Peavey's Scorpion speakers?

[trag-o-caster]

Those Scorpion speakers that you see in a whole lot of them old black SS Peavey amps (Bandit, Renown, etc.) - are those truly "guitar" speakers? Sometimes I wonder if it's not the same old stuff they put in their cheaper PA cabs as well (of which I own and use two).

I remember when I was using Bandit 65's with the Morley JD10, I would turn the speaker simulation on and it would sound a bit better. Usually, with a guitar speaker, you would leave it off.

Anybody know?

 

[studio1087]

The Scorpions broke up eaiser than the other speakers.

Let me restate that. All the Peavey speakers that I sold in the 80's broke up but the Scorpions were supposed to break up. The Black Widow speakers in the Peavey PA speakers never handled the power that they were rated to handle which bothered customers. The Scorpion was supposed to compliment a guitar and break up at a certain point and it did so with good sound.

Of all the Peavey speakers over the years, the Scorpion was my favorite. They loaded Scorpions in smaller PA monitors which always seemed weird to me. The Scorpion was marketed as a guitar speaker but it was also marketed as a better grade general purpose speaker. The more questions that I asked our Peavey rep, the weirder it would get.

I like the Scorps for guitar.

 

[11 Gauge]

I had some "prototype" Scorpions in a Stereo Chorus 212. While I didn't care for the amp itself, the speakers were excellent. For a while, I was using it solely as a power amp (it had slave jacks, or something similar). It became clear early on that those 12s had a certain character to them that my other amps didn't have. It was definitely a 12 kinda characteristic, but without the overwhelming peaks that other designs had.

I never cared for EV's and similar speakers, but the Scorpions were different, especially these "prototypes" that I had. Unfortunately, they still weighed a ton.

If I still had my older (70s) SC 212 paired with the Scorpions, that would've been cool.

 

[Dacious]

They don't seem like they're designed to break up at all. I have a pair in 2 way 12" PA Cabs and they take 200 watts aside with crystal clarity and show no signs of distress. There are two diferent 12" models (magnet/coil/cone/power), but one of them came in PVs own PA cabs. I think they're more like a JBL or EV copy myself. A friend has EV Eliminator cabs and they sound very similar. They are about 97db efficient, too - very loud.

I'd agree if you want nuclear deterrence they'd be a good, clear speaker for a twin.

 

[Bob Arbogast]

I have a Peavey Scorpion Ultra that I've used off and on since about 1989. Monster speaker, very clean and articulate -- a little too clinical with overdriven and distorted tones, though. I don't know what it's rated at, but Peavey had just one in the Triumph 120W combo.

Bob Arbogast

 

[Sarge]

I also have twin Ultra's in my late 80's 2X12 cab, 100 watts each...they rock!

 

[91xlntS-3]

Just my opinion, but I've always liked/preferred the older Peavey amps, especially with the Scorpions. The amps with the 'blue" trim are my favorites, Bandit, classic chorus, stereo chorus; all great amps! I never noticed any break-up with the Scorpions, they were very clean and articulate.

 

[trag-o-caster]

Well, I never knew that the Scorpion speaker had so much respect! Actually, I never really heard anyone say ANYTHING about them - you just kinda took them for granted.

Also great to hear a little love for the old black SS Peaveys. I always thought that if you wanted a squeaky clean, flat sounding amp as your tonal base for your pedals and whatnots, a Peavey would be hard to beat. Apparently the Scorpion is the speaker to go for in those circumstances.

 

[Deaf Eddie]

Keep the magnet, swap the basket...

I'm talking about the Scorpions, and not the old, nasty, black-stamped-frame CTS speakers Peavey used, when they first started out...

I worked for a Peavey dealer off and on for fifteen years or so (mid-seventies to late-eighties), and know that the Scorpion had several "replacement basket" models/options. It was all coded in the part numbers on the baskets.

BUT, if any of these baskets had application-specific variations (besides the normal 10", 12", or 15" and 4-ohm or 8-ohm option), I never saw 'em - it was the same magnet for ALL speakers, and the same baskets for used for PA, guitar, keyboard or bass. Other than a couple of different sizes for the coaxial vent-holes through the magnet structure, which seems to have just been a progression through the years, the ol' flat-magnet Scorpions were all the same. The only option/variable was the cone size and voice-coil impedance.

They did come out with a "Scorpion PLUS" series, which had a slightly tapered magnet, and which I think is the only one they produce now. I only see them new as 15"s, you can still get them 4-ohm or 8-ohm. Or maybe it's the ULTRA that's still in production - that's after my time...

In any case, I'm pretty sure they are still making the whole variety of replacement baskets, as last year I had my pals at the local repair shop order me a pair of 4-ohm 12" baskets, which came in a week or two, no worries. BTW, the same replacement baskets fit both the original Scorpion and the Scorpion PLUS, so you can do a little mix and matching to get whatever suits you, cone-size and impedance-wise.

It's a speaker I consider a solid performer, if not particularly a sonic-snob standout. To my ears, they don't add much charater, but neither do they take any away. They just do the job, and quite reliably, IMHO - I ain't afraid to use them in any application, including my gigging guitar amp.

So, yes, I still have a bunch of Scorpions - four in 115H PA/keyboard cabs, and four I'm just about to load in a 412 stack-bottom to use for the backline at my annual jam session for bass or guitar, whatever's needed.

FWIW, I also know positively that the Black Widow had specific, different baskets for guitar and PA applications. Again, you (used to) could look up replacement basket part numbers, and it would tell you so...

 

[Dacious]

That's how I'd see them. I like PV PA gear a lot - often it may not be the best, but it's low-cost without being cheap, rugged, tough and not hard to get a good sound out of. I prefer tubes, but PV solidstate guitar amps sound as good as anything, and their tube stuff ain't bad. For a while in the eighties you couldn't buy tube amps from Fender, but you could from Peavey.

In their desire to provide value-for-money equipment Hartley Peavey is probably as important today as Leo Fender. The speakers you can disassemble yourself and replace baskets or voicecoil assemblies are a good thing.

 

[Telecastoff1]

I bought an amp recently off CL, where the guy selling stated the Scorpion speakers were blown, amp being sold for parts only. That just didn't sound right to me. In all my years of playing I have never blown a Peavey Scorpion speaker. So, I bought the amp. Took it home, cleaned the pots and it came to life....sounding beautiful, loud and clear. Nothing wrong with them Scorpions...one of my favorite speakers......nice-sounding, dependable and ruggedly built.

 

[Marky D.]

I recently saw 2 Peavey Special 130s side by side at Music-Go-Roud in MN. One was well used and dirty with a Scorpion Plus speaker ($119), and the other was spotless and had a Celestion GT75 in it ($149). I A/B'd them and found that surprisingly, the dirty beat up one with the Scorp in it sounded more musical and warm - sales guy agreed. So, I bought the beat up one that day...returned the next week for the clean one but it was sold - darn! With a Tele and a stompbox, a guy can cover a lot of ground w/ a Special 130!

 

[Jim Dep]

I have a 1991 Stereo Chorus 212 combo with the 2 12" Scorpion speakers. Occasionally I've cranked up the clean channel and can't get these speakers to break up. The pictures will be shaking off the wall but the tone is still crystal clear.

I'm very ok with that. They are really good speakers for using pedals with.

 

[RedLabel]

I just bought a pair of Peaveys with blown horns for thirty five dollars. I upgraded my two Crates with the 12" Scorpions! Unbelievable sound with my guitars! I got a terrific bargain!
I love the Scorpion!

 

[Jim Dep]

I just bought a pair of Peaveys with blown horns for thirty five dollars. I upgraded my two Crates with the 12" Scorpions! Unbelievable sound with my guitars! I got a terrific bargain!
I love the Scorpion!

Way to go! Good deal ! Your amp probably weighs a lot now but the improvement in sound will more than make up for it.

 

[jtees4]

I had a couple of 80's Peaveys with the Scorpions. I thought they were great. I once unhooked one and hooked it into my Marshall Celestion Vintage 30 speaker....and it sounded almost identical. I planned on replacing it, but kept it after that.

 

[pawleep]

has anyone tried scorps in a closed back cab? just wondering if it is ok to try.

 

[SamClemons]

Sure it is OK to try. They were used a lot in PA gear, which is closed back applications. I like scorpions too.

 

[JeffBlue]

I love Peavey scorpions and I own a few. They are an industrial grade guitar speaker that you can easily replace the cone basket or magnet assembly. these are workhorse speakers and are more efficient than many speakers. i use a 10 inch 4 ohm Peavey Scorpion in my 68 Fender Silverface Vibro Champ and it sounds incredible.

 

[Abu Twangy]

Another Scorpion fan here.

I was a speaker killer back in the day. Utahs, Jensens, JBLs, Altecs and E-V SROs. I had to keep a couple backup speakers available because it took a minimum of 4-5 weeks to get a recone back. The only speakers that held up mechanically and electrically were the higher-powered Realistic Utahs which served me as backups but sonically--

Then Peavey came out with their field-rebuildable Black Widows and Scorpions. That was a significant part of me switching to Peavey guitar and bass amps. Over a number of years I never had any deterioration in sound or speaker failures with them. Never rebuilt one.

To me the Scorps were not E-V clean and not American or Brit sounding but had a bit of texture in the lower mids to their sound.