Dating a vintage Jensen C12N?

[spacetape]

Hi everyone,

I just bought an old Jensen Special Design C12N that accrding to the seller was pulled out of a 1974 Twin Reverb. The code on the speaker frame is 220205 and since the amp was from 1974, I supposed the speaker was made in 1972.

I have now read that Jensen ceased speaker production in the late 60s/early 70s, so I'm wondering if the speaker is from 1962 instead? It has the Jensen Special Design brown and gold sticker and the basket is black.

My question is: Can anyone confirm whether it's from 1962 or 1972, or maybe post a link to another thread discussing this issue? I haven't found anything yet, but since I'm quite new here, I certainly could be looking in the wrong places.

Also: Are the power ratings of 60s-70s C12N's different from the reissues?

Thanks!

 

[alainvey]

Dating a vintage Jensen C12N.

You've got to treat her with respect, I'm pretty sure of that.

 

[GuitarJonz]

Sounds like '62, since Jensen site says they stopped making speakers in late 60's, thus the later Oxfords, Utahs, etc. Someone probably upgraded the speakers in that Twin.

http://www.jensentone.com/history_jensen

(link removed)

Hi everyone,

I just bought an old Jensen Special Design C12N that accrding to the seller was pulled out of a 1974 Twin Reverb. The code on the speaker frame is 220205 and since the amp was from 1974, I supposed the speaker was made in 1972.

I have now read that Jensen ceased speaker production in the late 60s/early 70s, so I'm wondering if the speaker is from 1962 instead? It has the Jensen Special Design brown and gold sticker and the basket is black.

My question is: Can anyone confirm whether it's from 1962 or 1972, or maybe post a link to another thread discussing this issue? I haven't found anything yet, but since I'm quite new here, I certainly could be looking in the wrong places.

Also: Are the power ratings of 60s-70s C12N's different from the reissues?

Thanks!

 

[Wally]

Interesting question... The ceramic Jensens from the early part of the '60;'s carried a blue and silver label, IIRC. The brown and Gold???? I know that '65 Jensens were brown and gold. 1964??? I want to say those were blue and silver labels. I have a 220303...3rd week of 1963 C15N with a blue and silver label.
So, the brown and gold with that date code is odd, ime.
I could be wrong......but a 1972 Jensen C12N of any kind in a Fender guitar amp is something that I haven't seen.

 

[ampking300]

Dating early Jensen C12N speakers

So what is the difference between a 1960, 1961, 1962 model C12N and all later models including 1970, 1971 and 1972, ( last year of production for the C12N ) ?--- Jensen was the first speaker company to make ceramic magnet speakers in the last month of 1959, these models are excessively rare. All 1960, 1961 and 1962 model C10N, C12N and C15N speakers have 3 stove bolts that hold the round center magnetized ceramic plate in place, along the edges of the magnet, with an upper and lower retaining plate, all these models are pretty rare and IMHO are the best sounding of all of Jensen's N series speakers, all were conservatively rated at 25 watts RMS, all reissues are much higher. All Jensen N series speakers made after late 1962 no longer use the 3 stove bolts to hold the magnet in place but instead are glued together which was what Jensen and all other speaker manufacturers used on all of their ceramic magnet speakers. These Jensen early model N series speakers have the silver and blue Jensen logo on the magnet, all of these models also have the hot dog style openings in their frames.

 

[Wally]

Thanks for the info, ampking. So....this is a '72 C12N....I don't see Jensens from the
'70's.

 

[jaytee32]

Not until they come out with the Laura Dern model.

[ sorry couldn't resist ]

 

[ampking300]

Dating early Jensen C12N speakers

Wally, yeah Jensen was winding down their production of musical instrument speakers during the early '70's, any of the N series are pretty rare. They still had their SMI, ( Super Musical Instrument ), LMI, ( Lifetime Musical Instrument, my personal favorite ) and MI,( Musical Instrument ). Their EM 1201 model,( voice coil and magnet is slightly larger ) is extremely similar to their C12N. Any of the late '60's,early '70's models LMI 102,122, 152, ( all bass models, LMI 105,125, 155, ( all guitar models ), and their extremely rare model C10M, ( bass and guitar ), are all great sounding and very under rated speakers that are 100 watts each and often over looked by bass and guitar players.

 

[spacetape]

Wow, that was a lot of replies since I last checked in. I'm sure that I've missed something, here are some photos to de-mystify the whole thing.

 

[spacetape]

Well that didn't work well. I'll post them tomorrow when I'm with my laptop once again.

 

[Crobbins]

http://www.jensentone.com/vintage_alnico

http://www.jensentone.com/vintage_ceramic

 

[Crobbins]

I scored a pair of these 10" Jenson's out of an old Lowery organ that no longer worked. I think they are from 1955.

 

[GuitarJonz]

Not what you have, but there were also the 70's Jensen Vibranto speakers.

https://reverb.com/item/354109-1972...plifier-speaker-pair-hi-fi-8-ohm-50-watt-c12n

 

[ampking300]

Dating early Jensen C12N speakers

Not what you have, but there were also the 70's Jensen Vibranto speakers.

https://reverb.com/item/354109-1972...plifier-speaker-pair-hi-fi-8-ohm-50-watt-c12n

These speakers are LMI 122 models made for upright and electric bass and rated at 100 watts, similar to C12N models but with a larger voice coil and larger magnet.

 

[spacetape]

Here it is:

That's a "2" after 220, right?

Does anyone here know how much power it will handle? I've read that vintage C12N's are rated at 25W RMS, but haven't been able to find any source regarding this. I can't wait to put it in my Twin Reverb, but I don't want to blow the speaker (yes, there are shows where I'm actually able to crank the TR)

 

[SamClemons]

I don't think that speaker is suitable (too low power handling) for a Twin that you plan to crank at all. I would want at least a 50watt speaker, and I would look for one that would be a strong 75 watt speaker or better yet even 100w.

Edit...I did look and a C12N is rated at 50 watts. It might or might not hold up to heavy use. I would say there is a good chance you would blow that vintage speaker if you crank it. But I might give it a try. Ought to sound good at moderate levels.

 

[spacetape]

I don't think that speaker is suitable (too low power handling) for a Twin that you plan to crank at all. I would want at least a 50watt speaker, and I would look for one that would be a strong 75 watt speaker or better yet even 100w.

Edit...I did look and a C12N is rated at 50 watts. It might or might not hold up to heavy use. I would say there is a good chance you would blow that vintage speaker if you crank it. But I might give it a try. Ought to sound good at moderate levels.

Yeah me too, that's why I'd like to find out if it's rated at 25W or 50W.

I've been using C12N reissues for a number of years and the tubes die before the speakers when I crank the amp, so I'm sure 50W speakers won't be a problem in my case. If it's a 25W speaker it's a different story though.

Edit: Cool, I guess I can close the file on that one Btw where did you find the vintage Jensen ceramic speaker ratings? I've only been able to find information on the reissues as well as vintage alnicos.

 

[Wally]

Nice speaker, spacetape.

Ampking300, thank you very much for the info on the Jensens. I have never seen that info before and have often wondered exactly what the Vibratno, LMI, EMI and MI designations were all about. And....the suffixes-----'2' for bass and '5' for guitar---- to the speaker diameter is helpful. Much appreciated.....

 

[ampking300]

Dating early Jensen C12N speakers

Yeah me too, that's why I'd like to find out if it's rated at 25W or 50W.

I've been using C12N reissues for a number of years and the tubes die before the speakers when I crank the amp, so I'm sure 50W speakers won't be a problem in my case. If it's a 25W speaker it's a different story though.

Edit: Cool, I guess I can close the file on that one Btw where did you find the vintage Jensen ceramic speaker ratings? I've only been able to find information on the reissues as well as vintage alnicos.

That is indeed a 1972 model C12N. Here is what I know and have experienced regarding all model Jensen C12N speakers. In all Jensen speaker catalogs from 1948 to 1962 Jensen rated all their N models at 25 watts, P models at 20 watts, Q models 15 watts, R models 12 watts, S models 10 watts, T models 8 watts, U models 6 watts and V models 5 watts.These ratings were for all their alnico magnet models. By 1962 Jensen was phasing out their alnico models in favor of their newer ceramic models.From 1963 to 1972 Jensen still had their N,P,Q,and R model ceramic models which were each only rated at a few watts more than their older alnico brothers, this is the time that they introduced their LMI, EM, MI and in 1969 their SMI models. Some of these version models were very similar to the C12N model, only with larger voice coils and slightly larger magnets. Here is my personal experience with vintage C12N models. In the summer of 1967 and 1968, respectively, I bought a floor model 1966 Blackface Deluxe Reverb, and a brand new 1967 BF Twin Reverb and a 1968 Silverface Drip Edge Twin Reverb, all had brown or black frame model Jensen C12N speakers. During this time I played both TW amps pretty loud, ( volume on 7 , all tone controls on 5 ), played hard rock and blues, the C12N's held up with no problems, not too bad for speakers that are only 30 watts or so, AND, in an open back cab. In 1970 I started playing bass and had/have a 1964 Ampeg B12XY multi purpose Portaflex amp with a brown framed, gold/brown label Jensen C12N in it, ( stock mid 1964 model ).Keep in mind that this is a 50 watt tube amp, using dual 7027 power tubes, a ported cab, AND, that I was playing bass thru this, C12N held up great and I still have this amp today, along with about 500 other vintage amps, cabs and raw speakers. End result, as far as wattage goes for these vintage C12N models, safe to say 40 watts , based on cab design and style and volume of playing.

 

[spacetape]

Ampking300,

Thanks for your superb and experienced reply! It was superb in different ways: It settles several questions I've been having for some time, and it allows me to put the C12N in my semi-cranked TR (vol 5-6) and listen to some vintage Jensen tone without being scared of blowing the speaker I usually don't have the bass knob set higher than 3,5 anyways, so I feel quite safe.

I actually have one more question now that they're rolling: How do vintage Jensens compare to reissues in terms of sensitivity? Or more specific: What sensitivity rating can I expect the speaker to have, approximately?