Fender Twin speaker replacement

[rucarlso]

Hey all--

One of the speakers in my silverface, early-70s Fender Twin just bit the dust. I need a replacement but don't know quite what I want.

The speakers in there aren't original. They are 12" Eminence Alphas...and they sound fine but I kind of wonder if they were creating a headroom problem, as the amp was never as loud once I put those in.

Anyway, I like a good vintage sound. Something along the lines of what a stock silverface Twin would sound like.

Any recommendations?

[Outlaws]

Originally Posted by rucarlso

Hey all--

One of the speakers in my silverface, early-70s Fender Twin just bit the dust. I need a replacement but don't know quite what I want.

The speakers in there aren't original. They are 12" Eminence Alphas...and they sound fine but I kind of wonder if they were creating a headroom problem, as the amp was never as loud once I put those in.

Anyway, I like a good vintage sound. Something along the lines of what a stock silverface Twin would sound like.

Any recommendations?

Two major reason pop into mind why is wasn't as loud.

1. the speaker ohm was wrong
2. the replacement speaker didn't have the same dB response as the other one.

[Thatupstateguy]

Even if the ohms match up, it is the wrong kind of speaker for a guitar rig....

Bass, maybe,... but NOT a guitar rig,....



I think you would be happy with some jensens,.... or maybe Celestions,... but those choices depend on your own tastes,.....


ANYTHING is gonna bring back what you are missing with Eminence Alphas in there,....... who was the one that suggested that,....they were wrong,.......

If you play rock n roll, and you are on a budget, go to

www.avatarspeakers.com


and get something from their closeout section....They have several Eminence, and a couple of Celestions there for good prices,.... About $50 or so plus shipping,.....

other than that,... if you are looking for 'Original' sound,.... I'm not sure what was in that box,.... I guess it depends on the vintage,.....


I hope I helped...


Steve

[rucarlso]

thanks steve....

you know, those Alphas didn't seem like the right fit from the start. Someon ein my office told me they'd work out well. I guess I'll fire him.

Thanks, too, for the link to Avatar.

[Outlaws]

I always been partial to Jensens in Fender amps. The P10R I think it was in my Super Reverb was fantastic. I think they even make a P12R for your 12" needs.

[rucarlso]

I'll check out those Jensens.

Here's another question. I feel stupid asking it...but:

So the amp is a 100-watt amp. It has two 12-inch speakers.

Does each speaker need to be rated at 100 watts?

Or am I better off with speakers rated at 50 watts each?

[Outlaws]

Originally Posted by rucarlso

I'll check out those Jensens.

Here's another question. I feel stupid asking it...but:

So the amp is a 100-watt amp. It has two 12-inch speakers.

Does each speaker need to be rated at 100 watts?

Or am I better off with speakers rated at 50 watts each?

A 'Twin Reverb' is only 85 watts. 'The Twin' is 100 watts.
I don't know the history though of all the 70's Twin Reverbs so maybe they did make some 100 watters.

But that aside, you generally want a little higher rating on the speakers than the amp. But ya, you add the speakers together like that for their handling power because when you divide the amps power by the number of speakers, you get what each speaker recieves. I would get a speaker setup that the total (if it is a 85 watt amp) is closer to 120 watts or even 140 if you crank it up a lot. If its 100 watts then I would push more for 150-200. Tube amps actually output higher than what they are rated at, since they are rated at clean watts.

My SuperReverb had 4 P10R speakers that were rated at 25 watts each. So that was a 40 watt amp with a 4 10" cab that was rated at 100 watts of power handling.

Looking at Fenders website, the current Twin reverb has 2 12" Jensens. Models C12K. 100 watts each.

[boingoman]

Originally Posted by Outlaws

Tube amps actually output higher than what they are rated at, since they are rated at clean watts.

.

That really depends on a lot of things. Any individual tube amp needs to be benched to see what it will do.

[alambler]

I have owned (and repaired) several silverface twins before and I always suggest Weber speakers (http://www.webervst.com). They are an American company that currently makes the best varied selection of quality speakers out there. Twin's are known for their loud (and proud) reproduction of almost a hi-fi guitar sound. Very punchy and clean. The original speakers in Twin's of the late blackface to early silverface period varied from JBL's, utah's, Jensens and a few others. A lot of people (including me) love the hi-fi punch of the JBL speaker. Weber makes a copy called the California that is amazing. In my twin, I have one California and another speaker Weber makes called a Michigan. The Michigan is a copy of a very hi powered EV speaker. It's a little darker than the California, a little warmer, and just as punchy. Only problem is, the thing weighs a TON! If you look, the California and Michigan can be had for around $75 used.

As far as speaker wattage rating, (2) 50 watt speakers would work fine in this amp. If you actually push the amp hard enough to reach it's full output of 85 watts, your hearing won't last very long.

I would stay away from early breakup speakers (such as lower wattage Jensens or Celestion greenbacks).

[Thatupstateguy]

Generally speaking in terms of output,.... your Fender twin is most likely powered with 6L6 tubes,..... and each of those will max at about 25 watts,.... usually more like 20 watts,.... so if there are 4 of them,( the usual setup for a twin) you have about 80 watts of true tube power,..... and if the tubes are a bit old,... or used,... meaning, they have been in the amp for some time,.... they are most likely running at about 75% or so,.....depending on age, and brand,....that being the case,... you should have speakers that can handle 'NEW' tubes,... which means 100 watts,.... and as stated above,... the power is distributed by the number of speakers,... in this case, TWO,.... so each one should be capable of handling at least 60-70 watts,......


a Vintage 30 is rated at 60 watts,.... so anything less,... like a 25 or 30 watt speaker will NOT work,..... at least for very long,......that is of course if you like the volume that your amp is capable of producing,.... I suggest you go with anything rated at 60 watts or above,..... and it should work fine,.....


My link to avatar, and the Closeout page displays at least two or three that will work,.....

It is up to you to pick one for your style of playing,....


Steve

[rucarlso]

Thanks so much, y'all.

I tend to play really loud. And my band is the one that clears out the room.

I'm gonn atake all this advice and info into consideration and find me a sweet pair of drivers for that Twin. I use an Electro-Harmonix Black Finger compressor for my main distortion sound, and that thing just kills with a punchy hard-rock sound. I like that. I like a sound that's not metallic, but hard-rockin and biting. But I like to get that sound mostly from my pedal, so that i can maintain a good clean sound for building up some atmospheric effects.

Thanks everyone!

[AGCurry]

The "classic" speaker for the Twin Reverb was the Jensen C12N, which were rated to handle 50 watts each. Fender, as noted by others, also used speakers from Utah and CTS. Back in the 60s and 70s, you could upgrade and get your Twin outfitted with JBL D120Fs. A monster to carry but a loud brilliant sound.

In Jensen's model-naming system, 'C' denotes "ceramic magnet" and 'P' denotes "Alnico" - probably started out standing for "permanent" as opposed to "field coil." The letter at the end identifies the power-handling capacity, with a lower letter meaning more watts, so "N" will take more power than "R." Do NOT replace your speaker with a P12R! The R will barely handle the output of a Deluxe Reverb (about 22 watts).

The reissue Jensen C12Ns are very good. Weber makes excellent speakers, but you're gonna pay some $$ for them. Definitely visit Weber's web site!

If I were you I'd hang out on eBay for a while and watch a few auctions. Lots of good used speakers for sale there.