Replacement speaker for Orange Crush 20RT?

[58Bassman]

Just got this amp and needed/wanted to see what's inside- it doesn't seem to have the Voice Of The World speaker, unless the sticker came off but I don't think that's the case.

A few questions:

What are the usual opinions about Voice Of The World speakers? I read a few comments saying the highs aren't good/great, but I'm not necessarily looking for more output level, just a more 'classic' sound, if that's possible.

What are the opinions about replacements? I have listened to tons of videos, but they're nothing like being in the same room, although well-mic'd and recorded sounds can be very useful.

Does anyone know if the Celestion Eight 15 would be a good choice for this amp? Are there any worthwhile Alnico options?

 

[Tim S]

How does the current speaker sound to YOU? It’s kind of hard to recommend solutions if we don’t know what the problem is.

 

[58Bassman]

How does the current speaker sound to YOU? It’s kind of hard to recommend solutions if we don’t know what the problem is.

It's a bit harsh on the top- not the OEM and none of the YouTube demos show anyone playing the way I do right now- I'm going to see if I can find one with the Voice of The World speaker, for comparison. I saw videos with people saying that the first thing they did was change the speaker, but I don't have anything to compare it to.

I don't mind seeing the consensus because it gives me something to start with WRT common choices. The demos from Ty Tabor and others are more distorted than I use but again, I'm still exploring the sounds of the amp and guitar.

It's not bad, but it was so inexpensive that experimenting isn't out of the question.

 

[Hedgerow]

I was playing my 20RT today with headphones and was surprised how good it sounded.
I started thinking if it would be worth it to try and replace the speaker. So a Google search later I see this post. Wondering if anyone has ever changed the speaker in these amps. 58Basssman, any update on this? Thanks

 

[archetype]

@58Bassman if "Just got this amp..." means it's new, then your speaker isn't broken in, thus isn't sounding the way it will likely sound after your put 20-40 hours of loud through it.

If I were me, I wouldn't ponder what the amp sounded like until then.

 

[Dacious]

I own a 35RT being used by a bandmate. It has the VOTW speaker. Most of the sound of this amp is generated by the preamp and it behaves quote similarly to an orange tube amp. It's quite tunable. If it's too harsh try turning down gain/treble slightly and up on master volume.

 

[58Bassman]

@58Bassman if "Just got this amp..." means it's new, then your speaker isn't broken in, thus isn't sounding the way it will likely sound after your put 20-40 hours of loud through it.

If I were me, I wouldn't ponder what the amp sounded like until then.

I bought it used and the store that had it didn't know its history. I opened it (because I like to see what I'm dealing with) and saw that the speaker isn't VOTW, so I contacted Orange but they couldn't say what's in it or why. I have a lot more than 20-40 hours on it since I brought it home and I'm sure that most of my perception of the sound is due to the fact that I have been playing through a '58 Bassman with the Eminence blue 10 Alnico speakers that came out when Fender RI'd the tweed Bassman and the guitar is a Squire Offset Tele, which means that I'm not familiar with the sound of the pickups and had used a Strat Plus with Gold Lace Sensors for 25 years. The fact that this is a solid state amp may be part of this, too- SS distortion is different from that of tubes, so it's new to me.

Not saying SS amps are bad- this thing really punches above its weight, IMO.

 

[58Bassman]

I own a 35RT being used by a bandmate. It has the VOTW speaker. Most of the sound of this amp is generated by the preamp and it behaves quote similarly to an orange tube amp. It's quite tunable. If it's too harsh try turning down gain/treble slightly and up on master volume.

Right, on working with the controls. This has the ability to make sounds that really aren't my favorites, especially when it's set for lots of distortion but by working the controls, I find that I'm not using my OD pedal very much.

This whole situation has a lot of moving parts- I bought the guitar and not long before, my amp developed some capacitor issues and I needed something to play through. The fact that it's a Tele-style guitar with pickups that aren't what I had used for so long makes a big difference, but as I posted, it's a completely different kind of amp.

I really don't need to play extremely loud and don't mind saving my hearing but it causes hearing fatigue- kind of similar to having cotton in my ears and it wasn't extremely loud (I have an SPL meter).