mine is arriving in 2 weeks. Guess more European oriented. Greetings from Amsterdam.
Zac…I had a Mesa Boogie Mk II built for me and I think it was about 1979 and I had them put an EVM 12L (I thought) put in it. It was a plain magnet with no heat sink. I definitely got the amp prior to 1981. You say they started using in 1983. Do you think the EV speaker was a different EV?
AGAIN??? It's like you are listening to the rabbit hole conversations I have with my closest music buddies. Just last month my guitar bro Steve Preston (RC & Louise Mandrell Guitarist / Bandleader 1980s) were discussing JBL vs Electra Voice, after I was recalling my last conversation with Redd Volkeart. I sent him a photo of my twin Special 130's and pedal set up. Redd quickly replied that it was an excellent rig and the only possible improvement would be a pair of EVs!!! LOL.
I remember putting a pair of EVs in a Twin in the 70s. Sounded pretty good. But the overall weight of the Twin with the EVs was very difficult. Very !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I threw an EV12s in my princeton reverb reissue. Yes, it fit (barely), and it sounded amazing. It actually was too loud for playing even with a hard-hitting drummer. Since then I've been using them in a 1x12 cab with a two-rock clone. Best sound I've ever had for rock, blues rock and country. I swear by these speakers. I just wish they werent so heavy!
Ceramic speakers... I love them over alnico, instant response no flub. ev12l's are about the best you can get. Fane crescendo's are about the only other highpower balanced sounding speaker
The EV sounds like headphones in that it sounds focused and articulate. The Alessandro sounds like an amp from across a room slightly turned away from earshot, which is a sound I really like. Based on my computer analysis, I would say the stamped frame wins. lol I like both, for different reasons.
![Are All Guitar Amps Better Through EV Speakers? [Princeton, AC15, 50-watt Plexi, Matchless]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/zTIG4MsPxTk/mqdefault.jpg)
I own a rehearsal and recording studio just south of Nashville. Our speaker inventory includes three EVM-12Ls, one EVM-15L and one EVM-15B. The EVM-15B came in a 1964 Vibroverb I bought about seven years ago. It sounded so good, it motivated me to go out and buy the other Series II speakers to offer musicians as backline options. As Zac said, it's more practical to install them in more robust standalone speaker cabinets. I'm still looking for a pair of EVM-10L Series II speakers, but they're harder to find than the Holy Grail.
Amen brother! I sold an EV loaded cabinet a few years ago, and it was a mistake.
Great video. My old LAB Series L9 has a EVM-15L and still sings beautifully.
I am looking for an L9 with the EV 15. Tell me if you see one
@@AskZac I just bought an L9 with EV15, I´m in Norway though. Would love to see a video comparing 12 and 15 inch speakers. Love your show btw! Love from Oslo, Norway
EVM12L NATION RISE UP (I am happy that a quality video has been posted on this beautiful speaker)
Not super related, but saw Vince Gil perform at the Writeoff Room in Studio City at a homeless shelter fundraiser (midnight mission LA) two nights ago and he really touched the hearts of the whole place. You introduced him to me in a sort by your interview. His song Bread and Water particularly hit home. Wow, what a gifted musician.
And a shout out to Norm Harris for hosting!!
Love the EVM speakers. I made our sound guy real mad by putting one each in my “grab and go” combos (a Hiwatt combo and a Mesa Mk 2B), making them essentially no longer portable.
I love the sound and it’s worth it for me, but yes - it makes amps as heavy as neutron stars.
Also a sucker for the SRO variant!
Great job describing the differences and the subtleties of these speakers. I did not realize you were a speaker guy.
About a year ago I picked up an extremely modified Silverface Bandmaster in a Deluxe Reverb cab (Normal channel is unchanged and vibrato channel now has pre and post gain and a 3 band EQ) with an EV SRO / 12L which from all available knowledge appears to be a brother to the EVM12L.
It's a true monster in sound and weight at 58 watts bench tested and 55 pounds and the ceramic SRO is a big part of it. Super expressive highs and it has filled a baseball stadium happily with that speaker chugging along.
Thanks for covering this topic Zac!
Hey Zac Great topic! I’m a seasoned Live Sound guy. When I installed 2-EVM’s in my little jam room vocal speakers, years ago, I was BLOWN AWAY at how the outboard EQ flattened out. Pure Sound. Beautiful. Thanks for all you do!
JJZ…(°¿.°`)
Fins, for the heatsink.
I LOVE this deep dive into speakers!! I have a few old cheap combos that I have always been curious what difference speakers would make in their sounds. AND what a beautiful strat!!!
I have really enjoyed going through comments on this video. I am particularly impressed by the community here.! This is a great video, and I am intrigued to find one of these EVs and put it in a 112 enclosure. So many of the descriptions include language that could be inserted in talking about EV microphones their broadcast microphones from the late 60s and early and mid-70s are very unique performers beyond using EVPA cabinets I know little about use an instrument amplifier configurations. Really enjoyed this video Zach thank you.
Zach you are so knowledgeable and so very on point on speakers. I have a significant collection of speakers and cabinets. They change the sound way more than tubes. I can make the same amp sound ten different ways simply by switching the speaker.
EV has a blurb mistakenly saying they introduced that speaker ("EVM 12L Series II") in "1983", but I was selling them at Manny's in 1980. Still have two I bought then.
I blew the stock speakers out on my mid-late 70s Fender Twin back in the early 80s and replaced them with EVM-12Ls. They screwed right in, handled more power and sounded pretty good. I bought a second Twin Reverb that had JBLs in it about a year later and really liked the punchy lows and clear high end. But what I noticed, is if I ran both amps, they complimented each other very well, with the JBL adding punchy lows and some highs that the EVMs lacked. Sometimes I would split the amps on opposite sides of the stage for stereo effects and sometimes I'd stack them into a sort of half stack, which I coiuld still run in stereo for a nicer chorus sound.
I wish I could get some of those JBLs, cuz I'd love to build a 2x12 cab with one EVM-12L and one JBL. I bet that would sound great.
IIRC Redd Volkhart's favorite amp is (was?) a brown Twin with an EVM-12 and a JBL D-120.
Good story and comparison! Enjoyed your presentation a lot. Thx…
In the 70s I had a Twin with 2 EV's in there. The basket was so big I had to remove the back of the amp. It was so heavy that the casters were bending. I had a Boogie with a JBL in there and that thing could peel the paint of the wall because of the highs so I replaced that with an EV Force in the 80s which was a lot lighter.
Yes!!!! I’ve been so curious about this speaker lately
Great video
Nice demo playing Zac👍
Thank you 👍
Great video as always, Thank You!
Glad you enjoyed it!
So informative! Many thanks Zac. I know it’s just personal taste, but I greatly prefer the GA-SC64-1.
Thanks for the video! In the early 90s I replaced the stock speakers in my silverface Twin Reverb with an EVM-12L. It made it a little lopsided to carry, but the improvement in tone was astounding. The muddy low mids and ice-pick highs were a thing of the past. I tried to put one in a Peavey Classic 30, but it wouldn't fit - so I put it in a closed-back extension cab. Ultimately, it didn't do the same magic with the Peavey as it did with the Twin.
Since the mid '80's I've owned a Music Man 212 RH which is a guitar cab I've used for bass. It's loaded with the EVM-12L's which sounds fantastic. The 212 RH is a closed back 2x12 with a very large front port making it ideal for bass.
You have me rethinking the gasc12 for my DRSF which has been black faced. It sounds very bright and I want a warmer tone. Love the EV.
I had one in a 100W Carvin with oak cabinet I bought in 1985. That speaker was rated at 300W. Cleanest amp ever. Heavy too! It took a man to move it.
In the guitar speaker world, the EV12L is the clearest reminder that a speaker is, in fact, a motor. I've always had a certain affection for how it dutifully executes whatever command it's given. I probably preferred the Emi overall here, but the 12L is a perennial favorite.
It's a real machine, but too heavy.
I have 2 EVM12l's in a Mesa Boogie 2x12 "half back", one in a ported enclosure that a guy was using for bass and one that will be going in a "Thiel" cab. I also have a Mesa Boogie Diesel cab with an EVM15l and that thing makes ANY amp sound great at any volume. I play a Monoprice, Stage Right 5 watt amp through them all and they all sound incredible.
I was lucky enough to get a couple early EV-12L that were reconed at a great price and throw them in my vintage Fender Twin. I play a lot of Trower-esque stuff, Vibe, Fuzz, KOT, Delay, Reverb, etc. The thing I noticed immediately was that everything was available: amp bass on 10, no problem!!!
Absolutely game changing! Do you give something up? Yes, but for those who want what they offer, the flexibility and consistency are everything.
Around 1968 when Electro-Voice just came into the musical instrument business, I and my band went to the distributor downtown and bought a whole bunch of SRO-12s and SRO-15s. They had no "sound" to speak of but they were LOUD and pretty much unbreakable.
Oh, and they were much cheaper than the JBLs.
Thank you Zac for this high quality information piece and the demos! I recently purchased a Music Man 112 RD Fifty that obviously originally came with an EVM 12L speaker. I do not know whether the German importer (Meyer Music, Marburg) did the upgrades themselves or whether they were delivered by Music Man this way. But I am a little confused now: The amp was built before 1983 (and it's a little sound monster)! So was the Music Man 212HD-130-EVM of our lead guitar player which he then purchased second hand around 1981 and which also contained two EVM 12L. Does the beginning-of-production year 1983 only stand for the current model of the EVM 12L? I can recall there were also EVM 12L (and EVM 15L) speakers used in the bass-reflex systems of the then built PA speakers since the late 1970s and beginning 1980s...
Mahalo Zac. Very interesting.
Also you mentioned putting a V30 in a Deluxe, and I’ve been singing that song for years and everyone acted like I was nuts. Sweet vindication!
In England they had a similar speaker the Fane Crescendo with a big magnet and cast body supposedly used by David Gilmore. I was after a clean sounding speaker so I tried a Celestion G12P-80 which came out of a Fender Hotrod and it sounds great. Very snappy and lots of clean headroom a rhythm players delight and cheap!! I believe the Celestion Seventy 80 and G12k-100 are similar worth trying and a lot cheaper than the EV but obviously not the real thing. Great Vid Zac keep up the good work!!
I bought my Deluxe Reverb back in the late 80's modded with 5881's , an ss rectifier, treble boost and EV12L and it was great. I bought some bigger amps so I decided to put the amp back stock but realized I loved the sound of the EV. I used a Jensen Neo 100 in its place as thats also neutral sounding speaker and thought it very good too. (Now the amp is stock except for 5881's and old 65 watt Celestion.)
I want to mention that EVMs were introduced before the early 80s. I looked for evidence of this online and kept coming up with what was said in this episode of Ask Zak. Everything points to early 80s. Here's why I say late 70s: I built two 2x 12 Cabinets in 1978. I wanted to load them with SROs but suddenly among my guitar playing crowd EVMs became all the rage. I couldn't find any new SROs in the local shops (there was no internet). I loaded one of the cabs with two EVMs. It could have been as early as late '78 but was no later than mid '79. The cab weighed a ton! I should add that I bought a Lab Series L9 in Early 1980 and it came stock with an EVM 15. I guess you could call that one an "early eighties" EVM. I don't remember the "12L" designation back then. They were simply EVMs. I hope I'm not putting to much energy into this point. If I come up with more evidence (if anyone cares to hear it); I will post it. Thanks for letting me ramble.
I'm an older guy now (63) and clearly remember magazine interviews with Randall Smith talking about his Mesa Boogie amps (Marks 2 & 3) which he preferred to have EVs in. His strategy was to neutralise the colouration any speaker would add and give the player the best chance of controlling any saturation or distortion to only come from the amp itself. The EVMs gave him the best shot at achieving that. Rated at 200W they easily withstood the signal coming from Boogies (60 or 100w).
I had the 15L pair in a bass cab. 👌👌
Can relate to a trashed baffle. Replaced a Super Beatle cab speakers with four EV's (coffee cans in the 70's.) Band school bus hit a bump 🤪
D-oh! JBL D120s were an option with the Super Beatle cab, I would want all 8 lugs spreading even that load, but they used a real substandard grade of sawdust board for the baffle and it is a risk.
Ten Kilos apiece.
I love my EV PA speakers. I also hear some nice sounding small EVs in a bar last night.
I love EV speakers. I have a set of 4x12L’s in a Matamp cab, a pair of Mesa Thiele cabs with them, just got an older Mesa 4x12 with a pair of 12L’s in the bottom sealed while a pair of Celestion c-90’s are up top with an open back. I also have a Mesa bass cab with 2x15B’s, two 15L’s in 1x15 Thiele cabs plus another pair of 15L’s in a Matamp 2x15. They just sound so big but detailed and can handle cranked 100 watt heads with no issues at all. I regret selling my old Mesa Mark iii and its matching 1x12 extension cab that also had 12L’s. Weirdly enough my other favorite speakers are Greenbacks, especially a 4x12 Marshall slant cab from ‘79 with “black” backs which are essentially the exact opposite kind of speaker. It’s a shame they aren’t more common in new amps these days.
The "nowhere to hide" realization that I experienced as a bass player, playing my 1st night with my newly aquired P-bass, is what I associate with the EV. I had given up my guitar in my 1st band to take on bass duties and my Vox teardrop bass or Gibson EBO eventually gave way to the precision of a P-bass, which left me "naked" in the mix. If you're willing to make lemonade from lemons, this is an awakening. Otherwise, you're a victim.
I have one in my ‘82 Jim Kelley. Absolute monster sound.
Last I looked you can still get them but only in 8 ohm. I bought the Warehouse 12L and I like it but it doesn't sound the same as EVM12L that I have had for years. Mine go in a pair of Hiwatt SA112 that I have. My Hiwatts are custom 50s but will blow a 100 watt speaker easily which why I made the switch. Now I can dime the amp without fear and oh boy is it goodn' loud.
As a lover of the EVM12L, I’ve found a substitute that I can live with. It is the Eminence Legend EM12N. A neo magnetic speaker. It sounded awful until it become broken in. Then wa-la.
Got two of the back breakers in my ultralinear Twin Reverb. Just incredible clean, clean, clean glorious clean. I'm not sure if it's possible to distort this speaker.
You're going to need, at minimum, a 1/2" plywood plywood baffle, and preferably 3/4".
As always outstanding.
I have and EV Force 12. There’s a little bit out there on those, but not a ton. How do they compare? It certainly has a flat response compared to other speakers of mine. Years ago it was in a silver Deluxe I had for a while where is seemed to handle the lows and tame the highs a bit, which helped emphasize the mids a bit more than other speakers
Great video Zac💯😎
Wow that speaker is amazing! Personally, I Love it.
Love the eminence sound, so warm
JBL K-120 handles 100 watts RMS per their catalog, which is available online.
Great stuff!
Great video Zac, happy to subscribe!!
Thanks for the sub!
I use ev powered 15s in my pa in my live shows and they are amazing. I play loud rock and sing like I’m being assaulted and I am bringing the whole mix through them and they never fail no matter how hard I drive them . For guitar I prefer celestion cream backs
it's funny cause when i think of ev speakers i think of heavy metal , but country blues and classic rock guys love em 2 ...
ME TOO
We were doing it before Zak Wylde did it.
Higher wattage speakers work great on fender blackface amps. Especially the smaller DR, PR, and Champ. It fixed the low end "flubby ess" they can be known for, which is possibly their greatest weakness.
That strat is so gorgeous I lose all reason every time I see it and start hunting for one I can't afford!
An episode on strats in country music would be fun.
The EVM really sounds fantastic. But the same time it is three times more expensive than the Eminence, not even thinking about potentially necessary modifications to the baffle board, etc. Is the step up in sound quality worth that much? Not an easy decision.
I had replace 2 crappy speakers in my Sunn Solo II in the 1970 with the EVs. The effeciency must have been much better because it was uncontrollably LOUD! Thinking about buying another one now for my current amp. I am afraid of the weight though at my age!
Zac, Thank you for this informative and excellent presentation. I use an EVM-12L in a separate light-weight cab for whatever head I might feel like using. I bought two JBL K-120's new in 1975. They live in my 1968 large 2x12 Fender closed back cab. I never realized that the EVM12L was a 'neutral' or flat-response kind of speaker. Thank you. I am tempted to put my EVM-12L in my 2000 BadCat Tremcat, Watching this presentation has convinced me to go ahead with the swap. Afterall the TremCat is a very very lite-weight combo amp, right?
The JBL E120 is my favorite
The 12l is a monster and I put two classics in my 4by12 cabinets...
Than build two 1by12 cabs (like laboga had sold them) and added a 12s to each..., put one under my 4by12... The massive bass is kicking...
There's an EVM-10M in my Vibratone. It is very loud compared to other speakers, to the point that I have to run it with a dedicated head for the sake of volume matching.
Any good 10 inch speaker recommendation? I find it hard to have the "12 inch weight or low end punch" with a 10 inch...
They're no longer in production, but the Eminence Red Fang RF10C is the best I've found. Ceramic, 50 watt, heavy magnet, sounds great. I've heard that Eminence will do custom orders for the speakers they no longer make.
The 10" greenback is nice
Had my first EV in my mesa mark iv wide body combo so heavey but worth it for the sound I use a celestion redback now in my deluxe reverb but would like to get another ev in a cab.
I realised the EVM 12L actually 'sings' notes, while other great speakers like say a greenback sort of chants the notes. Perfect for people where the celestion break up sound suits their playing. Like with what zac described the EV is an accurate speaker like a reference level Hi-Fi one really. It demands a lot in commitment and is a wayyyy hefty lump too. It possess sophisticated and accurate control over its voice coil is the point, meaning a player that understands its cold literal sound has got a thing they'll either transform into expression or not. Personally i love greenbacks, use them the most and always will really. When it comes to this topic, knowing the EV is the case of direct comparison to break up speaker Zac suggested - they are never quite ready to sing the next note cleanly. So a player has to feel the greenbacks groove where the EV is simply a clean highly cultivated sound. No wonder the regularly clean players clapton / Knopfler et al had to go there.
Had a 100/50 Mark IIc with a Black Shadow EV…amazing sound when dialed up! So, so LOUD 😮, so so Heavy 🥴
In a perfect world, I would still own it and have a studio where I could turn it up!
It was too much for the clubs and parties I was playing in the 90’s. Too heavy to carry around 60+ lbs.
Yet another great vid very interesting , been looking at Redd Volkaert vids all day thanks for the info on him my can he play
It would be helpful to compare specs like voice coil size, SPL ratings etc.
Run evm’s in both my vibroverbs.
Sometimes an old sro.
I don’t carry them anymore however…lol
Thanks Zac.
I have 2 Mesa/Boogie EV’s and 1 stock regular EV. Never could get used to them or liked them but I had to experiment with them for a time to see why people liked them and how they compared to my favorite speakers. They’re just too efficient for me. They definitely have their place in recorded music. I like the JBL G125 (made in the late 1980’s) which is 200 watts and has a Celestion type “overdrive characteristic” as JBL calls it. It is one of the best JBL’s made but seems to be long lost and forgotten. My Mesa Boogie Mk lll amp sounds best through G125’s.
As a Bass player, I’ve always sought out old SRO and EVM speakers!😊
Nothing else sounds like one. That said…
I’m older now, and have transferred my affections to Neo drivers, cause they’re easier to tote!
I still think the EVM 15b is my favorite of all time🥹
other than the Celestion Century Neo any other Neo clones that come close? I have a mid 60s Reverberocket 2 and tried a K120, an Altec 417-8C and the EVM was the best, to my ears. I also use an EVM in a 90s Dual Professional with the other speaker hole blocked off - it's awesome
I ain’t gona lie Zac, Zac wit the strat don’t sit right lol
The other positive virtue of the EV is its also more efficient, its about 3db louder than cast frame.
I have the stock Mesa version of it in my Mark IV. Best. Amp. Ever.
What would be a good option for a 10” that’s on par with the EVM12L? Preferably something readily available. For a 4x10 cab…
I have only been trying for about a decade, but I have scored a dozen EVM10Ms. That doesn't sound too much like readily I guess. My favorite little ten is the AlNiCo Jensen Blackbird, those support 100 Watts each, but they are AlNiCo. Lots of folks are into the Raptors, but there again you are only rated at 100 Watts. I like to pretend that hooking up 8 or 16 cones compensates for the other speakers' lack of EVMness, but I have never recorded anything for the comparison, so I may be biased about what I think that I hear
One thing: they throw sound far. It can sound right when you stand near your amp, but it's blowing the head off the front row or the guy on the other side of the rehearsal room.
Hi, Zac! I have a question regarding equipment. What video/audio equipment do you use to record your videos? I really enjoy your show and believe you have one of the best music related channels on UA-cam!
Have an EVM-12L and an Alessandro in combos and love both of them. There really is just some..."extra" about an EVM-12L; at least for me, it's almost like it knows what I want it do and just does it. I get the "sterile" criticism, but I think that comes from folks expecting it to behave like a Celestion or something.
Decades ago, I had a Music Man 1x12 combo with an EV in it. I swear that amp weighed more than a twin reverb lol.
If only I could find a twin reverb loaded with those, so I could haul it up and down my stairs 😂
I have the Eminence GA-SC59 Alessandro Signature 12inch in my Speaker Cab and its my favorite speaker. I got rid of all my others and just use this for my Tele stuff. Preferred the 59 over the 64 tone wise.
I'm looking to pair both in a 2x12
The black shadow, at least circa 1998, is a very dull sounding speaker compared to a 12L good bass, like the 12L but less mids and less highs, I bought one when I fried a voice coil in my 12L. 2016, I finally recone’d my 12L
The black shadow did not measure up, I was thrilled to get my true sound back😀
Hey Zac were you at the Dierks Bentley show in Atlanta last Friday night? I thought I saw you.
Not I
“Smear! Men smear!”
JBL and EV down, do a Peavey Black Widow and/or Scorpion one next, please! Lots of country guys got a lot of miles out of Peavey drivers!
I used to have a Peavey Renown with a 15” Black Widow speaker in it. It was really directional-depending on the stage, I’d set my EQ to where it sounded right, but if it was a small stage I couldn’t always put the anp where I could hear it. I always tried to put the amp behind me, on a tilt stand aimed at my head, but often I’d be off-axis from the speaker, and it would sound ok to me, but I’d be killing people at the back of the room. That thing was like a laser beam! Heavy too. I traded it in on a Randall RG-80 with 1-12”, which was a lot more controllable, and much lighter.
In both sound comparisons I preferred the non EVM speaker! Different strokes I guess!
A "bolt that sticks out" is usually called a "stud" or a "threaded rod." 🔊
I bought a vintage 65 deluxe that had an old one of these speakers in it. Sounded good but weighed a ton and I had to run the treble on 2 with a tele. I swapped it out and through it in the trash before I realized what these things were selling for. lol.
Used EV12's for guitar and EV15's for bass- great speakers but heavier than crap.
I have a Deluxe Reverb ll with a EVM 12L. Heavy? Sure, but worth it!
ZAC; ever tried an ACUS acoustic amp? Thanks
No
@@AskZac thx for answering, when you get a chance try one. It is Italian. Mine is arriving in 2 weeks. Guess more European oriented. Greetings from Amsterdam.
Zac…I had a Mesa Boogie Mk II built for me and I think it was about 1979 and I had them put an EVM 12L (I thought) put in it. It was a plain magnet with no heat sink. I definitely got the amp prior to 1981. You say they started using in 1983. Do you think the EV speaker was a different EV?
They probably got their own history wrong. I thought it was earlier than 1983
@@AskZac Thanks for the reply and the great info you post
AGAIN??? It's like you are listening to the rabbit hole conversations I have with my closest music buddies. Just last month my guitar bro Steve Preston (RC & Louise Mandrell Guitarist / Bandleader 1980s) were discussing JBL vs Electra Voice, after I was recalling my last conversation with Redd Volkeart. I sent him a photo of my twin Special 130's and pedal set up. Redd quickly replied that it was an excellent rig and the only possible improvement would be a pair of EVs!!! LOL.
I remember putting a pair of EVs in a Twin in the 70s. Sounded pretty good. But the overall weight of the Twin with the EVs was very difficult. Very !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I threw an EV12s in my princeton reverb reissue. Yes, it fit (barely), and it sounded amazing. It actually was too loud for playing even with a hard-hitting drummer. Since then I've been using them in a 1x12 cab with a two-rock clone. Best sound I've ever had for rock, blues rock and country. I swear by these speakers. I just wish they werent so heavy!
Basically what Mesa Boogie did.
Ceramic speakers... I love them over alnico, instant response no flub. ev12l's are about the best you can get. Fane crescendo's are about the only other highpower balanced sounding speaker
That's my speaker!
Cooling fins
The EV sounds like headphones in that it sounds focused and articulate. The Alessandro sounds like an amp from across a room slightly turned away from earshot, which is a sound I really like. Based on my computer analysis, I would say the stamped frame wins. lol
I like both, for different reasons.
Heat sink is the term you might’ve been looking for.
YES