Weber vs. Eminence speakers

[telecaster1981]

I'm currently looking for a replacement 10" for my SFPR and trying to weigh my options for speakers. For years, I've been kind of high on the Weber cool-aid and figured they're about as good as a fellow can get. What I'm curious about, however, is the Patriot line of speakers from Eminence. I've heard good things and wanted to get your opinions. If there are some other makes of speakers I should consider, please feel free to clue me in! Basically, I just need something crisp but warm with later breakup and efficient.

[greggorypeccary]

I have a Copperhead in my SF Princeton and it'd fantastic!

[architele]

I have a ragin cajun paired with a weber in a 2x10 cabinet that I use with a mesa studio .22, and the sound is pretty amazing. Maybe try a mix and match?

[architele]

i thought your post said "SFSR"

[madmark]

I have a Weber 10F150T in mine and it sounds awesome...

[zook]

My favorite 10 is the Eminence Legend 105. Incredible speaker and reasonably priced too. I use them in my amps.

Winnie

[Darcy Hoover]

I have a Weber 10A125, love it! The playing is crap but you can hear the speaker here in my BFPR.

http://soundclick.com/share?songid=6586731

[telecaster1981]

So, basically what I'm getting out of this is I can't go wrong with either??? I'm planning on getting 2 extension cabinets (2x10 for my SFPR & 2x12 for my BFPR-someone punched it out for a 12") from Lopoline so I can move a bit more air. That means I'll be buying 6 speakers so cost will be an issue! Seems like the Eminence speakers might fit the bill nicely as long as I'm not giving up the ever elusive TONE! I'm still looking forward to more input on this subject so keep the responses coming!

[petebradt]

Nobody makes good 12" speakers any more except the Celestion Blue (too rich for my blood), and the Emi Red Fang (British Voiced, too) but for a good, affordable 10," the Fender Blue Alnico or Eminence 1028K is second only to the Celestion Blue. At 1/5 the price.

For a 12", I'd get a Red Fang.

[Twanginator]

Warehouse Guitar Speakers makes a 10" speaker that is very affordable and gets some good reviews. Not sure if it's the sound you're looking for but it might be worth considering.

I put one in my Peavey Classic 20 tonight and it improved the sound considerably. Still breaking it in though so I'm sure it will get even better.

[morroben]

Good thread...I'm trying to decide between a Cannabis Rex and ceramic Silver Bell for my 5E3. Dealing with Weber wasn't easy the first time I tried to order a Silver Bell so I'm hesitant to try again...might be easier to just call Musicians Friend and get the Eminence.

[woodman]

1981-- i'm a real Weber fan, but i couldn't presume that my taste in speakers would be yours. none of the suggested candidates are pieces of crap -- i don't think you can go wrong within those parameters. the question is what lengths you want to go to in order to find the *perfect* speaker. a lot of it is what you can get out of it.

[6942]

For inexpensive-but-good-10" speakers....it's hard not to like the Weber Signature series.

Steve

[zook]

Originally Posted by morroben

Good thread...I'm trying to decide between a Cannabis Rex and ceramic Silver Bell for my 5E3. Dealing with Weber wasn't easy the first time I tried to order a Silver Bell so I'm hesitant to try again...might be easier to just call Musicians Friend and get the Eminence.

The 12" Silver Bell is the speaker I generally use in my 1-12 combos. Great sound, clarity and just the righr ammount of breakuo.

As I said Before, Eminence Legend 105 for the 2-10 combos. Two 16 Ohm speakers in Parallel for an 8 Ohm total load.

Wiinnie

[Glen W]

The speaker in my '68 PR now is a ceramic Weber Sig 10S. This is after trying a bunch of other 10's - both alnico & ceramic. The Weber Sigs are budget-priced.

[Wayne Alexander]

Simply looking at Weber versus Eminence is not going to help you. All of the speakers made by both companies are good quality given the prices. What you have to do is figure out what voice of speaker you want. That's probably not going to happen by getting recommendations like "sounds great" in a forum like this. See if you can get someone who knows the entire Eminence line, like Dave Allen of Allen Amps, on the phone and talk through what your amp is like, w what speakers are in it, what guitars you play and what type of music, maybe some references in terms of "like the sound on xxx recording" , what you want in terms of headroom, early versus late breakup, alnico versus ceramic, bass/mid/treble response, clarity/harshness versus warmth/muddiness, and the like. Then do the same with Ted Weber, I'm pretty sure you can call him about this, or at least post messages on the Webervst forums to get direct responses from Ted and from lots of Weber fans. But ultimately I've found there is no substitute for buying speakers, bolting them into my amp(s), playing them long enough to break them in (often 100 hours or more of loud playing) and then playing them in a band situation to see if I like them. If not, resell and repeat until I like what I hear.

[surfoverb]

I've got stock Eminence in my 65Twin RI (the 40th anniversery one) and I think they sound great but I've read many reviews trashing these...I think its just a matter of taste or in my case lack of maybe? Whenever I have some cash laying around and the time I plan on swapping for some Weber vintage series and try them out...In the meantime I'll just enjoy my crappy speakers LOL.

[strat a various]

1981,
Let me say couple things about speakers, after using tons of 'em for 30 yrs. of full time work:
Best sounding speakers I've ever had were cheap speakers. Didn't handle as much power, weren't as efficient as my JBLs and EVs, but I've had some old Eminence original equiptment, Jensen, Magnavox, that just sounded perfect.
I've seen identical model and year speakers sound completely different. Maybe they were made on a Friday afternoon, or when a new guy just started on the assembly line, or whatever, but I've seen as much variation between exactly the same model from the same delivery lot as between BRANDS.
Bottom line: you have to try THAT SPEAKER in your rig to know for sure. Narrow down the choices if you can, remember that guys who sell speakers give advice that comes from their personal opinion, motivations and tastes.
I'd trust the input from most of the tone snobs around here ... they have no agenda except pure preference.
Thirdly- don't be afraid to try used speakers. If they're not blown, they often have "magic" that new speakers will take a lifetime to develop.
good luck.

[6942]

Some of the 15-20 watt vintage alnico speakers are excellent in guitar amps.
Not just the vintage Jensen's either.
ROLA, Heppner & Cleveland make fine sounding speakers also.

Steve

[OaklandA]

Originally Posted by petebradt

Nobody makes good 12" speakers any more except the Celestion Blue (too rich for my blood), and the Emi Red Fang (British Voiced, too) but for a good, affordable 10," the Fender Blue Alnico or Eminence 1028K is second only to the Celestion Blue. At 1/5 the price.

For a 12", I'd get a Red Fang.

Eminence now has a 10" Red Fang available....waiting to hear a review from someone. If it's anything like the 12" it'd be a great option.

[telecaster1981]

Some very helpful responses from everyone! I guess I should have made my needs more clear. My main gig (the one I make money at!) is classic country so I need something that has very present highs but not harsh, smooth & non-spikey midrange, and tight but full bass. A bit of speaker breakup is just fine with me on the higher end of the spectrum so it'll warm up the pre/power amp distortion the amp makes, but I sure don't want early breakup. I'd like for the speaker to be efficient and full enough that I can hang in the mix without maxing the Princeton out. It would be great if I could find a speaker that will work equally well for Blues and Country requirements as well as sounding good with or without the 2x10" extension cabinet. Some tele-specific tones that I really enjoy include Bill Kirchen, James Burton, Robben Ford, Danny Gatton, Vince Gill, Albert Collins, Steve Cropper, Don Rich, Roy Nichols, & Speedy Haworth. Hopefully my list will let you know where my ears are at even if it includes most of the usual suspects!

[Wayne Alexander]

They've just come out with a 10" version of a Celestion Gold. That would be a great speaker in the Princeton if you don't have to have the classic Fender voice. If you're looking for the classic Fender voice and you want some breakup as opposed to almost none, I'd probably recommend the Weber 10A150, or the Weber 10A125 for a bit brighter voice. If you do order a Weber, tell them to break it in before they send it to you. It'll sound better to start with. - less spikey.

[meyekel]

I just dropped in a Weber DT-10 from Lord Valve/NBS Electronics in my '61 Princeton and it sounds great. Ceramic magnet, 25 watts 1.25" voice coil. Willie and Ted Weber co-designed it for Derek Trucks to use in his Supers and it sounds really good IMO.

[e-merlin]

Originally Posted by telecaster1981

Some tele-specific tones that I really enjoy include Bill Kirchen, James Burton, Robben Ford, Danny Gatton, Vince Gill, Albert Collins, Steve Cropper, Don Rich, Roy Nichols, & Speedy Haworth. Hopefully my list will let you know where my ears are at even if it includes most of the usual suspects!

That's a lot of tone territory. Have you thought of trying an external cab? Maybe a 212 or 115 cab to enhance what you already have?

[strat a various]

1981, the year I started full on county gigs in Vegas. Now we're getting somewhere. The Weber-heads are gonna laugh (or scoff) but what you describe is the sound I get out of the well-broken-in Peavey Black Widow in my Musicman combo. Sparkly but not stabby, clean, but with just a little snarl, and handles all kinds of power without sounding like a P.A. speaker (EV territory). Ebay finds Peavey speakers quite often, and the 10s aren't usually very pricey, worth a thought.
Best wishes.