The BEST Way To Improve Your Amp's Sound || Celestion Alnico Blue vs. Greenback
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- Опубліковано 11 гру 2018
- www.rhettshull.com
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Best guitar speakers are :
Ferrite : EVM12L
Alnico : EVM12SRO or Altec 417/cardboard dome or Weber Mchigan 12/Alnico... Actually, the SRO is an evolution of the 417, and the Weber is a replica of the SRO.
=> All of them share the same cone!
All you need a good EQ after your preamp, then you'll be able to emulate the frequency curves of all guitar speakers on market.
I made a comment about a year ago - liked the first speaker. But now, after a year of being on an amp quest of my own, I've grown an appreciation for the green back. I've tried them out in different cabs and configurations, and for my ears, they are the best in any application (at least, that I've tried). I guess I wrote this follow up comment just to show that our impressions change, and as we become more educated as players, and have the funds to explore different things, we start to narrow down our preferences. It's a journey I've been on for 35 years.. and I still sometimes feel like I know nothing. The important thing is to enjoy playing, and worry less about your gear than your fingers, and playing dynamics (easier said than done). Thanks again for this video. Maybe I'll come back to it in another year. - Sincerely, Peanut Butter in my boxers.
Stock - 3:06 | 3:18 | 3:55 | 4:12 | 4:32
Green - 5:03 | 5:19 | 5:50 | 6:10 | 6:34
Blue - 7:11 | 7:32 | 7:52 | 8:11 | 8:33
Slave .... props
Blue I will be putting this into my future cab
Thank you for making this easy with the time stamps! haha.
I liked 1. Stock -> 2. Blue -> 3. Green.
I think the Jensen sounds so much clearer. Everything else is too bassy for me. I would need to hear all of them in person
You took an unusable video and made it usable -- thank you!!
Blue all the way, night and day.
Sounds so much better.
Thanks for the vid.
Big fan. 💚
I kinda liked the brightness of the original speaker. It recorded well.
It would be cool to see a part 2 where you hear the difference in a mix!
Yeah! And the greenback was so muted I felt like I hat cotton in my ears. Yikes! The blue seems a nice compromise.
The original sounded more like a tweed to me. The greenback made it sound orangish. The blue wasn’t a bad compromise if you don’t want the total Fender tone. IMHO
Looking at the price for speakers upgrades like these, for my money the Jensen really did a nice job. Were the other two different? Yes. Better? Maybe. I like the efficiency of the Blue but the Greenback is just the opposite. More distorted tone and not as versatile as the Jensen. Like he said, maybe great for single coils. If the amp is in need of more headroom and volume, the alnico is a excellent way to achieve that without amp modding.
The Jensen has a lot to do with the instantly recognizable tweed sound and without it in there it loses that character and makes it sound more generic. Not a bad thing, now it’s to your taste but I would have left the Jensen in.
I make your words mine
I’m not sure the Jensen was entirely broken in. As mentioned above, some speakers need a lot of break in time. I usually like 20 hours, but one speaker took 70 hours. I thought I was beating my head against a post till it was finally broken in.
I don't think I would have taken so much time to build a tweed amp if I didn't like that sound!
The 50's Fender amps used Jensen's, but NOT Ceramic magnets. Alnico was used until the mid 1960's. Jensen does make an Alnico version, and that would be more historically correct than ANY Ceramic magnet speaker.
Totally!!!
Im still liking the Greenback. Its got that rock tone.
Celestions cannot be beat IMHO. I've always dug the sound of Greenbacks. The Blue is also awesome. I've got a replacement 12" baffleboard for a Princeton on order from Mojotone. I'll either put a Greenback in it or a G12-65 which I also have. Both are GREAT speakers! 👍
I Have to say that Mojo really has this 5E3 nailed. The stock configuration really is awesome. This video shows that when you start with a solid foundation, you can dial in the 5E3 you need. Well done!!
I've been enjoying your channel more and more, I like how upfront you try to be about specs and gear and disclose any relevant information.
The 5E3 circuit is one of the best guitar amp circuits ever. My go-to amp as well. Love that tweed era overdrive.
I'm not gonna comment on my favorite speaker, just that "Slave" by the Stones is one of the most criminally underrated pure groove tracks ever laid down, and the 5 seconds you spent playing it brought pure joy to my heart.
Greenback was great but the Blue was much more chimney and fuller sounding. Thanks for a great comparison & Happy Holidays
Agree with your statement completely. "Your my boy Blu!"
Both the Greenback and the Alnico sounded much better to my ears but, surprisingly to me, I liked the Greenback better. Great comparison, Rhett!
I'm really digging the alnico blue. When you hit that first chord through it I was like, oh yeah, there it is!
I also really dig the original Jensen speaker. It definitely sounds bright, but it's a very authentic vintage feel and chime. Actually tweed amps came with Alnico Jensen speakers back in the day. It's not for everything and everyone though. The Greenback had a nice warm sound, but almost no highs. The Alnico Blue was indeed more balanced. Thanks for the very nice recording and comparison!
Agree, I would have changed the Jensen ceramic to a Jensen alnico, sounds less harsh but keeps the character of such an amp.
Honestly, the Jensen sounded best to my ears
Same for me. The others sounded rather dull in comparison to my ear.
@@rok4200 same!
Same
I remember when I heard Celestions for the first time. Puked and got back to Jensens immediately. Such good days.
It’s always fascinating to see how different each persons tonal preferences are. For the classic tweed sound the stock speaker won hands down. The other speakers were a bit dark and vowel like for my taste. I just love the initial attack of the Jenson as well, more complex (to me anyway). But I can definitely see how for Rhett the blue makes the most sense and had more headroom. Definitely was a good middle ground between the stock speaker and the greenback. Awesome video!
the guitar and music you play is a big difference in your ear, i have a friend who does the build for concerts ,the change from a basketball game to a concert, an electrician and much more ,but he started a gig ding back line amps and has sold some to some good artist ,but remade fender cabs and head in white tolex and re placed all the speakers with anico blues to be state of the art insound for the major players that love the showman and bandmaster witha reverb unit all in the sixties white cover , and the best thing he did was put the best speaker in to sound good with a gibson or a fender ,the rest is how well you know how to dial in a great vintage amp. but the performance of a blue is hard to beat, unless your me with marshall combo with the one twelve unpluged and going in to 4 25 watt english green backs , then its still amater of the eq,im sure the blues or the fender choise could almost sound as good
I have creamback and vintage 30 in my box for Synergy 30 head. Here, I like Jensen the most. Actually, Fender used back in years(I don't know how's today) Jensen speakers.
That last speaker........ just BLUE me away! :D - Stupid puns aside, both of the Celestion's were a huge step up, with the blue being the clear overall winner. Thx for the video!
I built that kit years ago.
I put a Celestion V-type in mine along with some more "Marshall sounding" capacitor values. Sounds like a mini jtm45 now.
Put that greenback into a 1x12 tweed extension cab and make a mini stack.
You just totally sold me on Jensen. I'm a huge Blue Alnico fan, too.
The Blue takes the edge off highs-or so it seems. remember, the Celestion Blue will cost twice as much as the Green , more than double the Jensen
I'm a die-hard greenback guy, have been for years, but you chose correctly for this amps' type & circuitry, that blue is just magic in this amp.
Great video ...headin' over to see what Rick's been up to lately, have a great one !
For me the Jensen is the one... these upper mids really cut through in a band!
Great comparison! I like 'em both
Blue Alnico is definitely my choice too Rhett.
Even listening on you tube thru apple ear pods I can hear the quality.
Thx for sharing ..
For my ears the Jensen has that tweedy-vibe I would like to hear from an amp like this! Did not like the Greenback, the Blue was to „rock“ for my taste, but sounded cool! Super cool comparison! Thnx!
The celestions sounded great. No argument there. But to my humble ear I liked the clarity and the bite of the Jensen
Great demo by Rhett as always.
Here's my two cents:
I've been gigging with my Mission 5e3 kit build for almost 10 years. IMO, you have to try a speaker in person to really know what is going to work for you. As good of a demo as this is, there are just too many variables that contribute to what you're hearing and feeling. I've tried 5 different speakers in my Deluxe clone. I really wanted to love the Celestion Blue, especially since it cost me $280. But to me, the upper mid spike of the Blue was fatiguing and harsh, even after 50 hours of break in. FWIW, Weber's 12A125A (their take on a vintage Jensen P12Q) is the most period correct sound in a modern speaker IMO, and the one that sounds the best to me. It has a tight and full bass, slightly scooped articulate midrange (the 5e3 circuit is mid-heavy to begin with), and shimmery upper highs that are never harsh, the way Leo intended it. As others have said, the Celestions make the Deluxe sound more like a Marshall. Nothing "wrong" with that. If that's what you want, you will be happy. But If you want a more "American" vintage Fender sound, go for a Jensen or Weber.
..took me a good 6 months of gigging to wear in an alnico speaker and now it sounds perfect.
I got shivers when I heard the Blues. Thanks for doing this vid! It's really helpful.
Put a greenback in an old ampeg recently. What immediately struck me was it was about 3 to 4 times heavier than the fender "special" design. Already a huge improvement, looking forward to breaking it in!
Great vid. The replacement speakers just made the amp sound like a Marshall (which ain't bad), but for a Fender sound, I think the stock speaker would be my choice. Can't go wrong either way. I haven't the guts to build my own amp..lol. Regardless of the speakers you used, I think the amp sounded great!
Really well done test between these 3 speakers. The way that you played the same riffs with the same amp settings over the 3, makes it pretty easy to compare and decide what works best for you. I've got the exact same amp built by an amp tech. Your video confirmed what I've thought about the Blue, that while the overall tone is well defined, that it's pretty dark. It used to be my go-to, but in this amp, I ended up putting a Weber 12A125A (light dope, 30W) back in. It's really balanced in the way that it keeps a bit more of the upper mids compared to the Blue, and a little tighter on the bottom, without giving away that tweed tone. Maybe as we get older, either our tastes or audible frequencies heard change enough that brighter seems better. So, for me now it's the Weber, although I kept the Blue in a 1x12 cab. That Jensen sounded pretty good too. Lots of attitude.
Hey Rhett. I really digg all your posts, but this one in particular. Your playing for me is actually what makes the video. I like the sound of the blue more so than the green. Your video on what a back up band earns was also good
The stock Jensen sounded like a classic Fender. The Greenback sounded like you threw a blanket over the amp. The Blue sounded like you threw TWO blankets over the amp. Of course, many people want a Fender with blankets over it, so whatever works for your tastes!
agree... the full frequency response of the 5e3 circuit.. (has no mid dip) means that a speaker like the alnico blue will have a big overpowering frequency band from 300Hz to 900Hz.. At the same time the blue like some other Celestion have a big dip at 1.5-1.6 kHz. which gives the effect of the amp being a big bloated in the midrange with lack of openness.
@@andersbarfodsvaneskolan9378 You are spot on about the mid scoop. The celestions have lots dBs more at 300-1000Hz which pushes down the perceived highs and lows (giving that blanket feeling). They are famously paired with FMV-EQ style amps and the amp scoop makes things much more balanced. The 1.5K dip is similar on all 3 speakers as far as I remember. But I guess getting a blue celestion is sexier than getting an EQ to fix any problem areas you might have with specific guitar/pickup combinations
Haha, I'm almost of the same opinion.
I would stick with the Jensen. That is part of the tweed sound. Maybe in the room the blue is less harsh but on my Neumann monitors, it’s muddy and not defined enough. But hey, you know what YOU like ;)
I agree the Jensen sounded by far the best to my ear as well :) But I also agree we all have our preferences, so there's obviously no right or wrong -it's just what we like 😉
Totally agree. I love that upper midrange bite that Rhett found overwhelming, and there’s something about the way that Jensen “breathes” under medium gain that is just stunning (to my ears).
@@larscasteen yep the other speakers deadened the amp
Also agree - the Jensen sounded the best - much more clarity, not as muddy. The other two speakers sounded warmer, but also really muddy. Well - on my computer speakers, turned down low, anyway!
WhosieWhatsum ? Why? To put in my non-tweed amp? You missed my point.
Alnico Blue is a total standout. Thanks for this!
Thanks Rhett, this was really helpful. I’ve been interested in trying a Blue in my ‘65 Deluxe Reverb RI and this just confirmed that it might be the way to go.
Remember that the Blue is a 15 watt speaker. The Deluxe is a 22 watt amp!
Jensen was coming out swinging...and I like it! Green would be my second choice.
I know that everything is personal preference but, I like the Jensen.
To my ears, it sounds great with the Jensen. Putting the Celestion speakers in turned the Fender into a JTM45 sounding amp. They all sound great but, when you played the Stones with the Jensen I could here Keef all over it. Great video...thanks
First, I have a collection of various Celestions, cuz I’m a big fan.
I listened and was set on the green.... but then you played the blue, and that settled that discussion.
I gotta get one of these kits.
Been thinking about it for a couple of years.
I think it’s time. Thanks!
I'm not praising the Jensen but, It's loud and bright. With my guitars and effects, I could tame the brightness in a heartbeat. The other two are great speakers but much more bassy. With my rig, it's a lot easier to dial down top end than to work up from the bass end.
This is why I bought the fender custom 57 deluxe head. Easy to plug into my different cabs.
Man. I love your playing! I’d love to see some video lessons or something g about a lot of the cool riffs and runs you do!
The Blue Definitely ! the amp opens up sounded great when you were playing that E minor to A 7th chord picking wow what a great sound : )
Definitely the “Blue”. It had smoothness and clarity. The distorted sound of the Green was nice, but it really didn’t have the chimey quality of the Blue. I primarily play a Strat and I’m looking for the right amp right now. It’s great to hear the tweed style amp. I feel like the mid range push will help my tone? Thanks for the post.
That Blue was a given.
Knew it would win, but the greenback surprised me.
What I really want to hear is a Blue vs WGS Blue
I definitely agree with you on choosing the blues! I have a 5e3 kit that a friend built for me. Instead of the combo style, it’s a head and 2x12 cabinet with a pair of blues. It also has some mods including a Marshall channel mod and a master volume.
When I first saw this video, I was gungho for the Greenback. Now I'm not so sure. The Blue and the Greenback both sound great. This video makes me want to buy and build this amp. Happy New Year to you and your lovely wife Rhett.
A Tweed Deluxe kit from Mojo is my New Years resolution!
Yeah, I have to say that these guys have got it nailed.... more than Fender unfortunately.
12in Creamback Neo - would win this contest- Pairs up really, really nicely with this amp. I have one in my Fender Blues Deluxe. Sounds bright enough that you don't lose the whole entirety of that Jensen brightness that comes with the amp. But smooths out everything else & handles more gain from all the overdrive screamers & a million other pedals you want to use. (Not all at once) but you can mix & match. The Celestion Neo seems to be the best of both worlds.
Plus these amps have a bright & dark input, a bright boost switch & a high, mid, low tone knob set. There is PLENTY of brightness in these amps. You can stand to lose some. But I agree that all other speakers I've heard seem to kill the essence of the tweed "Fender" tone. Just get a Marshall or Vox, yeah.
But the Celestion Neo Creamback gives you all the good "rock tone" without taking too much brightness as all the others seem to do.
In my opinion. Give it a listen yourself.
I really need to check those out.
I absolutely preferred stock speaker, Green for second place, and Blue is third in all examples. Stock is really clear-sounding, bright, good for sitting in the mix. Blue has muddiness in its tone.
Definitely the Blue - I thought it almost immediately. I am planning on building a 5e3 myself and will definitely build it with a Celestion Blue!
OK Rhett there’s another relatively low cost upgrade for that amp: TUBES. Start with an ANOS (almost new old stock) 12AY7 in the V1 spot. (KCA is a great source for NOS and ANOS tubes). That will make the biggest difference. Next new power tubes - they wear out unlike preamp tubes. Tune Sol 6V6-GT is a good starting point. (Don’t buy the Ruby or Mesa BS). The tubes that came with your kit work but...
As far as speakers go I wouldn’t use any of those 3 in a Tweed Deluxe but the Jensen came closest to how it’s supposed to sound. The Fender Discussion Page has endless debates on different speakers for specific, vintage amps. A Weber 12A125A would be my starting point but YMMV.
P.S. looking at the cabs behind you, I’m thinking you have some adequate alternatives to a Tweed Deluxe 😉
funny how everybody hears something different. to me the greenback was a clear winner.
You can't go wrong with a greenback
I actually liked the Jensen more than the greenbacks.
Agreed
There's also only so much you can hear through video like this. In my experience celestian alnico speakers sound miles than anything else. They have this clarity that I doubt you'd be able to hear through youtube and the crunch is so sweet. It's definitely something you need to try in person.
I totally agree with you, especially when he did those Pink Floyd intros. I was sold right there on the greenback. It's got better "lungs" which give more warmth.
Cheers!
I would've loved to hear it with a vintage 30. Thanks for the great demo!
The Blue sounds the best to my ears on my laptop speakers. Makes me want to buy one of these amps. Sounds great!
Jensen was the traditional low end flub, raw sound. If I wanted a tweed amp I’d stay with it.
I listened through the phone, the Jensen was good. It had a certain vibe about it. The Greenback sounded better through the phone than the Blues which sounded pretty flat.
I think it’s worth mentioning that some speakers do have a really long break in time. It took roughly 70 hours for my Weber Signature series 6” speaker to break in. It sounded pretty weird when breaking up till then.
That is one great sounding amp. Classic overdrive sounds .. wonderful!
big smile on my face at the very first overdrive chord with the Greenback, it just sounds 'right' :-D it's like when it itches and you scratch it, yeah...
You are singing from my Hymn book Jim....I stuck a 12" English green in a Epi cabinet, and it is perfect with all of my small amps. I live to squeeze tone from 1 watt of tube...Still rattles the windows....Just fantastic!
Having used both, I definitely prefer the green back for its woody blues tone. I use Stratocaster‘s with kinman blues pickups
I LOVE british-voiced speakers in fender amps, BUT it might be worth noting that my experience is that jensens need a CRAZY amount of break in time. With the jensen that came with my mojotone kit, I ended up hooking it up to a filament transformer (6.3 volts) and ran it in my basement workshop for over a week non stop. I actually broke 2 speakers in at the same time, outside of any cab, and put them in reverse phase so they were close to cancelling eachother out sound wise (I wouldn't be able to otherwise stand the noise!) Now that speaker sounds really good - but it took a lot of time to get there. If I was waiting to have it break in naturally, I'm sure that even with lots of daily use/playing, it would have taken at least a year, if not more, to get there!
One of the best all around amp designs ever made!
I was prepared to choose the greenback, but I think I like the blue the best. Really rocked hard, full sound spectrum, nice chime without being barky.
To my mind, a 5E3 circuit is for single coil guitars. Normally, i wouldn’t go for greenback but it clearly sounded better for what you were playing. The blue was tighter, more defined, but less musical in that application. An analogy is ripe fruit vs not quite ripe, with ripe being juicy and full flavored. A gold or UK V30 might be a better choice for a match of musicality and versatility. Thanks for the great vids!
First time I ever heard "Slave" used in a demo. Nice...
Excellent video! Loved this. I'm a big Greenback guy but the Alnico was far more resonant & rich sounding than the greenback IMHO. Love that Serus-T!
Cool demo!
One thing that a video can’t capture is the ambience of the sound that I tend to notice speakers and cabs make a huge difference but miked speaker recording the sounds are bit more subtle and harder to hear.
I imagine being there, there’s more of a notable difference
The Jensen speaker is the best if you really want cut through the mix. The most part of youtubers do the shootouts with the instrument itself, without the rest of the band. You can really judge a guitar, an effect or an amp just playing it at rehersal, or, even better, in a real gig. That's the way to tell if your new gear is a step ahead or not.
Thanks anyway for this video and the others.
I gotta say l really preferred the Jensen!
All subjective opinions are valid because of variations in individual tastes and experience, but if you had to describe why you prefer the Jensen over the Celestions what would you say the reasons are?
Stephen Laughridge the Celestion speakers will be louder than the Jensen speakers. The Celestions typically is good for 100dB while the Jensen P12Q is good for 94.4dB. On a low watt amp like the 5E3 it gives it a bit extra oomph and of course they sound good too.
The Green is a 98Db The C12Q that comes with the kit is 93.2 Db(8 ohms) Blues are 100 Db. There is a noticeable difference, however I own 10 inch Jensen Jet falcons rated at 95 Db and they are as loud as my 12 greenback cab. The spl is not exactly what you hear. Certain frequencies can be much louder but not relating directly to spl. An emi Wizard is rated at 103 Db, but I never noticed it being louder than a Vin30 in the room with a direct AB. Spl on a site isn't always what you hear in a room.
My EVH have a 'bloom' about them that is pleasant. They are heritage greenbacks rebranded, but they do lack some of the mid grind I like in the chinese celestions. But they fill the room differently as well. A Vin30 actually sounds very good in an open back cab or combo. A had a Traynor YCV50B that had a Vin30 stock, sounded really good on the cleans but had the marshall crunch on the dirty channel. I was pretty surprised it sounded better than when I swapped for a greenback.
Every speaker has its place in the right cab.
I have 12 speakers I keep on hand for each time i construct a cab to see how they sound given the various construction types I use. I have like Jensen, Emi, Celestion, Avatar, even Marslands(stock in a traynor). Didn't care much for the WGS as the reaper was good but other models seamed to be harsh even after break in. Now they are in the same price point as eminence and jensens I won't sell them to people because I wind up changing them within a few months for some players because of ear fatigue for long sets.
More than anything its finding the right speaker for the right cab with whatever amp head is powering it. Jensens didn't fit with my Class 5 Marshall, But they went well with an Orange Dark Terror??
I wish everone had a chance to sample open/closed back and speaker swaps in various cabinets, esp in person.
I had a customer come over and he was shocked that he never knew the difference after playing for 30 years. He just thought bad sounding cab=bad cab. Not always the case. The Vin30 212 slant I was selling to him sounded much much better with creamback 65's instead with his YBA-1 head. Pulled out some of the upper mids that were just to much with that head.
Me too. They all sounded good but different. A different Jensen clone is worth investigating too. I always prefer the weber clones over the reissue jensens.
@@thorinbane yeah very good information, thanks!
Funny you mention that combo of Jenson with Orange Dark Terror. I picked up a Fender tweed extension cab for almost no money. It's made of pine with a Jenson Neo 10 inside. Every brand amplifier I own I paired it with sounded crap even my Fenders and the last head was the DT and it sounds awesome (I thought I'd wasted money and that's why it was so cheap). Crazy but who would think that could be a match made in Tone heaven?
I got hooked on the greenback right away. The blues speaker was beautiful and "crisp". But I was sold on the greenback the moment you did those Pink Floyd intros. It's got better "lungs", which give more warmth.
Cheers!
Hi Rhett Shull, Like a lot of players I use a Fender (2) speaker amp. I use (1) Alnico and (1) Ceramic type speaker. They each have characteristics I like and they work together to get a unique sound. When you learn how to blend them together with the amp controls you can get some great options you can't get with either of them alone.
I honestly think the stock speaker sounded the best out of all of these.
I definitely like the jensen speaker-I think where you may have found it harsh was my sweet spot for a tweed amp
If you get a chance try them together, the Blue and M sound great together in a 2x12 and the volume drop causes a lot less issue than you would think.
Hey Rhett. I definitely liked the blue alnico. That one sounded really nice.
The jensen sounded pretty nice to me, the celestions were way too dark imo
The Jenson sounded pokey.
@@sandrosadhukhan *The Celestions
Same
I agree!
But then again, I’m pretty new to the concept of switching speakers.
I just got the Fender Blues Jr and I do agree that when you push the amp, it lacks headroom but it’s got a great tone in its comfortable tone neighborhood.
I need to hang out and explore it more.
@Grass Man Maybe It's About As Arcane As the Reasoning Why People Type Like This Lmfao XD
It was always crazy to me that young dudes in my bands would spend thousands on stomp boxes but never spend $150 on a speaker replacement. Next to pickups, I can't think of a bigger impact on tone than changing speakers. I play my Orange AD30 with a pair of Blues, and the tone is incredibly rich and lush, rolling off when I push the power tubes. Put a pair of V30s in the cab and you'll hear nothing but high-mids ripping like a buzzsaw through your eardrums.
Might change the vintage 30 on my amp then. I’m tired of those mids and that overpowering bass.
@@pugforce8315 I used to play my Orange AD30HTC with an Avatar open-backed 2x12 with a pair of Greenbacks, and now a pair of Alnico Blues.
Dudes with the same head were always buying the matching Orange cab, which was a closed-back V30 pair and sounded NOTHING like my setup. They loved it, but I always thought it just sounded like they were playing a Tube Screamer, no matter what was on their board or in their hands.
the greenback sounded best to my ears! both the celestion sounded way better than stock though, great video and thanks for sharing
The Alnico Blue seems to have a warmer more “mature” tone to my ears. So did the Greenback but I agree with your choice
I literally could not pick a favorite. The stock Jensen speaker fared better than I would have thought vs the Celestions. In some examples I preferred it over the others. Actually, I think the Greenback was my least favorite overall. Just goes to show the 5E3 is a great sounding circuit and with good speakers (all 3) it sounds killer. Just different flavors. I have a similar boutique build 5E3 with a Weber Alnico Blue and absolutely LOVE the amp.
Just yesterday I got in the AC15 60th anniversary (made in England) and so far it's doing *nothing* for me. I guess I'm a Tweed person. I need to give the AC15 more time though before sending it back, perhaps .
Joe Schlicht yeah, let the VOX break in, in its own right. It’s my opinion, as I’ve never looked into it, that the circuitry needs time as well to “break-in”. On a side note, I once had a Crate 2x12 combo, and at about 4 years old a speaker was ruined by a mic stand while driving home from a gig. Anyway, the only speaker the local shop had was a Jensen, and after about 20 hours of use that fucking thing was a beast. I sold that amp at ten yrs old for $150 more than it cost new solely on that mod.
The original speaker didn't sound bad to me.
Dude yeah, it actually sounded great haha. While the others sounded great too, I'd be happy with the Jensen
Actually, I wouldn't mind staying with the Jensen too. It's just the bass is not that tight. And the upper midrange can be piercing.
The other speakers had more natural compression, that's what he was looking for. Jensen still was ok.
@@evanharnett for sure. the blue also had a smoothness and balance that i liked.
All good to know and hear, plus I still want to build one as well. I would wonder how it would go if one of the other components had to be replaced before completion though, as did during your initial process, if I got the kit mailed several states over.
Definitely I agree the Celestion speakers sound is much improved over the original. I go with the Blue for the reason you made as I play single coil pickups as well as a guitar with Humbuckers.
I agree. Alnico Blue is also my favourite speaker. It just outshines every other speaker I've tried
Rhett and Josh from JHS have some of the best looking guitars I have ever seen
I liked the green back the best. It wasn't too shrill and still had plenty of detail. The stock was by far the most detailed, but was very harsh. It probably would've faired better with a darker amp like an Engl or Marshall. The blue is alright too, but there was a chowny quality to the mid range that didn't sit right with me personally.
Marshalls are dark? That can be very wrong. Nothing screams like the most famous Marshalls
I’m building a 2x12 cab right now. Baltic birch, finger joints, but went a bit thicker on the baffle. I’m basically experimenting with different cab sizes along with the baffle thicknesses and material it’s made of. I’m using a combination of speakers. I have an eminence Josh Smith signature and an eminence Cannibus Rex. I also have two Celestion Vintage 30’s and a Celestion Type V to switch around. Don’t laugh because some times I get a few when I mention this. But I’ve had the Rex in Peavey Classic 30. The amp is about 20 years old. I done quite a bit of modifications to this amps tone circuit, OD circuit and switch out the power caps. Re-tubed as well. And I have to tell ya, this amp is killer. I can’t get enough of it and it sounds good with any guitar I play through it. It loves P-90’s and so do I!! Lol
Anyways I just wanted to share a project I’m doing at the moment. Chasing that elusive perfect tone. It may never be found but it sure is fun trying.
Thanks for the videos you put out, their always enjoyable to watch. Thanks for not having an ego like some guys on here. Even though you could cause your a killer guitar player. Thanks man!!
The Jensen didn't sound too bad at first. The gold one sounded better immediately I noticed. But when you started playing through the blue speaker I got goosebumps.
The Celestion Blue easily sounds best to me, Greenback great too
I would be nice to hear them in the mix, because the Jensen I think will jump up more than the others
Of the bit I saw in the video, that Mojotone delux cab looks legit quality wise. I'm quite fond of a Mojotone speaker I have in an amp so I'm not surprised their amp kits look and sound great. Bet that was sweet getting to build the circuit, put it all together and plug into it for the first time.
Thanks for the demo (as always) and the alnico sounds good with the modern humbuckers. I can't say it sounds like a Tweed Deluxe any longer though. Most of us jump the 2 channels and use an amp like this with guitars having low output PUPs. With the channels jumped it sounds different and I like the raspy nature of that tone.
Just from wiki since I was too lazy to type more, "...aspects of the circuit make a key contribution to the complex, wild and ragged sound of an overdriven 5E3 Deluxe, especially in comparison to other Fender amplifiers. One of the many features of the Tweed Deluxe that some players find useful is the interaction between the two volume controls. While the two input channels each have their own volume control signal from one input socket also finds its way onto the opposite input. Thus, adjusting the volume control for one input channel also affects the tone of the other. This gives extra tonal variations than would normally be expected."
@RhettShull - might be worth a follow up demo with the channels jumped? The Jensen speaker is like the old spec speakers. The greenback and alnico do sound good with the humbucker, but sounds just like any other amp IMHO -- it just no longer seems to have the distinctive character/tone of what a 5E3 sounds like any longer.
Could you do or have you done any speaker comparisons using Strats, or Tele’s?
that's why I convert my small amps into heads, and have separate cabinets then I can pick anyone I want
i do the same thing....plus then you can set the head on something besides the cabinet, and save your tubes.the speaker cabs are like a jackhammer, and red hot molten filaments dont like that treatment....set the head to the side and those bottles will last 20 years....depending on your situation.
Combos are way more convenient for gigging, though.
I do the same thing. It's a lot easier to transport and protect a head.
@@AstralElephantFuzz Nah, combos are good only for hollow pretzels and peanut butter.
Fender should make heads instead of combos.
I put a Weber (Alnico) 12A125 in mine. I asked them several questions before I made the purchase. They we’re a big help.
Went with:
20w
light dope
standard dustcap
Also, available in multiple colors, so there is that.
I just purchased a 5E3 amp and I am anticipating having to change the speaker pretty quickly. However, I play jazz and one of my goals is get as much headroom and top end clarity as possible. I'm thinking either a Celestion Gold or a Creamback for me. Hope you're still enjoying your amp. Can't wait to play mine!
Personally I would get a second tweet Deluxe and put the greenback in that so that I could run both amps at the same time and blend them live
Dude, greetings from México, I’m your fan, I’ve seen almost all your vids, please make a video talking about IEM, how to use it, how to plug it in, all that stuff. Pleaseeeee!
I am on the fence between the green or blue....they both sound so much better than the Jenson, but I'm definitely leaning towards the green.
I just picked up a 60's Pepco 8" that was upgraded to a Mojotone speaker at some point in the 90's I'm guessing...this one was Jimmy Bowskill's and his upgrade made all the difference....there were 3 Pepcos in this shop...two 8" and one 10". The other 8 and the 10 both had Jensons, yet this upgraded 8" absolutely blew them both away in tone and vibe. It's definitely not loud enough to gig with, but for that kind of tweedesque valve tone at home its perfect....I can push it all the way, and not break the windows....
Great video Rhett. Thanks for them all...
I'm a 48 year old electric newb...I've played acoustic my whole life and just picked up electric this year....your videos were, and still are, part of that inspiration.
I start lessons this afternoon even....I know exactly who I am as an acoustic player, but I have no idea who I am as an electric player, so I'm going back to school to learn solid fundamentals, and ways out of my acoustic habits which seem to hindering my electric progress. Never too late!!!!!
I installed an Eminence EJ1250 into 50W Dumble Overdrive special HRM combo clone I built. I had been running it through a G12-65 which I thought sounded great, until I dropped the Alnico in. The greenback DID sound great, and still does but the Eminence was just another level. Since then, I'm in love with them. I have a 2X12 convertible open/partial back w/2 Alnico blues. They lower wattage allows me to run through a 212 without blowing the windows out.
I built a 25W Silver Jubilee clone combo with a Vintage 30 that I'm going to replace with an Eminence EJ1240. They're both obviously Eric Johnson signature speakers, the 50W is voiced for vintage type amps, the 40W for modern. Anyone who's played a Jubilee will know that they're warmer sounding amps, especially when compared to the JCM800s, so the 1240 has a bit more defined top end response to work well with it.