Choosing a Speaker

I am sure we've been through this before. Please just humor me.

I'm going to be ordering a 1x12 open-back cab (hopefully this weekend). Need one 12" driver to see use both as an extension cab for a 30W Mesa combo (w/ Celestion V30) and also as a cab for a 50W Sovtek head. I play classic rock, some blues, and am getting more and more into country-ish and pickin' sounds.

I have been reading up. The options are killing me. So, the question is, How do I go about sorting this out as quickly and painlessly as possible? My criteria are: responsiveness, clarity (i.e. want any breakup to come from amp, not speaker), clear highs, tight lows.


Ted Weber recommended a ceramic Signature 12B. https://taweber.powweb.com/weber/

People seem to like the Jensen Mod Speakers. http://www.tubedepot.com/sp-jen-mod12-50.html
I don't know much about the Jensen C series. http://www.tubedepot.com/sp-jen-c12n.html

Eminence has so many options it makes my head spin. http://www.eminence.com/guitar.asp?speaker_size=12

I've been pretty happy with the V30 in my mesa. A bit more expensive though. I could just have Lopo load it up with a V30 and be done... http://professional.celestion.com/guitar/products/classic/detail.asp?ID=4


I am somewhat reluctant to spend the $100 or so for the V30 cause I just don't trust myself to hear a real difference. I know people say speakers make a huge difference, but that's a bit of a mindf*ck for me because I have little experience with swapping out speakers or even hearing the same amp played through different speakers.


Please advise me on how to go about making this decision.

i have a tone tubby hempcone ceramic in my deluxe reverb, they are the best speaker i have ever tried. very high power handling (they ran a dimed marshall plexi through one 12 incher for a day and it handled it well)

very DARK for a ceramic. and the best lows i have tried.

i have tried everything for a 12 in that deluxe.

jensen ri series,
weber alnicos AND ceramics.
eminence,
and a V30.

nothing did it, or sounded to beamy and harsh in that amp except the tone tubby.

google tone tubby, you should read up on them.

carlos santana, the guy from los lobos, eric clapton - they all use them now.

Check out the Eminence Cannabis Rex, it also has a hemp cone and is a fantastic sounding speaker. From the Eminence description: "Clean and full, with lots of body and sparkle. Smokey smooth with high-end definition." It would complement the V30, and also sound great by itself. BLT Sound has 'em for $72.50, and they're great to deal with: http://bltsound.com/

If you like Celestions, get Avatar to send you a cab loaded with a G12H30. I just got a 2x12 with a V30/G12H30 combo that sounds very good.

Hellatone 30. Starts life as a G12H30, then it's tweaked & broken in for you.

If you plan on pumping the Volume knob on that 50 watter to 7+ I'd strongly suggest keeping your speaker choice to something 75 watts or more.

Second, you may notice a huge difference in speaker swaps. I had the same concerns at first, but after owning so many, there is definite differences in flavors.

SO - decide what you'd like to accentuate or reduce in the overall tone. Then with this info and the speaker wattage narrowed down, you can make a more informed choice.

V30 fans generally like midrange heavy speakers (there is a goose honk bump in the mids). I LOVE V30s, myself.

You may consider neodymium speakers as well since they're extremely lightweight and this will be a secondary speaker you will be lugging around for added volume/dispersion I assume.

If you like the V30 sound, might as well stick with it. If you want that similar FAT, thick, midrange heavy speaker that is lightweight, go for an Eminence Tonkerlite. If you want a smoother vintage style top end that gets creamy, go for a high powered AlNiCo (they aint cheap!) - Celestion AlNiCo Golds and Jensen Jet Blackbirds... they may sound incredible, but they're friggen expensive!