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So I recently picked up a barefaced upsetter 110. For the most part, it's a fantastic product, that does what they say it is supposed to do (way bigger sounding than its size, good dispersion, very light), but I haven't quite been able to make it work for me tonally.
I got it with the stock g10 vintage since I have had good experiences with that speaker, but that was with a whole other rig, and in this case, I find it to be far too dark (missing sparkle and air) and far too thick in the lower mids.
I then figured I need a Jensen-style speaker. The shop I ordered from had very little in stock, but did have the jupiter 10lc-p (25w, paper), so I grabbed it.
Somehow, this was even less for me. It had a different high end, but was less sparkly, and very congested sounding. Way too much low mid thickness for my tastes. Gave it a few weeks and a couple of gigs to open up, but it's a no go. Went back to the celestion for now.
I think I might try one more speaker before I officially decide the cab isn't for me.
So I am looking for another suggestion. Clear, good range in the highs (i.e "air" and "sparkle"), decent upper mid presence, not too much in the lower mids. Something that perserves the pick attack. The cab has an immense amount of bass, so a speaker that would otherwise sound thin in other cabs might work here.
For what it's worth, I am using an archtop with an early 50s guitar mike, which is part of why I really need to preserve the high end (beautiful sounding pickups with the right set up, but can be on the smokey side with the wrong one).
Amps vary, but most likely will be used either with a quilter or a fender deluxe reverb style head.
Some things I am considering -
1)Jensen blackbird 40 - Figure that an alnico might get me the top end I need. A bit worried about such a small magnet speaker getting a bit mushy at even medium volumes.
2) Jensen Electric lightening 10 - the website description sounds good, but online people describe them as v30 esque with thick lower mids, so maybe not?
3)Celestion g10 Gold - ditto n.1 for the high end, but worried that the low mids thing will still be present.
But any other suggestions would be helpful. If it matters, I am in europe, which means not all brands are easy to get at reasonable prices, but generally Jensen, Celestion, WGS and Jupiter are fine.
Thanks in advance!
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06-23-2024 04:53 AM
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I'm not affiliated with Jensen but have used their guitar speakers for my Toob cabs almost exclusively. Two recommendations: N10/100 TR (i.e. Tornado Neo) and P10/40BB (40W Blackbird AlNiCo). The former is a great allround performer capable of good jazz tones, while the latter comes close to Celestion Gold. These are of course matters of opinion. As pointed out in a recent thread about 10" Neo speakers, the choice is far narrower in this caliber than in 12".
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OP you are describing a JBL D/K series tone. Big money but worth it IMO especially if you aren't going to beat them. Sparkle, crisp response, and loud. Damn loud.. The notes seem to jump out of the speaker i.e extremely lively and sensitive compared to the usual cheap-o guitar speaker.
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Gitterbug - thanks for suggestion. The tornado in particular is interesting. I have never knowingly tried a neo speaker, but it might be worth a shot.
About the blackbird though, and I apologise if the question is too vague, does it keep clarity without that thickening low mid thing?
Dawgbone - thanks, and you understood what I am going for. I have a 60s twin with two k120s, and they really are something else.
I even have a busted k110 that I bought non functioning for 30 euro in a moment of DIY hubris, and tried to recone myself. Bad idea, and now I know why the 10 inch JBLs are considered some of the hardest speakers to recone. Got absolutely horrendous voice coil rub. I guess it was an expensive lesson in humility.
With no reconers available in europe (that i am aware of) and with the cost of shipping being what it is, getting it done in the U.S would end up costing me 400-500 euro, which coincidently is what it would cost to get a working one from the available listings. Unfortunately, I just can't justify that right now, but I'll keep an eye out for a better deal.Last edited by sys; 06-23-2024 at 08:17 AM.
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I can't imagine there isn't a single place in Europe that does speaker recones. Someone on this board can probably point you in the right direction. I would definitely be putting that K back in action if at all possible. Good luck.
Originally Posted by sys
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[QUOTE=sys;1344078]Gitterbug - thanks for suggestion. The tornado in particular is interesting. I have never knowingly tried a neo speaker, but it might be worth a shot.
About the blackbird though, and I apologise if the question is too vague, does it keep clarity without that thickening low mid thing?]
I'm afraid my response is vague, as different cabs and settings factor in. The Blackbird is very balanced in my opinion, but a little too "vintagey" on the treble end to my taste. BTW, Ragin Cajun is a great speaker.
EDIT: Your headline says clear and sparkly. The Blackbird is just that.Last edited by Gitterbug; 06-23-2024 at 11:58 AM.
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The cabinet with its rear tapered slot seems to be somewhat like a bass reflex. It might work best with a speaker having a stronger magnet, which tends to damp the speaker's natural bass resonance. The Jensen Neo Tornado and Blackbird 10 as mentioned above fit this description.
The treble response of a guitar speaker above 2kHz is controlled almost completely by the design of the cone and is not a function of the magnet type.
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I have a lot of experience with 10” speakers.
For what you are describing I recommend a celestion gold or Jupiter 10MC. You could also look for a vintage JBL speaker, those are sparkly when pushed (but they don’t sound great at low volumes). My vibrolux reverb has two Jupiter 10MCs and they are absolutely perfect for it, albeit heavy.
The Jensen blackbirds are great speakers but they are not very sparkly. They are voiced similar to 50s Jensen speakers that you find in a tweed amp.
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Oh I just read your post more clearly. If you already have too much bass then maybe the celestion gold and the Jupiter m10c will be too much also. The m10c has a lot more sparkle than the 10lc.
You might also consider the small magnet alnico Jupiter. I think those have less of a sparkle and more of what have heard people refer to as chirp (the nomenclature of this stuff confuses me).
I will comment that the ragin Cajun is absolutely not sparkly. It is nasal and loud. Sounds good in some amps but not sparkly.
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Not in Europe any more but it used to be : Originally Posted by DawgBone
Speaker reconing and repair - Speaker repair
Speaker repair center uk
Otherwise, you'll find a lot of kit sellers, but I understand you had some difficulties going that way
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Thanks for the recommendation. To be clear, it's actually not really too much bass, just a lot of it. I find it very controllable off the amp bass knob, which is oddly not always the case for me with a lot of open back cabs. Originally Posted by omphalopsychos
Are the midnight series Jupiter's significantly different than the regular series? I really couldn't get along with the 10lc-p. Just way too thick sounding. Even installed it in an open back cab 1x12 with a convertor to hear, and same thing.
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Yes the midnights do sound quite different And I prefer them in general. The only thing I like more about the L series is that they are more efficient, which is good when playing with larger/louder bands.
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Thanks for all the information everyone. As I was shopping around I spotted a very good deal on a blackbird 10 100 (the 100watt version). It wasn't on my list but a good deal is a good deal. I'll give it a shot and if its not for me I'll proceed down the list suggested here.
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