Monoprice Speaker Swap! - Can the $250 tube amp sound better with a different speaker?
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- Опубліковано 28 сер 2024
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Which speaker sounds best with the $250 wonder amp everyone can't stop talking about?!?!?!??!!!?? ?
You tell me.
Seriously, let me know which one you like.
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After all that, the stock speaker actually sounds the best and suits the amp really well! For $250 it is a steal!
Yeah have had one for about 6 months now and feel the same having listened through all the speakers in the test. Only thing I'm changing this week is the spring reverb from the 2 spring to a 3 spring as I like a nice wet spring reverb sound, and the 2 spring just wasn't cutting it for me. Apart from that I've gigged and recorded with this wee monster and it's been great. It's not my long gone 72 Bluesbreaker, but it also doesn't weigh as much as a baby hippo and I'm way too old to be lugging around massive combos (my Fender Twin sits in the spare room for occasional loving of course, but unlikely to see the stage again now. Will pass it on as an heirloom to the kids)
@@martin-1965 I upgraded my reverb to a Mod tank, and while it was a definite improvement, it wasn't anything major. Now I think I shouldn't have bothered, and that I should have just taken the tank out to make the amp even lighter and used a good reverb pedal with it. Not a big deal, but that's my rec with this amp now. GL
I ordered mine today. Listening to this, I see no need to change anything ;-)
@@clementvwIf your amp didn’t come with the JJ tubes, do yourself a favor and replace them with a decent set, and bias the power tubes. (I blew the cheap unlabeled tubes in mine after one gig) It really sings after that. The 70/80 is really a perfect fit for it too.
I have this amp. The stock speaker is okay, not nearly as bad as everyone makes out. I run mine into one of two extension cabs: one with a greenback, and one with a Weber alnico Blue Dog. The greenback sounds great with humbuckers, and the Blue Dog sounds fantastic with Teles. The amp sounds wonderful with the gain at 1 and the master volume between 5-7.
I don't know. Most people seem to say it's okay. Doesn't mean that there aren't better options though......
@@ramspencer5492 most people = a few random people I don't know on the Internet
I agree, the Seventy 80 speaker is not really a bad speaker. Celestion make some very weedy budget speakers, like the rocket 50.
THANKS FOR THAT IMPHO
@@ramspencer5492 Most people don't realize you need to break in the 70/80 speaker
I don’t think any amp manufacturers are losing sleep over this amp. That said, I’m stunned at how good it sounds for the price. I’m not in need of any more amps right now, I have six. But if I was looking for an inexpensive low wattage amp this would definitely be on the candidate list.
My sentiments exactly… so many amps and got an Iriduim a few months ago which I love🤦🏾♂️🤣👌🏾
I clearly like the stock speaker. This small amp is pretty impressive
These amps are great for the money and they sound comparable to much more expensive tube amps ...the only people that dispute this are the people that own those very expensive tube amps...
true, but I doubt these could take the same beating.
@@juffureyActually I’ve been using it as my main gigging amp for 2 years now, with a 9 piece horn band, averaging 3 gigs a week. No issues at all related to build quality etc… Now, I did make a few modifications, like adding an accutronics reverb tank (huge improvement), installed a 3 prong power cable socket, and I put a couple silicone dampener rings on a set of JJ power tubes. The thing is a workhorse if you treat it with respect!
@@Jay-cp9kd Smart upgrades.
I just got one yesterday. DOA. Walmart gave a prompt refund and said keep it! I ordered another.
I have this amp. I have multiple extension cabs, so I've tried quite a few different speakers. Funny - in my opinion, the amp sounds best with the stock 70/80 speaker. I've tried a Greenback, G12H-100, Jensen C12R; 2x10 C10R's, Vintage Alnico speakers, and more... The stock speaker gives the amp just enough sparkle, but it also breaks up early, and surprisingly has the best Vintage type of tone that compresses when you play it. It allows you to dig in at reasonable volumes and get the tones this amp does best. Not as loud as the Greenback to my ears, but does a better job of naturally bringing out the sound of the amp... whereas the Greenback kind of colors the sound a little more. My two cents.
I feel the same way. I think the 70/80 matches well with this amp. I also have a lot of cabs I've compared. And I feel this video shows it well. The stock speaker has more low-mids and smoother top end. The Weber and the Green Back sounded a bit thinner and bitey, to their detriments (in this situation).
In a full band situation I might choose the Weber, but for recording purposes I'd rather use the 70/80 and EQ in post if it's too wooly
Does plugging in an external speaker bypass the on board Seventy 80 or are both active?
@@kevinstewart9060 Bypasses.
I liked the Monoprice Amp and Stock Speaker best, then the Greenback, Weber, Princeton, and lastly the Harmony. I think this is a great lesson on the importance of pairing your Amp with your Speaker. Each combination sounded very different, and would probably sound better when paired with a different type of guitar/pickups than some other combination. Very interesting. Thanks
The Princeton had an obvious “Fenderesque” scoop in the mids, which is pleasing and familiar to me as a 20 plus year 65 Princeton (non-verb) user. I found it enjoyable, but I’d say the stock speaker and the greenback showcased the character of the amp best, with the greenback sounding a little less spikey, a bit rounder. Not sure I’d swap it out though, as the stock speaker sounds cool enough to me. If I blew it out, I’d check out a greenback or a V30. Great video as always, Ryan.
Every speaker will change the tone, or character to a certain extent. It's a great amplifier for the money. I believe it's well worth the $250. Then you can play around with satellite speakers to your heart's content.
I think they're every bit as good as the overseas PCB fender amps.
The consistency of demos being on the same Princeton setup is helpful so I wouldn't change it up too much.
I've had this amp for over a year and can confirm that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the stock speaker! However, after playing it for a year as it is, I have decided to swap it out just to see what it sounds like, I managed to get a Greenback for slightly below retail so hell, why not, just gotta wait for it to arrive.
Another good thing to know about this amp is that swapping out the speaker requires no soldering, it has 2 simple clips so it is really easy to try out different speakers, this may be common knowledge but I'm a bit of a noob and it was really reassuring to know how easy it is! The same goes for changing out tubes, no soldering required, makes experimenting with different parts much less daunting.
The only mod I've made so far is swapping out the V1 pre-amp tube from the stock 12AX7, to a 12AY7 which is about 40-50% less gain, giving the amp a lot more clean headroom (with humbuckers it no longer starts breaking up when the gain knob is only at 2ish, now it's more like 4/5 before it even starts getting dirty) since I like mostly using overdrive pedals for my dirty sounds this made the amp much more versatile for me, would highly recommend it to those who want the amp to be a better pedal platform or just likes cleaner amps!
Same here.. had the amp for 2 or 3 years and have finally just swapped out the stock speaker for an 8 ohm Greenback and instant solid 70's rock tone. I love it. Great idea for the 12AY7, I might try it too. I am also going to try a 3 spring reverb tank that my bass player has.
I'd leave it as is. Didn't hear one that was the perfect all-rounder really that would have me spending $ 100+ more. The thing about the Monoprice was that it was affordably good out of the box. My take is that the Celestion it comes with is more of a standard OEM level Celestion. I'd play it until it fell apart that way. It's good that the video was made though, so another may not have to chase a replacement speaker some day, down the road. They can watch, listen and just get the one they prefer.
Why? People swap speakers on higher end amps all the time..... And like the results. It's just the bare Bones celestion speaker.... There are much more prestigious speakers! I like the higher end Celestion and the Princeton a lot.
@@ramspencer5492 I have my reasons, probably because in my experience, I have a Pyle PVAMP60 that has an unbranded speaker in it. Chinese ceramic magnet speaker that I've modded the combo to be a passive external open back 1x8 cab and used it with a VHT Micro 6 pedal amp with a signal chain of preamp pedals. The speaker changes or rather reflects the tone more with the amp circuit than it being a matter of a poor performing & lousy speaker. Tone is a personal preference. The speaker my Pyle has really shines with an acoustic electric (as the intended combo it was built as) or anything else I use with it that is accurately portrayed in the speaker's sound. I prefer to have a speaker that reflects the pickups, pedals & amp circuitry over one that flavors all that tone. A neutral speaker to me is more versatile for a wider range of gear rather than make every piece of gear I have sound like a Celestion Greenback or whatever. There are 2 ways of looking at it. Is your tone the sum of the instrument, pedals & amp as a entire signal chain or is it radically changed by the Celestion speaker. Short of a PA system, I'm after the most representative sound reproduction. I think people lose sight of that quite often. I mean, we spend 100's-1,000's of dollars on guitar, pedals & amp. This concept of swapping a speaker implies that all of that gear needs a $ 100-120 Celestion speaker to sound any good or better ? As long as the speaker functions properly & has a decent voice of it's own, I'm good with it until it fails & needs to be replaced.
And getting back to the Pyle amp that I have, it's circuit for a clean channel is voiced very closely to that of a Fender Clean, I could buy a more expensive acoustic amp for the acoustic electric or I can accept it for what it is by design and play an acoustic electric into and thru it. I prefer the open back filling a room to a directional closed back acoustic amp. The open back is going to fill the room more ambiently & naturally. Add the Pyle has 2 channels, with High & Low Inputs, now I can plug a microphone into the Pyle and do instrumental & vocal simultaneously without having to use an XLR = > XLR mic cord. My Pyle Pro dynamic mics pair quite well with the gear I have. Once again , it's about the versatility of the gear & the options all of it works together to provide for live or recorded performances. Swapping a good speaker for another good speaker is pointless to me really, it's wasted resources.
@@jimcamp2423 tone is subjective.... The stock one sounds pretty decent. Not my favorite in the comparison.... But totally sounded ok.... this amp's "clean" is on the edge of breakup... Which is a great place to hang out actually... But I wouldn't want it to be my only amp.... Because it doesn't really do clean well at all.
I play my Les Paul through this amp, Ds-1 in the front. Reverb and Delay in FX loop.. Let me tell you what, it sounds glorious! Stock speaker is more than fine, it's superb with the right tools. Eq is important, depending on the guitar.
After hearing them all I think I prefer the stock speaker for this amp. To my ears the Princeton’s speaker seemed to be the only one that made a somewhat significant difference in tone.
WANT more clean headroom? PUT lower gain preamp valves in it!
Thank you! I don't know shit so I'm always happy when someone has ideas. ❤
@@Jenisonc YW!
I'd 100% argue that the speaker is what we fall in love with and the amp helps get that tone we want out of it, the reason we love amps so much is because they're the cover model and give us tactile feedback when we turn the knobs
I would keep it stock. True, different speakers have their own sound. The stock speaker sounded fine for the amp.
To my ears, with headphones on, the stock speaker sounds the best.
I have one, love it, I do use a 1950’s no name high school speaker (the one they’d make announcements like “you forgot your lunch etc..) and it sounds amazing
I have the amp too. It is great sounding. For me, it really shines with P90s.
As a general rule of thumb speaker cabs/combos sound bassier on the floor than they do raised, I prefer my combo raised off the floor when gigging for that reason.
Wow. I thought the stock speaker sounded the best. Then maybe the Greenie. Harmony was last. All up to the ears of each of us listeners I guess. No real easy answer. Anyway - cool vid. And you're right. We all play differently. That's the key. Each of us would have a different choice, depending on what we play, and how we play.
I honestly don’t worry about tone any more I jam with my band a lot. It’s more about what sound you find that cuts through . When you have a whole band and your singing like I do . You have to be able to find a tone that you can hear yourself . Much more important than something sounding warm or creamy . I literally could care less about tone . But changing speakers is always a good help . There are plenty of cheap amps that can cut through .
I'd like to make an extension cab, and run it like a 2x12 stack.
I've build a few tube amplifier kits for guitars and for stereo systems. What you realize is that tube circuits are relatively simple. As long as they are built correctly they will sound... well.. like a tube amp. Swamping out tubes can make it sound better and the speakers will change the tone as well. This little amp sounds very nice for a practice amp. It is well made. I run it into a Tone Tubby Hemp cone speaker I bought a long time ago. It just warms up the sound a bit.
If you think you want a tube amp, just buy it. You will eventually need to screw around with replacing tubes. It comes with the territory.
I have the first version with the controls on top, swapped out the reverb tank for a real one, stuck a vintage 12xa7 in it. Swapped in a vintage Jensen, didn't do it for me. Put the Celestion back in and gave it a good 30 hours to break in. The speaker changed a lot after it broke in. I'll never get rid of it. It does rock and blues very well!
I have this amp...got it as an open box special for $225. and free shipping form Amazon. I changed the VI tube to a 12AU or 12AT cant remember right now. But really helped it not to distort so quickly. I also change the speaker to a Guitar Warehouse. I love the amp to take with me to practice. No worries of it getting knocked around and I always get compliments on it sound.
At this very moment Monoprice is having a sitewide 15% sale. Perfect time to pick this amp up!
You know what, in the comparison at the end, I liked the stock speaker the best. I think it's because I tend to like a darker sound, and it's the darkest. I also really liked the sound of the Weber. I actually liked the Princeton speaker the least.
I swapped out my 70/80 for a Wizard I had kicking around and although louder, I rarely have the opportunity to dime it to take advantage of the extra volume.
Thanks for this. You guys that run these tests to show actual difference are invaluable in my opinion.
I bring this amp (fully stock) to group lessons and while we were waiting for class to start, I dialed in a clean tone, rolled the tone back and started to fumble around a simplified jazz tune. It was enough to grab the teacher's attention and commented on the sound of the amp. This is coming from a fulltime musician of 30 years.
The point is that this amp is great as is. The tubes don't NEED to be upgraded. The speaker doesn't NEED to be upgrade. If you like the sound of one speaker over the Seventy 80, that's fine. But some people online talk about these things as necessary upgrades. Maybe it is for them due to personal taste, but thats all.
One of the best selling points for the amp is the fact that you get am amp for very little more than the price of the
Celestion speaker in it. Great deal. Why f**k it up. I heard very little difference between the top 3 including the stock speaker. Silly people.
.
I had this amp at one time. Swapped speaker with Warehouse Veteran 30. BIG difference!! Only weak thing on the amp was the effects loop. I’m ampless now but would have kept it.
What was bad about the fx loop?
Could you expand on why you didn't like the effects loop as that was one of the reasons I was thinking of getting one to replace my 5watt version of this amp that doesn't have the loop and reverb. Thanks.
I've had one of these for about 18 months and the stock speaker has had some time to get broken in. I also have a Katana 100 MK2 (1 x 12). I have a bunch of other large amps, but I don't play out any more (combination of Covid and I'm 69 yrs old), so those two amps get a lot of use. The Katana is great, but the Monoprice is greater if you just want to sit down and play some blues or classic rock and not want to sit and fiddle with knobs and software all day. I think the stock speaker sounds fine. I've tried it with a stock Fender 12" out of a Deluxe Reverb and an old Celestion V30 (made in Ipswich England). While each speaker gave the amp a different character, it does not mean it sounded better. It sounds just fine with the stock speaker. Two things, however, if you feel the amp is a bit on the gainy side and want a cleaner tone, swap out the first 12AX7 with a 12AY7 or a 12AT7. Either one of these will cut back on the gain and clean it up a bit. Also, I bought a 3 spring reverb tank from Antique Electric Supply for about $25.00 and that made the reverb sound much more Fenderish in my opinion. Well worth the upgrade.
I run 2 of the five watt monoprice in stereo and really enjoy that sound
Sounded pretty good to me straight out of the box but I put a Cannabis Rex in mine and adjusted the bias as well. Sounds great now!
No need to swap. Just connect a speaker or speaker cab of choice into the 8/16 ohm speaker output jack on the back of the amp. I always run this amp through a Marshall Full stack 2 x 412 cabs. I could also just connect any of my 8/16 ohm speakers even those in other combo amps.
I just got this amp and I'm amazed and how well it sounds stock. I'd seen many videos where they swap the speaker and the tubes and it does sound slightly different, but I'm still on the fence about doing it myself, I'm really digging the tones I'm getting! Speaker will break-in and I'm sure it'll sound better, still I'm thinking of getting a Celestion A-Type and do a bit of a cab project and experiment. Honestly, I bought this over a Blues Junior or other tube amps along the same range, don't know if I'm missing out but this little beast kicks mucho ass!
I disagree on the comment that "it's ridiculous that these are only $250.00"...I think it's ridiculous that other manufacturers think their crap is worth thousands. If these guys can make a profit at $250.00 what is everyone else doing wrong?
I like the 3rd. and 4th. speakers the best---in that order. Harmony was way to muddy, and I usually love Harmony. Stock speaker ain't too bad.
It's $250 because they are using an off the shelf design so there are no R&D costs, and making them in China. The amp is made by Sino-Amp in China and uses the same circuits as the Laney Cub12 (though the Monoprice/Harley Benton amps come with real reverb tanks, not digital reverb). Also, Monoprice and Thomann (Harley Benton) buy in huge quantities and then sell direct to consumers. The amps that cost thousands are generally original designs that are made in the U.S. or England in much smaller quantities. I'm kind of surprised that Sino-Amp doesn't just sell direct to customers in the West.
The Weber seemed like a big improvement. I don't know. When I got their minimass attenuator I was tempted by their speakers and now I'm even more tempted
Agree - Weber sounded fullest for the cleaner settings.
Man, if I was a kid just starting out and saw this amp, I'd go nuts. Great demo. Great playing. Great attitude. I'd get a beer with this guy or invite him over for BBQ. You ever get out to phoenix? Lol
I like beer and bbq. I’ve never been to Phoenix though
@@60CycleHumcast The amp is basically a JCM800 clone scaled down to 15 watts!
It sounds great WITH the stock speaker though! Holy shit
To me, that amp with the stock speaker not only sounds better than with the more premium speakers; it's also the best amp sound you've ever had. waaaaaaaaaay better than the Princetons. Now, where can I buy this amp in Europe? is it by any chance the same amp that Thomann is selling as the Harley Benton TUBE15?
Edit:
Just to be fair: normally you would of course dial the amp to match whatever speaker you where using.
yep its the same as the harley benton, link in the description. I didnt tweak the amp for each speaker because that would have make the loop comparison pointless. You would dial around each speaker though, thats true.
One reason the Weber had boosted base is that your shelves behind it were perfect for creating a larger reflective cavity, similar to the old W-cabinet design for bass cabinets. It really would have been best if you'd been able to put all the speakers in the same spot. Maybe even a couple feet out from any sound-reflecting surface would have been best.
BEST thing you can do for these amps!
The Monoprice amp sounds good for the money, but I certainly would not spend the money to change the speaker in it. If it doesn't already have an external speaker jack you can install one for $10 and use any cab you want to. I've run a little Fender Super-Champ through my 4x12 Marshall cab and it sounded great.
Thanks for the two Princeton music bump
Definitely the greenback Celestion sounded best to my ears!
I love how they all sound different but still each is good (except the Harmony... unless that's a tone you are looking for I guess). Cool demo!
The stock speaker sounds the best to me! 🙂
I have that amp and you're right. How is it that affordable? It sounds great. And, I don't see why anyone would have a different sized amp these days. The days of needing 100 watts are over. This will play fine in a bedroom, in a garage with a band, even live. Why aren't all amps about 15 watts and 12 inch speakers? Comparable Fender or Vox amps run over $1,000.
Speakers make more difference than most things do in your signal chain.
I agree with what seems to be the consensus. The little amp is an outstanding value. Other videos have claimed that a different speaker improves the sound, but I couldn't hear enough of an improvement to warrant spending the money for replacing the speaker. I really like the amp. I have had mine since they sold for $199 on Monoprice. (Back then they were being touted as under $200. Which is BS because you still pay sales tax on it and maybe shipping depending on where you sourced it from. I heard of people getting them for $189. I hope they lucky enough to do that, but I kinda believe they got hit with shipping charges.) Still, you really can't knock the amp for what it is, although I agree that it's hard to get a good clean sound out of it. If you really need that sound, get a Princeton. I'm an old southern rock guy and this little amp suits me just fine.
I had a couple Monoprices (I use the 5 watt in my office) and I had to send the one with the 70/80 back, destroyed in shipping. The replacement came with a Type A Celestion, and also trashed . . . but Monoprice compensated me for the new tubes and I repaired the ripped up cabinet . . . hot glued down the peeling Tolex.
I really haven't broken in the Type A, but I miss the tone in that 70/80. It had a bell-like clarity I just don't hear in the Type A.
I liked the Harmony the best. Probably because I'm so used to plug into a tweed Champ clone and therefore got a preference for smaller size speakers.
I have this amp. Mine is still stock, just because it sounds great! I really appreciate your efforts with this amp. Princeton is best, then Greenback, then stock.
I just received my amp this week and it looks like supply issues worked in my favor (March 2022). I started reading reviews saying that they got different Celestions than the one listed on the site, and I can confirm mine came with a Celestion Type A 50 Watt speaker in mine, and my first preamp tube was already swapped out with a JJ out of the box. I couldn't be happier with this purchase. Sounds great and already a slight upgrade over the older models. They did sell out again super fast so I don't know if it was just this batch that had the different speakers and upgraded tube (only the first preamp tube). Just glad I was lucky to get such a deal of an amp.
I love Jensen speakers. They’re my go to when I need to replace a speaker.
MOD MAN
It's the green back for me.
Greenback. Bright and aggressive.
I have this amp and I swapped all the tubes out for Mullards and put in a 1969 pre-rola G12H speaker I had in my speaker pile and it sounds really good! You can play with swapping the pre-amp tubes around with cleaner type tubes but, like he was saying theirs just a natural saturation to this amp.
Between the Weber speaker, three spring reverb, and mullard tubes, mine sounds fantastic.
I’m about to do a three-way bias mod as well which should give it some different tones
@@jarrettavery1747 So I just got one for Christmas and really want to do the three way bias mod - since I've got larger tube amps I really wanted this to play around with. Can I ask what specific mods you did? What were the three bias points you used and did you do the V1-V3 swap as well?? I think this little beast makes a great modding platform (I do have a background in electronics and good technical skills...) and can a super versatile setup with a little love!
Stock speaker sounds good enough but if I had to replace it I'd go with the Greenback
The stock speaker is OK but I liked the Weber and the Greenback better.
I have the old TV front version of this amp. Still use it regularly. I put in an alnico speaker from an old organ and never thought about changing it from that. Sounds good.
Yep the Princeton for me!
Man I’ve been looking at the 5 watt variety for $119 and I keep seeing these 15 watt ones tempting me.
I recently bought the. Monoprice 15. It sounds excellent, for about ten minutes, then it quit. I was a little upset, but I thought it might be a fuse. I went to the Monoprice website to talk to a technician, but I was told that I had to pay 1$, then I could talk. I was livid, I reviewed it with 1 star. Then, after I thought about it, I realized that it was a scammer, it was an advertisement. So I returned it to Walmart, I had no trouble. Now I have reordered it. Hopefully I have better luck next time.
it was a scammer on the monoprice web site? this story has so many twists and turns. I hope you get taken care of though.
Great video. Mic placement (distance from cone and where it's pointed) will also have an impact on recorded audio. I wonder what the amp would sound like going through a hi Fi speaker
Dude, don’t worry about the gear snobs and don’t apologise for loving a “cheap” (it’s about £800 in the UK, that’s not cheap) guitar. It looks / sounds like a beaut.
I swapped out the 70/80 a week ago after playing both in the home and on stage. Replaced it with a Vintage 30. I wish I had done so months ago. The Vintage 30 is Bold, but also Sublime when you don't use any high-gain pedals. I'll never put the stock speaker back in unless I blow out the Vintage 30, and I've never blown one in 35 years. A terrific little amp that can keep up with any Blues Jr, if you use a Vintage 30 speaker that is. ☮️
I liked the Princeton speaker and the Greenback. The other two speakers sounded more muffled to me.
I have 2... one with the original speaker and the other with a WGS ET65.
The second, with the WGS ET65 sounds amazing, much better that the celestion one.
I own this little amp and it really works out great for my practice room and I have fun with it. Truth is I don’t love the sound. I was interested in your vid and I’m absolutely going to replace the speaker. Based on your video, I thought the Princeton was the overall best though I liked the Greenback and I think I heard you say the Weber didn’t sound great under the fuzz pedal. Personally, I liked it but I’m listening through AirPods on an iPhone. That is less than ideal for sure. Regardless, you have inspired me to spend a few bucks to breathe a bit of life into this amp. Thanks for doing this video.
Thank you for the video. I am undecided on whether or not to upgrade the speaker. Informative video. Is a gamble to purchase a "good" speaker for upgrade. You have to install it into the amp before you can hear it. I think that prevents me from investing $200 into a speaker upgrade. That being said, amp is well worth the money, as is.
Someone recently gave me this cabinet with the speaker and reverb tank. Don't quite know what I'm going to do with it but it's free. So price is just right.
I have one and love it. Don’t need a pedal for some great distortion. For a cheap tube amp it gives you a lot.
I like the finale 'white pointer' comparison.
I thought the Weber had more highs, the Celestion a little more low-mids. Those two are closest to my preferred sound. Nice amp. Monoprice has some great deals.
I swapped the speaker with the one in my Marshall MG50dfx (Celestion G12) that, when it worked sounded great. I find this amp sounds awesome with the gain at around 7, no pedals needed. Thank you for the comparison.
It looks like the monoprice amp is very similar to the Laney Cub12, I've had a couple of those and used greenbacks in them.
I upgraded one of these with the better reverb tank and a UK Made Celestion Blue. It sounds pretty close to a classic Vox AC15 for a fraction of the price. Mind you, the speaker was as much as the amp. The alnico magnet is so big, I had to really shoehorn it in there.
The Weber speaker for sure!
I don’t dig the heavy overdriven sound, but cleanish sound with at Strat is really working for me. I’d love to see a review where they compare the cleanish headroom volume of the mono price to some other amps. I think I could definitely get on with that amp if the cleanish sounds are loud enough.
I was agnostic to the speakers. Really. If these amps don’t self destruct, they seem like a steal.
I have this amp. I prefer the green back over the stock speaker.
I looked at this amp for a practice amp a couple years ago here in Canada, it was $200 then.
Just looked today it's now pushing $500 !!!!
This amp sounds great
Weber, to my ears. When I had a MP15, I swapped out that lousy 70/80 for an Eminence GB128 (a Greenback clone, I believe), and that worked out pretty well too.
Ryan, thanks for the honest and straightforward thoughts on this. Something I struggle with when watching reviews is the “who is this for?” question. I was thinking about buying this amp but you pointing out that it leans towards generating good dirt tones has saved me some heartache as I’m looking for something clean.
For the price, I find the stock speaker to be absolutely fine. Works for what I need it to do. Btw, my Azor reverb pedal showed up! Thanks a bunch!
yep , the speaker makes up 90 % off the sound off an amp , that;s why a speaker swap is the way to go when "modding " an amp .
Cannabis rex was the best upgrade ever to this amp. My buddies love to play it when they come over
You mentioned a few weeks ago that you were thinking about learning new riffs to play when demonstrating pedals and guitars? Not everyone wants to play “lead”. Like many other players, I am a “rhythm guitarist” and my playing supports the “lead” player, so I want to hear simple chord progressions, no string bending and allowing the chord to ring on so I can hear the sustain characteristics. Is that possible?
i put a warehouse invader 50 in mine. it's really, really good
Hello I think alnico sounds best with small watt amps just my opinion, I use ceramic in my 50 watt plus amps, always good results, I like creambacks
Very satisfying! Some folks are unboxers and this gentleman is an "unclogger". I have a very bad clog in the bathroom that needs your attention.
why does everyone say you need to change the speaker? it sounds fine. the EQ and any pedals you put in the FX loop through the back panel will have far more of an impact on the tone than the speaker as long as it's decent baseline quality
Speaker choice comes down to personal preference.
Wow, through the Princeton was an eye opener for me. Could it be the combination of the speaker and the resonance of the cabinet? I honestly think there's a huge difference between closed and open backed, size of speakers, maker, etc.
I have this amp. It sits on top of a Monoprice 1x12 extension cab with a V30. I installed an Eminence GB128 in the amp and wired it in series to the V30 in the ext cab. A down and dirty double stack that sounds fantastic!
Those GB128 speakers are brutally loud
I kinda prefer the greenback and the stock. In the end the cab design may effect the tone some as well. In the end you have to swap the speaker to really know.