Utah Speakers - what is the word on the street?

[Bourbon Burst]

I have bought a 1975 Fender Twin Reverb and it has Fender Specal Design speakers with a code indicating Utah speakers.

I have heard of them but don't know anything about them. Just wondering how they compare sound wise to a Jenson (don't have any). Can't find much info on them.

Also, anyone put an Eminence Alessandro GA 64 speaker in a Twin? I had put one in my PRRI but might put the C. Rex back in if the Allesandro would sound good / compliment a Utah speaker.

 

[schmee]

The GA 64 wont handle the Twin wattage likely. At lower volumes with another speaker it might hold up though.
I like a lot of the Utahs used in Pros and Twins.
They are not super efficient so you can play the amp a bit more 'open'. Still.... they are old.

 

[Cali Dude]

My only experience with Utah speakers was with my old black face Deluxe reverb. It couldn't handle volume above 6 without farting out/ becoming very loose in the bottom. It sounded great at lower volumes. It just wasn't a very efficient speaker.

 

[Bourbon Burst]

The GA 64 wont handle the Twin wattage likely. At lower volumes with another speaker it might hold up though.
I like a lot of the Utahs used in Pros and Twins.
They are not super efficient so you can play the amp a bit more 'open'. Still.... they are old.

The Allesandro is rated for 40 watts. I guess that would be a concern. Thanks.

 

[schmee]

The Allesandro is rated for 40 watts. I guess that would be a concern. Thanks.

Yeah, I wonder if the original Utahs were really rated more than 40 - 45 watts though? Fender skirted the edges on some of those amps vs speaker combos. They used single JBL's with a showman for a while. 50 watt Jensen's with 40-45 watt amps. etc. But the GA 64 has a paper voice coil former I think, like the old speakers.

 

[Swirling Snow]

I'm afraid Utah speakers were at the other end of the hierarchy from JBL. They have their fans, including Derek Trucks and Ted Weber. If they were in an amp I was selling, I wouldn't mention them.

 

[Bob Womack]

I bought a re-coned 12" Utah from a reputable speaker rebuilding service. The owner said that the Utahs were built a little heavier than the Jensens or Oxfords and he liked them better. That speaker went into a box alongside a Jensen and replaced an Oxford that little fingers had puchned through so I was able to compare them. The basket was indeed heavier on the Utah than the baskets of either the Oxford or Jensen were

Bob.

 

[68goldtop]

Hi!

I have bought a 1975 Fender Twin Reverb and it has Fender Specal Design speakers with a code indicating Utah speakers.

I have heard of them but don't know anything about them. Just wondering how they compare sound wise to a Jenson (don't have any). Can't find much info on them...

I´ve had a couple (a ´67 Pro Reverb, and 2 original ´73/´74 Bandmaster-Cabs with Utahs...) and my experiences are mixed.
The Pro Reverb sounded nothing less than stunning, and I should never have sold it
The Bandmaster-cabs were nice, but also a bit so-so...
I had a big one and a small one. The big one sounded BIG - in a good way.
The smaller one didn't´t have that type of sound and lacked a bit of clarity overall.

With the Pro Reverb (original Utahs!) you could go wherever you want to go. It ate my Marshall Bluesbreaker Reissue
Unfortunately, my band had just split up and I needed the coin...


As for the Jensen-comparison...
Fender used various types/models from all the manufacturers (Jensen, Oxford, Utah, Rola...) throughout the years - so you´d have to compare "apples to apples"...
The Utahs I had were probably comparable to Jensen C12Ps or Ns - to big/heavy for a "Q"-model - and I would say that they generally had less high-end than a comparable Jensen.

cheers - 68.

 

[Bourbon Burst]

I bought a re-coned 12" Utah from a reputable speaker rebuilding service. The owner said that the Utahs were built a little heavier than the Jensens or Oxfords and he liked them better. That speaker went into a box alongside a Jensen and replaced an Oxford that little fingers had puchned through so I was able to compare them. The basket was indeed heavier on the Utah than the baskets of either the Oxford or Jensen were

Bob.

What was the difference sound wise between the Utah and Jensen?

 

[W.L.Weller]

The GA 64 wont handle the Twin wattage likely. At lower volumes with another speaker it might hold up though.

To second this, if you're playing the Twin on 3, with the bass rolled off, the Utah and GA64 will last forever.

If you set everything to 8 and kick on a fuzzbox, different answer.

 

[Bob Womack]

What was the difference sound wise between the Utah and Jensen?

They sound virtually identical to me.

Bob

 

[jrblue]

I don't know how you can reliably assess an aging speaker. I would be concerned about basic reliability and on those grounds alone would probably swap it out regardless of whether or not it once sounded OK. As for reconing, unless I knew some reliable reconer who could reasonably predict the performance expected once reconed, I wouldn't invest in a recone. I have some OEM speakers of that age, and even the ones that sounded great have been removed and stored in case I ever sell the amp; I have broken-in new speakers in place for current use.

 

[adjason]

I've got two originals in a big old 68 bandmaster reverb cabinet and I like them just fine- I would not be in any hurry to get rid of them- yeah they kind of flub a bit at higher volume but they sound good and I like them a bit less efficient.

 

[schmee]

Hi!

I´ve had a couple (a ´67 Pro Reverb, and 2 original ´73/´74 Bandmaster-Cabs with Utahs...) and my experiences are mixed.
The Pro Reverb sounded nothing less than stunning, and I should never have sold it
The Bandmaster-cabs were nice, but also a bit so-so...
I had a big one and a small one. The big one sounded BIG - in a good way.
The smaller one didn't´t have that type of sound and lacked a bit of clarity overall.

With the Pro Reverb (original Utahs!) you could go wherever you want to go. It ate my Marshall Bluesbreaker Reissue
Unfortunately, my band had just split up and I needed the coin...


As for the Jensen-comparison...
Fender used various types/models from all the manufacturers (Jensen, Oxford, Utah, Rola...) throughout the years - so you´d have to compare "apples to apples"...
The Utahs I had were probably comparable to Jensen C12Ps or Ns - to big/heavy for a "Q"-model - and I would say that they generally had less high-end than a comparable Jensen.

cheers - 68.

Interestingly, my favorite Utahs were from a Pro also. I used one in a Deluxe Reverb for a while and it was great. I have had the next magnet size down in the Utah line and it did not sound near as good.
If course the closed back cabs sound much different and not necessarily due to speakers. Warmer, compressed

 

[snottyboy]

My '68 black-line VR had a pair of Utah 10s in it when I bought it in 1980. They were very good clean and up to reasonably loud volumes, but they didn't handle drive particularly well. I still have them, but have settled on All-Tone 1040s (GREAT speakers that are a good marriage of American and British characteristics).

 

[dannyh]

I had a pair that came stock in a 65 bandmaster cab years ago. They sounded pretty good til I blew them (ah…youth). I’ve still got them, thought about reconing them, but never got around to it. At this point in time there are so many more efficient and robust (and great sounding) speakers available, I just can’t get into sinking any money into the Utahs. Funny, cause I’m kind of a vintage amp snob…but I just think a lot of the new stuff out there is pretty great.

 

[BB]

There is a reason why the aftermarket speaker business is booming.

 

[LostGonzo85]

The Utahs will have certainly lost some power handling by now, so it may be entirely possible the GA-SC64 will actually have more power handling, but honestly either the GA-SC64 or the original Utahs will probably be ok if you're only running the amp at like 3 or 4. If you need to depend on the amp for gigs, swap them out for something new with adequate power handling like Eminence Legends or Weber 12F150s and don't look back. If it's just for home use, I'd just leave the originals be as long as they sound good and are functional.

 

[uriah1]

I have heard some Utah 10s that sounded pretty good. Not the 12s

 

[zook]

They sound virtually identical to me.

Bob

Unless the speaker terminals on one of those speakers are installed reversed, that pair is wired out-of-phase.