Does anyone actually like Jenson "special design" speaker?

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The Grim Peeper

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Yeah the clean was ok and they seem well built as well. My issue was the sound I started getting with even just moderate OD. So boxy and congested and strangled. Maybe mine were all just too new? No flex or mojo!!
 
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zippofan

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I really like the C12Q I installed in my old Crate CR1, connected to another amp (the original Crate amp is pretty bad with any speaker ;-)) The original was probably an Eminence no-name with a square magnet and aluminum dust cap which had succumbed to junk bouncing around in the back of the amp over the years.

Connected to my latest build, the Zeppelin 2 watt Percolator, it gives me chimey cleans and some nice dirt when cranked up.
 

grolan1

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Yeah the clean was ok and they seem well built as well. My issue was the sound I started getting with even just moderate OD. So boxy and congested and strangled. Maybe mine were all just too new?
I ran mine about 90% overdriven (pedals) and they sounded great to me... very mid range with a lot of meaty bottom in and a nice top end as well.
 

Platefire

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The Grim Peeper

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The one I just took out of the traynor is a C12k. I noticed that there is almost no flex in the rim of the speaker. Kinda explains the stiff sound. Sounds like an uptight business man talking about yearly earnings.
 
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JustABluesGuy

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I would try and use them for a while, and see if they improve, or if my ears will adjust to them. I like to A/B a clean and a dirty amp and might use them for their cleans, and something else that handles dirt the way you want in the dirty amp.

If you find that you just can't get along with them, you can sell them pretty easily and get something you prefer. You seem to have a good idea what you want, so it shouldn't be too hard to find something else you will like.
 

moosie

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The one I just took out of the traynor is a C12k. I noticed that there is almost no flex in the rim of the speaker. Kinda explains the stiff sound
The C12Ns are the only ones I've used for any length of time. I was surprised how different the C12K sounds. I prefer the N. Point being, they're not even close to the same. IMO.
 

vernon

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I bought a Champ 600 and a Pro Junior and ended up replacing the Fender Special Design speakers with Weber AlNiCo speakers. They sounded substantially better. Had a C12N in an Alessandro Amp and it sounded okay... but eventually upgraded with one of George's Emminence-made speakers. I have settled on Jupiter speakers for my rock rigs... and they work really well in a Fender-y kind of way.
 

caspersvapors

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c10r = like
p10q = like
c12k = dont like. One of the reasons every time I try a DRRI in store I am turned off. Shrill, stiff and bright. The C12n seems like a much better speaker based on recordings Ive heard
 

The Grim Peeper

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I'm not trying to be a Jenson hater. I just think all the new ones have a stiff papery sound. After years of use they might sound awesome. I don't have that kind of time haha! An eminence speaker like a legend or older cts always seems to be better. Even old celestions like the 65s 75s or V30s smoke these Jensens. They just crackle and bounce so much better. The new Jensens are sterile anyway all the ones I've tried!!
 

Ringo

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I've only tried the newer Italian made Jensens in a few amps, and I didn't care for them at all. Much prefer most of the Eminence made speakers.
 

theprofessor

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I have played a PRRI with a C10N (or was it a C12N?) and I have heard @moosie 's C12N's in his Twin. I loved the sound of all of them. I had a C12K in a DRRI once, and I took it out. It wasn't bad, but I found it too harsh in the top end. I think some of the Jensen "reissue" speakers sound good, depending on the amp, and some do not sound as good.
 

The Grim Peeper

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The whole point of this thread is that I don't think that the new Jensen's are that great. However the old jensens are probably very good but I've never owned any of them so I don't know. So all I know is the new jensens are not that good in my opinion. Frankly I think they suck ass. I have 4 and they are all stiff and sterile. Any buyers? Haha
 

swampyankee

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I like the Jensen sound in a Fender amp but my newest is a 20 year old C12N in my s.s. Deluxe 112. I've tried it in other amps and it does well. I'm tempted to put it in my Pro Tube Concert Amp to see if it improves the tone over the stock Eminence Special Design speaker. I put Warehouse G12Cs in a couple amps trying to replicate the vintage Jensen sound.
 

jman72

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I have a C12N in my 5e3 clone. It sounds fantastic. Granted, I've never tried any other speakers in it to compare, but I have no problems with it whatsoever. I think its "icepick" nature that others complain about in brighter amps works well the the darker tone of the 5e3 circuit in my amp, giving me a nice happy medium.
 

Geo

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I have 2 - C10Q RIs in a SFVR for over 15 years and very smooth sound. I like their lower sensitivity and feel it helps attain that smoothness. I have 2 - P10Qs in an open back cabinet
but don't use it much.
Plan is to try this cab with a friend's 18 watt Marshall head sometime. The P series of course have more of a high end presence but slightly less mid response than the C types. The only
other one current in use is a 10" Jet Falcon in a dual EL84 combo but isn't a Special Design.

I have a 1965 C12Q from a Fender Deluxe parked but parked temporarily. It was in my '63 brown Deluxe since '65 but friend in band was using it for a while and early on asked me to swap it because he was afraid he would blow it out.
 

Ira7

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I have played a PRRI with a C10N (or was it a C12N?) and I have heard @moosie 's C12N's in his Twin. I loved the sound of all of them. I had a C12K in a DRRI once, and I took it out. It wasn't bad, but I found it too harsh in the top end. I think some of the Jensen "reissue" speakers sound good, depending on the amp, and some do not sound as good.
They don't now make a C10N.
 

moosie

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c10r = like
p10q = like
c12k = dont like. One of the reasons every time I try a DRRI in store I am turned off. Shrill, stiff and bright. The C12n seems like a much better speaker based on recordings Ive heard
I forgot to mention, I like the P10Rs in my Super RI. Circa 2003...


That said, they sound nothing like the vintage CTS alnicos in my '71. Frankly, it's more than the speakers responsible for the tonal difference. I especially hear it in the reverb. The reissue is harsh, metallic, where the SF is ... 'warm', I guess. Even though I don't like that tone word :lol:
 
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