Weber Amsterdam 10

[63 vibroverb]

Anybody have any experience with a Weber Amsterdam speaker? Particularly the 10". Apparently, it's an 80 watt hemp cone ceramic.

I'm thinking of pairing one with a 10F150T in my Prosonic. I've got the 10F150T in it right now paired with the stock Celestion. It sounds great, the Weber provides the punch, articulation, and full EQ. The Celestion provides the dark fat squish.

But I can't help but wonder if the Amsterdam's gonna take it to an even higher level.

 

[DaveKS]

Must be new, I've seen the 12" before but never notice the 10" and I've looked at their sight a lot.

 

[lareplus]

That's a great name for a hemp cone speaker. But btw there is a Hotel Weber in Amsterdam. .

 

[JD0x0]

Yeah, 10'' Amsterdam is new, no experience with either of them.

I have a 10'' Michigan ceramic on the way. And already own a 10'' alnico Michigan and two 12'' alnicos.

I can say that I'm definitely a fan of mixing two radically different speakers. My 12's are a 12F125, 30 watt (bright, loud, punchy) The other 12'' was back when they were still doing the 'MyTone' custom speakers. I essentially made a Celestion G12-65H clonette with a 55hz cone and alnico mag. (Fat, Full, thick, smooth)

It gives a really full ranged complex sound IMO. I dont think you'll be unhappy with another weber, but I really have no idea what those Amsterdams sound like. The hemp cone is definitely known for smoothing out the high end. It's also got a really big (for a 10'' speaker) voice coil @ 2'' that'll likely give a lot of low end and midrange, too. Should be fairly efficient, as well.

 

[63 vibroverb]

Since it's a higher powered speaker, I'm guessing it's gonna be a little heavier. The Prosonic is already a heavy amp....but what's another 5 pounds if it's gonna make my amp really blaze?

 

[Tele Jr]

63,

The thing to understand about the Prosonic combo is how much voicing Bruce did to match the amp to the stock speakers. That is why Bruce is always quoted as saying he thinks the stock speakers are best.

I've never been as happy trying to match the combo with any other speakers as with the Prosonic head. If you really dig the Prosonic but wish it had different speakers and a slightly different voice to go with them, you might be better off trying the head version.

Expect it to be a little cleaner, tighter, more like a traditional blackface. It won't have the exaggerated bottom end voice, and it will be brighter, with not quite as smooth of a top end.

The stock combo speakers are surprisingly Celestion Blue like to me. The secret of the so called special design there is the use of old school blue-like cone paper material. Much of the criticism of the stock PS drivers is very similar to that of the Blues. Note one of the common exceptions people take to the Blue is the lack of extreme low end. For that Bruce added the extra bottom voice emphasis in the amp to accommodate that. It has the bottom of a 4x12. Also people criticize the Blue for lack of top end sparkle, quite similar to the Prosonic. Bruce added some voicing to make it chime just right without going over the top ice pick. So that voice doesn't necessarily translate to a generic thing with a voice as usable with other speakers as well as the head version.

Many people going way way back have tried the Webers in the combo, but I don't know if anyone was every really satisfied with them in the long run.

 

[63 vibroverb]

Thanks for your thoughts, Tele Jr. I do like the tone of the stock speakers, especially with single coils. My only problem with them is that I don't think they can handle humbuckers with the amp cranked.

When I've got one Weber combined with one stock Celestion, it sounds great though. They each make up for what the other lacks. I'm happy with the way the amp is now, I'm just always trying to see if I can get it even better.

I've tried the head before and I prefer the combo. Generally, I find combos sound more alive than heads. That's interesting that these stock Celestions are based on the Blue though.

 

[63 vibroverb]

I just noticed that Weber offers hemp cone options on most of their speakers. I guess that opens up more possibilities.

Been looking at the Tone Tubby 40/40 and Eminence Lil Buddy as well.

According to some research, hemp cones are less likely to cry when pushed hard. Is that true?

 

[tombob]

I'm wondering if the Amsterdam isn't just a hemp cone Michigan. They seem to have very similar specs. I really dig EVs anyway and for a bright amp the hemp cone would be great. I know real EVMs can be a little bright on top even though they have a huge bottom end. I've been thinking about pairing a Michigan or Amsterdam 15 with a paper dome California 15 alnico I already have. I should sound huge with my Supersonic head.

 

[63 vibroverb]

I'm wondering if the Amsterdam isn't just a hemp cone Michigan. They seem to have very similar specs. I really dig EVs anyway and for a bright amp the hemp cone would be great. I know real EVMs can be a little bright on top even though they have a huge bottom end. I've been thinking about pairing a Michigan or Amsterdam 15 with a paper dome California 15 alnico I already have. I should sound huge with my Supersonic head.

You're probably right. The basket on the Amsterdam looks identical to the Michigan's.

Oh man, 2 high powered 15's would sound massive. Like Peter Green live at Boston Tea Party.

I decided to go with the Tone Tubby 40/40. Hopefully it mixes well with the 10F150T.

 

[JD0x0]

FWIW the Amsterdam and Michigan have different cone designs apart from one being hemp. The Amsterdam is ribbed while the Michigan is smooth. Also, the 12'' Michigan has a 2.5'' voice coil, while the Amsterdam has a 2'' VC. I'll agree that EVM's can sometimes be bright. That's likely due to the speaker having a frequency response of 80hz-7000hz. Most guitar speakers dont reach that high. Usually you see 4500-5500hz being the upper frequency response.

 

[tombob]

I'd like to see Weber offer the Michigan with a hemp cone. I don't know if the it might be to much on the bottom though. I like a big bottom end, especially with a Tele or Strat with single coils where you can have a big bottom and it still be clear.
One thing Eminence and Celestion do I wish Weber would is list the sensitivity (loudness) of each speaker. It makes it easier to mix them if you know they're similar volume.

 

[63 vibroverb]

FWIW the Amsterdam and Michigan have different cone designs apart from one being hemp. The Amsterdam is ribbed while the Michigan is smooth. Also, the 12'' Michigan has a 2.5'' voice coil, while the Amsterdam has a 2'' VC. I'll agree that EVM's can sometimes be bright. That's likely due to the speaker having a frequency response of 80hz-7000hz. Most guitar speakers dont reach that high. Usually you see 4500-5500hz being the upper frequency response.

Good point, JD0x0. Maybe they're not as similar as we thought. I wonder how those differences translate to how they perform.

I'd like to see Weber offer the Michigan with a hemp cone. I don't know if the it might be to much on the bottom though. I like a big bottom end, especially with a Tele or Strat with single coils where you can have a big bottom and it still be clear.
One thing Eminence and Celestion do I wish Weber would is list the sensitivity (loudness) of each speaker. It makes it easier to mix them if you know they're similar volume.

I think if you talked to them, maybe they'd be open to doing it. Unless the voice coil is too big on the Michigan or something.

I wish they'd list the sensitivity too. I've got a 10F150 and a Silver 10 in my 63 Vibroverb. It sounds nice, but I think the 10F150 overpowers the Silver a bit. Granted, the 10F150 is 50 watts and the Silver is 30 watts.

I finally got the Tone Tubby 40/40 in. Unfortunately, it had a voice coil rub so I'm waiting for the replacement to arrive. But from what I can tell, it seems to match the 10F150T volume wise. 40/40 is 40 watts and 100 db, 10F150T is 50 watts. If I had to guess, I suspect the 10F150T is around 99db.

 

[63 vibroverb]

After a lot of playing time, the Tone Tubby 40/40 has finally opened up. Some of my observations on it:

- It's brighter than the stock Celestions in the Prosonic. This really confirms just how dark those speakers are.

- The sound blasting out of it is less beamy/directional and dispersed in a more swirly way (don't know a better word for it).

- It produces less of a "punch" and more of a "thump". The Weber on the other hand is very punchy.

- It really fattens up the mids/lower mids, which the Weber lacks. The Weber on the other hand brings the deep bass and the top end sparkle.

- If I had to categorize it, I would put it closer to a Celestion, although it definitely has its own thing going on. It sings effortlessly and smoothly with distortion.

Overall, I'm really digging the Tone Tubby and I think it's a great match to the Weber 10F150T. They both make up for what the other lacks. I expect it will get better the more the speaker breaks in. It did sound pretty dead/cardboardy at first (the tough hemp cone). I always encourage to break in speakers the old fashioned way - playing. You get a lot of good practice time in too!