speaker choices for a 5f2a

[big-daddy-59]

Long time lurker here and other amp building forums. Gonna take the plunge and order parts for my first build, a 5f2a. Not going with a kit, doing it the hard way. Since I'm going to build my own cabinet, which speaker do y'all think would be a better choice Weber alnico Sig 10s or Weber ceramic Sig 12s.

[Tele-Dave]

Just pulled the trigger on Weber 5F2A myself this morning.

Talked to a few friends who have 5F2A's about what they thought about speaker choices and they said the Weber Alnico 10S sounds creamier than the Creamic 10S, although the ceramic was just a little bit louder.

Alnico Blue Pup is a good choice also.

I'll take creamier over louder any day!!!

[big-daddy-59]

Thanks Dave but the thing i'm really interested in is whether there's a difference between the 10" alnico and a 12" ceramic i.e. better bass, smoother top end, better mid range, early vs late breakup.....BTW I'm gonna build mine to use a 6l6 for the power tube. Aiming for about 8 to 10 watts.

[petebradt]

Originally Posted by big-daddy-59

Long time lurker here and other amp building forums. Gonna take the plunge and order parts for my first build, a 5f2a. Not going with a kit, doing it the hard way. Since I'm going to build my own cabinet, which speaker do y'all think would be a better choice Weber alnico Sig 10s or Weber ceramic Sig 12s.

Fender Blue Alnico. Best 10" for a Tweed amp.

[Ricky D.]

You didn't ask, but I thought I would just mention this. I have an alnico Sig 12 in my 5E3 that works great for me. I like 12's better because they tend to have more low end.

[big-daddy-59]

Pete your input is welcome, but that Fender speaker you recommended is about twice as much $ as the webers I'm considering. I have a pretty tight budget for this project and if I spend twice as much on a speaker then I'm gonna have to make compromises elsewhere that would be much harder to upgrade later.

[petebradt]

Originally Posted by big-daddy-59

Pete your input is welcome, but that Fender speaker you recommended is about twice as much $ as the webers I'm considering. I have a pretty tight budget for this project and if I spend twice as much on a speaker then I'm gonna have to make compromises elsewhere that would be much harder to upgrade later.

You asked for choices. I only recommend what I use unless it's no longer available (Like the Legend 122P). If you want something else, it's ok with me.

[JohnnyCrash]

Most folks are going to recommend AlNiCo's for an old tweed circuit.

Most folks will recommend Webers... great speakers, but I hear your budgetary concerns.

In the case of saving dough - you might try the new Jensen reissue AlNiCo 10"s - I prefer the P10Q. A bit more affordable as far as AlNiCo's go... and classic sounding.

I'd actually build the thing first, try it in existing speakers and get a feel for what it needs - then find a speaker accordingly... you might be surprised, the traditional "American" AlNiCo might now be the one you want, or it might. there are affordable options in many directions - if the amp really screams for something you could always save up :)

[muchxs]

It depends on what you're going for.

I lean towards Eminence speakers, to be specific 10" Eminence speakers and I prefer ceramics. The rationale is this: The 10" ceramics yield the tightest bass over a wide range of tones from clean to uberdistorted. In general ceramics are tighter than alnicos and tens are tighter than twelves.

Pete B's suggestion of a blue Fender alnico is worth consideration. It's too bad Eminence stopped making the 1028 with a paper voice coil former. Musicians didn't understand that it was a 20 watt speaker so there's a lot of them out there with cooked voice coils. They sound great if you don't overdo it. The current version with the polyimide former sounds good. It will handle almost twice as much power as the old version with the paper former. The paper former is great for "vintage tone" because it was built like '50s Jensens.

So: Fat/tight/loud go for a ceramic Sig or an Eminence like the Ragin Cajun. Use an Eminence 1058 on a budget.

Looser/brighter go for an alnico Sig.

A 12" ceramic Silver Bell is an interesting tone in tweeds. There's more bottom end than vintage style alnicos. There's an interesting chime to the top end. It's like tweed meets AC30 without having to buy an AC30!

A premium speaker can be the best investment you'll make. The beginning and end of the signal path are important. Hock a pedal or something and step up to the good stuff. Using a speaker that's a poor compromise makes as much sense as using weak pickups.

The 6L6 rather than a 6V6: Try both. Or even a 6K6. A 6K6 is a power pentode and sounds different from beam power tubes like the 6L6 or 6V6. A little more raw.

[petebradt]

Pete B's suggestion of a blue Fender alnico is worth consideration. It's too bad Eminence stopped making the 1028 with a paper voice coil former. Musicians didn't understand that it was a 20 watt speaker so there's a lot of them out there with cooked voice coils. They sound great if you don't overdo it. The current version with the polyimide former sounds good. It will handle almost twice as much power as the old version with the paper former. The paper former is great for "vintage tone" because it was built like '50s Jensens.

I've got two paper-former Legend 10s in my Super clone (5F4). Great, great speakers.

[Ricky D.]

Originally Posted by muchxs

...A premium speaker can be the best investment you'll make. The beginning and end of the signal path are important. ...

The 6L6 rather than a 6V6: Try both. Or even a 6K6. A 6K6 is a power pentode and sounds different from beam power tubes like the 6L6 or 6V6. A little more raw.

Every speaker has a different voice that can make a huge difference, just like different pickups can. IMO it's worth stepping up a little if the budget can work.

About that output tube choice, I would concur with muchxs on the 6K6. Based on my experiments with my 5E3, much lower output than the 6v6 and noticeably a bit more harsh. Not a totally fair comparison, as my 5E3 voltages are high for the 6K6, might smooth out some if I lowered the B+.

[boozer]

another vote for alnico's right here. and anothe vote for weber here too.
great sounding speakers. any that i have tried.