Here we go Speaker Junkies:
Scroll down about a foot, and you will see my previous two parts if you haven't been keeping up with this thriving blog.
"So Trashed, a lot to say about speakers?"
Yeah.
"You seem to favor Celestion?"
Yeah.
"So because it's a Celestion it must be good?"
HELL NO.
Not all speakers are created equally. Celestion makes some [to put it lightly] shitty speakers. The Rocket 50's are straight up trash. The only thing they are good for is removing the magnets and use it to pick the metal bits off of your floor in your shop. Seventy80's, another junk speaker. Just flat out terrible. There are some others, my Celestion M-70 in my Ampeg is pretty much shit too, but it is workable.
"Trashed, you seem to talk about Celestion a lot. Are there any other good speakers?"
Yessir! Eminence makes some excellent speakers, a lot are cheaper, and to a degree many of them are based off of- you guessed it- Celestions. Swamp Things and Governors are a good combination. I am not a fan of the Legend, but may people like it.
I don't have a lot of time on Eminence, I have owned relatively few.Why? I buy up cheap cabs on craigslist that have good speakers, typically under $200 for a 4x12". That is why I have a shit-ton of K85's and V30's and T75's. Cabs get sold or burned, sometimes kept.
"Damn Trashed, that sure is luck!"
If you look and know what you are looking for its not that hard. The only issue that is sometimes is insurmountable is fitting a 4x12" in your Mustang. What is the lesson here? Know somebody with a truck. It's not that hard.
What matters other than speakers?
Hot-Damn! I thought you would never ask.
Enclosures. There is a whole field of science regarding cabinet design, and stupidly a lot of debate. Why was the 4x12" born? because the speakers were 25 watt, and the heads were 100 watt. So thus it came to be the standard. For the most part sealed cabs offer little difference from each other, the main thing is quality of wood. MDF for me is a no-go, and what you want is 3/4" 13 ply Baltic birch. A good seal is to a degree an important thing as well.
Regarding the open-back or ported design, it gets jumbled fast. I don't even want to get into that. Maybe another blog sometime in the future.
So what do you pay for in a cab? The largest portion is the speakers, the second? the logo on the front. That 'Mesa' logo on the front is worth a few hundred most of the time. [Saying this I own two Mesa cabs and love them]. Wood is to a degree, but not what you think it would be.
Do you need 4x12"s? No. Its actually a stupid thing if you are going to have to haul it around. That is why I have 2x12"s as well. I haul around 2x12"s and keep my 4x12"s around the house/studio.
Ugh. I am soooo sick about talking about speakers.
That wraps up your mid-week edition,
Keep on bitchin' and I will keep on postin'.
Cheers,
Trashed.
Showing posts with label speaker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label speaker. Show all posts
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Monday, October 17, 2016
2016-10-17 Speakers: Part 2
Fellow Audiophiles,
So we are talking about speakers. Again? Yeah.
"Say what?"
Yeah, we need it loud. LOUDER!
I covered speakers in layman's terms last week, now I am going to give you my experience on what I have/use/hate/throw in the trash.
First off, for the most part, EVERY amp that comes with an unknown speaker, likely sucks. Hard fucking truth, even the Celestion and Eminence 'designed' speakers suck 99% of the time. Also, there are very few speakers that are smaller than 10" that are halfway decent, the exception is in some vintage low watt vintage amps (5F1 for example). 10" speakers can be great, but not the piece of junk sitting in your practice amp though.
"OK, so Trashed, you seem to like 12" speakers?"
Yeah. I do.
I have (literally) more than 30 speakers around my house/studio when you add up all of the cabs and combos.
I am mainly going to cover newer production speakers, I am not well versed on the vintage speakers.
Celestion Vintage 30's - Rightfully (or wrongfully) the most iconic go-to speaker for a lot of things. Tight bass, huge upper mids, decent power rating (60w). Some complain about 'honk' and that does happen with some amps, however, they are well received. Orange, Mesa, Engl, etc. all use them. The sound good with anything from Fenders Blues Jr.s to Peavey Wolfgangs, to Mesa's, Oranges, Marshalls, 5150's, etc. The only amps I have that totally disagreed with the V30 are my Splawn Promod and Splawn Nitro. I have no idea why, they just don't get along. One last thing is that V30's take a long time to break in. If you just got some new ones, give them a month with medium volume playing, they really open up.
Celestion T75's - Infamous thanks to Marshall. They are the standard in the 1960a cabs, and are overall an industry standard for 80's JCM's through today. Not much to be said, a little smoother on the top end and a little less mids, they are pretty friendly overall. I sometimes find them a little 'bland' with some amps, I LOVE mixing them with V30's (and it is relatively common).
"So Trashed, you like Celestions?"
That sounds like a dumb question, YES.
Lets continue!
Celestion K85/K100. These are my FAVORITE speakers. Period. They are 100% identical other than country of origion. K85's were British (confirmed with Celestion's representative), they changed the wattage rating. I have mostly K85's, A LOT of them. They are more low mid focused, and have a nice smooth range, and a lot of bass. I buy up every K85 I find locally. I have around a dozen. They thunder, they get along well with anything high gain, and to be honest i haven't tried them with any of my more vintage amps, but I am sure they will do fine. My Splawns and Peavey 5150, and Orange Rockerverb LOVE them.
I... need... more. I like to use them with V30's, but not always.
and.. last for the day, the speaker that started it all...
Celestion G12m Greenback - Vintage Marshall and Vox's favorite speakers for the most part.* They seem to 'compress' (if that is the right term) as they get pushed harder, which is one of their well known traits. They are picky about how hard they are pushed. They need to be pushed, but only to a degree, they are OK quiet too. They have a low sensitivity, so they are noticeably quieter than other speakers when pushed, for example the V30. I don't really know what to say, but they are just legendary. The only downfall is that they are 20-25W. That limits their use in a lot of scenarios. With a 2x12 cab, you can't run a lot of amps, as it is <50W. So if you want to run a high wattage amp, you need a 4x12". Kinda sucks. To be completely honest, that limits my use of them.
I think this will turn into a part three for next week.
Cheers!
You keep playing I keep bitchin',
Trashed.
*i must note that Vox are also known for Alnico Blues
Sunday, September 25, 2016
2016-09-25 - Drop Tuning
Greetings to the Cult of the 6 stringers:
Drop tuning. YES we mean tuning your guitar lower.
Is there a point? Yes,
Is it common? Yes.
Is it overused? ohhhhh yeah.
Myths of Drop-Tuning:
"but... but.. but... it sounds better, doesn't it?"
"all the cool metal bands do it, why shouldn't I"
To a degree it is tasteful. I have a hard time justify anything lower than C# standard. That is three semitones lower. For certain types of music (metal, which may be obvious), utilizes it quite often. Then you have the ass-clowns who tune to B standard, A standard, Drop G, etc.
I have an argument on two fronts:
First is that E2 which on a guitar is the low E string 82.41 Hz. What does that mean? Every second 82.41 sound waves pass any point (Hz is cycles per second). Simple.
HOWEVER the frequency scale is NOT LINEAR, it is logarithmic. E2 is 82.41 Hz (as we have already established) one octave lower E1 is 41.20 Hz etc. Which is what a bass is tuned to.
The threshold for the human ear is typically between 20Hz and 20kHz (twenty thousand hertz). So, you can only go so low. The bass typically drops with the guitar.
ARGUMENT 1-
The guitar is definitionally a mid range instrument. SO what does that mean? You are changing the range. What happens if you tune your guitar to B standard? Your whole guitar is five semitones lower. It begins to encroach where the bass guitar is, the bass drop tunes as well. If you tune the guitar lower, where are the mid-range frequencies? Missing in action to a degree. So you have a hole in your mix, not a good thing.
ARGUMENT 2-
The gear side. MOST modern guitar speakers (everything from Celestion Vintage 30's to Celestion Greenbacks, T75's, etc.) start to roll off their low end at around 100 Hz, give or take a bit. What does that mean? the speakers have a harder time producing lower frequencies. So 100Hz is about a G2, (third fret on the low E string if tuned in standard). That isn't a big deal.
Now lets go to the bastard child B standard tuning, ~61Hz. HUGE difference. The lower tuned notes cannot be as efficiently produced by the speakers, so you lose some lower frequencies. Lower, and you aren't fully hearing the fundamental harmonic, you are hearing other harmonics as well.
In summation, think before you drop. If you like it you like it, but now at least you are informed.
Thank you for your ever so valuable time,
Cheers:
Trashed
Drop tuning. YES we mean tuning your guitar lower.
Is there a point? Yes,
Is it common? Yes.
Is it overused? ohhhhh yeah.
Myths of Drop-Tuning:
"but... but.. but... it sounds better, doesn't it?"
"all the cool metal bands do it, why shouldn't I"
To a degree it is tasteful. I have a hard time justify anything lower than C# standard. That is three semitones lower. For certain types of music (metal, which may be obvious), utilizes it quite often. Then you have the ass-clowns who tune to B standard, A standard, Drop G, etc.
I have an argument on two fronts:
First is that E2 which on a guitar is the low E string 82.41 Hz. What does that mean? Every second 82.41 sound waves pass any point (Hz is cycles per second). Simple.
HOWEVER the frequency scale is NOT LINEAR, it is logarithmic. E2 is 82.41 Hz (as we have already established) one octave lower E1 is 41.20 Hz etc. Which is what a bass is tuned to.
The threshold for the human ear is typically between 20Hz and 20kHz (twenty thousand hertz). So, you can only go so low. The bass typically drops with the guitar.
ARGUMENT 1-
The guitar is definitionally a mid range instrument. SO what does that mean? You are changing the range. What happens if you tune your guitar to B standard? Your whole guitar is five semitones lower. It begins to encroach where the bass guitar is, the bass drop tunes as well. If you tune the guitar lower, where are the mid-range frequencies? Missing in action to a degree. So you have a hole in your mix, not a good thing.
ARGUMENT 2-
The gear side. MOST modern guitar speakers (everything from Celestion Vintage 30's to Celestion Greenbacks, T75's, etc.) start to roll off their low end at around 100 Hz, give or take a bit. What does that mean? the speakers have a harder time producing lower frequencies. So 100Hz is about a G2, (third fret on the low E string if tuned in standard). That isn't a big deal.
Now lets go to the bastard child B standard tuning, ~61Hz. HUGE difference. The lower tuned notes cannot be as efficiently produced by the speakers, so you lose some lower frequencies. Lower, and you aren't fully hearing the fundamental harmonic, you are hearing other harmonics as well.
In summation, think before you drop. If you like it you like it, but now at least you are informed.
Thank you for your ever so valuable time,
Cheers:
Trashed
Sunday, August 14, 2016
2016-08-14 Volume Myths and Boss Pedals
Greetings to the Brotherhood of the Quest for Tone,
The Resentment:
Volume Myths - I am growing tired of the lack of understanding of how wattage is related to volume. It isn't. I hear a large group groaning about things along the lines of, "Will (insert model here) amp be too loud for my apartment?" or thinking that they "Well I want poweramp distortion..."
The truth is that first off, a 100w amp will only be TWICE as loud as a 10w amp. Yep, you heard it, baring extenuating circumstances that is. There are a lot of factors in volume, and wattage is just one. Speakers can make a HUGE difference. A Celestion Vintage 30 has a sensitivity rating of 100dB @1w/1m. What that means is that a V30 being pushed at ONE watt will be 100dB at one meter from the cone of the speaker. that is LOUD. As far a dB SPL goes, there are many variables. Every time you double your distance from the source, it is 6 dB quieter. So that means if you are 2m away from the V30, you are looking at 94dB. Still damn loud. Now lets examine 10w through a V30, that would be 110dB SP at 1m from the cone. according to some references, that is the noise of a steel mill, circular saw, and being next to a car horn. 110dB is 16 times louder than a relatively loud TV.
One final example, 10 watts into a Celestion Rocket 50 is only 105db. That is substantially quieter than the 110dB that you would get out of a V30 but still loud. I must say that the Rocket 50 is a terrible speaker in my opinion, not because of the sensitivity, it just flat out sucks. So if you want to be quieter, to a degree that is, a speaker swap could be the little push off of the edge.
Clearly poweramp distortion is too loud most of the time.
Now as far as how a (insert number here) watt amp sounds quiet, that is a different discussion. My Mesa mkIV sounds much better at TV volumes than my Orange Dual Terror, which i use at 7w-15w usually. My Splawns are both 100 watts, and they preform substantially worse at low volume than any of my other firebreathers. For quiet volumes, it is case by case. It is at this point where my admittedly rather small understanding of tube amp circuit design ends.
The Rambling:
Boss Pedals. I am a pedal whore, no question about it, last count was in the 30's, most $120-$150+ new. There are a few exceptions though. Now boss, they have their strong suits, they are durable as all hell. i am sure you could run one over with a car and not wreck the damn thing (maybe that wouldn't be such a good thing). They were great in the '80's, Especially the modulation and delay (mainly for me the choruses and delays), then, I don't know what happened. Furthermore, their dirt pedals have never been good (other than the whole HM-2 thing), and their dirt pedals have gotten progressively worse. Their buffers are mediocre at best. They have been far from innovative in the last decade, and that is why I am not a fan.
Fifteen years ago, it was different. that was before the millions of boutique pedals and builders were out there. At that time it was them, Digitech, EHX, DOD, and MXR. Time went by and Boss got too comfortable, and ceased to innovate. They are behind the times.
Do i hate Boss pedals? No. Do they make some good ones? Yes. I like some of them, but in most cases there are better pedals for just a few bucks more. Boss stopped making my favorites a long time ago, which are the dimension chorus and slow-gear. They are flat out awesome, but now they fetch stupid prices, and I am not willing to spend that much. Other honorable mentions are the NS-2, DD3, DD6, etc, as well as some of the other choruses. The final mention is the HM-2, I have one and it is great for one thing, that grinding shrill noise that is pushed through a Marshall Valvestate or Ampeg VH140c. I don't care for that tone, but i keep it around in case i get bored.
That wraps it up for tonight, leave your comments or hatespam at the bottom,
Cheers to the Brotherhood of tone,
Trashed.
The Resentment:
Volume Myths - I am growing tired of the lack of understanding of how wattage is related to volume. It isn't. I hear a large group groaning about things along the lines of, "Will (insert model here) amp be too loud for my apartment?" or thinking that they "Well I want poweramp distortion..."
The truth is that first off, a 100w amp will only be TWICE as loud as a 10w amp. Yep, you heard it, baring extenuating circumstances that is. There are a lot of factors in volume, and wattage is just one. Speakers can make a HUGE difference. A Celestion Vintage 30 has a sensitivity rating of 100dB @1w/1m. What that means is that a V30 being pushed at ONE watt will be 100dB at one meter from the cone of the speaker. that is LOUD. As far a dB SPL goes, there are many variables. Every time you double your distance from the source, it is 6 dB quieter. So that means if you are 2m away from the V30, you are looking at 94dB. Still damn loud. Now lets examine 10w through a V30, that would be 110dB SP at 1m from the cone. according to some references, that is the noise of a steel mill, circular saw, and being next to a car horn. 110dB is 16 times louder than a relatively loud TV.
One final example, 10 watts into a Celestion Rocket 50 is only 105db. That is substantially quieter than the 110dB that you would get out of a V30 but still loud. I must say that the Rocket 50 is a terrible speaker in my opinion, not because of the sensitivity, it just flat out sucks. So if you want to be quieter, to a degree that is, a speaker swap could be the little push off of the edge.
Clearly poweramp distortion is too loud most of the time.
Now as far as how a (insert number here) watt amp sounds quiet, that is a different discussion. My Mesa mkIV sounds much better at TV volumes than my Orange Dual Terror, which i use at 7w-15w usually. My Splawns are both 100 watts, and they preform substantially worse at low volume than any of my other firebreathers. For quiet volumes, it is case by case. It is at this point where my admittedly rather small understanding of tube amp circuit design ends.
The Rambling:
Boss Pedals. I am a pedal whore, no question about it, last count was in the 30's, most $120-$150+ new. There are a few exceptions though. Now boss, they have their strong suits, they are durable as all hell. i am sure you could run one over with a car and not wreck the damn thing (maybe that wouldn't be such a good thing). They were great in the '80's, Especially the modulation and delay (mainly for me the choruses and delays), then, I don't know what happened. Furthermore, their dirt pedals have never been good (other than the whole HM-2 thing), and their dirt pedals have gotten progressively worse. Their buffers are mediocre at best. They have been far from innovative in the last decade, and that is why I am not a fan.
Fifteen years ago, it was different. that was before the millions of boutique pedals and builders were out there. At that time it was them, Digitech, EHX, DOD, and MXR. Time went by and Boss got too comfortable, and ceased to innovate. They are behind the times.
Do i hate Boss pedals? No. Do they make some good ones? Yes. I like some of them, but in most cases there are better pedals for just a few bucks more. Boss stopped making my favorites a long time ago, which are the dimension chorus and slow-gear. They are flat out awesome, but now they fetch stupid prices, and I am not willing to spend that much. Other honorable mentions are the NS-2, DD3, DD6, etc, as well as some of the other choruses. The final mention is the HM-2, I have one and it is great for one thing, that grinding shrill noise that is pushed through a Marshall Valvestate or Ampeg VH140c. I don't care for that tone, but i keep it around in case i get bored.
That wraps it up for tonight, leave your comments or hatespam at the bottom,
Cheers to the Brotherhood of tone,
Trashed.
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